Praises to the Twenty-One Tārās

The Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage, and the Excellent Benefits of Reciting the Praise

from the Words of the Buddha

In the language of India: Tārā-namas-kāraika-viṃśati-stotra-guṇa-hita-sahita

In the language of Tibet: Drolma la chak tsal nyishu tsa chik gi töpa penyön dang chepa (sgrol ma la phyag ‘tshal nyi shu rtsa gcig gis bstod pa phan yon dang bcas pa)

In the English language: The Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage and the Excellent Benefits of Reciting the Praise

Oṃ. Homage to the noble lady Tārā!

Homage to Tārā, swift and valiant,
Homage to Tuttārā, who banishes fear,
Homage to Turā, who fulfils every need,
With svāhā we offer you honor and praise!¹

Homage to Tārā, swift and valiant,
Whose glance flashes like flares of lightning;
Born on the heart of a blossoming lotus
That rose from the tears of the Triple World’s Lord. (1)

Homage to the one whose countenance is
A hundred full moons gathered in autumn,
Smiling and glowing with brilliant radiance,
Like a thousand stars clustered, ablaze. (2)

Homage, golden lady, whose lotus-hand
Is graced with a blue water-born flower.
You embody generosity, diligence, endurance,
Serenity, patience and meditation. (3)

Homage to the one whose victories are endless,
Jewel on the great Tathāgata’s crown.
You are well served by the heirs of the Victors,
Those who’ve accomplished all the perfections. (4)

Homage to the one who, with tuttāra and hūṃ,
Fills desire realms unto the ends of space.
You trample underfoot the seven worlds,
And have the strength to summon all. (5)

Homage to the one, praised by Indra,
Agni, Brahmā, Maruts,² and Śiva.
All the hosts of bhūtas, vetālas,
Gandharvas and yakṣas pay tribute to you. (6)

Homage to the one who, with traṭ and phaṭ,
Crushes the enemies’ yantras³ to dust.
With right leg bent in and left leg extended,
Shining you tread amidst a turbulent blaze. (7)

Homage to Ture, the fearsome lady,
Destroyer of the most powerful demons.
With a lotus-face and a deep-furrowed brow,
You are the slayer of each and every foe. (8)

Homage to the one whose fingers grace
Her heart and display the Three Jewels mudrā.
You’re graced by wheels adorning every direction,
With dazzling radiance that overwhelms all.⁴ (9)

Homage to the one, supremely joyous,
Whose splendorous crown spreads garlands of light.
Smiling and laughing, with tuttāre
You bring demons and worlds under control. (10)

Homage to the one who can summon
The hosts of earthly guardians.
Your frown it quivers, and the syllable hūṃ
Delivers us all from every misfortune. (11)

Homage to the one, so brightly adorned,
Who has a sliver of moon for a crown,⁵
Your locks are graced by Amitābha,
Whose gleaming rays stream forever forth. (12)

Homage to the one in a blazing halo
Of flames, all-consuming, apocalyptic—
Your right leg stretched out and left leg bent inward,
The whirl of enemies blissfully crushing. (13)

Homage to the one who strikes the ground
With her palms and stamps her feet—
Your brow deeply furrowed, with hūṃ you smash
The seven netherworlds to nothing but dust. (14)

Homage to the one, blissful, gracious and tranquil,
Whose domain is the peace of nirvāṇa.
With oṃ and svāhā in perfect union,
You destroy every terrible evil. (15)

Homage to the one, immersed in rapture,
Who shatters the bodies of all foes.
You manifest from the wisdom-syllable hūṃ,⁶
And display each of your mantra’s ten syllables. (16)

Homage to Ture, her feet stomping boldly,
Formed from the seed of the syllable hūṃ.
The mountains of Meru, Mandara and Vindhya,
And all the three worlds, you cause them to quake. (17)

Homage to the one, who holds in her hand
A deer-marked moon⁷ like a divine lake.
With tāra twice and then with phaṭ,
You totally cleanse all of the poisons. (18)

Homage to the one, who is honored by kings
Of hosts divine, gods and kiṃnaras;⁸
Clad in your armour of joy and splendour,
You clear away nightmares, soothe away strife. (19)

Homage to the one whose eyes shine with lustre,
Bright with the fullness of the sun and moon;
With twice-uttered hara and then with tuttāre
You pacify even the cruelest of diseases. (20)

Homage to the one with the power to free,
Who puts forth the realities as a set of three.
Supreme Ture, you completely destroy
The hordes of grahas,⁹ vetālas,¹⁰ and yakṣas.¹¹ (21)

This Praise with the twenty-one verses of homage
Is itself the root mantra.

The Excellent Benefits of the Praise

The wise who recite these words in earnest,
Filled with genuine devotion for this goddess, (22)

At dusk, and also having risen at dawn,
With recollection, will be granted fearlessness;
They will utterly eliminate all misdeeds,
And surmount all evil destinies. (23)

Seventy million victorious buddhas
Will swiftly confer empowerment upon them,
And they will attain greatness in this world,
And reach the ultimate state of buddhahood. (24)

Even the most powerful and toxic poisons,
Which derive from plants or living beings,
Whether eaten or taken as a draught,
Will be purged entirely by recalling this praise. (25)

Reciting this two or three or seven times¹²
Will eliminate multitudes of suffering
Brought about by spirits, pestilence, and poison—
And this applies even to other beings as well. (26)

Those who wish for progeny will have them;
Those who wish for riches will acquire them;
Each and every wish will hereby be fulfilled,
And obstacles, entirely vanquished, will be no more. (27)

This completes the Praise to Bhagavatī Tārā as spoken by the completely perfect Buddha.¹³

| Translated by Samye Translations (trans. Stefan Mang, Peter Woods, and Ryan Conlon, ed. Libby Hogg) with the kind assistance of Adam Pearcey, 2019. Revised with the kind assistance of Rigpa Translations, 2025.

Source

sgrol ma la phyag ‘tshal nyi shu rtsa gcig gis bstod pa phan yon dang bcas pa. Toh 438, Derge Kangyur vol. 81 (rgyud, ca): 42b.3–43b.6

Version: 2.0-20250422

1. In some traditions this four-line verse is added after the translator’s homage and before the actual start of the Praise. The verse conjures Tārā by drawing upon the three epithets that also form the core of her root mantra (oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā): Tārā (Deliverer), Tuttārā (Savior) and Turā (Swift One). The verse is an explanation of Tārā’s root mantra (oṁ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā) and may represent a synopsis of the Praise that follows. Some masters explain that this verse is dedicated to Green Tārā, who is considered Tārā’s principal form yet is not included in the Praise. The origin of the verse remains unclear. It may be traced back to a translation of Pang Lotsawa Lodrö Tenpa (dpang lo tsā ba blo gros brtan pa, 1276–1342). ↑
2. Maruts are the Vedic gods of wind. ↑
3. The word yantra (’khrul ’khor) designates an instrument or other type of mechanical device (esp. one used in warfare), or a magic diagram. It is derived from the Sanskrit root √yam, “to control.” (For more information on yantras, see Gudrun Bühnemann, “Maṇḍalas and Yantras,” in Knut A. Jacobsen (eds.), Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol. ii, (Leiden: Brill, 2010): 566–572.) ↑
4. The last two lines of this verse could be understood as: a) Tārā graces all points and bearings of the compass, and b) Tārā bears the mark(s) of (a) thousand spoked wheel(s) on her hand(s and feet), the first of the 32 major marks of a buddha. ↑
5. Some editions read zla ba’i rtse mo, lit. “lunar peak,” instead of zla ba’i dum bu, “a sliver of moon”. ↑
6. The various Tibetan editions read either sgrol ma or sgron ma. Based on this variant, Tibetan authors variously interpret this line as “you manifest from” (sgrol ma) or “you shine with” (sgron ma) the wisdom syllable hūṃ. ↑
7. According to Indian belief, the shape of a deer is distinctly visible when observing the moon. ↑
8. Kiṃnaras (mi’am ci) are a class of semi-divine beings known for their musical skills, depicted as half-horse and half-human, or half-bird and half-human. ↑
9. Grahas (gdon) are a type of evil spirit known to exert a harmful influence on the human body and mind. Grahas are closely associated with the planets and other astronomical bodies. ↑
10. Vetālas (ro langs) are harmful spirit who haunts charnel grounds and can take possession of corpses and reanimate them. ↑
11. Yakṣas (gnod sbyin) are a class of semi-divine beings that haunt or protect natural places and cities. They can be malevolent or benevolent, and are known for bestowing wealth and worldly boons. ↑
12. This instruction led to the tradition of reciting the Praise first twice, then thrice, and finally seven times. We find this, for example, in the Zabtik Drolchok (zab tig sgrol chog). ↑
13. Please note that this colophon varies across the various Tibetan versions. Here we are following the Degé Kangyur edition of the Praise (T 438). ↑