Tara (Mahavidya)

This article is about the Hindu goddess. For the Buddhist bodhisattva, see Tara (Buddhism).

A lithograph of Tara

The statue of Goddess Tara during the Kali Puja festival.

In Hinduism, the Goddess Tara (Sanskrit: Tārā, Devanagari: तारा) meaning "star" is the second of the ten Mahavidyas or "Great Wisdom(Goddesse)s", Tantric manifestations of Parvati. She is also known as Nila Saraswati. She is widely considered to be the consort of lord Akshobhya Bhairava. She is a four- armed Tantric deity who is often worshipped in the Tarapith temple located in West Bengal state of India.