Shrichakra

Symbolic diagram (yantra) used in worship by the Shrividya school, a branch
of the secret, ritually based religious
practice known as tantra. The
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Shravan
Shrichakra is a set of nine interlocking
triangles with four pointing up and five
pointing down. The figure is surrounded
by a double series of lotus petals, then
an enclosing circle, and finally angular
exterior walls. In the center of the diagram is a single point known as the
bindu, representing the ultimate divinity
that is the source of all things. The
shrichakra is considered a subtle form of
the goddess Lalita Tripurasundari, a
goddess who is identified with different
local goddesses throughout southern
India. Lalita Tripurasundari is considered a “textual” goddess since she
appears as an object of worship in the
Shrichakra diagram but has no temple
or image. The Shrichakra is used as a ritual aid during the rite known as
samharakrama, in which the adept
symbolically destroys the external
world and ideas of a separate Self to
become completely identified with
this goddess, who is considered the
source of all reality. For extensive
information on the Shrichakra, see
Douglas Renfrew Brooks, The Secret of
the Three Cities, 1990.