***She **Who **Is **Lovely **in **the **Three **Worlds ***
Tripura-sundari, who also appears in lists of the Mahavidyas under the names Sodasi, Lalita, Kamesvari, Srividya, and Rajarajesvari, is often cited third, after Kali and Tārā. She is also sometimes said to be, along with Kali and Tārā, an *adi *(primordial) Mahavidya, which suggests that she occupies a high place in the group, that she, like them, represents a complete vision of reality.1 According to other sources, she represents the penultimate vision of enlightened consciousness, a stage of consciousness suffused with *sattvic *qualities but lacking the completeness of fully enlightened consciousness, represented by Kali, which is beyond all quality and form, *nirguna.1 *
Her *dhyana *mantra describes her as follows: “She shines with the light of the rising sun. In her four hands she holds a noose, a goad, arrows, and a bow.“3 Further details of her appearance are found in the famous hymn in her praise, the *Lalita-sahasranama, *where she is said to be seated on a throne like a queen (names 2 and 3), to wear jewels (names 13 and 14), to have the auspicious marks of a married woman (names 16-25), and to have heavy breasts and a thin waist (name 36); the crescent moon adorns her forehead, and her smile overwhelms Siva, himself the lord of desire (Kama) (name 2 8). She has as her seat the corpses of Brahma, Visnu, Siva, and Rudra (name 249) and is attended by Brahma, Visnu, Siva, Laksmi, and Sarasvati (name 614).
She is often depicted iconographically as seated on a lotus that rests on the supine body of Siva, which in turn lies on a throne whose legs are the gods Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and Rudra. In some cases the lotus is growing out of Siva’s navel. In other cases it is growing from the Sri *cakra, *the yantra of Tripura-sundari. In this rendering of the goddess, she is self-emergent, as the Sri *cakra *is identical with the goddess herself (see below). In one instance she is said to sit on Siva’s lap in his form as Kamesvara, “lord of desire.“4 The *Vdmakesvara-tantra *says that Tripura-sundari dwells on the peaks of the Himalayas; is worshiped by sages and heavenly nymphs; has a body like pure crystal; wears a tiger skin, a snake as a garland around her neck, and her hair tied in *ajata; *holds a trident and drum; is decorated with jewels, flowers, and ashes; and has a large bull as a vehicle.5
The *Saundaryalahari *and the *Tantrasara6 *describe her in detail from her hair to her feet. The *Tantrasara **dhyana *mantra says that she is illuminated by the jewels of the crowns of Brahma and Visnu, which fell at her feet when they bowed down to worship her.7 It is interesting to note that in the *Tantrasara *she is not associated with Siva in any obvious way, as she is in other descriptions.
Mythology and Characteristics
Tripura-sundari (Sodasi) was a very well-known and important tantric goddess before she was grouped with the Mahavidyas. She occupies a prominent position in both Kashmiri and South Indian Tantrism. She has been worshiped from a very early period in South India, where she is central in a movement of considerable sophistication and popularity, the Srividya cult. Although she is often described in anthropomorphic fashion, her cult, which still flourishes throughout India, but particularly in the South, centers on worship of and meditation on her mantra, the Srividya mantra, and her yantra, the Sri *cakra. *This worship is done almost exclusively in private and in tantric fashion.8
The earliest reference to Srividya (the form of the goddess as mantra) is in the Tamil work *Tirumantiram, *by Tirumular, who lived in the seventh century C.e. By the ninth century, the cult of Srividya was mentioned in Sanskrit works, and several texts celebrating her are attributed to the great philosopher from South India, Sankara (788-820). Several texts in which Tripura-sundari is featured appeared about the same period in Kashmir, where she became a significant goddess. Of particular note is the *Vamakesvara-tantra, *which attracted several important commentaries. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the cult of Srividya expanded greatly in both Kashmir and South India, with several notable commentaries being written on earlier works. Her cult eventually became popular in Bengal, with certain northern variations, and now her worship and fame have spread throughout India.
Despite the tendency of Srividya worship and ritual practice to remain private and esoteric, there are popular hymns to the goddess with a strong devotional flavor. The *Navavaranakirthis *by Muttusvami, a composer of classical Karnatik music, contain some famous examples, and in actual practice such hymns are sung in public, outside an esoteric tantric setting.9
Although there are not many temples where Tripura-sundari is worshiped in anthropomorphic form, she has become identified with certain important goddesses in South India. Her presence in many temples is marked by the Sri *cakra, *rather than an anthropomorphic image. Sometimes another goddess will be shown associated with the Sri *cakra, *thus identifying her with Tripura-sundarl, whose essential form is identical with the Sri *cakra. *At the temple of the famous South Indian goddess Minaksi of Madurai, for example, coins are sold depicting Minaksi in anthropomorphic form on one side and the Sri *cakra *on the other. Pictures of Minaksi standing above a Sri *cakra *are also sold there. Another example is the goddess Akhilandesvari of Tiruchirappalli, who is shown wearing Sri *cakras *as earrings.10 In other cases the appearance of a particular goddess may be so similar to Tripura-sundari’s that it is difficult not to associate or identify the two. This is the case with the goddess Kamaksi of Kanchipuram, whose depictions differ from those of Tripura-sundari in only very minor ways. The Sri *cakra *is also shown in Kamaksi’s iconography.11
In Varanasi there is a temple to Rajarajesvari, a common epithet of Tripura-sundari. It is said that she has the power to attract people and that one can feel the pull of her strength when taking her *darsan *(viewing her image). No one is strong enough to spend the night in her temple, and after awhile she drives people crazy who stay in her presence. Her priests do not last long. I was told that she is an unmarried goddess, but there is a *lirigam *outside her temple, suggesting the presence of Siva. There is also a Rajarajesvari temple in the village of Bangaramu in Uttar Pradesh. The *garbha **grha *housing the image is flanked by two Siva *lirigams. *The image of the goddess holds weapons and is of a dark complexion. The supine figure of Siva lies in front of it. Painted panels on the front of her throne show five male deities, each seated on a lotus with different numbers of petals. Brahma, Visnu, and Siva are distinguishable and may represent the legs of the throne on which the goddess sits, a common theme in her descriptions, where the gods are said to support her.12
I also have been told of a temple to Hamsesvari-devl, an epithet of Tripura-sundari, in the village of Bansberia near Hooghly in Bengal. The temple is six stories tall, and the central image is of Tripura-sundari, who sits on a lotus that emerges from the navel of Siva, who is reclining on another lotus that in turn rests on an image of the Sri *cakra. *There are fifteen black *lirigams *in the temple and a sixteenth that is white. The sixteenth may symbolize Tripura-sundari as Sodasi, “she who is the sixteenth” or “the one who goes beyond or includes the fifteen lunar *tithis” *(lunar days; see below). The temple also has three staircases, one on the right of the image, another on the left, and a third descending into the temple. These probably represent the three *nadis *(veins or arteries) of *kundalim *yoga and, taken together, the whole of reality. A temple of similar design to Tripura-sundari is currently under construction in Varanasi.13
Tripura-sundari is also an important goddess in the Nepali town of Bhaktapur. There she is associated with a group of goddesses called the Astamatrkas, the “eight mothers.” These eight goddesses, each of whom has a shrine, *or **pith **a, *form a protective circle around the city of Bhaktapur. In the center is Tripura-sundari’s shrine. As the ninth and central goddess of the group, she is understood to be preeminent among the others, to be the supreme goddess.14 It is also interesting to note that among the Astamatrkas are two of the other Mahavidyas, Kali and Laksmi.15
The central tale in the mythology of Tripura-sundari concerns her defeat of the demon Bhanda. According to this myth, Siva destroyed Kama, the god of love, when he sought to distract Siva from his meditation. Subsequently, one of Siva’s *ganas *(companions or followers) makes an image of a man from Kama-deva’s ashes. This man then appeals to Siva to teach him a powerful mantra, which Siva obligingly does. By reciting the mantra, one gains half the might of one’s adversary. Siva also grants the man rulership of the world for sixty thousand years. Siva praises the man with the words “Bhand! Bhand!” (“Good! Good!”), but because he was born from Siva’s anger when he burned up Kama, he turns into a dangerous, wrathful demon. He builds a city rivaling in glory the city of the gods ruled over by Indra. When Bhanda attacks Indra, Indra, at the bidding of the sage Narada, calls on Tripura-sundari for help. Indra also instructs his allies to propitiate the goddess by offering her their own flesh and blood with Vedic rites. At the end of these rites the goddess appears and agrees to help the gods. In the meantime, the sixty thousand years granted to Bhanda to rule the world have expired.
With Indra’s city still under siege, the gods arrange the marriage of Siva and Tripura-sundari. After some time the goddess, with her female associates *(saktis), *goes off to battle Bhanda and his army. Tripura-sundari produces many weapons from the noose and goad that she carries in her hands. Bhanda is amused by the army of females and predicts that they will be as ineffective in battle as the name of their leader, Lalita (soft and delicate), suggests. Tripura-sundari and her army, however, turn out to be superior to Bhanda and his army. In the course of the battle the two chief protagonists, Tripura-sundari and Bhanda, produce various beings from their bodies. Bhanda creates a number of demons that are well known in Hindu mythology, and Tripura-sundari counters by bringing forth a corresponding deity or *avatara *to defeat the demon. Bhanda, for example, creates Hiranyakasipu. Lalita in turn produces Prahlada, who in the well-known Vaisnava myth defeats Hiranyakasipu. Bhanda brings forth Ravana, and Tripura-sundari creates Rama from one of her fingernails. In the course of the battle Bhanda also creates Mahisasura. The goddess responds by producing Durga, who is ornamented with jewelry given to her by many male gods. Durga then slays Mahisasura, as she does in the famous *Devi-mahdtmya. *Finally, the goddess defeats Bhanda himself. After the battle, the gods, led by Kama-deva’s wife, Rati, implore Tripurasundari to restore the god of love, whom Siva had destroyed. She does so, and desire is restored to the world. The gods praise her in unison.16
The myth establishes certain central characteristics for Tripura-sundari. Her primary role is to protect the well-being of the gods and cosmic stability. She herself is the source of several of Visnu’s *avatdras, *whom she creates to defeat particular demons in the battle with Bhanda. Tripura-sundari is said to have other forms, actually referred to as *avatdras. *These include the goddesses Kali, Kumari, Candika, Bharati, and Gauri.17 This myth, and other passages enumerating her different manifestations created to sustain the world, establish Tripura-sundari as a transcendent cosmic guardian, the source of well-known deities and *avatdras, *the great director behind the scenes, the ultimate overseer of the cosmic processes. In the *Lalitd-sahasrandma *she is called She from Whose Ten Fingernails Spring the Ten Forms of Visnu (name 88). The same text gives her names that emphasize her role as a warrior, for example, She Who Slays Demons (name 318), She Who Grants Boons to Warriors (name 493), Ruler of Armies (name 691), She Who Is Worshiped by Warriors (name 777), and Mother of Warriors (name 836). In short, the myth and hymns to her depict Tripura-sundari as a great battle queen similar to Durga and underline her role as guardian of cosmic order.
Complementing her role as a warrior are Tripura-sundari’s royal characteristics. In the *Lalitd-sahasrandma *she is worshiped by kings (name 305). She takes pleasure in ruling (name 686) and subdues all the worlds (name 698). One of her most popular epithets is Rajarajesvari, “queen of kings.” Another of her names, Sri, associates her with sovereignty. However, she is distinguished in many ways from the goddess, also called Sri, who is Visnu’s consort, and is more commonly associated with Siva, as we shall see below.
On a more cosmic scale, Tripura-sundari undertakes the three principal cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction. She either performs these functions by herself or creates and directs Brahma, Visnu, and Siva in these roles. In the *Saundaryalahari, *the entire universe is formed from a tiny speck of dust from her foot. From that speck Brahma fashions the universe, which Visnu, in his form as Vasuki, the manyheaded serpent, can barely support (v. 2). In the *Lalitd-sahasrandma, *she sits on the five corpses of Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Isvara, and Sadasiva (name 249). In the hymn of a thousand names to her in the *Vdmakesvara**tantra, *she is called Mistress of All, Mother of the World, and Mother of the Vedas.18
She is the quintessence of suspiciousness *(saubhdgya) *and in this respect resembles the goddess Sri, Visnu’s consort. She is described, often in great detail, as lavishly adorned with ornaments and fine clothing. She is said to give all blessings, grant all desires, embody purity *(suddhd), *and be calm, peaceful, and completely suffused with *sattvic *qualities.19
Tripura-sundar i is also often described as extremely attractive, beautiful, and erotically inclined. The *Lalita-sahasranama *details her charms from head to foot (w. 13-51), and the majority of the Saundaiyalahari‘is similarly preoccupied with her attractive appearance. She is often said to give desire, to suffuse the creation with desire, and to be the actual form of desire—that is, the god of desire, Kama-deva—or his wife, Rati. In the *Lalita-sahasranama *she is called The Desirable One (name 321), She Who Is Filled with Erotic Sentiments (name 376), She Whose Form Is the Desire of Women (name 454), She Who Causes Emotion (name 466), She Who Enchants (name 562), She Whose Form Is Sexual Desire (name 796), and She Who Overflows with Desire and Pleasure (name 863). The Saundaryalaharisays that Kama, the god of love, who bewitches the whole world, received his powers by a glance from the goddess (v. 6). It is also said there that a worn-out old man, ugly and sluggish in the arts of love, can be restored to sexual attractiveness and vigor by her glance (v. 13). The *Prapancasara-tantra *says that her worship has such an amorous effect that celestial females such as *gandharvas, **yaksas, *and *siddhas *come to the *sadhaka *“with gazelle-like eyes, breathing heavily, their bodies quivering . . . and moist with the pearly sweat of passion; and throwing away their ornaments and letting their clothes fall from about them, bow themselves before him and offer to do his will.“20 The several names that associate or identify her with the female sexual organ in her thousand-name hymn in the *Vamakesvara-tantra1^ *also suggest the erotic character of the goddess.
In the *Kalika-purana, *Bala-tripura-sundari (young girl who is beautiful in the three worlds) is said to be the symbol of beauty and sexuality and is worshiped by adoring a living girl in either the right- or left-handed tantric manner.2- The *Yogini-tantra *enjoins the devotee to contemplate the image of a naked sixteen-year-old girl and to think of each part of her body being assimilated to his own.23 In the *Tripura-rahasya, *Tripura creates nine *saktis, *several of whom have erotic associations: Kamesvari, Bhagamalini (having a garland of yonis), Nityalinna (always moist), and Bherunda (pregnant), for example.24
Such names also suggest Tripura-sundari’s association with fertility and growth. The *Lalita-sahasrandna *calls her She Who Is Vitality (name 767), She Who Gives Life (name 783), and She Whose Form Is Life (name 784). The hymn of her thousand names in the *Vamakesvara-tantra *calls her The Mother Who Oversees Birth.25 She is often associated with the earth itself and is said both to create and uphold it. Related to her nature as the power underlying vigor and growth is her association with nourishment and food. In the *Lalita-sahasranama *she is called Mahl and Dhara, both meaning “the earth” (names 718 and 955), and is identified with nourishment (name 444) and food itself (name 699). She is also called Jagaddhatri, “world nurse” (name 935).
For the most part, Tripura-sundari is characterized by names and features that emphasize her beautiful, auspicious, pure, fertile, and gracious nature and that associate her with wealth, royal power, the protection of the order of dharma, and the defeat of demons. She is often described as the patient, obedient wife of either Siva or Visnu. Other features of Tripura-sundari, however, suggest aspects of her nature that deviate from this portrait. In places she is said to be frightening, wild, and perhaps dangerous. Although none of her principal names (Tripura-sundari, Srividya, Sodasi, Lalita, or Rajarajesvari) suggests this aspect of the goddess, there is no denying its presence in many of the texts that describe her. In contrast to the usual descriptions of Tripura-sundari as clothed in radiant garments and glowing jewels are passages in the *Vamakesvara-tantra *where she is naked or clothed in animal hides and wears her hair in *ajata, *an ascetic’s knot.26 She carries a skull, wears ashes, and has a snake as a necklace; she has a large and long tongue, fearful fangs, disheveled hair, and the form of a skeleton.27
In many ways she resembles Kali, with whom she is sometimes identified.28 There is even a myth explaining the identity of Tripura-sundari and Kall. In the Prdnatosini(probably written in Bengal in the seventeenth century), we are told that once upon a time Siva referred to Kali by her name in front of some heavenly damsels who had come to visit, calling her “Kali, Kali” (“Blackie, Blackie”), which she took to be a slur against her dark complexion. She left Siva and resolved to rid herself of her dark complexion through asceticism. Later, the sage Narada visited Kailasa and, seeing Siva alone, asked where his wife was. Siva complained that she had abandoned him and vanished. With his yogic powers Narada discovered Kali living north of Mount Sumeru and went there to see if he could convince her to return to Siva. He told her that Siva was thinking of marrying another goddess and that she should return at once to prevent this. By now Kali had rid herself of her dark complexion but did not yet realize it. Arriving in the presence of Siva, she saw a reflection of herself with a light complexion in Siva’s heart. Thinking that this was another goddess, she became jealous and angry. Siva advised her to look more carefully, with the eye of knowledge, telling her that what she saw in his heart was herself. The story ends with Siva saying to the transformed Kali: “As you have assumed a very beautiful form, beautiful in the three worlds, your name will be Tripura-sundari. You shall always remain sixteen years old and be called by the name Sodasl.“29
The Names Tripura-sundarī, Sodaśī, and Lalitā
The texts dealing with Tripura-sundari often reflect on the significance of her names, which are usually thought to hold hidden or mystical meanings. These reflections elicit further aspects of her character and additional associations with ideas and themes in Hindu philosophy, mythology, and spiritual practice. The names that receive the most attention are Tripura-sundari, Sodasi, and Lalita.
The name Tripura-sundari, whose most obvious and apparent meaning is “she who is beautiful in the three worlds,” typically prompts speculation concerning various triads known to Hindu philosophy, mythology, and *sddhana *(spiritual practice). In the process of associating Tripura-sundari with these triads, the texts often imply that she is identical with ultimate, essential, or complete reality in one way or another. The *Kalika-purana *gives several interpretations in this vein. She is called Tripura, the text says, because she is identical with the triangle *(trikona) *that symbolizes the yoni and that forms her *cakra *(see below). The triangle in the Srividya cult, as we shall see, is a primordial form from which the creation proceeds and is clearly related to the generative power of the yoni. She is called Tripura also because her mantra (discussed below) has three clusters of syllables. Here Tripura is identified with the alphabet, from which all sounds and words proceed and which is often understood to occupy a primordial place in tantric cosmology. She is threefold, furthermore, because she expresses herself in Brahma, Visnu, and Siva in her roles as creator, maintainer, and destroyer of the universe. She is threefold also because she represents the subject *(matd), *instrument *(mdna), *and object *(meya) *of all things. Here again she is identified with reality expressed in terms of speech, which involves a speaker, what is said, and objects to which the words refer.30
The *Kamakala-vilasa *(w. 13-40) speculates that Tripura-sundari is triple faceted because she represents three kinds or colors of *bindu *(seed or essence): red, white, and mixed. This probably refers to sexual fluids: red being female sexual fluid; white, semen; and mixed, the union of the two.31 The meaning here is that the goddess represents both of the sexual polarities in the universe and their ultimate union. The same text says that she is triadic because she has her abode in Soma, Surya, and Agni, that is, in the moon, sun, and fire. She is thus all-pervasive and allinclusive, as are light and fire. Further, the text speculates, she is triadic because she is identified with the three principal goddess *pithns, *or sacred centers: Kamarupa, Jalandhara, and Purnagiri. She is triple natured also because she embodies the three principle powers *oiiccha **sakti *(will), *jnana **sakti *(consciousness, knowledge), and *kriyd **sakti *(doing, action).32
In his commentary on the *Lalita-sahasranama, *Bhaskararaya says that the goddess is called Tripura-sundari because “she is older than the three persons (Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra).“33 He also says that the goddess is triple natured because she is identified with the three main channels of the subtle body in kundatiniyoga that represent cosmic totality.34 Bhaskararaya comments further on the triple nature of the goddess: “There are three Devas, three Vedas, three fires, three energies, three notes *(svaras), *three worlds, three abodes, three sacred lakes, three castes. . . . Whatever in the world is threefold, such as the three objects of human desire, all these, O divine one, really belong to your name.“35 Sivananda says that the goddess is triple natured because she “has the nature of Siva, Sakti, and Atman.“36
The name Sodasl seems to be of less interest to commentators, but there is some speculation on its hidden significance. Literally, the name means “she who is sixteen.” It is common for deities to be described as eternally sixteen years old, which is considered the most beautiful and vigorous human age. This is exactly how the name is interpreted in the myth, recounted above, in which Siva renames the transformed Kali both Tripura-sundari and Sodasl.37 The name is also understood to mean “she who has sixteen (good) qualities.“38 More esoterically, the name can mean “the sixteenth” or “she who is the sixteenth.” In this case it probably refers to the phases of the moon, the lunar *tithis, *of which there are fifteen in the bright half of the lunar month *(sukla **paksa) *and fifteen in the dark half *(krsna **paksa). *These *tithis *are often personified as goddesses. As the sixteenth, Sodasl is that which is beyond the phases, or the rhythms of time. Or she may be understood as the additional element that lends to the individual *tithis *the impetus to wax and wane, the reality that underlies cosmic rhythms and impels the cosmos along an orderly course. As the cusp of the lunar phases, she is the mysterious element that transcends and yet encompasses all things.39 “The addition of a sixteenth element to an established set of fifteen is analogous to the addition of a fourth element to established triads. The ‘sixteenth’ element deliberately plays on the symbolism of’plus one,’ that is, a set of three or fifteen plus one more element. . . . The sixteenth element, like the fourth in a set of threes, subsumes and encompasses the others as well as completes the symbolic pattern of meanings.“40
The name Lalita, “she who is lovely,” “the lovely one,” is also said to have universal, cosmological, or mystical significance. Bhaskararaya says:
The wise say, “The word *lalita *has eight meanings, namely brilliancy, manifestation, sweetness, depth, fixity, energy, grace and generosity; these are the eight human qualities.” The *Kama-sastra *says: Lalita means erotic actions and also tenderness; as she has all the above-mentioned qualities, she is called Lalita. It is said also, “Thou art rightly called Lalita for thou hast nine divine attendants [in the Sri *cakra, *see below] and your bow is made of sugar-cane, your arrows are flowers, and everything connected with you is lovely *(lalita)“41 *
It seems clear that commentators on the meaning of Tripura-sundari’s names begin with the assumption that she is the highest reality, or reality itself, and find in her epithets mystical meanings that affirm this. Whether she is called Lalita, Sodasi, Tripura-sundari, or one of several other common names, she is the cosmic queen from whom everything originates, in whom everything inheres, and by whom everything will be dissolved.
The Śrīvidyā Mantra and the Śrī Cakra
The goddess Tripura-sundari’s identity with the Srividya mantra and the Sri *cakra *yantra have been elaborated by theorists of the Srividya cult. While we might be tempted to refer to the Srividya mantra as her mantra, and the Sri *cakra *as her yantra, as symbols in sound and diagram of the goddess whom we imagine in anthropomorphic form, practitioners of the cult insist, on the contrary, that the mantra is she, that the *cakra *is she, herself.42 Indeed, they say that the anthropomorphic image of the goddess, the deity described in myths and praised in hymns, who has characteristics and a physical appearance and who undertakes actions and plays roles, is a gross form that, to some extent, hides her essential nature. In the view of the Srividya cult, this physical, anthropomorphic aspect of the goddess is her *sthiila *form, which is considered crude compared to her illuminative *(suksma) *and supreme *(para) *manifestations, which in turn are identified with her forms as mantra and *cakra, *respectively.43
Both mantras and yantras are central to Tantric *sadhana. *However, Tripura-sundari, in the Srividya cult, expresses more clearly than any of the other Mahavidyas the importance of mantras and yantras in the worship and conceptualization of these goddesses. It is appropriate, then, to dwell here in more detail on the significance of mantra and yantra by analyzing how they express and relate to Tripura-sundari. The first point that must be emphasized is that the mantra and yantra are affirmed in the cult to be unmediated revelations, not human or cultural constructs. Nor are they partial revelations: they are not simply clues to, or aspects of, the transcendent goddess. They *are *the goddess in her purest, highest, most intense form. We might think of the mantra and the yantra as forms of grace. That is, the goddess has given these complete expressions of herself to certain spiritually advanced people in the Srividya cult.
As explained in Part I, the mantra and yantra are not public. That is, although they may be available to the uninitiated (the mantra is now available in print in many places, and the yantra is displayed in many books and temples), their potency depends upon their being transmitted to individual adepts by spiritual masters (gurus). For uninitiated or spiritually unqualified people to recite or devote themselves to the mantra or yantra is ineffective; the goddess’s reality and inherent power will not be realized. Bhaskararaya says: “The devotion of the inept to the external ostentation [of the *srividya], *being without aptitude for what is necessary, is like a body in which life has perished, or a puppet from which the strings are detached.“44
Becoming spiritually qualified to benefit from the inherent power of the goddess in her mantric (or yantric) form demands extended spiritual preparation under the guidance of a guru, during which the adept learns the significance of the mantra (and yantra). The power of the mantra remains latent unless the practitioner understands its special, sacred significance. It is during preparation for initiation that the guru communicates this to the student. This instruction, which introduces the adept to “an elite form of spirituality, linked to the concept of favorable karma acquired over the course of countless previous births,“45 culminates in an elaborate ritual in which the master transmits the Srividya mantra to the student. This ultimate revelation of the goddess makes her fully accessible to the initiate. At this point the guru may also give the initiate a physical form of the Sri *cakra *for his or her personal use in *sddhana. *
In learning the significance of the mantra, the student first comes to appreciate that the mantra (or yantra) is a full expression of the goddess.
Beginning with this assumption, the adept is then prepared to appreciate the esoteric or mystical meanings of the individual parts of the mantra (or yantra) and its overall correspondence to other symbols or expressions of ultimate reality in the Hindu tradition. That is, the student, under the instruction of the guru, learns to discern in the mantra every aspect and dimension of cosmological, spiritual, and existential truth. As in the case of the goddess’s names, so here the hidden meanings of the sacred expression are elaborately drawn out. Each syllable of the mantra, each line and angle of the yantra, is infused with meaning (or suffused with meaning, depending upon one’s point of view) and is gradually absorbed by the spiritual adept in his or her ongoing devotion and use of the mantra. One way of thinking about the mantra as containing all reality, according to Bhaskararaya, is to think of the mantra as a seed containing in potential form the entire or full-grown plant. “As a banyan tree is found in its seed, so [the mantras] contain everything and are complete.“46 Creation proceeds from seed mantras to language (especially Sanskrit), to other languages (which, according to Brahmanical tradition, all derive from Sanskrit), to other sounds, and finally to all sounds in creation. Throughout the whole cosmos, then, the seed mantras exist as the essential form or power of reality.
To give an example of how the Srividya mantra is interpreted as containing the fullness and essence of ultimate reality, let us see how those in the tradition of the Srividya cult discern in the Srividya mantra the presence of the Gayatri mantra, the mantra from the Rg-veda in praise of the sun, “the most holy passage of that most holy scripture.“47 The Srividya mantra consists of fifteen syllables that have no literal meaning: *ka, **e, **l, **la, **hrim, **ha, **sa, **ka, **ha, **la, **hrim, **sa, **ka, **la, **hrim. *The Gayatri, on the other hand, consists of many more than fifteen syllables and has a literal meaning: it praises the sun. Bhaskararaya finds that each syllable of the Srividya mantra contains one or several syllables from the Gayatri and, therefore, that the Gayatri inheres in the Srividya mantra. He lists the correspondences by associating specific sounds in the two mantras; for example, *ka *= *tat, **e *= *savitur **varenyam, **1 **= **bhargo **devasya **dhi-, *and so on through both mantras.48 The Srividya mantra is also divided into three parts, or three peaks *(kutas). *Just as cosmological, mystical, or meditative triads are found hidden in the name Tripura-sundari, so each peak of the mantra is compared to a cosmological, spiritual dynamic. There is the peak concerned with the power of speech, the peak concerned with the power of desire, and the peak concerned with the underlying *sakti *of the cosmos. Brahma, Visnu, and Siva; the moon, the sun, and fire; the three *gunas **(sattva, **rajas, *and tamas)—these and other triads are identified with the three peaks. In this way the triple-peaked mantra is seen to correspond to the cosmos, or the cosmos is seen to inhere in the three parts of the mantra.49
The mantra is also held to have six esoteric or mystical meanings *(artha). *Bhaskararaya describes them as follows: the first is that the mantra is identical with the supreme goddess, Tripura-sundari; the second is that the mantra is identical with the five basic elements and the thirty-six *tattvas (categories of creation); the third is the identity of the self(dtman), *the guru, and Siva, which are represented by the three “peaks”; the fourth is the identity between the mantra and the planets, the senses and their objects, and the material and spiritual worlds; the fifth is that the mantra is related to the *cakras *in the body; and the sixth is that ultimately all is one, that the mantra and everything to which it is compared coinhere in an indivisible unity.50
Inextricably related to the Srividya mantra and equally central to the Srividya cult is the Sri *cakra, *the yantra form of the goddess Tripurasundari.51 The yantra is to be held in the mind or worshiped in a physical manifestation. Like the mantra, the yantra is not an abbreviated or schematic representation of the anthropomorphic goddess. The Sri *cakra *is the goddess herself in complete, unmediated form; it fully contains and expresses her. Like the mantra, the Sri *cakra *is the self-revelation, the selfexpression of the goddess in her most essential form. As the *svarupa *(own form) of the goddess, who encompasses all of reality, everything inheres in the Sri *cakra; *all of reality and the very nature of reality can be read in terms of it. If we think of the mantra as the expression of ultimate reality *(brahman) *in the form of sound, then we can think of the Sri *cakra *as the very form of *brahman *in schematic or visual form. The *cakra *is essentially made up of nine triangles, five pointing downward and four pointing upward (in some cases five are pointing upward and four are pointing downward), which overlap each other and create many subsidiary triangles; these in turn are located within an eight-petaled lotus, which in turn is within a sixteen-petaled lotus; the lotuses are surrounded by four circles; and the whole is enclosed within four gates of triple lines. In the very center of the Sri *cakra *is a dot, the *bindu. *
The Sri *cakra *expresses the essential nature of ultimate reality as the interaction and mutual coinherence of Siva and Sakti, male and female, potentiality and actuality. The *bindu *in the center represents their absolute union and identity, while the rest of the *cakra *represents their evolution into the cosmos. The five downward-pointing triangles represent Sakti, while the upward-pointing triangles represent Siva. They overlap to represent the mingling, interaction, and mutual influence of these two powers. The predominance of Sakti in this rendering of the *cakra *implies her dominant position in the creation. Each petal of each lotus has a presiding female deity. These *saktis *are attendants or guardians of the central deities, Siva and Sakti in union in the *bindu. *There are also attendant deities at the outer gates who are often associated with *siddhis, *spiritual or magical powers or perfections acquired by the *sadhaka *in his or her spiritual sojourn. In general, the *siddhis *associated with the outermost deities are the least powerful and least difficult to acquire, while those associated with the innermost deities are the most difficult to acquire and the most spiritually potent.52
The Sri *cakra *can be read from the center to the outer gates, or conversely from the outer gates to the center. In the former case, one imagines the creation of the world as one moves from the center outward. This sequence is called *srstikrama. *One identifies oneself with the expanding creation and understands one’s spiritual prowess and awareness to be expanding along with the cosmos. In the reverse process, the *sadhaka *imagines the gradual dissolution of the cosmos and its reintegration into the *bindu, *which is without name and form. This sequence is called *samhdrakrama, *and in the course of it one imagines one’s own dissolution and gradual reintegration into the One represented by the *bindu. *In both cases the Sri *cakra *is read as a schematic rendering of one’s own spiritual journey. In either case, the exercise, which is undertaken ritually, is held to be spiritually transformative.
In the Srividya cult, the Srividya mantra and the Sri *cakra *are interpreted as two different expressions of the same goddess. In both cases it is affirmed that the goddess herself is fully expressed and that each expression, mantra and yantra, reveals the essential dynamics of cosmic evolution and dissolution. In a ritual context, the mantra and yantra are interconnected and reinforce each other. It is fair to say that the goddess Tripura-sundari is most intensely and completely revealed in the Srividya cult when a spiritually mature adept, invoking her mantra while implicitly understanding its subtle meanings, imaginatively or in actuality constructs the Sri *cakra. *
It is clear that the way in which the other Mahavidyas are presented in many *tantras *and tantric compendiums also puts a premium on their mantras and yantras. Each of the goddesses is intimately connected with these expressions and is appropriated ritually in all her power by means of these “devices.” The centrality of mantra and yantra in the worship of Tripura-sundari and specifically in the Srividya cult should not be taken as idiosyncratic. Their use is typical of *t.zntv\csadhana. *The emphasis on mantra and yantra also underlines the fact that Tripura-sundari, and the other Mahavidyas as well, are only fully realized, understood, and expressed existentially by individual *sadhakas *in ritual contexts. The goddesses are born, as it were, by means *oisadhana. *Their reality is inextricably connected with the ritually induced experiences of their devotees.