Source and licence: Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage (Toh 438). Published by 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Translated by Samye Translations. The translation was produced by Stefan Mang and Peter Woods. Licensed CC BY-NC-ND 3.0; https://84000.co/translation/toh438. The text below is 84000’s Translation section, unchanged, with every note. Note numbers follow 84000’s edition; 10 notes not cited below belong to 84000’s summary and introduction, which are not reproduced here.
Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage
and Their Benefits
1.1Homage to the honored, noble lady Tārā!
1.2Homage to Tārā, swift and gallant,
Whose glance is instantaneous like lightning.
You arose from the heart of the blossoming lotus
That is the face of the lord of the three worlds.
1.3Homage to you whose face resembles
One hundred autumn full moons gathered;
Your brilliant radiance blazes,
Like a thousand clusters of stars.
1.4Homage to you, whose hand is graced
By a golden-blue lotus flower.
You embody generosity, diligence, endurance,
Serenity, patience, and concentration.
1.5Homage to you, whose triumphs are endless,
Jewel on the Tathāgata’s crown.
You are well attended to by the heirs of the victors,
Who have mastered all the perfections.
1.6Homage to Tuttārā, who with hūṁ
Fulfills all wishes to the bounds of space.
You trample the seven worlds underfoot,
And possess the strength to summon all.
1.7Homage to you, praised by Śakra,
Agni, Brahmā, maruts, and Śiva.
The hosts of bhūtas, vetālas, gandharvas,
And yakṣas pay tribute to you.
1.8Homage to you, who with traṭ and phaṭ
Crush the magical devices of other traditions.
With your right leg bent and your left leg extended,
You shine amid flames blazing wildly.
1.9Homage to Turā, the fearsome lady,
Destroyer of the most powerful demons.
With your lotus face and stern frown,
You are the slayer of each and every foe!
1.10Homage to you, whose fingers grace your heart,
Displaying the mudrā of the Three Jewels.
Graced by wheels in all directions,
Your natural radiance overwhelms all.
1.11Homage to you, supremely joyous,
Your splendorous crown spreading garlands of light.
Tuttārā, smiling and laughing,
You bring demons and worlds within your control.
1.12Homage to you, who can summon
The hosts of earthly guardians.
Knitting your quivering brows, with the syllable hūṁ
You deliver from every misfortune.
1.13Homage to you, so brightly adorned,
With a sliver of moon as your crown,
Your locks always graced by Amitābha,
Whose bright light streams forever forth.
1.14Homage to you, seated amid blazing flames
That resemble the fire that ends an eon.
Immersed in joy, your right leg extends, and the left is bent.
Thus, you crush legions of foes.
1.15Homage to you, who on the earth’s surface
Strike your palms and stamp your feet;
The hūṁ that is formed by your frown
Smashes the seven netherworlds to nothing but dust.
1.16Homage to you, blissful, gracious, and tranquil,
Whose domain is the peace of nirvāṇa.
In perfect union with svāhā and oṁ,
You lay to waste every terrible evil.
1.17Homage to you, who, immersed in rapture,
Shatter the bodies of all foes.
You shine with the knowledge-syllable hūṁ,
As your mantra’s ten syllables are set forth.
1.18Homage to Turā, your feet stomping,
Formed from the seed of the syllable hūṁ.
The mountains of Meru, Mandara, and Vindhya,
And all the three worlds—you cause them to quake.
1.19Homage to you, who hold in your hand
A deer-marked moon like a divine lake.
With tāra uttered twice and then with phaṭ,
You eliminate all poisons.
1.20Homage to you, sovereign of divine hosts,
Served by gods and kinnaras.
Your resplendence, an armor of joy,
Pacifies strife and clears away nightmares.
1.21Homage to you, whose two eyes shine brightly
Like the sun and the moon when it’s full.
Tuttārā, with twice-uttered hara,
You pacify the most intractable ills.
1.22Homage to you, who have the power to pacify,
You display the three true natures.
Turā, supreme lady, you destroy
The hordes of grahas, vetālas, and yakṣas.
1.23This praise by means of the root mantra—
The twenty-one verses of homage
Should be recited in earnest by the wise,
Who are filled with devotion for the goddess.
1.24Recalling it at dusk and also when rising at dawn
Will grant them freedom from every fear.
It will pacify all misdeeds,
And destroy all evil destinies.
1.25Soon they will receive empowerment
From seventy million conquerors.
Beyond this, they shall attain greatness,
And proceed to the ultimate state of buddhahood.
1.26If they recall this praise all dreadful poisons,
Whether natural or manufactured,
Whether eaten or imbibed,
Will be utterly neutralized.
1.27This will dispel the heap of suffering
Inflicted by grahas, infectious diseases, and poisons,
Even in other beings.
If chanted twice, thrice, or seven times,
1.28Those who want children will come to have them,
Those who seek wealth will come to have that,
Each and every wish will be fulfilled,
And obstacles, entirely vanquished, will be no more.
1.29This completes the praise to the Blessed Tārā as spoken by the completely perfect Buddha.
Notes
n.1 Tārā’s root mantra is oṁ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā. The part tāre tuttāre ture addresses the goddess in the vocative. The intended meaning could be that of the conjectured phrase tāre uttāre ture, with the middle word subsequently modified with the initial t for the sake of rhythm and alliteration, to have all three epithets begin with t and end with e. The first of the three epithets is the goddess’s name, Tārā, which is a causative derivation from the root √tṝ, “to cross.” The second is the same prefixed by ud, which modifies the meaning from “one who helps to cross” (fem., tārā) the ocean of saṃsāra, to one who in addition “pulls up” (fem., ut-tārā) from that ocean. As the difference in meaning between these two is merely nominal, we chose to translate them here as “Deliverer” and “Savior” respectively. The third epithet (fem., turā), means “swift.”
n.2 See Samye Translations, trans., The Tantra on the Origin of All Rites of Tārā, Mother of All the Tathāgatas, Toh 726 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020).
n.3 The Lhasa, Narthang, and Stok Palace editions indicate this in the colophons.
n.4 Jetsün Drakpa Gyaltsen states that the praise was transmitted independently by a certain Nāgārjuna to the Tibetan translator Nyen Lotsawa Darma Drak (late eleventh century). On his identification of Darma Drak as the Tibetan translator of Toh 438, see Drakpa Gyaltsen 2007c, p. 646. The identity of the Nāgārjuna mentioned by Drakpa Gyaltsen remains unclear (see Mabbett 1998, pp. 332–46).
n.5 Willson raises some doubts regarding the authorship of the works attributed to Sūryagupta (Willson 1996, pp. 238–41). Noteworthy also is a short story about the origins of the works on Tārā attributed to Sūryagupta that is preserved in the Blue Annals (Roerich 1949, pp. 1050–52).
n.6 For a short description of Sūryagupta’s works, see Willson 1996, pp. 109–11.
n.7 For a list of such commentaries, see Beyer 1978, pp. 469–70, and Willson 1996, pp. 111–66.
n.8 We also considered the variant readings recorded in Drakpa Gyaltsen’s commentary (2007c) and Willson’s presentation of several Tibetan commentaries (1996, pp. 117–66).
n.9 When the Sanskrit editions further clarified the Tibetan, we incorporated that into our translation. Whenever the Sanskrit presented a significantly different reading, we have recorded it in the footnotes. It is difficult, however, to account for all the variants created by the extant Sanskrit editions, the various Tibetan witnesses, and the Tibetan commentaries. Hence, the reader may encounter inconsistencies and other kinds of dissonance when referring to these various sources.
n.10 E.g., Beyer 1978; Willson 1986; Tāranātha 1995; Lopez 1997; Wayman 2002; Khenchen Palden Sherab 2004; and Adeu Rinpoche et al. 2015.
n.11 Following the Sanskrit (prahasatkiraṇojjvale) this line could also be read as “Smiling and blazing with brilliant light.”
n.12 The Sanskrit pāṇipadma metaphorically describes Tārā’s hands as resembling lotus flowers. The Tibetan rendering padmas phyag is understood to refer to the lotus that Tārā holds in her hand (Drakpa Gyaltsen 2007c, p. 638).
n.13 Wayman (2002, p. 444) and Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 639) read tuttāre. Following the Sanskrit, Tuttāre in the vocative could also be understood as an epithet of Tārā, that is, Tuttārā. Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 639) explains tuttāre as a mantra syllable.
n.14 “Fulfills all wishes” has been translated based on the Sanskrit pūritāśā. Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 639) reads the Tibetan ’dod (“desire”), which translates the Sanskrit āśā (“wish”), as a reference to the desire realm (kāmadhātu, ’dod khams). See also Willson 1996, p. 131.
n.15 According to various purāṇas and the Atharvaveda, our world system is divided into fourteen worlds: the seven (higher) worlds (saptaloka or saptavyāhṛti) consist of the earth and the heavenly realms above, and the seven netherworlds (saptapātāla) are subterranean paradises. Here, in verse 1.6, Tārā is praised as ruling the seven higher worlds, while in verse 1.155 she is praised as ruling the seven netherworlds.
n.16 The Sanskrit term gaṇa (tshogs) can either express the plurality of the aforementioned spirits, or it can refer to a class of spirits, the gaṇas, who are the attendants of Śiva. The Tibetan suggests the former. Given the position that the word gaṇa takes in the Sanskrit it appears the Sanskrit suggests the latter. We have here translated according to the Tibetan.
n.17 The syllable traṭ differs (traḍ, trad, trat, and traṭ) in the Sanskrit and Tibetan manuscripts and editions. Here our translation uses traṭ as suggested also by Wayman (2002, p. 447) and Willson (1996, p. 134).
n.18 “The most powerful demons” is a translation of māravīra (bdud kyi dpa’ bo). Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 64) explains the term to refer to the “demon of afflictions” (kleśamāra, nyon mongs kyi bdud) of the four demons (caturmāra, bdud bzhi), which, when destroyed, makes the other three demons crumble.
n.19 The last two lines of this verse could be understood as (1) Tārā graces all points and bearings of the compass, and (2) Tārā bears the marks of thousand-spoked wheels on her hands and feet. See also Willson’s discussion of this point (1996, pp. 139–40).
n.20 The Sanskrit compound māraloka (’dud dang ’jig rten) could be read as “the realm of demons” instead of “the world and demons.” De Blonay (1895) reads bhayaṃkari (’jigs pa mdzad ma) instead of vaśaṃkari (dbang du mdzad ma). Accordingly, the line could also be read as “you strike fear in the world and demons” or “realm of demons.”
n.21 The Sanskrit editions read khaṇḍendu (zla ba’i dum bu), a sliver of moon. The Comparative Edition notes that the Degé, Lithang, and Choné editions read zla ba’i rtse mo, lit. “lunar peak” (p. 140 and p. 143).
n.22 According to Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 643) this refers to Tārā’s root mantra oṁ tā-re tu-ttā-re tu-re svā-hā.
n.23 The Sanskrit editions vary and read either meru-mandara (Willson 1996, p. 153; Wayman 2002, p. 444) or meru-maṇḍala (de Blonay 1895, Pandey 1994). The Tibetan editions agree with the former, according to which the first two mountains in question are Mount Meru and Mandara. Regarding the third mountain, the Sanskrit editions read Kailāsa, which refers to Mount Kailash. However, the Tibetan editions seem to disagree and read ’bigs byed, which suggests that the mountain in question is Vindhya (see also Willson 1996, p. 153). Here we are following the Tibetan editions. Interestingly, Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 643) reads ’bigs byed as the verb “to pierce.” According to Drakpa Gyaltsen’s explanation, it is the light radiating from Tārā’s seed syllable hūṁ that pierces Meru and Mandara.
n.24 According to Drakpa Gyaltsen’s (2007c, p. 644) explanation, Tārā has the power to pacify (zhi ba) the afflictions. The Sanskrit editions employ the Śaiva term śivaśakti (“Śiva’s power”), which is rendered into Tibetan as zhi ba’i mthus (“the power to pacify”).
n.25 Tibetan commentators understand “the three true natures” (tritattvā, de nyid gsum) to be these: the awakened body, speech, and mind; deity, mantra, and samādhi; and the syllables oṃ, āḥ, and hūṁ (Drakpa Gyaltsen 2007c, p. 644; Khenchen Palden Sherab 2004, p. 161).
n.26 We have translated rab tu brjod pas (paṭhet prayata) as “recited in earnest.” The Comparative Edition notes that the Yongle and Lhasa versions read rab dad brjod pa, the Kangxi version reads rab dung brjod pas, and the Narthang reads rab pa tu rjod (Comparative Edition, p. 143). Like the Yongle and Lhasa versions, the Stok Palace reads rab dad brjod pa (fol. 436.b.2).