Sgrol-dkar (White Tara)

Tara, the goddess of mercy, is one of the most popular deities of Tibetan Buddhism. She is incarnated in two principal forms, green and white, symbolizing night and day, respectively. Here White Tara holds in her left hand a lotus blossom, symbol of spiritual purity and her standard attribute. Her right hand expresses the gesture (mudra) of bestowing compassion, the varadamudra. In the upper right corner is Padmasambhava (known as Guru Rinpoche in Tibet), the great Indian teacher, with Sgrol-ljang (Green Tara) on the left and a lama between. At the bottom of the thangka are three wrathful deities who serve as protectors of the Buddha’s teaching.