Taramala
Tenth bead of the Taramala
Tara Joy Tara Joy Joy Tara
hums my heart in silence
Tara Tarananda
Immersed in Paramananda Tara
Phala, pushpa, sugandha,
Pancha tattva offered in reverence.
Each essence questions me,
What truly belongs to me in these offerings?
Jala quenched our thirst,
Vayu breathed life into our being,
Prithvi cradled us in her womb,
Agni kindled warmth and nurture.
Akasha embraces our existence,
Each element softly questions,
“What have you offered?”
“What’s my contribution?” I ask.
In debt to Parents for this body,
Mahakala has inked my time.
Relationships, like jalebis, are twisty.
What truly is my own, Maa?
Thoughts and actions, solely mine,
Kleshas imprisoning my mind,
Egoistic and drifting,
Like blades of grass on water.
Cleanse my Klesha, Maa Tara,
Throne my Jihwa, Neela Tara,
Pierce my ego, Ekajata Tara,
Fill my life with Tarananda.
Challenging those who mock,
Waiting for day, holding Her feet
offering my pure essence
And to live in Tarananda.
~Taradasa
- 07. 24
This is the tenth bead of the Taramala. Taramala is a collection of poems dedicated to the divine Mother Tara and Batuka Bhairava, where each poem represents a bead in a mala dedicated to Maa Tara. These poems are dedicated to the lotus feet of the master who introduced the Nama-Amrutham of Maa Tara to me.
Sri Pavankumar, who writes under the pen name of Tāradāsa, is a member of Kamakhya Bhairava Upasaka Foundation. He is an ardent devotee of Ma Tara and Bhairava. The following lines shared by him exemplify his bhakti towards his Ishta-
‘Bhagawati’s guard,
Her name my shield and my strength,
I obey her call.’
