Tara in Hinduism: Study with Textual and Iconographical Documentation

DETAILS : 

• Author : Bikas Kumar Bhattacharya
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Eastern Book Linkers 
  
• Publication Date ;1 January 2003
  
• Hardcover : 396 pages
  
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
  
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8178540215
  
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9788178540214
  
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1150 g 

ABOUT THE BOOK 

Tārā in Hinduism: Study with Textual and Iconographical Documentation is a 2003 book by Bikas Kumar Bhattacharya that provides a comprehensive examination of Tara, a popular Hindu goddess, particularly in Assam and West Bengal. The study delves into the Brahmanical cult of Tara, tracing its origins, cultural impact, and development through textual and iconographical evidence. It includes a catalogue of images, summaries of key texts like the Taratantra, and an analysis of terminology to provide a holistic understanding of the goddess's complex history

FROM THE JACKET

Tara, the second Mahavidya of the Sakta pantheon, is an extremely popular goddess of the Hindus in eastern India, particularly in Assam and West Bengal.

This documentation will help a researches to make a through investigation into the Brahmanical cult of Tara, especially, in the background of cultural and ideological developments of India.
The Ist Chapter presents a survey of the development of the concepts of the Mother Goddess in ancient India as gleaned from textual and archaeological sources, vis-à-vis the seedling of the godhead of Tara in her pleasant and terrible forms.
The IInd chapter comprises a catalogue of 265 antique images of Tara. It outlines their antiquity and provenance.
The IIIrd chapter includes: (i) Sanskrit (roman) text, with English translation of the Taratantra, selections from the Rudrayamala and the Brahma-yamala-(ii) summaries in English of 26 primary texts of the Brahmanical cult of Tara; (iii) descriptive union catalogue of manuscripts of 150 Sanskrit texts relating to this cult.
The IVth chapter deals with textual interpretations of 55 terms highlighting their historical, cultural, social, religious, spiritual and philosophical imports in order to get a holistic understanding of the cult.
The Vth chapter draws a linear development of the cult; probes into its genesis in the pre-Vedic Indus Valley civilization down to its contributions to the formation of the spirit of swadeshi in present days.
Bhattacharya, Bikash Kumar (b. 1953), Ph. D., B.LIS., is an avid researcher of Indian religion and culture. As an incumbent in the Library of Congress (New Delhi), the Indira Gandhi National Centre of the Arts, and the Sahitya Akademi he has earned professional skill in the preparation of Indological bibliography and documentation.

INTRODUCTION

There is a little background story of this thesis. In 1983 I went through the Taratantra and found it extremely interesting. It is a tiny work indeed. But it is enriched in cultic information of profound significance, particularly its naïve statement about Hindu-Buddhist harmony, which laid the foundation for the development of the cult of Tara as the second Mahavidya. Also it refers to the introduction of an extra-territorial religious and spiritual practice called the Cinacara method of worship resulted from Indo-Chinese cultural relations. I started translating it; also engaged myself in the reading and collecting information about various aspects of the cult of Tara from Buddhist and Brahmanical sources. Gradually I discovered a large number of modern works on the Mahayana Tara, while the number of the works on the Brahmanical Tara as well as the subject-coverage was surprisingly poor and limited. Above al, there is hardly any work which has brought out the origin, development and cultic features of these two traditions in a cohesive manner. On the contrary, these two traditions are often presented by scholars as rivals; whereas in reality I found them as supplementary to each other though at time here are hostalities between them. My interest for this cult depens further when I discovered that the 'heroic' mode of worship of 'Mother Goddess' might have been transformed spiritually into the patriotic struggle for freedom of 'Mother India'; also it has cultivated a rich variety of literature. Art and music while the followers of this cult are generally considered as perverted spiritualists who are wanton in the enjoyment of meat, fish wine and sex and indulge in awful religious practices, the Black Magic. Meanwhile I grappled another problem: why are how the popular cult of Tara has become virtually grisly and gone into oblivion. Also it appeared to me that as the consequence of changes in cultural and religious life we have already lost several precious elements of our heritage. I felt that documentation of various aspects of our religious life is very helpful in this regard. I thought the cult of Tara would be the most appropriate.

But then I was wandering in the woods information. I never knew how to deal with them until Prof. Sachchidananda Sahai appeared as guru. He had shown me the path passing through which today I am able to present this thesis in this form. The emphasis, however, has been laid on the documentation part of the thesis consisting catalogue of icons, translations, summaries and description of manuscripts of Sanskrit texts, and glossary-type interpretation of textual terms and words.