Who Is Yellow Tara? Vasudhara — The Tibetan Goddess of Wealth, Abundance & Prosperity
She is golden-hued, serene, and overflowing — her hands filled with grain, gems, and the promise of abundance. In Tibetan Buddhism, Yellow Tara, known in Sanskrit as Vasudhara ("stream of gems"), is the goddess of wealth, prosperity, and the earth's generosity. For collectors and practitioners drawn to dzi beads, her energy is one of the most directly relevant of all the twenty-one Taras.
Who Is Yellow Tara?
Yellow Tara is one of the twenty-one Taras — the family of enlightened female deities who represent the compassionate activity of all Buddhas in different forms. While Green Tara is the swift protector and White Tara governs healing and longevity, Yellow Tara presides over wealth, material abundance, and the fertility of the earth itself.
Her Sanskrit name is Vasudhara — from vasu (wealth, gems, treasure) and dhara (stream, flow). The name is often translated as "stream of gems" or "bearer of treasure." In Tibetan she is known as Norgyunma (གནོར་རྒྱུན་མ) — "she who is a continuous flow of wealth." She is also sometimes called Golden Tara for her distinctive warm yellow-gold color.
Vasudhara originated in Indian Buddhism and was transmitted to Tibet, Nepal, and beyond. She remains especially revered among the Newar Buddhists of the Kathmandu Valley, where she is one of the most important goddesses in daily devotional practice. In Indian tradition, she is closely compared to Lakshmi — the Hindu goddess of wealth and fortune — sharing nearly identical iconography and both appearing alongside their respective consorts.
What Does Yellow Tara Look Like? Iconography Explained
Every element of Yellow Tara's appearance is a teaching in itself:
- Golden yellow color — the color of ripened grain, of gold, of the sun at harvest. Yellow in Tibetan Buddhist iconography represents increase, abundance, and the element of earth.
- Peaceful expression — unlike the semi-wrathful Red Tara or the fierce Black Tara, Vasudhara appears fully peaceful — serene, generous, and welcoming.
- Grain stalks — her most distinctive attribute. She typically holds stalks of grain (sometimes rice, wheat, or barley) representing the fertility of the earth and the abundance of the harvest.
- Overflowing vessel or jewels — she often pours gems or grain from an overflowing vase, symbolizing inexhaustible generosity and the constant stream of abundance she offers.
- Varada mudra — the gesture of giving, with one open hand extended downward, palm facing outward, offering blessings freely to all.
- Lotus throne — she sits in meditative equipoise on a fully opened lotus, the symbol of purity and enlightened abundance.
- Consort of Jambhala — in many depictions, she appears alongside Jambhala (Dzambhala), the pot-bellied Buddhist god of wealth. Together they represent the complete energy of material and spiritual prosperity.
What Is Yellow Tara Known For? Powers and Benefits
Yellow Tara Vasudhara is invoked specifically for the enriching activity — one of the four enlightened activities in Vajrayana Buddhism (alongside pacifying, magnetizing, and subjugating). Her practice is said to bring:
- Wealth and financial abundance — she is the primary Tara invoked for prosperity. Practitioners call upon her before business deals, financial decisions, and new ventures.
- Increase and multiplication — her energy is one of growth and expansion. Whatever resources, merit, or opportunity one has, her practice is said to multiply it.
- Harvest and earthly fertility — as a goddess of the earth, she blesses crops, livestock, and the natural abundance of the land. In agricultural communities she has been central to harvest ceremonies for centuries.
- Spiritual merit and wisdom — her Sanskrit name includes jnana (wisdom) and punya (merit) in her extended mantra. She does not give only material wealth — she increases the inner wealth of wisdom and virtue that supports lasting abundance.
- Overcoming anxiety about resources — her practice is said to dissolve fear and worry around money, security, and provision, replacing them with trust in the earth's generosity.
- Protection of existing wealth — she not only attracts new abundance but safeguards what one already has.
Like all Tara practices, Vasudhara's blessings flow most fully when the practitioner's intention is rooted in Bodhichitta — the aspiration to benefit all beings, not merely oneself. Wealth, in the Buddhist understanding, is most meaningful when it becomes a vehicle for generosity and the relief of suffering.
Yellow Tara's Mantra
The short mantra of Yellow Tara Vasudhara is:
Om Vasudhārāyai Svāhā
The longer, more complete mantra — found in her extended mantra form — is:
Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayuh Punya Jnana Pustim Kuru Svaha
Breaking down the longer mantra:
- Om Tare Tuttare Ture — the core Tara mantra: Tare liberates from samsara; Tuttare from the eight dangers; Ture from disease
- Mama — "for me" (the practitioner's personal request)
- Ayuh — long life
- Punya — merit, virtue
- Jnana — wisdom, knowledge
- Pustim Kuru — "make increase" or "grant nourishment" — the core request for abundance
- Svaha — "may this take root; may it be so"
Practitioners traditionally recite the mantra 7, 21, or 108 times. Yellow offerings — saffron, golden flowers, yellow candles — are traditional accompaniments.
Yellow Tara and the Twenty-One Taras
Within the family of the twenty-one Taras, each form holds a distinct role. Yellow Tara Vasudhara is the enriching Tara — the one specifically associated with increasing wealth, merit, and earthly abundance. This distinguishes her clearly from the other major Taras:
- Green Tara — swift protection, removal of obstacles, action
- White Tara — healing, longevity, wisdom
- Red Tara (Kurukulla) — magnetizing love, attraction, transformation of desire
- Black Tara — fierce protection, warding off evil and negative forces
- Yellow Tara (Vasudhara) — wealth, abundance, increase, earthly fertility
Together these forms represent the full spectrum of enlightened compassionate activity — each meeting a different dimension of human need.
Yellow Tara and Dzi Beads — Wealth Energy in Physical Form
For collectors of Tibetan dzi beads, Yellow Tara's domain of wealth and abundance connects directly to some of the most sought-after motifs in the dzi tradition. Dzi beads were — and still are — understood as physical vessels of the same spiritual energy that deities like Vasudhara embody. Certain motifs are especially aligned with her energy:
The Five Eye Dzi bead is considered the bead of Kuvera (also known as Jambhala) — the Buddhist god of wealth and Vasudhara's own consort. A bead whose energy flows directly from the same divine source as Yellow Tara herself. Collectors prize the Five Eye for its association with endless good fortune, longevity, and happiness.
The Green Tara dzi bead — the Tara motif dzi — carries Tara's protective and compassionate energy in wearable form, connecting the practitioner to all Tara's manifestations including Yellow Tara's blessing of abundance:
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Frequently Asked Questions About Yellow Tara
What is Yellow Tara's name in Sanskrit?
Yellow Tara's Sanskrit name is Vasudhara, meaning "stream of gems" or "bearer of treasure." In Tibetan she is called Norgyunma — "she who is a continuous flow of wealth." She is also sometimes called Golden Tara.
What is Yellow Tara's mantra?
Her short mantra is Om Vasudhārāyai Svāhā. Her longer form mantra is Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayuh Punya Jnana Pustim Kuru Svaha — requesting long life, merit, wisdom, and abundance. Traditionally recited 7, 21, or 108 times.
What is the difference between Yellow Tara and Green Tara?
Green Tara is the swift protector — she removes obstacles and rescues practitioners from immediate danger. Yellow Tara (Vasudhara) is the enriching Tara — she increases wealth, merit, and earthly abundance. Both are beloved, but for different needs. If you face an obstacle, call on Green Tara. If you seek to grow what you have, call on Yellow Tara.
Is Yellow Tara related to Jambhala?
Yes. In Tibetan Buddhist iconography, Vasudhara (Yellow Tara) is the consort of Jambhala (Dzambhala), the pot-bellied god of wealth — the Buddhist equivalent of the Hindu Kubera. Together they represent the complete energy of material and spiritual abundance. Many shrines depict them together.
Which dzi bead is connected to Yellow Tara's wealth energy?
The Five Eye Dzi bead carries the blessing of Kuvera/Jambhala — Yellow Tara's own consort — and is considered the primary wealth dzi in the Tibetan amulet tradition. The Five Eye Dzi is believed to bring endless good fortune, longevity, and happiness to its wearer.
Is Yellow Tara wrathful or peaceful?
Yellow Tara Vasudhara is fully peaceful — one of the gentlest and most serene of all the Tara forms. This distinguishes her from the semi-wrathful Red Tara and the fierce Black Tara. Her expression is one of open generosity — the smile of someone who has more than enough and is delighted to give.
Conclusion: Why Yellow Tara Still Matters
In a world where financial anxiety is one of the most common and corrosive forms of suffering, Yellow Tara Vasudhara offers something rare: a tradition that takes the desire for abundance seriously, treats it as spiritually legitimate, and offers a path to transform it. She does not promise effortless riches — she offers the energy of genuine increase rooted in virtue, generosity, and wisdom.
For collectors of Tibetan dzi beads, she is also a reminder that wealth — in the Himalayan understanding — is not just money. It is the stream of gems that flows through a life lived with purpose: the wealth of health, of connection, of meaning, of accumulated merit that protects and nourishes across many lifetimes.
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