Mahavidya Devi Tara

Devi Tara is a force of nature. Born from the third golaka (organ) of vision, divine chakshu-indriya (sense of vision), of none other than Devi Kali, She is one of the Dasmahaidyas. The Dasmahavidyas are the ten (‘das’) great (‘maha’) aspects of the existential consciousness (‘vidya’) of Adi Parashakti, each a Devi more beauteous and superior in Her wrath than the other. The watercolour that you see on this page depicts the Devi Tara in all the nakedness and wrath of Her divine form.

She is tall and sturdy, Her body the colour of charcoal. Clad in nothing but the severed arms of Her devotees and the heads of the adharmees She has slain. She is chaturbhujadhari, possessed of (‘dhari’) four (‘chatur’) arms (‘bhuja’), in one of which She holds a deadly sword dripping with blood. The same drips on to the bleeding head of a mortal consumed by His own adharma, in another of the Devi’s hands. An image that sends a shiver down the onlooker’s spine.

Between Her feet and the lotus pedestal on which She stands are the bodies of a copulating couple, locked in the mortal embrace of each other. A line of flames passes through the composition at this point, while the rest of the background is done up in morbid, monotone shapes. The same sets off the luscious brown hair of Devi Tara and the youthful beauty of Her bloodthirsty face.