Green Tara

CHINA; Yuan dynasty

The veneration of Tara is thought to have been introduced into Tibet by Atisa during the mid-11th century. Tara is a Sanskrit word which translates as “star” or “one who moves across,” suggesting that she is like a shooting star that streaks across the sky, inspiring beings and leading them swiftly to enlightenment. Tara manifests in several different forms, each with a different spiritual significance and associated with a different color. Though the central figure in this 14th century artwork is white, the sitting posture, with the left leg folded and the right leg partially extended to symbolize readiness for action, as well as the blue lotuses held in both hands, indicate that this is a depiction of Green Tara.
Tara, with her head tilted slightly to the left, has a high topknot behind a crown. She wears earrings, ornaments, a stole, and a dhoti. Her right hand holds the stem of a flower while forming the varada (wish-granting) mudra, her left hand is at the chest holding a lotus stem. Her nimbus and aureole are decorated with jewels, and she sits on a lotus throne with colorful petals. Two attendants wearing headdresses and ornaments flank the throne. Sakyamuni Buddha sits on the left beside Tara’s nimbus, extending his right hand downwards to form the bhumisparsa (earth-touching) mudra. On the right is White Tara, sitting in lotus position, wearing a crown, and holding a flower. On the right beside Sakyamuni and on the left beside White Tara, there are small images of a mahasiddha and a noble. A Lama wearing the red ritual hood of the Sakya school sits in the middle of the lower register. Below the lama, the male and female patrons of the artist are depicted. Around the border of the picture, there are 42 small sitting and standing Tara figures.