http://www.srividyasadhana.com Sri Yantra Sri yantra, also known as Sri Chakra, is called the mother of all yantras because all other yantras derive from it. In its three dimensional forms Sri Yantra is said to represent Mount Meru, the cosmic mountain at the center of the universe. The Sri Yantra is conceived as a place of spiritual pilgrimage. It is a representation of the cosmos at the macrocosmic level and of the human body at the microcosmic level (each of the circuits correspond to a chakra of the body). Sri Yantra is first referred to in an Indonesian inscription dating to the seventh century C.E. It may have existed in India, its country of origin, long before the time of its introduction to Indonesia. The Sri Yantra is a configuration of nine interlocking triangles, surrounded by two circles of lotus petals with the whole encased within a gated frame, called the "earth citadel". The nine interlocking triangles centered around the bindu (the central point of the yantra) are drawn by the superimposition of five downward pointing triangles, representing Shakti ; the female principle and four upright triangles, representing Shiva ; the male principle. The nine interlocking triangles form forty three small triangles each housing a presiding deity associated with particular aspects of existence. Man's spiritual journey from the stage of material existence to ultimate enlightenment is mapped on the Sri Yantra. The spiritual journey is taken as a pilgrimage in which every step is an ascent to the center, a movement beyond one's limited existence, and every level is nearer to the goal. Such a journey is mapped in stages, and each of these stages corresponds with one of the circuits of which the Sri Yantra is composed from the outer plane to the bindu in the center. The Sri Yantra is a tool to give a vision of the totality of existence, so that the adept may internalize its symbols for the ultimate realization of his unity with the cosmos. The goal of contemplating the Sri Yantra is that the adept can rediscover his primordial sources. The circuits symbolically indicate the successive phases in the process of becoming.

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Sri Yantra is used in the Shodashi mahavidya known
as Sri Vidya. Sri Yantra is also called Sri Chakra or
Lalitha Chakra. The worship of Sri Yantra, the method
of constructing it, and its complete explanation are
given is Saundariya lahiri.

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Shri yantra is constructed with an intersection of nine
triangles. Four of these triangles are pointing upward
and five downward.

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The four upward-pointing triangles are Shiva
triangles, and the five downward pointing triangles
are Shakti triangles. A combination of these nine
triangles makes Sri Yantra the most dynamic of all
yantras.

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The five downward-pointing triangles, or shakti
triangles, are manifested as five tanmatras(sound,
touch, sight, taste & smell), five mahabhutas(akash,
air, fire, water & earth), five sense
organs(ear,skin,eyes,tongue, & nose), and five organs
of action(hands, feet,mouth,genitals,&anus).

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In human body these five elements are skin, nerves,
flesh, fat, and bones. The four upward pointing
triangles, which are Shiva triangles, represent the
male energy and exist as chitta(being),
buddi(intellect), ahamkar(ego), and manas (mind).

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As the five downward-pointing and four upward-
pointing triangles intersecting and overlapping one
another, producing forty-three visible triangles,
similarly the male and female forces intersect in the
cosmos, producing various objects of the phenomenol
world.

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As the bindu in the centre represents the Divine
mother, so there is bindu in the sahasrar Chakra
representing the individual consciousness, which is
the self(jiva), soul, spirit, or atman

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If we construct a similar figure by intersecting eight
triangles- four pointing upward and four pointing
downward – it becomes balanced and static. The
imbalance created by the addition of one more
triangle makes the yantra dynamic and more
powerful. Sri yantra is asymmetrical diagram, and the
beauty of it is that when you look at it, it appears
symmetrical.

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For the purpose of worship, a Sri Yantra is engraved
on copper, silver, and gold plates as a flat line
drawing, or sculpted from stone and precious
gems(quartz, crystals, etc.). This form of sri yantra
looks like a pyramid, and there are many such yantras
available from ancient times.

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Sri yantra usually represents the body of the goddess
Tripurasundari. Also it is known as yantra of cosmos.
In the Bhairavayamal tantra it is clearly said that the
yantra of Tripurasundari is of the shape of the
cosmos.

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In Kamakalavilas it is said that Sri Yantra is
constructed on the same principles on which the
human organism is constructed. Just as the body has
nine chakras(psychic centres), so a Sri Yantra has nine
chakras(groups), as follows,
1. Bindu
2. Trikon – central triangle which contains the bindu
3. Astar – a group of eight triangles outside the trikon

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4. Antar Dashar – a group of ten inner triangles
5. Bahir Dashar – a group of ten outer triangles
6. Chatur Dashar – a group of fourteen triangles
7. Ashta Dal – a ring of eight lotus petals
8.Shodashi Dal – a ring of sixteen lotus petals
9.Bhupar – the square form with four gates

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The word chakra in Sri Yantra means a group, not a
psychic centres of Kundalini Yoga, but there is a
definite relationship between the nine figures of Sri
Yantra and the nine psychic centres.

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The Kamakalavilas Agama states that it is very
necessary to understand the true form of the goddess
Tripur Sundari, and the only way to understand it is
to understand Sri Yantra, which is symbolic form.

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Thus it becomes clear that Sri Yantra is
The cosmic form (the diagram of evolution and
development of the cosmos)
The form of the human organism(the diagram of
inner circuit of the body)
The form of goddess Tripur Sundari(because the
goddess energy, which pervades the entire
phenomenal world)

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