Punakha Dzong: Green Tara

BHUTAN, Punakha

Surveying the boundless suffering of sentient beings, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva shed a single tear that fell into a valley and formed a lake. It is said that Tara emerged from a lotus flower that rose from the water. Full of compassion, Tara rescues devotees from danger and leads them to liberation from the suffering of cyclic existence. This colorful thangka depicts Tara in a total of 21 different forms. The central Green Tara figure sits on a lotus throne in front of a heavenly palace. Appearing calm and gentle, Tara wears an elegant headdress, a necklace, stoles, and a dhoti. The right hand forms the varada (wish-granting) mudra and the left hand holds the stem of an upala flower, the symbol of Tara. More blooming upala flowers surround the palace, which appears to rise from the lake below. A red banner decorated with golden Dharma wheels is draped over the base of Tara’s throne. The other twenty manifestations of Tara portrayed in the thangka have multiple heads and arms. They hold various Dharma instruments and sit or stand on clouds or in pavilions.