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Gilt-Bronze Syama Tara
Gilt-Bronze Syama Tara, the majestic deity seated in lalitasana, his left foot placed on a lotus flower emerging from the lower part of the double lotiform throne, the right hand in varada mudra, signifying the accomplishment of ordinary and sublime gestures and the left in kartari mudra, the gesture of refuge, each holding a stem of the lotus flowering around her shoulders, the serene face with full lips and almond-shaped eyes decorated with the urna under hair held in a half-bun behind a pointed ornament housing a miniature image of the Buddha Amitabha, dressed in a dhoti finely incised with flowers and adjusted by a belt of pearls, displaying precious jewels, the face, upper body and feet cold gilded
A rare and important gilt-bronze figure of Syama Tara -the “Green Tara”
Beijing or Inner Mongolia
16th century
Height: 23 cm.
Provenance: Private collection Milan, Italy
*Note:
Tara (Sanskrit: तारा, tārā; Standard Tibetan: སྒྲོལ་མ, dölma), Ārya Tārā, or śyāmatārā, also known as Jetsün Dölma (Tibetan: rje btsun sgrol ma), is an important figure in Buddhism, especially revered in Vajrayana Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. She appears as a female bodhisattva in Buddhism, and as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the “mother of liberation”, and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements. She is known as Duōluó Púsà (多羅菩薩) in Chinese Buddhism, and as Tara Bosatsu (多羅菩薩) in Japan.
Tārā is a meditation deity revered by practitioners of the Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism to develop certain inner qualities and to understand outer, inner and secret teachings such as karuṇā (compassion), mettā (loving-kindness), and shunyata (emptiness). Tārā may more properly be understood as different aspects of the same quality, as bodhisattvas are often considered personifications of Buddhist methods. Tara is one of the most important Buddhist goddesses in Tibetan Buddhism as per the Treatise on the Sum TOTAL of Mysteries (Skt. Guhyasamāja Tantra, Tib. gsang ba ‘dus pa). She is among the most celebrated religious preceptors of fervent cultists.
There is also recognition in some schools of Buddhism of twenty-one Tārās. A practice text entitled Praises to the Twenty-One Taras is the most important text on Tara in Tibetan Buddhism. Another key text is the Tantra Which is the Source for All the Functions of Tara, Mother of All the Tathagatas.
The main Tārā mantra is the same for Buddhists and Hindus alike: oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā. It is pronounced by Tibetans and Buddhists who follow the Tibetan traditions as oṃ tāre tu tāre ture soha. The literal translation would be “Oṃ O Tārā, I pray O Tārā, O Swift One, So Be It!”*From Wikipedia
