Srimannagara-nayika

Sri Matre Namaha

Srimannagara-nayika – The Fifty Sixth name in Lalitha Sahasranamam.

Srimannagaranayika

Srimat yad nagaram tasya nayika

Ruler of the Beautiful city.

‘Srimannagara’ means the ‘Srichakra’ here.

She is the queen of the beautiful (wealthy) City.

Cities are of two types, one of them is in the center peak of the Mount Meru. “I salute the city of Vidya 400 yojanas in circumference constructed by the celestial architect beautified with many walls”. The second city is outside and beyond all the worlds in the island of gems (Ratnadvipa) in the middle of the ocean of nectar. The RdYml says, “outside and beyond the countless myriads of world systems, in the center of the ocean of nectar, more than a thousand crores in extent, in the gem island, a hundred crores in area, the lamp of the world, there is the supreme city of Srividya, 3 lakhs of Yojanas in height and adorned with 25 walls representing 25 tattvas.

The word Srimannagara also means Sri Chakra. The VisK says cakra means city, house, hamlet, town and abode. Also the commentator of the Sutra of Gaudapada interprets the word Sripura to mean SriChakra. One should not enter the city without knowing the rsi,”the city of the devas is impregnable”; “the city is surrounded by nectar, etc.”. In this and other srutis, City means SriChakra

She owns this auspicious and wealthy city called Srinagaram. There are two narrations about this Srinagaram. One is found in Durvasa’s Lalithastavaratna and another in Rudra Yamala (as told to Parvati by Shiva). The former says that Srinagaram was constructed by celestial architect Vishwakarma. Rudra Yamala says that Srinagara is in the midst of ocean of milk as an island called ratnadvipa (island formed out of precious gems). In the midst of Srinagaram there is another city called Srividya that is surrounded by 25 walls, each wall representing a tatwa. We have already discussed about these tatwas in our earlier postings. So, She is the queen of such a place, from where She performs all her three acts of creation etc.

The worship of Devi in Srichakra is regarded as the highest form of the Devi worship. Originally Lord Shiva gave 64 Chakras and their Mantras to the world, to attain various spiritual and material benefits. For his consort Devi he gave the Shreechakra and the highly coveted and the most powerful Shodashakshari mantra, which is the equivalent of all the other 64 put together.

The Meru is the three dimensions of the Sri Chakra. If we returned to the two dimension Sri Chakra, and imagine that the bindu in its center is the peak of a mountain. Then imagine that the mountain is built up in tiers, each tier being one of the circles of triangles or lotus petals, with the outermost square representing ground level. Now, imagine a verticalspine down the center of the mountain, then at each point that the spine and a tier intersect, there is a chakra. The peak represents Mount Meru, abode of the Gods.

Before starting the worship it is advisable to know about the way the Sri Yantra is constructed, what all it represents, about the 9 Avaranas, the deities, their gunas and significance, so that your worship is more meaningful. The following are the authentic details as given in various Tantra & Mantra scriptures.

Five downward pointing triangles representing Devi intersect with four upward pointing triangles representing Siva, forming 43 triangles including the central triangle..

From the five Shakti triangles comes creation and from the four Shiva triangles comes the dissolution. The union of five Shaktis and four Fires causes the chakra of creation to evolve.

At the centre of the bindu of the Shri Yantra is Kamakala, which has three bindus. One is red, one is white and one is mixed. The red bindu is Kurukulla the Female form, the white bindu is Varahi the Male form, and the mixed bindu is the union of Shiva & Shakti – the individual as the potential Shri Cakra. Varahi, the father-form, gives four dhatus to the child and Kurukulla, the mother-form, gives five dhatus to the child. Theses represent the nine dhatus of the human body.

Varahi’s four fires are the 12 (4 x 3) sun Kalas, the 12 Zodiac constellations. Kurukulla’s five triangles are the 15 (5 x 3) Kalas of the moon, 15 lunar Tithis. These nine triangles also represent the nine stages of growth of the human child in the womb.

Surrounding the 43 triangles formed by the intersection of the nine triangles is the 16 petals circle.

Surrounding the 16 petal circle is an 8 petal circle. After that the 3 lines and at the outermost part of the Sriyantra there are 3 lines called the Bhupura. The 43 triangles constitute the six inner sections called Avaranas, the two circles of petals are two more avaranas and the Bhupura of 3 lines is the last Avarana.

These 9 Avaranas of the Sri Yantra have various presiding Devis. They are the Devi’s Parivar (retinue) of total 108. In the Srichakra pooja they are systematically worshipped one by one with their names and mantras. The presiding Deity of Srichakra, Devi, is Known as Lalita Tripura Sundari. The form of Devi Kamakshi of Kancheepuram is the closest resemblance of the Devi as described in the scriptures.

The Meru Chakra or Sri Chakra is a three-dimensional Shri Yantra, the embodiment of Sri Lakshmi (abundance) and Tripura Sundari (beauty). It is the yantra of Sri Vidya, sacred knowledge of the Goddess. It can also be seen as the unification of Masculine Divine and Feminine Divine: Shiva and Shakti, Lakshmi and Narayana, Purusha and Prakriti. It can be effectively used for correcting defects of the north (direction of health, fortune, career, and money) and northeast (energetically the most sacred and important area of any building). When placed in the northeast, it improves the spatial energies of the whole house. Defects in the northeast and north are the most serious, so the Meru Chakra is a valuable corrective tool of Vedic yantra technology. Even if your home or office has been built according to Vastu, the Gold Meru Chakra is a great energetic blessing that enhancesthe flow of vibrant energy of health and abundance.

Meru and Sri ChakraThere are nine chakras in the Sri Chakra. These nine Chakras have each a distinct form and a distinct name. Proceeding from the outermost to the inner, let us describe the Chakras.

The outermost is a square Chaturasra of three lines, the lines one inside the other,opening out in the middle of each side as four portals. This is known as the Bhupura, the earth-stretch. This is the ground-plane if Sri Chakra is considered as graded elevations, Meru.Through the portals in the Bhupura one enters the precincts. Immediately inside the square are three concentric circles which serve as three girdles trivalaya.The space between the sides of the square and the circumference of the outermost circle, between Bhupura and Trivalya, is known as Trailokya Mohana Chakra, the Enchanter of the Triple World.Inside the 3 girdles are:

1.   Sarvasa Paripuraka Chakra – 16 Petals – Fulfiller of all Desires;

2.  Sarva Sanksobhana Chakra – 8 Petals – Agitator of all;

3.  Sarva Saubhagyadayaka Chakra – 14 Triangles [Chaturdasa Kona] – Giver of all Auspiciousness;

4.  Sarvartha Sadhaka Chakra – 10 Triangles [Outer Dasara] – Accomplisher of all Purposes;

5.  Sarva Raksakara Chakra – 10 Triangles [Inner Dasara] – Giver of all Protection;

6.  Sarva Rogahara Chakra – 8 Triangles [Ashta Kona] – Remover of all Diseases;

7.  Sarva Siddhiprada Chakra – Inverted Primary Triangle – Giver of all accomplishments and

8.  Sarvanandamaya Chakra – Bindu – Full of all Bliss

2D Srichakra Yantra

1st Avarana the outer square with three lines and 4 gates is brown. The outer line is white (though the colour of the 10 deities here is like molten gold), the middle line is orange red like the rising sun and the inner line is yellow like the colour of butter.

2nd Avarana the 16 petal lotus is pink like lotus flower.

3rd Avarana the 8 petal lotus is red – the colour of Bandhuka flowers.

4th Avarana the 14 cornered triangle is colour green like the colour of glow worms.

5th Avarana the outer 10 corners triangle is red like Japakusuma flowers.

6th Avarana the inner 10 corners triangle is colour blue (though the deities here have the lusture of 1000 rising suns).

7th Avarana the 8 corners triangle is colour red like Dadini flowers.

8th The innermosst triangle is white.

9th The Bindu the central point is red like Sindoor.

It could be worshiped once a year, periodically, or on special occasions like Navaratri or daily or when ever one likes.

Sunday in conjunction with Pusya Star, one’s own Guru’s birthday, the day of one’s own birthday, Astami (the 8th day of the bright half of the moon), or the 14th day of the bright half of the lunar month. Friday in conjunction with full moon day is very special.

Sri Chakra can be drawn on paper with pen and ink, or on the floor or plank, bark, or coloured flour to turmeric, kumkum, ashes of yajna and consigned to the river or sea, after the puja is done.

SriChakra can be drawn on gold, silver, copper leaf or plate. One drawn on a plate made of five metals are considered very powerful. The metals are gold, silver, copper, brass, and tin.

SriChakra can be used to meditate on it own or with other deities.

SriChakra drawn on a plate, foil or disc or gold, silver, copper or any other material can be worn on a person as talisman.

Sri Chakra is to be always kept flat to the ground and not upright or slanting, except when used as a talisman or as a ear-ring or a ring. It should never be used as a wall hanging. SriChakra is the most calm, harmless, genteel and non aggressive of all the yantras.

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