Tara (Ramayana)

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In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Tara (Sanskrit: तारा, Tārā, lit. 'star') is the Queen of Kishkindha and the wife of the vanara (monkey) King Vali. Tara is described as the daughter of the vanara physician Sushena in the Ramayana, and in later sources, as an apsara (celestial nymph) who rises from the churning of the milky ocean. She marries Vali and bears him a son named Angada. After Vali is presumed dead in a battle with a demon, his brother Sugriva becomes king, however, Vali returns and exiles his brother, accusing him of treachery. When Sugriva challenges Vali to a duel, Tara wisely advises Vali not to accept because of the former's alliance with Rama—the hero of the Ramayana and an avatar of the god Vishnu—but Vali does not heed her, and dies from Rama's arrow, shot at the behest of Sugriva. The Ramayana and its later adaptations emphasize Tara's lamentation. While in most vernacular versions, Tara casts a curse on Rama by the power of her chastity, in some versions, Rama enlightens Tara...

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