Sri Chakra
Encyclopedia
Yantra
Yantra is the Sanskrit word for "instrument" or "machine". Much like the word "instrument" itself, it can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization, depending on context....
formed by nine interlocking triangles that surround and radiate out from the central (bindu
Bindu
Bindu is a Sanskrit term meaning "point" or "dot". The feminine case ending is bindi which denotes a small ornamental, devotional and/or mystical dot that is cosmetically applied or affixed to the forehead in Hinduism....
) point, the junction point between the physical universe and its unmanifest source. It represents the goddess in her form of Shri Lalitha Or Tripura Sundari
Tripura Sundari
Tripurasundarĩ or Mahã-Tripurasundarĩ , also called Śoḍaṣĩ , Lalitã and Rãjarãjeśvarĩ , is one of the group of ten goddesses of Hindu belief, collectively called Mahavidyas.As Shodashi,...
, "the beauty of the three worlds". Four of the triangles point upwards, representing Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
or the Masculine. Five of these triangles point downwards, representing Shakti
Shakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
or the Feminine. Thus the Sri Yantra also represents the union of Masculine and Feminine Divine. Because it is composed of nine triangles, it is known as the Navayoni Chakra.
Together the nine triangles are interlaced in such a way as to form 43
43 (number)
43 is the natural number following 42 and preceding 44.- In mathematics :Forty-three is the 14th smallest prime number. The previous is forty-one, with which it comprises a twin prime, and the next is forty-seven. 43 is the smallest prime that is not a Chen prime...
smaller triangles in a web symbolic of the entire cosmos or a womb symbolic of creation. Together they express Advaita or non-duality. This is surrounded by a lotus of eight petals, a lotus of sixteen petals, and an earth square resembling a temple with four doors.
The Shri Chakra is also known as the nava chakra because it can also be seen as having nine levels. "Nava" means "nine" in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. Each level corresponds to a mudra
Mudra
A mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...
, a yogini
Yogini
Yogini is the complete form source word of the masculine yogi- and neutral/plural "yogin." Far from being merely a gender tag to the all things yogi, "Yogini" represents both a female master practitioner of Yoga, and a formal term of respect for a category of modern female spiritual teachers in...
, and a specific form of the deity Tripura Sundari
Tripura Sundari
Tripurasundarĩ or Mahã-Tripurasundarĩ , also called Śoḍaṣĩ , Lalitã and Rãjarãjeśvarĩ , is one of the group of ten goddesses of Hindu belief, collectively called Mahavidyas.As Shodashi,...
along with her mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
. These levels starting from the outside or bottom layer are:
- Trailokya Mohana or Bhupara, a square of three lines with four portals
- Sarva Aasa Paripuraka, a sixteen-petal lotus
- Sarva Sankshobahana, an eight-petal lotus
- Sarva Saubhagyadayaka, composed of fourteen small triangles
- Sarva Arthasadhaka, composed of ten small triangles
- Sarva Rakshakara, composed of ten small triangles
- Sarva Rogahara, composed of eight small triangles
- Sarva Siddhi prada, composed of 1 small triangle
- Sarva Anandamaya, composed of a point or bindu
The Sri Chakra (called the Shri Yantra) is the symbol of Hindu tantra, which is based on the Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...
of Kashmir Shaivism
Kashmir Shaivism
Among the various Hindu philosophies, Kashmir Shaivism is a school of Śaivism consisting of Trika and its philosophical articulation Pratyabhijña...
. The Sri Yantra is the object of devotion in Sri Vidya.
Shri Chakra as popularly mistook to be a symbol of Lakshmi is actually a representation of Lalitha Mahatripurasundari, an aspect of Parvati Devi. Shri does not mean Wealth in this context. In fact it is used to enhance the honour to be given to this highly revered Yantram.
How the Chakra Evolved
The island of jewels is the gross human body with its 9 alchemical bases or dhatus. Each is figuratively described as a gem—diamond, emerald, sapphire, ruby &c. The sea of nectar (semen/ova) is the base for the arising of the human body. The diagram suns up the meditation. We can see that this island of gems is a very pleasant place to he, full of gardens, with a beautiful, begemmed palace, wafted with a gentle breeze upon which is carried great fragrance, cool, alluring.
This indicates the Kaula view that one gains liberation by a very pleasant way, enjoying as one goes. This paradise island is very, very close. Each of the elements in the island meditation has a subtle meaning associated with the esoteric physiology of Shri Vidya.
She, Lalita, united with Shiva, is subtlety of subtlety, hidden behind the curtain hanging from the canopy. Her forms may appear to become progressively less subtle, but she still remains herself.
Sri Yantra in Samkha Kshetra formulation of Jagannath Temple at Puri
In the tantricTantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
belief, the first four folds/layers of the Samkha Kshetra
Samkha Kshetra
Samkha Khsetra is the religio-geographic name of the most sacred section of the holy city of Puri, the seat of Hindu deity, Shri Jagannath...
at the Jagannath Temple at Puri have been equated with the tantric Sri Yantra formulation.