Explanation

Buddhist legend says Hariti was a child-devouring yakshi of Rajagriha whom the Buddha converted into a benevolent, maternal protector of children. She is not the personification of wisdom (that is Prajnaparamita), nor the Tara who saves beings from the eight great fears, nor a warrior goddess of the dawn. She is accordingly worshipped in the Buddhist tradition as the guardian of children and of easy childbirth.