In ancient Sanskrit and all
modern Sanskirt-based languages, the noun tara means star. One of Tara's
ancient names was Dhruva, also the name of Polaris, the Pole,
or North, Star. In the 108 Names of the Holy Tara, She was the
"Leader of the caravans...who showeth the way to those who have
lost it." (Purna)
Today,
it is difficult to understand the extent to which our ancestors traveled
and relied on the stars to guide them. Sophisticated astronomical systems
of the early historic period, the worldwide Neolithic standing stone
observatories, and the lunar calendars on stone and bone, dating to
the Paleolithic and possibly earlier (from 30,000 years ago to 300,000
years ago), indicate that our foremothers mapped the heavens. Clearly,
they relied on their knowledge of the stars, moon and sun for safe passage.
For the native peoples of the Indian subcontinent, bordered by two oceans
and the daunting Himalayan mountain ranges, and covered with dense wilderness
areas, the Pole Star was a constant indicator of true north, and the
heavenly bodies in relationship to it, a celestial map. Tara, star and
goddess, was the matron deity of travelers.
