Tārā Devī

Tārā Devī is the wife of Bṛhaspati, the deva-guru (teacher of the devas). The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, tells how Candra took her by force. Because of this, she became the mother of Budha, the deva of the planet Mercury.

The Purāṇa presents her as a mahāpativratā, a wife of very great faithfulness to her husband. Her inner faithfulness stayed firm through a hundred years of captivity with Candra. Her virtue left a lasting mark on the moon itself.

The abduction

Candra, the deva of the moon and son of Atri, had performed a Rājasūya yajña. He was proud of his royal consecration and wandered through the three worlds. He came to the āśrama (hermitage) of Bṛhaspati and saw Tārā bathing in the Gaṅgā. Her beauty was beyond compare, and he was overcome by desire. He went up to her.

Tārā refused him firmly and with dignity. She said:

“You are like a son to me; I am like a mother to you. Give up this intention.”

She spoke with both clarity and kindness. Even so, Candra seized her by force and put her in his chariot. For a hundred years he wandered with her over mountains, rivers and forests.

Faithfulness in captivity

During all the hundred years, Tārā’s inner faithfulness to Bṛhaspati did not weaken. The Purāṇa says her pātivratya (devotion to her husband) was so strong that it left a clear mark on the disc of Candra. The shape of a rabbit that the moon carries to this day is attributed to the force of Tārā’s virtue pressing against the one who held her.

Return to Bṛhaspati

Bṛhaspati grieved. Indra searched for a hundred years. At last Brahmā himself came to the fortress of Śukra, where Candra had taken shelter. With him came the great ṛṣis Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana and Sanatkumāra, and also Prahlāda. Brahmā appealed to Śukra, who agreed to free Tārā. She was returned to her husband.

When she came back, Brahmā comforted her. No blame lay on one who had been taken by force, he said, and her purity was whole.

The birth of Budha

Tārā returned to Bṛhaspati while she was with child. When the child was born, he shone with a golden colour. Both Candra and Bṛhaspati claimed him. Brahmā questioned Tārā again and again, asking who the father truly was. Under this pressure Tārā told the truth: the father was Candra. Candra took the boy, who became known as Budha, the presiding deva of the planet Mercury.

Brahmā then returned Tārā to Bṛhaspati. He received her gladly, without any reservation.

Her standing as a mahāpativratā

Tārā was taken by force and bore a child by another. Even so, the tradition honours her as a mahāpativratā, because her heart, her will and her inner loyalty never wavered. The Purāṇa states clearly that force does not stain faithfulness. The rabbit-shaped mark on the moon is held to be lasting proof of the power of her purity.

Sources

• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapters 57–60