Tara Stotram (Tarashtakam / Nilasaraswati Stotram)
Tara Stotram (Tarashtakam / Nilasaraswati Stotram) in English · English
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✦ Meaning
The Tara Stotram, also called the Tarashtakam or Nilasaraswati Stotram, is a celebrated eight-verse hymn to Tara, the second of the ten Mahavidyas, from the Brihannila Tantra. It praises her as Nilasaraswati — the 'blue Saraswati' who grants speech, learning and poetic genius — standing fierce upon a corpse, holding knife, skull-cup, lotus and sword. The phala-shruti promises eloquence, wisdom, mastery of all scriptures, lasting fortune, freedom from fear, and ultimately liberation to those who recite it thrice daily.
Origin & Story
Brihannila Tantra (Brihannila-tantra); a celebrated Tantric hymn to Tara / Nilasaraswati · Traditional (anonymous); part of the Tara / Nilasaraswati Tantric corpus · Medieval Tantric period
Tara is venerated especially in eastern India, with her great seat at Tarapith in Bengal, where the sage Vasishtha is said to have perfected her sadhana after receiving the 'Chinachara' method. As Nilasaraswati she unites the fierce, liberating power of the Mahavidyas with the grace of the goddess of speech. This Tarashtakam, preserved in the Brihannila Tantra, is among the most widely recited hymns in her worship and is also known as the Nilasaraswati Stotram.
✦ As told in scripture
It is traditionally held that constant recitation of this Tarashtakam awakens vak-siddhi — the power of speech — so that a once dull or tongue-tied devotee becomes as eloquent as Brihaspati and as gifted in poetry as the great poets; the hymn itself affirms that even a lowly, weary man, by serving Tara's feet, gains every excellence.
Complete Text with Meaning
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Mātar nīlasarasvati praṇamatāṁ saubhāgyasampatprade pratyālīḍhapadasthite śavahṛdi smerānanāmbhoruhe। phullendīvaralocane trinayane kartrīkapālotpale khaḍgaṁ cādadhatī tvam eva śaraṇaṁ tvām īśvarīm āśraye॥1॥
Meaning:O Mother Nilasaraswati, bestower of good fortune and prosperity on those who bow to you, standing in the warrior's posture upon the heart of the corpse, with a smiling lotus-face, eyes like blossomed blue lotuses, three-eyed, holding the curved knife, skull-cup and blue lotus and bearing the sword — you alone are my refuge; I take shelter in you, the Supreme Mistress.
Vācām īśvari bhaktikalpalatike sarvārthasiddhīśvari gadyaprākṛtapadyajātaracanāsarvārthasiddhiprade। nīlendīvaralocanatrayayute kāruṇyavārānnidhe saubhāgyāmṛtavardhanena kṛpayā siñca tvam asmādṛśam॥2॥
Meaning:O Mistress of speech, wish-granting creeper for devotees, ruler of all attainments, giver of mastery in prose, Prakrit and verse and of every accomplishment, three-eyed with blue-lotus eyes, ocean of compassion — graciously sprinkle one like me with the nectar that increases good fortune.
Kharve garvasamūhapūritatano sarpādiveṣojjvale vyāghratvakparivītasundarakaṭivyādhūtaghaṇṭāṅkite। sadyaḥkṛttagaladrajaḥparimilanmuṇḍadvayīmūrddhaja- granthiśreṇinṛmuṇḍadāmalalite bhīme bhayaṁ nāśaya॥3॥
Meaning:O short-statured one, your body filled with the fullness of pride, brilliant with serpent ornaments, your lovely waist wrapped in tiger-skin and marked with swaying bells, beautifully adorned with a garland of freshly severed, dripping human heads — O fierce Goddess, destroy my fear.
Māyānaṅgavikārarūpalalanābindvarddhacandrāmbike huṁphaṭkāramayi tvam eva śaraṇaṁ mantrātmike mādṛśaḥ। mūrtis te janani tridhāmaghaṭitā sthūlātisūkṣmā parā vedānāṁ nahi gocarā kathamapi prājñair nutām āśraye॥4॥
Meaning:O Mother of Maya and of the formless states of consciousness, marked with the bindu and crescent, embodiment of Hum and Phat, you alone are the refuge of one like me, O Goddess whose essence is mantra. Your form, O Mother, is fashioned of the three abodes — gross, exceedingly subtle and supreme — not at all within the reach of the Vedas; praised by the wise, I take refuge in you.
Tvatpādāmbujasevayā sukṛtino gacchanti sāyujyatāṁ tasyāḥ śrīparameśvaratrinayanabrahmādisāmyātmanaḥ। saṁsārāmbudhimajjane paṭutanur devendramukhyāsurān mātas te padasevane hi vimukhān kiṁ mandadhīḥ sevate॥5॥
Meaning:By serving your lotus feet the meritorious attain union with you — becoming equal to Shiva, the three-eyed Lord, Brahma and the rest. What dull-witted person would instead serve Indra and the other gods, who are skilled only at drowning in the ocean of worldly existence and who are themselves turned away from the service of your feet?
Mātas tvatpadapaṅkajadvayarajomudrāṅkakoṭīriṇas te devā jayasaṅgare vijayino niḥśaṅkam aṅke gatāḥ। devo'haṁ bhuvane na me sama iti spardhāṁ vahantaḥ pare tattulyāṁ niyataṁ yathā śaśiravī nāśaṁ vrajanti svayam॥6॥
Meaning:O Mother, the gods whose crowns are stamped with the dust of your two lotus feet become victorious in the battle for triumph and rest fearlessly in your lap; while others who boast 'I am a god, none in the world is my equal' inevitably perish of themselves, just as the moon and sun (wane).
Tvannāmasmaraṇāt palāyanaparān draṣṭuṁ ca śaktā na te bhūtapretapiśācarākṣasagaṇā yakṣaś ca nāgādhipāḥ। daityā dānavapuṅgavāś ca khacarā vyāghrādikā jantavo ḍākinyaḥ kupitāntakaś ca manujān mātaḥ kṣaṇaṁ bhūtale॥7॥
Meaning:At the mere remembrance of your name, hosts of ghosts, goblins, demons and rakshasas, yakshas and serpent-lords, daityas and mighty danavas, sky-roaming beings, tigers and other beasts, dakinis, and even angry Death himself are unable even to look at your devotees and flee in an instant upon the earth.
Lakṣmīḥ siddhigaṇaś ca pādukamukhāḥ siddhās tathā vairiṇāṁ stambhaś cāpi varāṅgane gajaghaṭāstambhas tathā mohanam। mātas tvatpadasevayā khalu nṛṇāṁ siddhyanti te te guṇāḥ klāntaḥ kāntamanobhavo'tra bhavati kṣudro'pi vācaspatiḥ॥8॥
Meaning:Lakshmi, the host of siddhis, the paduka and other attainments, the paralysing of foes and of herds of elephants, and bewildering of others — O beautiful one, all these powers truly come to people by the service of your feet; even a lowly, weary man becomes here as charming as Kamadeva and as eloquent as Brihaspati.
Tārāṣṭakam idaṁ puṇyaṁ bhaktimān yaḥ paṭhen naraḥ। prātar madhyāhnakāle ca sāyāhne niyataḥ śuciḥ॥9॥
Meaning:The devout man who, controlled and pure, recites this holy Tara Ashtakam at dawn, midday and dusk gains poetic genius and learning and becomes a knower of the meaning of all scriptures; obtaining imperishable wealth and enjoying desired pleasures, attaining fame, beauty, freedom from disease and the love of all, and becoming renowned in the worlds, he at last attains liberation.
Labhate kavitāṁ vidyāṁ sarvaśāstrārthavid bhavet। lakṣmīm anaśvarāṁ prāpya bhuktvā bhogān yathepsitān॥10॥
Kīrtiṁ kāntiṁ ca nairujyaṁ sarveṣāṁ priyatāṁ vrajet। vikhyātiṁ cāpi lokeṣu prāpyānte mokṣam āpnuyāt॥11॥
Word-by-Word Meaning
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Benefits of Chanting Tara Stotram (Tarashtakam / Nilasaraswati Stotram)
Bestows mastery over speech (vak-siddhi), eloquence and poetic genius — Tara is Nilasaraswati, goddess of the word
Grants deep learning and the ability to understand the meaning of all scriptures
Removes fear of ghosts, demons, wild beasts and even death, as the hymn declares they flee at the remembrance of her name
Confers good fortune, imperishable wealth (Lakshmi) and the love and goodwill of all
Grants tantric siddhis such as stambhana (paralysing of foes) and mohana when practised under a guru
Leads the devout reciter, in the end, to liberation (moksha)
How to Chant Tara Stotram (Tarashtakam / Nilasaraswati Stotram)
Bathe and purify yourself, sit facing east or north, and recite this Tarashtakam with devotion and concentration, ideally at the three sandhya times — dawn, midday and dusk. Tara is a profound Tantric Mahavidya; her formal mantra-upasana is undertaken under the guidance of a qualified guru, but the stotram may be recited devotionally for the blessings of speech, wisdom and protection. Keep the mind steady and dwell on her form as Nilasaraswati, granter of the word.
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