Taramala
Eleventh bead of the Taramala
Mountains, mighty beings,
Embracing lush green to snow,
Urdhvajivana Mukhi, ever rising,
Puranic soul, forever young.
Joyous cries of Maa Tara resound,
Strange faces, yet familiarly found.
Trekking trails with spirits high,
Clear in will, body, and mind.
Miles passed, winds grew chill,
Snowy weather, roads turned rough.
Short of breath, souls dispersed,
Burdened by the weight of doubt.
Each step grew heavy,
With the mountain on my back.
Inner doubts swiftly rose,
Adhomukhi storm pulling me down.
Master miles away, recalls,
“One step at a time,” he calls.
Each step sheds a burden past,
Eyes fixed above, the peak at last.
With the peak in sight, the path narrows,
Her name alone, my shield and guide.
Some faltered, retracing their steps,
Yet a few souls press onward, undeterred.
Faulty steps, stumbling repeats,
Eerie silence whispers,
“You’re finished, go home.”
Heart replies, “Not yet, not yet.”
Low-hanging fruits,
Alluring on the path,
Deterring the mind,
Challenging the resolve.
At the peak, the horizon unfurls,
Maa Tara’s presence, felt so near.
Smashan and Peak, a common bond,
Converging life, fear, a mystic door.
Mighty mountain, standing tall,
Unshaken in Her dhyana,
Whispering at the peak,
“Maa Tara, Maa Tara.”
Rains and winds, sun and fire,
Undeterred and determined,
The mountain, the mighty being,
Eternally in Her dharana.
Seasons changed, years accelerated,
The mountain unaware, Absorbed in samadhi.
Each year, successive treks,
At the peak, my new life born.
~Taradasa
- 07. 24
This is the eleventh 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.’
