TĀRĀ (Tib., Sgrol ma) is a Buddhist deity who represents the female counterpart of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. She appears as the savior of the world whenever people are in distress and thus is known in Tibet, where she has gained great popularity, as the Great Savioress. By the time Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism were firmly established in Tibet, Tārā had become one of the most important female deities, one whose influence was reflected back as the very source of the Tibetan people. One tradition has it that Avalokiteśvara and Tārā, in the semblance of a monkey and a rock demoness, had monkey offspring who gradually became humans, thus accounting for the origin of the Tibetans. As the śakti of the Buddha Amogasiddhi, Tārā also personifies "all-accomplishing wisdom."

Tārā is said to represent...