The Blossoming Beauty

The scriptures describe the age of goddess Green Tara as sixteen, which is charmingly revealed in this exceptional sculpture. Green Tara is the miraculous savior who rescues all beings from suffering. Not only this, the Tara Tantra reveres her as "Mother of All Buddhas."

This sculpture shows her poised and alert, with her head tilted slightly to her right, and one leg drawn over the lotus seat having two layers of petals. The other leg is extended and placed firmly over a lotus. Her right palm makes the boon-granting gesture (varada mudra), and holds the stem of a lotus blooming at her shoulder. Another flower is held by her left hand as she raises three fingers in the three-refuge gesture.

Every aspect of the goddess' form reveals the sculptor's in-depth study of the human anatomy. Each limb is proportionate to the whole body. The legs, fingers and waist, all are slim, expressing delicate femininity. A beauty which is not tantalizing but divine.

It is however Tara's face which lends expression to the entire composition. Introspective and serene, the charming face is crowned with a jeweled tiara having three crests.

The ears are adorned with large earrings shaped like flowers, known as 'Karnaphul.'

The almost rococo delicacy of the lotuses at her two sides heightens the feeling of a blossoming beauty.

This sculpture was first cast in copper and then bathed in silver. It was made in the city of Patan in Kathmandu Valley.