The Wish-fulfilling Red Tara

From Rigpa Wiki
Revision as of 14:04, 9 August 2017 by Stefan Mang (talk | contribs) (Although Yeshe Tsogyal came to Bhaktapur, the information that she specifically came to this temple is incorrect (Hubert Decleer told me that we should remove it from the wiki))
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The Wish-fulfilling Red Tara

Wish-fulfilling Red Tara is a very moving and lovely statue of Red Tara located north of Dattatraya Square, in the Kwathandau area[1] of Bhaktapur, in the Kathmandu Valley.

According to the priest in charge of the temple, the statue is identified as Dipamkara by the Indians and Nepalis, and as Red Tara to the Tibetans.[2]

Red Tara is looking down, as if sad. The oral tradition has it that she went to Tibet and when she returned, she was tied down so that she would remain and that this is the cause of her sadness.

Notes

  1. The location is not that easy to find. It is quite close to Kwathandau Pokhari (Kwathandau basin), and sometimes indicated on maps as Prashannashil Mahavihar. Guides and locals know it under the name of 'Dipamkar'.
  2. This is not the Talking Tara who told the King of Bhaktapur to invite Milarepa, which can be seen in the Taleju Temple complex.