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.
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 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.
Tārakā (or Tārā) was the second wife of Hindu God Brihaspati, God of planet Jupiter. According to the Puranas, Chandra, the moon-God, carried her off, which led to a great war between the gods and the Asuras. 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
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