As a deity name
Name 505 of the Ganesha Sahasranāma — Ganesha Purana (Upasana Khanda), as taught by Sage Vyasa / Lord Ganesha
Name 959 of the Hanuman Sahasranāma — Rasvin Samhita / Brahmanda Purana, as taught by Lord Ram / Sages
Name 225 of the Narasimha Sahasranāma — Brahmanda Purana / Narasimha Purana, as taught by Sages to Assembly of Devotees
Name 981 of the Rama Sahasranāma — Padma Purana / Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati
As a Hindi name
तारक · noun · masculine
नक्षत्र । तारा · आँख · आँख की पुतली — Śabdasāgara
तारक · noun · feminine
एक राग जिसमें ऋषभ और कोमल स्वर लगते हैं और पंचम वर्जित होता है । (संगीत रत्नाकर) — Śabdasāgara
तारक · tārak · s.m.
Deliverer, saviour, protector, preserver — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 304
तारक · masculine
an epithet of Lord Shiva; Tarakasura; a demon slain by Lord Kartikey; a male given name, Tarak, from Sanskrit
तारक · masculine
a star; pupil; a deliverer, saviour, protector
a Hindi word, a tatsama: the Sanskrit word borrowed unchanged into Hindi तारक — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Borrowed from Sanskrit तारक (tāraka).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
tāraka mf(ikā [Pāṇ. vii, 3, 45, Vārtt. 6] R. ii)n. causing or enabling to pass or go over, carrying over, rescuing, liberating, saving, MBh. xii (Śiva), JābālUp.; ŚivaP. &c. (a particular prayer, brahman)
belonging to the stars, VS. xxiv, 10 (˚ka)
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
ikāVārtt. causing or enabling to pass or go over, carrying over, rescuing, liberating, saving, (Śiva), &c. (a particular prayer, brahman)
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (14)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "tāraka" is the vocative of "tārakā" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
M3 · meaning shifts "tāraka" is derived from "tāra" with the ka/kan suffix — a related word whose meaning shifts, so both meanings are shown.
tāra mfn. (√ tṝ) carrying across, a saviour, protector (Rudra), VS. xvi, 40; ŚiraUp.
(Viṣṇu), MBh. xiii, 6986
tāraka mf(ikā [Pāṇ. vii, 3, 45, Vārtt. 6] R. ii)n. causing or enabling to pass or go over, carrying over, rescuing, liberating, saving, MBh. xii (Śiva), JābālUp.; ŚivaP. &c. (a particular prayer, brahman)
belonging to the stars, VS. xxiv, 10 (˚ka)
Related forms
Dictionary citations
tāraka mf(ikā [Pāṇ. vii, 3, 45, Vārtt. 6] R. ii)n. causing or enabling to pass or go over, carrying over, rescuing, liberating, saving, MBh. xii (Śiva), JābālUp.; ŚivaP. &c. (a particular prayer, brahman)
belonging to the stars, VS. xxiv, 10 (˚ka)
tāraka m. a helmsman, L.
N. of a Daitya (conquered by Indra with the assistance of Skanda), MBh. vi ff. (pl. the children of that Daitya, viii, 1553), xiii; Hariv.; Kum. &c.
of an enemy of Viṣṇu, L.
tārakā f. (Pāṇ. vii, 3, 45, Vārtt. 6) a star, AV.; TBr. i, 5, 2, 5; Yājñ. i; MBh. &c. (ifc. f(ā). )
a meteor, falling star, AV. v, 17, 4
tāra mfn. (√ tṝ) carrying across, a saviour, protector (Rudra), VS. xvi, 40; ŚiraUp.
(Viṣṇu), MBh. xiii, 6986
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
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