Ekajati Thangka

Ekajati, also known as Blue Tara or Ekajata, is a powerful and fearsome goddess in Tibetan Buddhism. She is considered a protector of the doctrine and is invoked to overcome obstacles and negative forces. Ekajati is typically depicted as a blue-skinned woman with one tooth, one breast and one eye boiling with blood. She holds a vajra (a ritual object symbolizing indestructibility) in her right hand and a skull cup filled with blood in her left. Her hair is wild and unkempt, and she wears a crown of human heads and bone ornaments. She wears a skull crown and bone ornaments with a tiger skin around her waist. In her peaceful form, Ekajati is said to grant wishes and confer long life and good health. In her wrathful form, she is invoked to protect against negative influences and to destroy obstacles on the path to enlightenment. Ekajati is particularly associated with the tantra known as "The Profound Inner Meaning" or "The Secret Nucleus," which is said to reveal the innermost secrets of the mandala of the peaceful and wrathful deities. Ekajati is also the mother of the Dakini, who are female spirits or sky dancers, who represent the female aspect of enlightenment and act as messengers of the gods.