What is "taranga"

In Māori mythology, Taranga is the mother of Māui. Her husband is Makeatutara. Māui was born prematurely, so Taranga wrapped his body in her hair and threw him into the waves. Some sea-creatures cared for him, hiding him in kelp until a storm sent him back to the beach. His ancestor, Tama-nui-a-rangi, found him and brought him back to life, and educated him.

Māui arrived at his mother's village one day, and recognized his brothers. Taranga didn't know who he was until Māui reminded her of the circumstances of his birth. Each morning, Taranga would disappear, and eventually and Māui followed her to the underworld by assuming the shape of a wood pigeon. Māui found her with his father, Makeatutara, a guardian of the underworld. Taranga introduced them and his father performed the dedicatory ritual over his son. Because Makeatutara made mistakes in the incantation, Māui was fated to die and thus humankind is mortal.

In some versions, Taranga is a man, the son of Murirangawhenua. He married Irawhaki, and begat the Māui brothers.

Taranga is a Jain pilgrimage center in Mehsana district, Gujarat, India. It is one of the few tirthas where both the Shvetambaras and the Digambaras visit. The oldest temple constructed in 1121 by the Solanki king Kumarpal, under the advice of his teacher, Acharya Hemachandra. A 2.75 m marble statue of Ajitnath is the central idol. The Svetambara compound consists of 14 temples in all. But there are also five other Digambara-affiliated temples at Taranga hill. The place was historically associated with Buddhism also.

Taranga may refer to:

• Taranga (Māori mythology) The mother of the Māori demigod Māui
• Taranga (Hen) Island the largest island of the Hen and Chicken Islands
• Taranga (Jain Temple) Jain pilgrimage site in Gujarat, India
• Taranga (clothing), worn by Kashmiri women
• Jnan Taranga, the first community radio service in North-East India
• Taranga, Nepal
• An alternative name for the 1929 film Under the Southern Cross (1929)

Taranga is the typical headscarf worn by Kashmiri Pandit women in the earlier days and even up to almost late 1960s.

Now, its only place is as a ritual and by tradition to be worn in the classical way on the bride's head as a bridal gear on her wedding day. This headwear has a very significant and historical importance and relevance, as it was an appreciation reward from his HOLIness Jagatguru ADI Sankaracharya during his stay in Kashmir.