Śrī Cakra

The Śrī Cakra is at once the supreme yantra (sacred diagram), the supreme mantra and the very body of the Devī Lalitā Mahātripurasundarī. In the Lalitopākhyāna, the story of Lalitā in the Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Hayagrīva declares: “Her mantra is the Śrī Cakra itself.”

The Śrī Cakra is the flat, two-dimensional form of Śrī Nagara, Lalitā’s divine city. The Bindu (central point) of the Śrī Cakra is the Bindu-pīṭha, the seat where Lalitā and Kāmeśvara (Śiva) are united for ever. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva and Manmatha (Kāmadeva) each gained their special powers by worshipping the Śrī Cakra. Its pūjā, done with the Ṣoḍaśī mantra, is the highest form of upāsanā (devoted practice) in Śrī Vidyā, the tradition of worship of Lalitā.

The Śrī Cakra as Lalitā’s Mantra

Hayagrīva tells Agastya Ṛṣi (Chapter 41):

This Devī’s mantra is the Śrī Cakra. She herself is the Mahātripurasundarī. She is also Mahālakṣmī.

The text then explains that the Śrī Cakra is a cakra made of light (jyotirmaya cakra), a light of awareness that came forth from Lalitā’s own self at the beginning of creation, and on which she has always meditated. Its māhātmya (glory) is beyond understanding.

By worshipping the Śrī Cakra:

  • Viṣṇu (Kamalalocana, the lotus-eyed) gained the power to charm all the worlds, and even Manmatha himself, with his beauty
  • Śiva (Īśāna) became master of all vidyās (sacred knowledge)
  • Brahmā gained the power to create all the brahmāṇḍas (universes)
  • Manmatha gained the power to charm even the ṛṣis

The Layers of the Śrī Cakra and Śrī Nagara

The Śrī Cakra is made of layers, one inside the other. They match the enclosures of Śrī Nagara, which are also one inside the other:

  • The Bhūpura, the outer square with four gates = the outermost enclosure of Śrī Nagara
  • The Aṣṭadala, the eight-petalled lotus, and the Ṣoḍaśadala, the sixteen-petalled lotus = the middle enclosures
  • The Caturdaśa-koṇa (a group of 14 triangles), the Aṣṭa-koṇa (8 triangles) and the Daśa-koṇa (two groups of 10 triangles) = the inner enclosures
  • The Trikoṇa, the central triangle = the enclosure right around the Cintāmaṇi Gṛha, the wish-fulfilling jewel palace
  • The Bindu = the Cintāmaṇi Gṛha itself, where Lalitā and Kāmeśvara are enthroned

Each layer of the Śrī Cakra is ruled by its own group of Śaktis (divine powers), such as the Nityā-devīs and the various Āvaraṇa-devatās (deities of the enclosures). These match the divine beings stationed in each enclosure of Śrī Nagara.

How the Pūjā Is Done

The Śrī Cakra is to be worshipped with the Ṣoḍaśī (Ṣoḍaśākṣarī) Vidyā, the sixteen-syllable form of the Pañcadaśī mantra (Chapter 41). The yantra may be made of gold, silver or other metals that are prescribed. The usual pūjā is the ṣoḍaśopacāra, the sixteen acts of loving service offered to the deity.

The flowers used in the pūjā bring particular results:

  • White flowers (śukla puṣpa): Sarasvatī lives for ever on the worshipper’s tongue, giving mastery of speech and learning.
  • Red flowers (rakta puṣpa): the worshipper gains power over kings (rāja-vaśīkaraṇa siddhi).
  • Green or other auspicious flowers (śubha puṣpa of a good colour): Lalitā Devī herself lives for ever in the worshipper’s heart.

The Śrī Cakra should never be worshipped with flowers that are beautiful in colour but have no fragrance or smell bad.

Trimaṇḍala sādhana: the three kūṭas (sections) of the Pañcadaśī mantra are mirrored in the three zones, or maṇḍalas, of the Śrī Cakra. When the sādhaka (practitioner) focuses on these three maṇḍalas with steady devotion, Parameśvarī (the Supreme Devī) herself appears directly before him.

Sources

  • Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Lalitopākhyāna, Chapter 41
  • Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Lalitopākhyāna, Chapters 42 and 43