Tara (Hindu goddess)

Tārā is the Hindu goddess of felicity and sanguineness. She is also known as the "Wisdom Goddess" in Nepal and Tibet. Tara is the consort of Hindu god Brihaspati, the god of planet Jupiter. According to some Puranas, Tara sired or mothered a child named Budha, the god of Mercury through Chandra and had a son named Kacha through Brihaspati.

According to the Devi Bhagvata Purana, Tara was the wife of Brihaspati, the guru of Devas. According to most folklore as well as Puranas, it is mentioned as her husband spent most of his time with the problems and matters of Devas, she felt being ignored by her husband. One day, Chandra, the moon god visited Brihaspati/Tara visited Chandra. There he saw Tara and was captivated by her beauty. Tara also fell for Chandra due to his beautiful form.

Brihaspati was infuriated and demanded Chandra to return his wife. Chandra told Brihaspati that Tara was happy and satisfied with him. He enquired as to how an old man could be the husband of a young woman. This made Brihaspati more annoyed and he warned Chandra for battle. Indra and other Devas gathered to fight a war. Chandra was not ready to give Tara back and he took help from the Asuras and their preceptor, Sukra. The Devas were assisted by Shiva and his companions. Devas and Asura were about to fight a war, but Brahma, the creator god, stopped them and convinced Chandra to return Tara. However, in the Devi Bhagvata Purana, this is where they stop. In some other Puranic versions, Tara is abducted by Chandra during a war which only stops after Tara is returned to Bhrihaspati.

In the later version, after some time, Brihaspati found out that Tara was pregnant and questioned her who the father of the child was. But Tara remained silent. After the boy was born, both Chandra and Brihaspati claimed to be his father. Tara revealed it was Chandra's son only after even the baby was forced to ask who its father was. The boy was named Budha.

She is known as Kirinei Devi (Khmer: កិរិណីទេវី) in Cambodia as the wife of Lord Brihaspati From the hinduism culture passed down from the Khmer Empire and is the protective goddess of Thursday, worshipped during the Cambodian New Year festival if the first day of the year falls on a Thursday according to the Cambodian calendar (Khmer: ពិធីផ្ទេរតំណែងទេវតាឆ្នាំថ្មី) , as she is believed to descend from heaven to care for the people of this land for one year until the following New Year. In her journey there are some special details that are local and mixed with have cambodia folk culture Unique, such as the vehicle is a Elephant. , It appears with only two hands and has the following symbol as ankusha and Bow and arrow , The color of her clothes is Green and Her story and details have been adapted and blended with influences cambodia buddhism and has its own unique identity.