Twenty-One Tara: The Manifestations of Tara’s Swift Compassionate Protection

The Twenty-One Emanations

The following is a detailed introduction to each of the Twenty-One Taras, following the sequence of the Homage, drawing on the commentaries of Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Martin Willson.Tara Nyurma Pamo (Swift and Heroic)

Color/Nature: Red; Magnetizing/Wrathful.
Function: She liberates beings from suffering with the swiftness of lightning. She is associated with the development of bodhichitta (the altruistic mind of enlightenment) and has the power to turn back the power of others and destroy negative forces.
2. Tara Loter Yangchenma (White as the Autumn Moon)
• Color/Nature: White; Pacifying.
• Function: She possesses the radiance of a hundred autumn full moons and dispels the darkness of ignorance. She is identified with Vajra Sarasvati and is associated with knowledge, intelligence, and the pacification of infectious diseases.
3. Tara Sermo Sonam Tobched (Golden One)
• Color/Nature: Golden/Yellow; Increasing.
• Function: She increases merit, longevity, and wisdom. Her field of practice includes the six perfections (generosity, ethics, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom).
4. Tara Tsugtor Namgyalma (Victorious Ushnisha)
• Color/Nature: Golden/Yellow; Increasing.
• Function: Emanating from the crown chakra of the Tathagata, she represents the victory of enlightenment over all negativities. She grants the siddhi of immortal life and neutralizes poisons.
5. Tara Rigjed Lhamo (Kurukulla)
• Color/Nature: Red; Magnetizing.
• Function: She fills the desire realm and space with the sound of her mantra (TUTTARA and HUM). She has the power to summon and magnetize all beings, bringing them under her influence to benefit them.
6. Tara Jigjed Chenmo (Great Terrifying Lady)
• Color/Nature: Dark Red/Black; Wrathful.
• Function: She is worshipped by the great worldly gods (Indra, Agni, Brahma, etc.) and subdues spirits, zombies (Tib, rolangs), and yakshas. She clears obstacles caused by these spirits.
7. Tara Zhengyi Mithubma (Unconquerable)
• Color/Nature: Black/Dark Red; Wrathful.
• Function: She destroys the magical devices and spells of enemies using the sounds TRAT (or TRET) and PHAT. She is depicted amidst a raging fire, trampling upon negativity.
8. Tara Zhen Migyalwa’i Pamo (Invincible Heroine)
• Color/Nature: Dark Red/Gold; Wrathful.
• Function: She completely destroys the “warriors of Mara” (demons of conceptual thought and disturbing emotions). She slays enemies with a frown of wrath.
9. Tara Sengdeng Nagchi (Of the Teak/Rosewood Forest)
• Color/Nature: Green/Emerald; Peaceful.
• Function: Her hand is in the gesture of the Three Jewels at her heart. She radiates turbulent light that protects from all eight great fears (lions, elephants, fire, snakes, robbers, imprisonment, water, and demons).
10. Tara Jigten Sumle Gyalma (Victorious Over the Three Worlds)
• Color/Nature: Red; Magnetizing.
• Function: She possesses a brilliant diadem that spreads garlands of light. Through her laughter (TUTTARA's laughter), she subjugates demons and the world.
11. Tara Norter Drolma (Bestowing Wealth)
• Color/Nature: Orange/Yellow-Red; Increasing/Magnetizing.
• Function: She summons the protectors of the earth and dispels poverty. By moving her frowning brows and uttering HUM, she provides wealth and liberates from suffering.
12. Tara Tashi Donjed (Accomplishing Auspiciousness)
• Color/Nature: Golden/Yellow; Peaceful/Increasing.
• Function: Adorned with a crescent moon and ornaments, she shines with the light of Amitabha. She establishes the world in auspiciousness, balance, and prosperity.
13. Tara Yulle Gyaljed (Victorious Over War)
• Color/Nature: Red; Wrathful.
• Function: She dwells amidst a garland of flames like the fire at the end of the eon. She destroys the armies of enemies and obstacles that prevent spiritual practice.
14. Tara Tronyerchen (Frowning Lady)
• Color/Nature: Black; Wrathful.
• Function: She strikes the ground with her palm and stamps with her foot. With a wrathful frown and the sound HUM, she shatters the seven underworlds and destroys powerful evil spirits.
15. Tara Rabzhima (Perfectly Calm)
• Color/Nature: White; Peaceful.
• Function: She is blissful, virtuous, and calm, abiding in the peace of Nirvana. With the mantra OM and SOHA, she purifies great evils and heavy negative karma.
16. Tara Rigngag Tobjom (Destroyer of Attachment/Spells)
• Color/Nature: Red; Peaceful/Magnetizing.
• Function: She shatters the bodies of enemies (obstacles) and destroys the power of evil mantras (spells) cast by others. She enhances the power of one’s own speech and mantra recitation.
17. Tara Pagme Nonma (Boundless Subduer)
• Color/Nature: Orange/Golden-Red; Wrathful.
• Function: She stamps her feet and shakes the three worlds (including Mount Meru, Mandara, and Kailash). This action subdues bandits, thieves, and hunters, establishing beings in bliss.
18. Tara Maja Chenmo (Great Peacock)
• Color/Nature: White; Peaceful.
• Function: She holds a moon marked with a rabbit (resembling a heavenly lake). She dispels all poisons—both environmental toxins and the internal poisons of the mind (attachment, anger, etc.).
19. Tara Dugkarmo (Queen White Umbrella)
• Color/Nature: White; Peaceful/Protective.
• Function: She is the “Invincible Queen.” She dispels conflicts, bad dreams, and nightmares. She is honored by the kings of the gods and spirits.
20. Tara Ritod Loma Jonma (Clothed in Leaves)
• Color/Nature: Yellow-Red/Orange; Peaceful.
• Function: Her eyes shine with the brilliance of the sun and the full moon. She dispels deadly epidemics, fevers, and contagious diseases.
21. Tara Lhamo Odzer Chenma (Endowed with Light)
• Color/Nature: White; Peaceful.
• Function: She aligns the three natural states (Body, Speech, Mind) using OM AH HUM. She subdues evil spirits, zombies (rolangs), and yakshas, and restores the life-force of the sick.

History, Legend, and Origin of the Twenty-One Taras

In the Buddhist tradition, the Twenty-One Taras are not merely a collection of deities but are regarded as diverse manifestations of the enlightened activity of all Buddhas. While Tara is ultimately the nature of the mind itself—the perfection of wisdom and emptiness—she manifests in relative reality in twenty-one specific forms to protect sentient beings from fear and guide them to enlightenment.
The following article details the origins, legends, and historical transmission of the Twenty-One Taras as recorded in the provided commentaries and histories.

Legendary Origins

The origins of Tara are described in two primary narratives: one involving a vow taken in a previous eon by Yeshe Dawa, an immense devotee of Buddha, and the other involving the compassion of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

The Vow of Princess Wisdom Moon

The story of Tara began “incalculable ages ago” in a world called “Manifold Light” (or Multicolored Light). In this era, a Buddha named Drum Sound (Dundubhisvara) lived, and a princess named Yeshe Dawa, or “Wisdom Moon,” was devoted to him. She made immense offerings to the Buddha and his retinue of monks for millions of years.
When she finally generated the bodhichitta (the altruistic intention to attain enlightenment), the monks present advised her to pray for a male body in future lives, suggesting that a female form was an impediment to benefiting beings. The Princess, rejecting this view based on the ultimate nature of reality, vowed: “Here there is no man, there is no woman… Therefore, until samsara is empty, I shall work for the benefit of sentient beings in a woman’s body”.
Through her practice, she attained a state of concentration known as “Saving All Sentient Beings,” and every morning and evening, she liberated millions of beings. Consequently, her name was changed to Tara (The Saviouress). In a later eon called “Perfect Victory,” she vowed before the Buddha Amoghasiddhi to protect all beings from demons and fear, earning the title “Swift and Heroic.”

The Tear of Avalokiteshvara

A separate origin story connects Tara to the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig). It is said that while working to free beings from the hell realms, Avalokiteshvara wept tears of great compassion upon seeing the endless suffering of samsara. From his tears, two lotuses grew. From the tear of his right eye appeared the White Tara, and from the tear of his left eye appeared the Green Tara. Tara then encouraged him, promising, “Do not despair. I will help you to liberate all beings.

Spread to Tibet

The practice of Tara was firmly established in Tibet largely through the efforts of the great Indian master Atisha (982–1054 CE). Atisha had a profound personal connection with Tara, who had protected him since his birth.
Tara appeared to Atisha in visions throughout his life, advising him on ethical choices and instructing him to travel to Tibet. When Atisha hesitated to go to Tibet because he was told it would shorten his life by twenty years, Tara told him that the benefit he would bring to beings and the doctrine in Tibet outweighed the cost of his lifespan. Consequently, Atisha’s transmission of the Tara practice became a cornerstone of Tibetan Buddhism, particularly within the Kadampa lineage.
Later, the Tibetan historian Taranatha (born 1575) wrote the Golden Rosary, an extensive history of the Tara Tantra, compiling the lineages and legends of the Indian siddhas who preserved these teachings.
Ultimately, the Twenty-One Taras are viewed not as external deities but as expressions of the practitioner’s own potential for enlightenment. As noted by Bokar Rinpoche, while they appear as deities on the relative level to help beings, on the ultimate level, they are the “unimpeded, originally pure union of awareness and emptiness.” Through reciting the Homage to the Twenty-One Taras, practitioners aim to awaken the inherent qualities of wisdom and compassion within themselves.