Thread by @Satyamshakti9

The word Tārā means “star” & “crossing,” as a star crosses the night sky. Thus, the name Tārā signifies she who guides or carries others across [difficulty], who navigates others across [a water body], and she who protects, rescues, and liberates.
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These meanings explain Tārā’s role as a divine protectress from danger and a goddess of enlightenment. Tara’s name is related to two of the most important features of stars: light and guidance.
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Stars traditionally guided maritime travelers across treacherous waters under night sky. The relationship between night and the crossing of dangerous waters is recorded in a hymn from the oldest extant Indian scripture, the Ṛig Veda (10.127).12
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This hymn is dedicated to the Goddess of Night (rātri), referred to as Ūrmī, the Wavy One "O Night, full of waves! Be easy for us to cross over".
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Her symbolism represents incorporated inner light, spiritual guidance, and liberation, dispelling mental darkness. Tara’s former maritime connections are also implied by the nature of her vehicle: a boat.
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In Indian tradition, each divinity has its own vehicle to aid the devotee. Here, the metaphysical vessel of wisdom & physical vessel of boat are both used to convey sentient beings across ocean of cyclical existence (saṃsāra-sāgara) toward liberation.
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She is also called "Neel Saraswati" and is mentioned in Tara Mula Kalpa. The word “vidyā,” used throughout the Tārā-mūla-kalpa in relation to Tārā, derives from the Sanskrit verbal root, √vid, meaning “to know, understand, discover, experience.”
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Ma tara's consort is said to be Akshobhya bhairav, removal of "ashubhta" or "avidya" while ma tara is the protectress of navigation and earthly travel, as well as of spiritual travel along the path to enlightenment.
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Ma Tara as a Mahavidya, in this video.
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