Tara, the principal Buddhist goddess conceived with a wide range of attributes and personality aspects, has in Buddhism the same status as Devi or Durga in the Brahmanical. As various Brahmanical goddesses look like different forms of Devi, most Buddhist deities look like Tara's 'bhedas' - manifestations. As Devi preceded all gods, Tara as Prajnaparmita - Perfection of Wisdom and highest metaphysical principle, is claimed to have priority even over Buddha. Like Devi who revealed to Vishnu who he was and what for he was there, in Buddhism, Tara was the light and the prime source of Buddhahood and thus of all Buddhas. Like Devi, who is Shiva's consort, Tara has been conceived as the consort of Avalokiteshvara. Like Devi who is the mother of the gods of the highest order, Tara, at least in Mahayana Buddhism, is the mother of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Tara had an early presence in the Buddhist pantheon; however it was largely after the emergence of the Devi cult around the sixth-seventh centuries that Tara rose to a status on par with any other Buddhist god and was sometimes venerated like the great Master himself. Tibetan Buddhism has thousands of deities with local identities; Tara is the deity known to all, and her mantra - hymn, to every lip. In Tibet she is almost its national deity.
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