Mother, dark blue Saraswati, who grants all that is auspicious to those who surrender to you, who sits with your left leg extended, you who are the heart of Shiva, with a smiling lotus face.
Who has three eyes similar to the fully open blue lotus flower, who is the one who does,
And who wears skull, lotus and sword, you are my only hope and so I surrender to you, Oh Goddess
Sitting on a dais folding the left leg and leaving free the right leg. – Meditation form of Tara from Tara Ashtakam

Tara is the second among the Dasa Maha Vidhyas. She is considered as the Mother and the Tanriks believe that she is the most approachable. She is unmanifest sound. Many of her followers see her as Kali. In her hands she holds a skull, lotus flower (symbolizes her open heart), sword and a scissor (ability to cut off all attachments). She has eight serpents for her ornaments. Her eight serpents relate to the eight siddhis (which give one the powers to perform extraordinary feats). Some also believe that Baglamukhi is her external form.

In Buddhism, Tara is associated with different colors as the Cosmic Mother (white, blue, red, yellow and green).

Her main mantra is Om. She also possesses a longer five syllable mantra, Om hrim strim hum phat. Om is the mantra for deliverance (Taraka Mantra). Hrim is a mantra for purification and transformation. Strim is the feminine nature (stri) and provides the power to give birth and sustenance. Hum is the mantra of divine wrath and protection, as well as knowledge and perceptive power. Phat also gives protection and destroys obstacles.

Tara’s main meditation approach is through the mantra Om, by repeating it with breath awareness. Tara means the deliverer or savior, from the Sanskrit root tri, meaning to take across.

Aim Hrim Klim