Taraka
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'''Taraka''' ([[Sanskrit]]: तारक) is a male [[daitya]], Son of [[Vajranaka]], whose powers were so great that the gods grew alarmed, and [[Skanda]], the god of war, was born in order to defeat him.
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'''{{IAST|Tārakā}}''' is also a female Daitya, daughter of the [[Yaksha]] [[Suketu]] or of the demon [[Sunda]], and mother of [[Maricha]]. She was changed into a [[Rakshasi]] by [[Agastya]], and lived in a forest called by her name on the Ganges, opposite the confluence of the [[Saryu|Sarju]], and she ravaged all the country round. [[Vishvamitra]] desired [[Ramachandra]] to kill her, but he was reluctant to kill a woman. He resolved to deprive her of the power of doing harm, and cut off her two arms. [[Lakshmana]] cut off her nose and ears. She, by the power of sorcery, assailed Rama and Lakshmana with a fearful shower of stones, and at the earnest command of Vishvamitra, the former killed her with an arrow. - [[Ramayana]].
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'''{{IAST|Tārakā}}''' (or '''{{IAST|Tārā}}''') was the second wife of Hindu God [[Brihaspati]], God of planet Jupiter. According to the [[Purana]]s, [[Chandra]], the moon-God, carried her off, which led to a great war between the gods and the [[Asura]]s. Chandra, who was infatuated by her beauty, refused to return Tara back. Ultimately, [[Brahma]] put an end to the war and restored Tara, but she was delivered of a child which she declared to be the son of [[Chandra]]([[Soma]]), and it was named [[Budha]](God of Mercury).
==References==
*Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology
==External links==
*http://mythfolklore.net/india/encyclopedia/taraka.htm
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[[Category:Asura]]
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