Bodhisattva Tara
Bodhisattva Tara 多罗菩萨 also known as the Vajra born from Compassion. Tara means 'eye' or 'deliverer', born from Avalokitesvara's tears. A female deity of the Lotus Court in the Garbhakosa Mandala, she represents the virtue of concentration of Avalokitesvara. She is situated on the 1st row, 3rd from the bottom of the Lotus Court. Some Sutras call her the 世间母 "Worldly Mother", the 出世间母 "Renounced Mother", & the 智慧母 "Wisdom Mother", for she is like the compassionate mother of all sentient beings. Very popular in Tibet, where she is known as the "Deliverance Mother" or 度母. In the Mahavairocana Sutra she is described as colored a mixture of blue & white (green), resembling a matured lady (see above image). Her palms are clasp in Padma-anjali, holding a blue lotus. Hallowed like shining gold, she is smiling & clad in fresh white robes. Though she is neither strictly green nor white, in Tibet Tara has evolved into both Green & White (see images below), which are 2 similar deities. It is believed that Green Tara comes from Avalokitesvara or Amitabha's left eye, whereas White Tara comes from the right. Green Tara is the chief deity in the 21 Tara Mandala formation, & White Tara is also known as the 7 eyed buddha-bhagavati (she has 3 eyes on the head & 1 on each limb). Together they perform Avalokitesvara's work of deliverance in Tibet without fail.
The Garbhakosa Mantra for Tara is: Namah samanta buddhanam tare tarini karunobhava svaha
Then there is the more commonly known Mantra of Green Tara, which is: Om tare tuttare ture svaha
And there is the longer, less known Mantra of White Tara, which is: Om tare tuttare ture mama ayubunirjana bujen inkuruya svaha
