Tarashtakam
(Octet addressd to Goddess Tara)
Translated by
P.R.Ramachander
(Tara meaning “Star” is the second among the dasa maha vidhyas . Since she is considered as a mother, the Thanthrics believe that she is easily approachable. Most of her followers do not see her different from Goddess Kali. Unlike Kali , she holds in her hand skull, flower sword and a pair of scissors. There is a great temple dedicated to her in Tarapith , Bengal. She also has a temple in Ghatagaon, near Bhubaneswar in Orissa. She is also called “Neela SaraswathI”. Some people believe that Bhagalamukhi is her external manifestation.Here is a very rare octet addressed to her from a book called “Neelathanthra”)
1.Mathar neela Saraswathi pranamatham Soubhagya sampath pradhe,
Prathyaa leeda pada sthithe shiva hrudhi smerana nambhoruhe,
Phullendheevara lochana thraya yuthe karthree kapalothphale,
Gadganjaadha dhathee thwameva saranam , Thwaam easwareem asraye.
Salutations to mother Saraswathi who is of blue colour, who grants all luck and wealth,
Who sits in the heart of Shiva in prathyaleeda* pose, who has a smiling face ,
Who has three eyes similar to the fully open blue lotus flowers, 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 dias folding the left leg and leaving free the right leg.
2.Vachameeswari , bhaktha kalpa lathike , sarvartha sidhi pradhe,
Gadhya praakrutha padhya Jatha rachanaa sarvaswa sidhi pradhe,
Neelendhivara lochana thraya yuthe , Karunya varanidhe,
Souubhagya amrutha varshanena kkrupayaa sincha thwamasma drusam.
Oh goddess of words, wish giving tree to devotees, the giver of all wealth and power,
Who gives ability to create all types of literary works in prose and poems,
Who has three eyes which are like the blue lotus flowers, who is sea of mercy,
Please kindly make me wet with the rain of the nectar of great luck.
3.Sarve garva samooha poorutha thano sarpadhi veshojjwale,
Vygra thwak pariveetha Sundara kati vyadhootha gandangithe,
Sadhya krutha galadhraja parimalanmunda dwayee moordhaja,
Grandhee sreni nrumunda dhama lalitha bheeme bhayam nasAYA.
Goddess of all with a body filled with groups of pride, who shines due to ornaments like snake,
Who decorates her pretty hip with hide of tiger and also ringing bells,
Who gets decorated by the garland made out of tyinn the hairs,
Of two freshly cut blood drenched heads, Oh macro goddess, destroy my fear.
4.Mayananga vikara roopa lalanaa bindwardha chandrathmike,
Hoom phatkara mayee thwameva saranam manthrathmike maadrusaam,
Moorthisthe janani thridhama gatitha sthooladhi sookshmaa paraa,
Vedhaanam nahi gocharaa kadamapi prapthaam thamasraye.
Oh goddess who has a form that is the combination of Maya bheeja,
And root letters like “Hum phat”, to me you are the only place of surrender,
Oh mother your body is made of made of the trinity names brahma, Vishnu and shiva,
And even that form of yours is gross, micro and also divine ,
And this form is not understood by the Vedas and I surrender to that form which I have got.
5.Yath padambhuja sevaya sukrthino gachanthi sayujyatham,
Thasya sthree parameswari trinayana bramadhi samyathmana,
Samsarambhudhi majjane patu thanudevendra mukhyaan suraan,
Matha twath pada devane hi vimukho yo mandhadhee sevathe.
You are the consort of Lord Parameshwara by serving whose lotus like feet,
Good people attain salvation and who splits in to the forms of Shiva and Brahma,
And he who serves Devendra and others who are not interested in worshipping you,
And spent their time in the sea of materialism is a real fool.
6.Matha sthwath pada pankaja dwaya raja mudhrangakodeerina,
Sthey devaa jayasangare vijayino nisseshamange nissange mange kathaa,
Devoham bhuvanenamay sama ithi spardham vahantham pure.
Thathulyam niyatham yada surbherame nasam vrujanthi swayam.
Oh mother without any doubt, the devas killed their enemies in war,
Due to the dust of your lotus like pair of feet touching their crowns,
And those devas shine in this world without any equal because of it,
And others destroy themselves thinking that no one is equal to them.
7.Thwannama smaranath palaayanaparaa drushtum cha saktha na they,
Bhootha pretha pisacha Rakshasa ganaa yakshancha naagadhipaa,
Daithya dhanava pungavascha khacharaa vyagradhikaa janthavo,
Dakinya kupitha anthakascha manujam matha kshanam bhoothale.
Without being even able to see those who meditate on you ,
Ghosts, dead souls , devils , groups of Rakshasas , Yakshas , nagas,
Asuras , great dhanavas ,evil spirits who travel in the sky ,
Dakinins and the very angry killers run away speedily from them.
8.Lakshmi sidha ganancha paduka mukhaa sidhisthadhaa varina,
Sthambaschapi ranangane gaja gataa sthambhasthadhaa mohanam,
Matha sthwath pada sevayaa khalu nrunaam sidhyanthi they they gunaa,
Kanthi kantha mano bhavasya bhavathi kshudropi vachaspathi.
Oh Goddess , by the service of your feet man as per his desire gets,
Wealth , power to travel in sky , magical powers ,
Power to stop water , power to control elephants, attracting the world,
And he gets prettiness of god of love and even a fool gets mastery over knowledge.
9. Tharashtakamidham ramyam bhakthiman ya paden nara,
Prathar madhyahna kale cha Sayahna niyatha suchi
10. Labhathe kavithaam divyaam sarva Sasthra vidh bhavedh,
Lakkshmee naswaraam prapya bhukthwa bogaan yadhepsithaan,
11. Keerthim kanthim cha nairujyam sarveshaam priyathaam vrajeth,
Vikhyathim chapi lokeshu prapyanthe mokshamapnuyath.
If a man who is a devotee reads this pretty octet of Tara daily,
After purification in the morning, non and evening,
He would become a divine poet , he would understand all Sasthras,
He would get wealth which is permanent and enjoy all the pleasures he desires.
He would get fame , handsomeness and would be liked by everyone,
And his fame will spread all over the world and at the end he would get salvation.
Ithi Neela thanthre Tarashtakam sampoornam
Thus ends the octet on Tara occurring in Neelathantha.