Toh 438Tán Thán Tara Nhị Thập Nhất Bái — Tārā Praises with Twenty-One Homages (Toh 438)

Summary

Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage is a liturgy
that consists of twenty-seven verses of praise and
reverence dedicated to the deity Tārā. The first twenty-one verses are at once a series of homages to
the twenty-one forms of Tārā and a poetic description of her
physical features, postures, and qualities. The remaining six verses describe how and when the praise should be recited and the benefits of
its recitation.

Acknowledgements

Translated by Samye Translations. The translation was produced by Stefan Mang and Peter Woods, and the
introduction was written by Stefan Mang. Wiesiek Mical compared the translation with the available Sanskrit editions.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

For Tibetan Buddhists, the Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage is undoubtedly the most popular
prayer to the deity Tārā. It is recited on a daily basis by many monks, nuns, and lay practitioners alike. The first twenty-one verses
praise Tārā by drawing upon the three epithets that also form the core of her root mantra—Tārā (Deliverer), Tuttārā (Savior), and Turā (Swift
One). In doing so, they invoke Tārā’s twenty-one forms that vary in aspect from
peaceful to wrathful. These twenty-one verses both pay homage to Tārā and provide a poetic description of her physical features, postures,
qualities, abilities, mantras, and hand gestures. The concluding six verses of the liturgy describe how and when the praise should be
recited and the benefits of its recitation.

The praise has been preserved in the Kangyur in two forms. First, the praise was translated into Tibetan and
preserved as an independent text in the Kangyur (Toh 438). It is this text that we present in English translation here. Second, it is also
found in transliterated Sanskrit as part of the larger tantra The Tantra on the Origin of All Rites of Tārā, Mother of All the Tathāgatas
(Toh 726). In this tantra, the Buddha reveals the praise in the form of an incantation (dhāraṇī), a circumstance that prompted the Tibetan translators to transliterate the Sanskrit text of the praise rather than
translate it into Tibetan. The relationship between these two versions in the Kangyur is not clear. The colophons to some Kangyur editions
suggest that the Tibetan translation (Toh 438) was prepared based on the transliterated Sanskrit, but this is disputed by the
Tibetan commentator Jetsün Drakpa Gyaltsen (1147–1216), who mentions that the praise was transmitted from India and translated as an
independent text.

Regarding the Indian commentarial literature on the praise, there are seven related texts preserved in the Degé Tengyur. These comprise two
sādhanas attributed to Nāgārjuna (Toh 1683–84)
as well as two sādhanas (Toh 1685–86) and three commentaries attributed to Sūryagupta (Toh
1687–89).

Sūryagupta’s
commentaries, rather than explaining the meaning of the words in the praise, focus on the iconography of each of Tārā’s twenty-one forms,
describing her color, seat, posture, number of faces and arms, implements, and hand gestures. In Tibet, many scholars composed a variety
of commentaries and sādhanas related to this praise.

This translation has been prepared based on the Degé Kangyur with reference to the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur
ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.
We also consulted the Sanskrit editions prepared by de Blonay (1895), Pandey (1984), Willson (1996), and Wayman (2002). The interested reader may also wish to compare our translation to some of the other published translations of
the praise in English.

The Translation

Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage

and Their Benefits

Homage to the honored, noble lady Tārā!

Homage to Tārā, swift and gallant,

Whose glance is instantaneous like lightning.

You arose from the heart of the blossoming lotus

That is the face of the lord of the three worlds.

Homage to you whose face resembles

One hundred autumn full moons gathered;

Your brilliant radiance blazes,

Like a thousand clusters of stars.

Homage to you, whose hand is graced

By a golden-blue lotus flower.

You embody generosity, diligence, endurance,

Serenity, patience, and concentration.

Homage to you, whose triumphs are endless,

Jewel on the Tathāgata’s crown.

You are well attended to by the heirs of the victors,

Who have mastered all the perfections.

Homage to Tuttārā, who with hūṁ

Fulfills all wishes to the bounds of space.

You trample the seven worlds underfoot,

And possess the strength to summon all.

Homage to you, praised by Śakra,

Agni, Brahmā, maruts, and Śiva.

The hosts of bhūtas,
vetālas, gandharvas,

And yakṣas pay tribute to you.

Homage to you, who with traṭ
and phaṭ

Crush the magical devices of other traditions.

With your right leg bent and your left leg extended,

You shine amid flames blazing wildly.

Homage to Turā, the fearsome lady,

Destroyer of the most powerful demons.

With your lotus face and stern frown,

You are the slayer of each and every foe!

Homage to you, whose fingers grace your heart,

Displaying the mudrā of the Three Jewels.

Graced by wheels in all directions,

Your natural radiance overwhelms all.

Homage to you, supremely joyous,

Your splendorous crown spreading garlands of light.

Tuttārā, smiling and laughing,

You bring demons and worlds within your control.

Homage to you, who can summon

The hosts of earthly guardians.

Knitting your quivering brows, with the syllable hūṁ

You deliver from every misfortune.

Homage to you, so brightly adorned,

With a sliver of moon as your crown,

Your locks always graced by Amitābha,

Whose bright light streams forever forth.

Homage to you, seated amid blazing flames

That resemble the fire that ends an eon.

Immersed in joy, your right leg extends, and the left is bent.

Thus, you crush legions of foes.

Homage to you, who on the earth’s surface

Strike your palms and stamp your feet;

The hūṁ that is formed by your frown

Smashes the seven netherworlds to nothing but dust.

Homage to you, blissful, gracious, and tranquil,

Whose domain is the peace of nirvāṇa.

In perfect union with svāhā and oṁ,

You lay to waste every terrible evil.

Homage to you, who, immersed in rapture,

Shatter the bodies of all foes.

You shine with the knowledge-syllable hūṁ,

As your mantra’s ten syllables are set forth.

Homage to Turā, your feet stomping,

Formed from the seed of the syllable hūṁ.

The mountains of Meru, Mandara, and Vindhya,

And all the three worlds—you cause them to quake.

Homage to you, who hold in your hand

A deer-marked moon like a divine lake.

With tāra uttered twice and then with phaṭ,

You eliminate all poisons.

Homage to you, sovereign of divine hosts,

Served by gods and kinnaras.

Your resplendence, an armor of joy,

Pacifies strife and clears away nightmares.

Homage to you, whose two eyes shine brightly

Like the sun and the moon when it’s full.

Tuttārā, with twice-uttered hara,

You pacify the most intractable ills.

Homage to you, who have the power to pacify,

You display the three true natures.

Turā, supreme lady, you destroy

The hordes of grahas, vetālas, and yakṣas.

This praise by means of the root mantra—

The twenty-one verses of homage

Should be recited in earnest by the wise,

Who are filled with devotion for the goddess.

Recalling it at dusk and also when rising at dawn

Will grant them freedom from every fear.

It will pacify all misdeeds,

And destroy all evil destinies.

Soon they will receive empowerment

From seventy million conquerors.

Beyond this, they shall attain greatness,

And proceed to the ultimate state of buddhahood.

If they recall this praise all dreadful poisons,

Whether natural or manufactured,

Whether eaten or imbibed,

Will be utterly neutralized.

This will dispel the heap of suffering

Inflicted by grahas, infectious diseases, and poisons,

Even in other beings.

If chanted twice, thrice, or seven times,

Those who want children will come to have them,

Those who seek wealth will come to have that,

Each and every wish will be fulfilled,

And obstacles, entirely vanquished, will be no more.

This completes the praise to the Blessed Tārā as spoken by the completely perfect Buddha.

Notes

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Sanskrit

Kangyur

Tengyur

Tibetan Commentarial Literature

Secondary Sources

One of the five Sakya patriarchs. He was the son of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (sa chen kun dga’ snying po, 1092–1158) and the younger
brother of Sönam Tsemo (bsod nams rtse mo, 1142–82).

The translator of Nyen, Darma Drak. He accompanied Ra Lotsawa (rwa lo tsā ba, 1016–1128?) to India where he stayed twelve years.
Darma Drak is credited with translating Prajñākaramati’s commentary on the Bodhicaryāvatāra, as well as texts on Kālacakra and Tārā, and other works.