Tara Maa is a form of goddess Maa Kali and an embodiment of kindness and "Shakti" or strength. She is believed to destroy all evils. One of the Ten Mahavidyas of Maa Shakti, Maa Tara is worshipped at Tarapith, which is regarded as one of the Shakti Peethams of India.
According to Hindu belief, unable to bear the insults made by her father, Dakshmaharaj against her husband Lord Shiva, Sati threw herself at the yagna, being performed by her father. At the news of Sati’s death Shiva went mad in anger and started the dance of destruction, the tandava nritya with the body of Sati on his shoulder. To save the world from coming to an end Lord Vishnu cut the body of Sati with Sudershan chakra into several pieces. The places where the parts of the body of Sati fell have become holy places. Temples have been erected on all these places and they are famous as Shakti Pithas. Located in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, Tarapith is a very popular Shakti Pitha where Maa Kali is worshipped as Maa Tara.
It is believed that the eyeball of Sati fell in Tarapith. As the eyeball is also known as "tara", the village came to be known as Tarapith which was originally named as Chandipur. According to another legend Tarapith has emerged as a holy place as because Saint Basistha meditated and worshipped the Sati as Tara over here.