Who Is Orange Tara? Pagme Nonma — The Rarest Tara, Remover of Poverty & Protector Against Violence
Of all the twenty-one Taras, Orange Tara is the most rarely discussed — and perhaps the most misunderstood. In the West, she is often reduced to a footnote in 21 Taras lists. But within the traditions where she is fully practiced, Orange Tara carries a domain of extraordinary relevance: she removes the obstacles of poverty, protects against violent and lawless forces, and embodies a quality of non-violence so complete it brings all chaos to stillness. She is, in every sense, a Tara for our times.
Who Is Orange Tara?
Orange Tara is one of the twenty-one Taras — the enlightened female bodhisattvas who embody the full spectrum of compassionate activity in Tibetan Buddhism. She is distinguished by her warm golden-orange complexion, her peaceful expression, and her golden vase — an attribute connecting her to the traditions of abundance, generosity, and the removal of material and spiritual poverty.
Her primary Tibetan name is Pagme Nonma (དཔག་མེད་སྣང་མ) — from Pagme meaning "immeasurable" or "countless," and Nonma meaning "stopping" or "ceasing." She is therefore "She Who Immeasurably Stops" — the Tara whose power to halt violent, harmful, and poverty-generating forces is without limit or measure.
She is also known by several other names depending on lineage and tradition:
- Sukhasiddhi Tara — "Tara of Blissful Accomplishment"; linking her to the 11th-century Indian yogini Sukhasiddhi, who attained complete realization through generosity even in conditions of extreme poverty
- Golden Tara — used in traditions emphasizing her warm golden-orange hue and connection to the golden vase of abundance
- Poverty-Removing Tara — her popular name in traditions emphasizing her enriching activity
- The 17th Tara — her position in the Atisha and Chandragomin lineage of the twenty-one Taras
Her mantra is: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Dhari Basu Svaha
The Two Traditions of Orange Tara — Abundance and Non-Violence
One of the most important things to understand about Orange Tara is that she appears with somewhat different emphasis across the two major traditions of the twenty-one Taras. Both are authentic. Both point to the same underlying nature. Together they give a fuller picture of what she actually embodies.
The Atisha Tradition — Protector Against Violence, Guardian of Non-Violence
In the Atisha lineage — the most widely practiced tradition of the twenty-one Taras in Tibetan Buddhism — Orange Tara Pagme Nonma holds the 17th position. Her canonical praise describes her as the Tara who protects against obstacles associated with robberies, gangsters, and hunters. She stops violent and lawless activity. She brings beings into a state of calm and tranquility. She is, as the texts say simply, the Tara of non-violence.
Where Green Tara removes obstacles swiftly and Black Tara destroys evil forces with wrathful energy, Orange Tara stops violence not through force but through the immeasurable power of non-violence itself — a force that Buddhist tradition considers more powerful than any weapon.
The Surya Gupta Tradition — Remover of Poverty, Bestower of Abundance
In the Surya Gupta lineage, Orange Tara appears as the 11th Tara, seated on a red lotus and moon disc, holding a golden flask at her heart. Her lord of the type is Amogasiddhi — the Buddha of fearless activity and the fulfillment of all aims. In this tradition she is explicitly the poverty-removing Tara — invoked to eliminate material want, dissolve financial obstacles, and increase both worldly and spiritual wealth.
The image accompanying this post — Orange Tara in golden-orange, seated serenely above a river landscape rich with coral and jewels, holding her golden vase — reflects this Surya Gupta form of abundant, wealth-granting Orange Tara.
What Does Orange Tara Look Like? Iconography Explained
- Golden-orange complexion — orange in Tibetan Buddhist color symbolism sits between the red of magnetizing power and the yellow of abundance. It carries both — the active drawing-in of positive conditions and the enriching multiplication of what is received.
- Peaceful expression — fully peaceful, unlike the semi-wrathful Red Tara or the fierce Blue Tara. Her power is expressed through sovereign stillness.
- Golden vase or flask — held at heart level, it contains the nectar of abundance. It overflows without ever emptying, symbolizing inexhaustible generosity.
- Lotus throne above water — seated above a river or lake, the lotus rising from below. Water represents the flowing, ever-replenishing nature of abundance.
- Ornate crown and jewels — richly adorned with flowers, gems, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets — reflecting the abundance she bestows.
- Varada mudra — the gesture of giving, open-palmed, offering blessings freely and without condition.
What Is Orange Tara Known For? Powers and Benefits
Orange Tara's domain spans two complementary dimensions — the removal of lack and the protection from violence — that in the Buddhist understanding are deeply connected. Poverty and violence arise from the same root of scarcity thinking and fear. Orange Tara addresses both simultaneously.
- Removing poverty and financial obstacles — she is the primary Tara invoked for relief from poverty and the opening of pathways to abundance. Where Yellow Tara (Vasudhara) increases existing wealth, Orange Tara removes the obstacles that prevent wealth from arriving at all.
- Protection from robbery and theft — canonical texts explicitly associate her with protection from robbers and those who take by force.
- Protection from violent and lawless people — gangsters, violent neighbors, dangerous situations. She dissolves the conditions that allow violence to persist rather than meeting force with force.
- Cultivation of inner non-violence — her practice brings the practitioner into deep calm and equanimity, making them naturally less susceptible to attracting violent situations.
- Generosity and flow — her golden vase represents giving freely. Her practice cultivates the quality of generosity that, in Buddhist teaching, is the primary cause of abundance in future lives.
- Transformation of scarcity mindset — her deepest gift: dissolving the inner belief in lack that perpetuates poverty more effectively than outer circumstances.
Orange Tara's Mantra — Om Tare Tuttare Ture Dhari Basu Svaha
The mantra of Orange Tara is: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Dhari Basu Svaha
- Om Tare Tuttare Ture — the core Tara mantra: Tare liberates from samsara; Tuttare from the eight fears; Ture from disease and suffering
- Dhari — "increasing worldly material wealth"; the syllable activating Orange Tara's enriching activity
- Basu — "increasing spiritual wealth"; gems, merit, inner richness — the complement ensuring abundance flows in both dimensions
- Svaha — "may this take root; may it be so"
The presence of both Dhari (material wealth) and Basu (spiritual wealth) in her mantra is a teaching in itself — Orange Tara does not separate inner and outer abundance. Recite 21 or 108 times. Orange offerings — saffron, marigolds, orange candles, golden fruits — are appropriate. Practice is especially powerful on full moon days.
Orange Tara in the Twenty-One Taras Family
Orange Tara fills a unique niche — bridging the enriching activity of Yellow Tara and the magnetizing power of Red Tara, while holding a protective domain no other Tara shares:
- Green Tara — swift protection, removal of obstacles
- White Tara — healing, longevity, wisdom
- Red Tara (Kurukulla) — magnetizing love and attraction
- Yellow Tara (Vasudhara) — increasing existing wealth
- Blue Tara (Ekajati) — fierce protection of Dzogchen teachings
- Black Tara — destruction of evil forces and extreme negativity
- Orange Tara (Pagme Nonma) — removing poverty; stopping violence and lawlessness; cultivating non-violence and inner abundance
Orange Tara and Dzi Beads
The Five Eye Dzi bead — associated with wealth deity Kuvera/Jambhala — carries energy closely aligned with Orange Tara's poverty-removing domain:
The Nine Eye Dzi bead — supreme protection dzi — resonates with Orange Tara's protective power against robbery and violent forces:
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Frequently Asked Questions About Orange Tara
Who is Orange Tara in Tibetan Buddhism?
Orange Tara, known in Tibetan as Pagme Nonma ("She Who Immeasurably Stops"), is the 17th Tara in the Atisha lineage of the twenty-one Taras. She protects against robbery and violent forces, and in the Surya Gupta tradition is the poverty-removing Tara who bestows material and spiritual abundance. She is the least documented of the major Taras in English — and one of the most relevant for practitioners navigating material difficulty or dangerous circumstances.
What is Orange Tara's mantra?
Orange Tara's mantra is Om Tare Tuttare Ture Dhari Basu Svaha. The syllables Dhari (material wealth increase) and Basu (spiritual wealth increase) are specific to Orange Tara and distinguish her mantra from other Tara mantras. Recite 21 or 108 times with orange offerings such as saffron or marigolds, ideally on full moon days.
What is the difference between Orange Tara and Yellow Tara?
Yellow Tara (Vasudhara) increases and multiplies wealth that already exists — she is the enriching Tara. Orange Tara (Pagme Nonma) removes the obstacles that prevent wealth from arriving in the first place. Together they cover the complete spectrum: Orange Tara clears the path, Yellow Tara fills it with abundance.
What does Pagme Nonma mean?
Pagme means "immeasurable" or "countless." Nonma means "stopping" or "ceasing." Together: "She Who Immeasurably Stops" — referring to her power to stop countless violent activities, obstacles, and poverty-generating forces without limit or measure.
Why is Orange Tara so rarely discussed?
Orange Tara's specific protective domain — robbery, gangsters, hunters, violent crime — receives less attention in Western Buddhist education. Her poverty-removing role has gained more attention recently as practitioners seek Taras for specific material needs. She is a fully active and practiced form of Tara with a complete practice in both the Atisha and Surya Gupta lineages.
Is Orange Tara peaceful or wrathful?
Orange Tara is fully peaceful. She stops violence not through wrathful counter-force like Black Tara but through the immeasurable power of non-violence itself. Her calm is not weakness — it is a sovereign stillness that violent and chaotic forces cannot sustain themselves against.
Conclusion — Why Orange Tara Matters Now
Orange Tara Pagme Nonma is a Tara for exactly the kinds of difficulty many people face: financial strain, the fear of violence, the sense that abundance keeps slipping just out of reach. She addresses the invisible layer of obstacles that effort alone cannot dissolve — and her insistence on non-violence as the most powerful response to violence is not naive idealism. It is the recognition that the energy of aggression cannot ultimately sustain itself against sovereign, unshakeable peace.
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