Śrī Nagara

Śrī Nagara is the divine city where Devī Lalitā Mahātripurasundarī and her consort Kāmeśvara live. It lies beyond the ordinary world. It is also called Tripurā, “the city of three enclosures”. The Lalitopākhyāna, the section of the Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa that tells the story of Devī Lalitā, describes this city in great detail across Chapters 31 to 37.

Śrī Nagara is the Śrī Cakra in three dimensions. The Śrī Cakra is a yantra, a sacred diagram used in pūjā. The same sacred pattern appears here as a city. It has seven circles of moats, seven walls made of ever more precious materials, divine forests, divine mansions, and guardian śaktis (divine female powers) at every level. At the very centre stands the Cintāmaṇi Gṛha. There Lalitā and Kāmeśvara live forever on the Bindu-pīṭha, the seat at the central point.

The Seven Moats (Chapter 31)

Seven moats, one inside the other, form the outer ring of protection around Śrī Nagara. Chapter 31 describes the Saptakakṣyā (the seven moats). It also tells of the Mātaṅgakanyā prādurbhāva, the appearance of the daughters of Mātaṅga as guardians of each moat. Mātaṅga is identified with Śyāmalā-Mātaṅgī. Her daughters stand guard at each moat. They welcome those who are worthy and keep the unworthy away from the city.

The Seven Walls (Chapters 32–33)

Inside the seven moats lie seven walls, one inside the other. Each wall is called a prākāra. Each is made of a more precious material than the one before, moving inward towards the divine centre:

  1. Śarkarā Prākāra: the wall of crystallised sugar (the outermost)
  2. Pāyasa Prākāra: the wall of milk-rice, sweet khīr
  3. Puṣparāga Prākāra: the wall of topaz, a yellow precious stone
  4. Padmarāga Prākāra: the wall of ruby (padmarāga), a red precious stone
  5. Gomedha Prākāra: the wall of hessonite garnet
  6. Vajra Prākāra: the wall of diamond
  7. Muktā Prākāra: the wall of pearl (the innermost of the seven)

Each wall has its own guardian śaktis and its own divine people. As one moves inward through each prākāra, the divine energy and purity grow stronger and stronger.

The Courts of the Dikpālas and Śivaloka (Chapter 34)

Chapter 34 describes where the Dikpālas stand within Śrī Nagara. The Dikpālas are the guardians of the eight directions: Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirṛti, Varuṇa, Vāyu, Kubera and Īśāna. Each rules a divine zone with his own hosts of attendants. The chapter also describes Śivaloka inside the city. It shows how the divine energy becomes ever finer and purer as one comes nearer to the centre of the city.

Mahāpadmāṭavī, the Great Lotus Forest (Chapter 35)

Chapter 35 describes the Mahāpadmāṭavī, the Great Lotus Forest. It is a divine forest of huge lotuses and one of the inner sacred zones of Śrī Nagara. It is a place of great beauty and strong spiritual power. Divine beings live there, always engaged in devotion to Lalitādevī.

Cintāmaṇi Gṛha, the Central Mansion (Chapter 36)

At the very heart of Śrī Nagara stands the Cintāmaṇi Gṛha. This mansion is made entirely of cintāmaṇi, the wish-fulfilling gem. It is the innermost and most sacred building. Here Lalitādevī and Kāmeśvara live forever on the Pañca-brahma-pīṭha, the throne of the five Brahmās. This throne is the Bindu, the central point, of the Śrī Cakra.

The Cintāmaṇi Gṛha stands for the state of pure consciousness. To enter it is to enter the state of oneness, where the devotee and the deity are one. By its nature the cintāmaṇi gem fulfils every wish. A mansion made of it shows the endless abundance of divine grace that flows from Lalitā’s presence.

Gṛharāja (Chapter 37)

Chapter 37 describes the Gṛharāja, “the king of buildings”, the greatest of all the structures in Śrī Nagara. It holds the innermost chamber, where Lalitā and Kāmeśvara sit in supreme union. It is the direct three-dimensional form of the Bindu-pīṭha of the Śrī Cakra.

Śrī Nagara and the Śrī Cakra

One of the deepest teachings of the Lalitopākhyāna is that Śrī Nagara and the Śrī Cakra are the same. The Śrī Cakra is not just a yantra drawn on paper or metal for pūjā. It is a flat picture of the real divine city where Lalitādevī lives. To worship the Śrī Cakra is to enter Śrī Nagara in one’s inner awareness. A follower of Śrī Vidyā who meditates on each layer of the Śrī Cakra is passing through the matching enclosure of Śrī Nagara. Step by step they go deeper into Lalitādevī’s presence, until they reach the Bindu, the Cintāmaṇi Gṛha, where she and Kāmeśvara dwell.

Sources

  • Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Lalitopākhyāna, Chapters 31–37