Maa Tara Ashtottra Namavalli

About

According to Hindu scriptures, Maa (Mother) Tara is a form of the Mother Divine - the manifestation of the dynamic strength of the universe. She is also worshipped in Buddhism as the mother of Buddhas.

In Hinduism, worship of Maa Tara is preferably done via the left-handed / Tantrik way, which requires initiation from an experienced guru. But to gain her blessings, an un-initiated person can worship her by chanting her 108 names, which are given below.

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Please find below the 108 names of Maa Tara, a deity revered by both Hindu and Buddhist people. These names are given as sanskrit mantras. Also attached for your convenience is a picture / pdf file which you can download by clicking on the picture - with all the 108 names organized in an A4 print size document.

Maa Tara Ashtottra Namavalli print format

List of all names as Mantras

The list of the sanskrit names are also given below:

1	ॐ तारिण्यै नमः	28	ॐ शोभनायै नमः	55	ॐ ऊर्ध्वकेशेश्वर्यै नमः	82	ॐ तत्त्वरूपायै नमः
2	ॐ तरलायै नमः	29	ॐ नित्यायै नमः	56	ॐ केशायै नमः	83	ॐ तत्त्वप्रियायै नमः
3	ॐ तन्व्यै नमः	30	ॐ नवीनायै नमः	57	ॐ केशवायै नमः	84	ॐ तत्त्वज्ञानात्मिकायै नमः
4	ॐ तारायै नमः	31	ॐ नित्यनूतनायै नमः	58	ॐ सविभूषितायै नमः	85	ॐ अनघायै नमः
5	ॐ तरुणवल्लर्यै नमः	32	ॐ चण्डिकायै नमः	59	ॐ पद्ममालायै नमः	86	ॐ ताण्डवाचारसन्तुष्टायै नमः
6	ॐ तीररूपायै नमः	33	ॐ विजयाराध्यायै नमः	60	ॐ पद्माक्ष्यै नमः	87	ॐ ताण्डवप्रियकारिण्यै नमः
7	ॐ तर्यै नमः	34	ॐ देव्यै नमः	61	ॐ कामाख्यायै नमः	88	ॐ तालनादरतायै नमः
8	ॐ श्यामायै नमः	35	ॐ गगनवाहिन्यै नमः	62	ॐ गिरिनन्दिन्यै नमः	89	ॐ क्रूरतापिन्यै नमः
9	ॐ तनुक्षीणपयोधरायै नमः	36	ॐ अट्टहास्यायै नमः	63	ॐ दक्षिणायै नमः	90	ॐ तरणिप्रभायै नमः
10	ॐ तुरीयायै नमः	37	ॐ करालास्यायै नमः	64	ॐ दक्षायै नमः	91	ॐ त्रपायुक्तायै नमः
11	ॐ तरुणायै नमः	38	ॐ चरास्यायै नमः	65	ॐ दक्षजायै नमः	92	ॐ त्रपामुक्तायै नमः
12	ॐ तीव्रगमनायै नमः	39	ॐ अदितिपूजितायै नमः	66	ॐ दक्षिणेरतायै नमः	93	ॐ तर्पितायै नमः
13	ॐ नीलवाहिन्यै नमः	40	ॐ सगुणायै नमः	67	ॐ वज्रपुष्पप्रियायै नमः	94	ॐ तृप्तिकारिण्यै नमः
14	ॐ उग्रतारायै नमः	41	ॐ असगुणायै नमः	68	ॐ रक्तप्रियायै नमः	95	ॐ तारुण्यभावसन्तुष्टायै नमः
15	ॐ जयायै नमः	42	ॐ आराध्यायै नमः	69	ॐ कुसुमभूषितायै नमः	96	ॐ शक्तिभक्तानुरागिन्यै नमः
16	ॐ चण्ड्यै नमः	43	ॐ हरीन्द्रदेवपूजितायै नमः	70	ॐ माहेश्वर्यै नमः	97	ॐ शिवासक्तायै नमः
17	ॐ श्रीमदेकजटाशिरायै नमः	44	ॐ रक्तप्रियायै नमः	71	ॐ महादेवप्रियायै नमः	98	ॐ शिवरत्यै नमः
18	ॐ तरुण्यै नमः	45	ॐ रक्ताक्ष्यै नमः	72	ॐ पञ्चविभूषितायै नमः	99	ॐ शिवभक्तिपरायणायै नमः
19	ॐ शाम्भव्यै नमः	46	ॐ रुधिरास्यविभूषितायै नमः	73	ॐ इडायै नमः	100	ॐ ताम्रद्युत्यै नमः
20	ॐ छिन्नभालायै नमः	47	ॐ बलिप्रियायै नमः	74	ॐ पिङ्गलायै नमः	101	ॐ ताम्ररागायै नमः
21	ॐ भद्रतारिण्यै नमः	48	ॐ बलिरतायै नमः	75	ॐ सुषुम्णाप्राणरूपिण्यै नमः	102	ॐ ताम्रपात्रप्रभोजिन्यै नमः
22	ॐ उग्रायै नमः	49	ॐ दुर्धायै नमः	76	ॐ गान्धार्यै नमः	103	ॐ बलभद्रप्रेमरतायै नमः
23	ॐ उग्रप्रभायै नमः	50	ॐ बलवत्यै नमः	77	ॐ पञ्चम्यै नमः	104	ॐ बलिभुज्यै नमः
24	ॐ नीलायै नमः	51	ॐ बलायै नमः	78	ॐ पञ्चाननादिपरिपूजितायै नमः	105	ॐ बलिकल्पिन्यै नमः
25	ॐ कृष्णायै नमः	52	ॐ बलप्रियायै नमः	79	ॐ तथ्यविद्यायै नमः	106	ॐ रामरूपायै नमः
26	ॐ नीलसरस्वत्यै नमः	53	ॐ बलरतायै नमः	80	ॐ तथ्यरूपायै नमः	107	ॐ रामशक्त्यै नमः
27	ॐ द्वितीयायै नमः	54	ॐ बलरामप्रपूजितायै नमः	81	ॐ तथ्यमार्गानुसारिण्यै नमः	108	ॐ रामरूपानुरागिण्यै नमः

How to Pronounce the mantras / chant them correctly

Even though these are just name-based mantras, it is always better if you pronounce the mantras correctly. To learn how to pronounce these correctly and properly, you can refer to the below videos:

Once you know the correct way of pronouncing, you may speed up the pronunciation like in this below fast version of the namavalli. Please remember, in nitya sadhana when you do not have a committed number of chants to finish, the emphasis is on the mental "experience" during the chants, as you are trying to increase the vibration caused by the mantra in the body. But if you have a sankalp / promise, and you have a target number of chants to reach, then the focus is to reach the count of (proper) chanting, even at the cost of experience. Absolutely ignore all the problems / thoughts / experiences during chanting.

Remember, the mind is like a monkey jumping branch to branch. Whenever you find yourself moving away from your meditation, gently bring your focus back to the chanting.

FAQ

One of the most asked question at this stage is: can I just listen to the names in the video? Must I chant them myself?

The answer to the question is: You must chant the names with your mouth and utter the words yourself for the meditation to create the mantra vibrations in your body. While chanting the mantras your mind should be focused on listening to your own chants. By just listening, even if your concentration is high, you are probably getting only 5-10% of the value of the mantras. The above videos are given to you to LEARN how to pronounce, and then to move on to pronounce them yourselves. Do not use them as a crutch for your daily chanting if you are serious about getting results from your meditation.

Sadhana Guidelines

In Hinduism, sadhana is different from general obescience / affection to a deity. Sadhana is a more disciplined / focused meditation practice to enliven the deity within you, and is different from general prayers / reverence / bhakti. For general bhakti, you may just listen to the names and concentrate on them. Now there are 2 kinds of sadhana: nitya sadhana (daily chanting) and vishesh sadhana (chanting done on special occasions). Below are my recommendations for both type of sadhana, which is different from a generic form of prayer:

Guidelines for Maa Tara Ashtottara Namavalli as per Hinduism

Setup: Set Maa Tara's photo properly in front of you / on an elevated pedestal / pooja sthal (place). Having photo is not mandatory, but if you have, we recommend you take the photo of Maa Tara from the Tarapith Temple (Click HERE to download free high-res poster size image ). Decorate with fresh flowers if you have. Sprinkle your room with holy water if you have.
Direction: You should be sitting facing either north or east.
Achmana:
1. Purify your hands. If you do not know the steps, refer to this video.
2. Now even though the above video shows that, please do not use steel / iron utensils in pooja for achman. Use copper/ brass/ silver utensils. If you don't have those, even a paper cup and disposable spoon would be better than using steel / iron utensils.
3. For achman, you can some of the following names of Lord Vishnu as mantras:
  Om Keshavaaya namaha, Om Maadhavaaya namaha, Om Govindaaya namaha, Om Naaraayanaaya namaha, Om Vishnave namaha, Om Vaasudevaaya namaha, Om Achyutaaya namaha, Om Srikrishnaaya namaha
  You can also use the word "swaha" instead of "namah" in the invocation of these mantras.
Request the Vighnaharta to remove obstacles: Now you are ready to start. Always when starting your sadhana / japa, invoke Lord Ganesha with folded hands to bless you with a seamless experience by chanting the below mantra:
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ । निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा॥
Vakra tunda Mahaakaya Surya koti sama prabha, nir vighnam kuru me deva sarva karyeshu sarvada
If you don't know how to pronounce this beautiful mantra, this video provides an excellent and clear pronunciation of the mantra.
The starting ritual: To start any sadhana to invoke any deity, is to woo the god to notice you and bless you - the way we see it - the deity is all happy on their own - it is your job to start a one-sided love affair and woo the deity to notice your devotion - so try to genuinely make the connection as strong as possible physically as well as mentally. I recommend following this ritual to create an extremely conducive environment for the experience:
1. Let your words be heard: Invoke Agni - the ancient god of fire - to witness your devotion and let your words be heard in the realm of the gods by lighting a candle / oil diya, preferably a ghee diya. (For Maa Tara, light either a diya with mustard oil, or ghee / clarified butter, or better light two separate diyas - one with mustard oil and one with ghee)
2. Take sankalp if you are doing vishesh sadhana / kamya sadhana (have a specific wish to be fulfilled). Do not take sankalp for regular / nitya sadhana.
3. Place the deity in your heart chakra: Request the deity to join you in your sadhana. Imagine the presence of the deity in your heart chakra as a white light. Place the deity in your physical body. All the chanting / next steps you do will be towards this / not the deity outside your body. Ask permission to do the chanting.
4. Enliven the connection (MAIN): Put up any stotram / poem / song of the god / deity that you really connect with. Any way of connecting is fine - listening from youtube, singing, dancing, drawing - whatever helps you concentrate your focus and connect strongly, do it. But keep the image of the deity in your eyes / heart and meditate on it. To energize your surroundings may do an aarti (learn how to do an aarti here ), offer bhog / offering to the deity, light the dhoop / incence sticks - however you are comfortable with. Be comfortable and put your heart and soul in your reverence and connecting with the deity.
Chant the mantras: Use a rosary beads / maala if you have. All the chanting should be done focused on the deity in your heart chakra. As discussed above, your attention should be on hearing your chanting of the mantras.
Meditate and Dissolve: When the chanting is finished,
1. Thank the deity for the opportunity to be able to conduct the sadhana, for the connection and for the chance to reduce your karmic balance accumulated over thousands of lifetimes and rebirths. Feel blessed with gratitude for this opportunity to complete the sadhana in this world where death is the only certainty.
2. Say sorry for any mistakes that may have happened during the sadhana / chanting. Pour your heart out and connect with the deity - shamelessly ask what you want and why you want it. Be direct but honest.
3. Dissolve the deity in you and meditate for a bit: This is a crucial step. Dissolve the deity you placed in your heart chakra in your entire body and meditate on the feeling of their energy for a bit before you move on.
4. Consume the bhog: For Maa Tara nitya sadhana of the Ashtottara Namavalli (above), you should consume the bhog / food offering yourself. For other sadhanas, always ask about what to do with the bhog after the sadhana.

Buddhist Sadhana

You can also chant the "Om tare tutare ture soha" - the green Tara mantra as chanted in Buddhism. Here is a video to learn more about this:

Please bear in mind that this is a very beautiful and very effective mantra which can be chanted any time of the day, and even during daily activities.