Shri Vidya
Every question on the site tagged Shri Vidya, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
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A Tantric tradition centered on the worship of the Goddess as Tripura Sundari via the Shri Yantra — its rituals like Shri Yantra Chakra Pujan are reserved for its own initiates.
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Which Devi mantras are bound, according to the Rudrayamala?
Bala Tripura Sundari, Tripura Bhairavi, all three Kootas of Shodashi, Kalika, Bhadrakali, Matangi, Bhuvaneshwari, Tara, Chhinnamastika, Bagalamukhi, and many other Devi forms all have bound mantras requiring unbinding.
What is Shri Vidya?
Bhagavati Tripura Sundari's sadhana is especially known within Shri Vidya; the particular method by which her sadhana is done is itself called Shri Vidya.
Why is the Sri Yantra not given out freely?
Sri Yantra belongs specifically to Shri Vidya and its kul-parampara, to be served with the reverence due a kulavadhu, not hung as decoration. For a general wish tied to wealth, a Lakshmi Yantra or Ashta Lakshmi Yantra is given instead; students in his own teaching first complete six months to a year of preliminary seva before being brought forward, a few at a time, to learn mandal puja.
Who may wear the tantrokta rudraksha mala of the Mandar Vidya anushthan?
In the brihad anushthan of Van Durga and Bhagavati Baglamukhi's Mandar Vidya, the tantrokta mala of rudraksha that is to be made for Bhagavati is not to be worn by you, the speaker reminds listeners; it will remain on Bhagavati's Shri vigrah. It may be made to be worn by every shakti related to the Shri kula, and if there is a Shri vigrah of Bhagavati Durga ji, it may be made to be worn on that too.
Podcast stories of one Bhairav made siddh from another should not spoil the head; stay within your own capacity and at your own ground level
Do not spoil your head by listening to podcasts, he says — that in a podcast it was said someone made Kapal Bhairav siddh and then, from Kapal Bhairav, made some other Bhairav siddh; that story is fine. Stay within the capacity that actually exists at ground level and try there for kripa. He remarks sarcastically that those podcast babas receive very special kripa, that Rajarajeshwari of Shri Vidya stands before them in person, and that even after that these people do black magic, God knows why. Avoid this fantasy world.
What is supreme in Shri kula on this night?
Turning to which shaktis move most swiftly, and looking at Shri kula before Kali kula, the speaker says that in Shri Vidya the archan of Bhagavati and of the Shri Yantra is supreme of all. Whether you are of Bhagavati Bala, of Bhagavati's Panchadashi, or of Bhagavati's Shodashi — in whichever your diksha occurred — if you are initiated and know the chakrarchan procedure properly.
Where should the chakrarchan be performed?
Perform the chakrarchan in the house, on the roof of the house, in some solitary region where darshan of Chandra dev is occurring, or on a mountain peak, the speaker says. It has been stated that many, many shaktis, being present there, assist in that archan of Bhagavati, take part in it, and give you darshan in subtle form as well.
The same effect follows from the archan of Shri Vidya's anga vidyas
In exactly the same way, the speaker says, for all the anga vidyas connected with them, connected with Shri Vidya, this same effect of their archan and pujan is obtained.
Can Durga's avaran pujan be done on a Shri Yantra installed by a brahmin?
Asked whether the avaran pujan of Ma Durga ji can be done on a Shri Yantra whose pujan and installation was done by a brahmin, the speaker answers: no. When Bhagavati's Shri Yantra is seated there, then you will be initiated in Shri Vidya and will perform her archan and pujan alone — you will do that of Bhagavati Lalitamba.
Is deeksha needed for Baglamukhi's Stotra Satnam?
A listener some years into Shri Vidya deeksha asks about doing 108 paths of Baglamukhi's Stotra Sat daily in this Navratri. If you are initiated then you certainly can, and there is no difficulty in it at all; and even without deeksha you certainly can — in a Stotra Satnam there is no problem.
Which kula does Tripura Sundari belong to, and whose dhyana should be read?
Bhagavati Tripura Sundari Lalita, the speaker says, is of the Shri Kula. Read her own dhyana mantra.
What should be done on Kartik Purnima itself?
On the day after, which is Kartik Purnima, do a havan as far as possible — with the 108 namavali of your aradhya, or with the mantra you do japa of; if it can be managed, certainly do a havan. The speaker adds that in the anushthan being held by his own Grihastha Tantra parivar, since it is Tripura Purnima this time, a full brihad anushthan of Bhagavati Tripur Sundari is being organised.
A disciple reported that Avadhoot Shivanand ji Maharaj is saying that Radha does not exist
Speaking of Avadhoot Shivanand ji Maharaj, who at one time was very much in discussion over Shri Vidya, the speaker says that today it was said by some disciple of his — and had been said before too — that Avadhoot Shivanand Maharaj is saying that Radha does not exist, that Radha does not exist at all, and that they are singing hallelujah.
He cannot read Tamil, and Shri Vidya is not a subject for a video
Asked to say which devi-devata a temple yantra belongs to, with the text in Tamil, he tells Meena ji that he has not obtained any such special siddhi by which he could read the Tamil language — tamil ille. Asked whether he can make a video on the sadhana marga of Devi Tripura Sundari, he says Shri Vidya is among the most specific vidyas, and in his own view it is not fitting to discuss such sadhanas on a video; even so, a brief video could be made, for information only.
Kali Panchban or Kali Raksha sadhana — which should be done?
Do the Panchban, he says — Kali Chaudas, Diwali. He remarks that all these sadhanas are on the channel and people simply do not look; the solution to every problem has been told entirely clearly and in expanded form. Do the Kali Panchban: those who have to use it for a job and the like, or for wealth and the like, and who hold Kali ji as their ishta, should not do a separate sadhana for Lakshmi ji but should use the Kali Panchban itself.
Shri Chakra pujan belongs to those holding the Shri Yantra deeksha; attempted uninitiated it attaches great dosha, and the speaker refuses all support for it.
If you have obtained the deeksha of the Shri Yantra and know Shri Chakra pujan, certainly do that too in these days. But if you do not have the deeksha of the Shri Chakra and, being uninitiated, you attempt this act, then great dosha will attach — and the speaker says plainly that they can never give their cooperation or support in such things, that it is wrong.
Pressed strictly, the rule would bar Chhinnamastika, Tara, Tripur Bhairavi and Dhumavati — and Baglamukhi too sits upon a shavasan; no one could then worship at home.
To a place its holders do not intend. On that reckoning, Bhagavati Chhinnamastika, Bhagavati Tara, Bhagavati Tripur Bhairavi, Bhagavati Dhumavati — and go a little further and, although you may say freely that Bhagavati Baglamukhi is in some kula, you should know that Bhagavati Baglamukhi too sits upon a shavasan. So how is anyone to perform pujan at home?
Which mantras must the undiksha never japa, and what changes after diksha?
Navarna and Panchadashi are such mantras that people who are undiksha should not japa them. If the utterance comes in the middle of some path, that is a separate matter. And once one has become diksha-holder, this mantra should never at any time be spoken with the mouth.
What was Kamrup Kamakhya once the chief place of?
In exactly that way, the speaker says, Bhagavati Kamrup Kamakhya is the chief Mahashakti, who is held to be the samyak swaroop of Bhagavati Kali and Tara; and the Kamrup Kamakhya kshetra was at one time the chief sadhan of Bhagavati Tripurasundari, of Shri Vidya. Because of fabricated things of this kind people fell away, a gap in knowledge-sharing was somewhere formed, and today people know that thing only for some other reason.
Which kavach is not made impure by sutak and patak?
The Kamakhya Kavach, the speaker says: in no condition and in no manner does its effect lessen in sutak and patak, nor does it become impure. But if any man or woman ever wears this kavach and establishes a relation with another man or another woman, then a very great dosha attaches. Apart from that, it never becomes impure.
Under which tradition does Hayagriva's sadhana fall?
Bhanu Pratap ji asks about the vidhi-vidhan of the special sadhana of Bhagavan Hayagriva ji. It comes under the whole vidhi that is connected with Shri Vidya, the speaker answers; so according to him, if the sadhana of these forms is to be done in vast detail, it will be better to do it after being initiated.
Who is Shri Yantra worship reserved for, and what should uninitiated practitioners establish instead?
Shri Yantra (in crystal, silver, or copper) and its ritual worship (Chakra Pujan) are for those initiated into Shri Vidya specifically — uninitiated individuals should establish and worship mild forms (Saumya Swaroop) of the Goddess instead.
May a Shri Vidya initiate do maya beej japa separately?
Asked by a listener who has had the initial diksha in Shri Vidya, has no separate diksha in the maya beej, but wishes to do its japa, the speaker answers that he should obtain the guru's adesh once. Speak once to those who gave the diksha — "Guruji, give us the adesh once" — and if they say just that much, it is most excellent.
Which three Mahavidyas stand inside the garbhagriha?
On going inside there is Bhagavati Matangi, who is the ninth Mahavidya; Bhagavati Kamala, who is the tenth Mahavidya; and the third Mahavidya, Bhagavati Shodashi, Ma Lalita Tripurasundari, who is present as Kamrup Kamakhya herself. So know this, the speaker says: whether you are an upasak of the Shri kula or an upasak of the Kali kula, to come to the Kamrup region, to take darshan of Bhagavati Kamakhya and to become liberated in life is in itself a very great mahatmya.
What does the Devi Atharvashirsha give?
In its Phalashruti it comes that the fruit obtained from studying all five Atharvashirshas is obtained from the recitation of the Devi Atharvashirsha alone — and along with it Bhagavati grants a great deal more, including the glory of the Navarna and of the Panchadashi Vidya.
Can a Shri Vidya Sahasranama be used for a particular aim?
This subject is off the beaten line and only your own Guru can tell you. The right over all of these belongs to the Guru alone. All the speaker will say is: make the Sankalpa of whatever your desired aim is, and do the recitation.
May the Shri Vidya Khadgamala be recited?
Asked whether the Shri Vidya Khadgamala may be recited, he answers that according to him an uninitiated person should not recite the Shri Vidya Khadgamala.
Take the case of a neighbourhood sadhak initiated in Shri Kula or Kali Kula, in Kadi or Hadi
Suppose, he says, there is a sadhak in your own area or neighbourhood who is initiated in the Shri Vidya kula or the Kali kula, in Kadi or Hadi — take him as initiated in Shri Kula, in Kadi.
Can a Shri Kul initiate use a Kali Kul teacher's vidhi?
The speaker asks the listener directly: if you are initiated in the Shri Kul and we are in the Kali Kul, can you perform the vidhan of Kurukulla by the method we have given? By the vidhi given in my parampara, can you carry out the whole vidhi vidhan of the mantras and the rest that fall under Shri Vidya? This knowledge should be there for prayoga, he says — one ought at least to know who a thing is for, and how it could possibly be made public.
The granths set out the niti and niyam of a Mahavidya sadhana within one's own kul, including whether the kul devi belongs to the Shri Kul
But after the Parvati Gita, when you go into the granths and study tantra, the speaker says, there is clarity on this subject: if you will do Matangi sadhana, then what niti and niyam are there for it? Is some subject of your kuldevi devatas present or not? If the devi of your kul is of the Shri Kul and you have gone off walking into Dhumavati sadhana, then there will be some niyam and nishtha or other. So this is the niti. Into this, you and I should not intrude anywhere. Remember only one subject: that here the Mundi has gone in order to bring about complete destruction, and these are the people of Tripura. Their complete destruction is happening — take your enjoyment, watch from in front, and bring learnedness into yourself.
Who has the adhikar to worship a Sri Yantra?
The first subject is this, the speaker says: the adhikar of the pujan of the Sri Yantra belongs to sadhaks and sadhikas initiated in Shri Vidya. The pujan of the Sri Yantra will be done according to the vidhi that is told by guru adesh. Mantra-less pujan of the Sri Yantra does not generally happen. At the least it is done by the Guru Paduka mantra, and by the mantra of whoever it is in Shri Vidya that you have received diksha of. That is the view, that is the subject, he says; for the rest, whether you accept this subject or not is your wish.
Can the Lalita Sahasranama be recited without Shri Vidya deeksha?
Asked whether the Lalita Sahasranama cannot be done without Shri Vidya deeksha, the speaker says that according to him it cannot, because in it there is the mool vidya, the mool mantra and such mantras whose utterance should not be made without deeksha; people are not the adhikari, and there is the process of nyasa and the rest. And by high-order sadhaks initiated in Shri Vidya too, he says, this very thing has been said — that it should not be done.
What does the Langur Upanishad sadhana require?
The speaker refuses to give the method. Its intensity is such that a single mistake is not tolerated. His stated minimum before approaching it: japa of Vaishnava mantras and Ram's name to the count of the 27 Nakshatras — 27 lakh — and formal initiation.
Is there a dosha in seeing the moon on a Chaturthi?
Asked whether a dosha attaches if the darshan of the moon happens on any Chaturthi day, he answers that the dosha of the chandra darshan of the Bhadrapada month has been spoken of particularly, and that the katha of the Syamantak Mani should be heard. Asked next by Uday Pratap ji, who wants diksha in the Shri Kul and is from Kurukshetra in Haryana, where the diksha will be from and what the beginning rule will be, he answers that he wants diksha in the Shri Vidya, diksha in the Shri Kul — so take diksha in the kula of Adi Guru Shankaracharya, and begin everything from there; there is no need to wander anywhere else.
How does one obtain the grace of the kuldevi Bala Sundari?
If your kuldevi is Bala Sundari, he answers, then it would be best if you become initiated in the Shri Kul. And until you are initiated, do the pujan and path of Bhagavati through her Sahasranama, through the Lalita Sahasranama; that will be the best.
Which form of Mata Lakshmi is best for upasana?
Asked which form of Mata Lakshmi is best — Kamala being bathed by Airavata, Lakshmi seated on an elephant, the four-armed beauty — the speaker answers that the one named, the Kamala form with the abhishek by Airavata, is the finest. So too Lakshmi ji seated on an elephant, or seated on a lotus. Trading classes should do upasana of Bhagavati Kamala in this form; those who wish to go into tantra, of Bhagavati Tripurasundari, Shri Vidya.
Why is Maha Ganapati given by a Guru's order in the Shri Kula?
Because if you perform Maha Ganapati's sadhana duly — his Purashcharan done, his Tarpan procedure learnt, everything done by the rule — then you will not have to think about earning a livelihood for the rest of it. It will keep coming by his grace.
Can all the swaroops of Kali, and the Kali kula devis, be worshipped on the Kali yantra?
Asked whether the sadhana and puja of all the swaroops of Maa Kali can be done on the yantra of Bhagavati Kali, and whether the pujan of all the devis of the Kali kula besides her can also happen there, he says: when we go along taking any one shakti, then certainly, related to Bhagavati Kali, you may do the pujan of her sixteen Nityas there, in the ang vidya.
Who has the right to worship the Shri Yantra?
Without diksha in the Shri Kula, the speaker tells Komal Parewa, no one can be entitled to its pujan. Ordinarily you may do this much: perform their abhishek daily with the Tantrokta Devi Suktam and do the shringar. Their grace and blessing will remain through that too. And if someone in the family takes diksha in the Shri Kula, learns the whole subject in the proper manner and then performs their pujan, that is excellent.
How many mantras are done in a Shri Vidya mantra anushthan in Navratri?
If you have taken the deeksha of Shri Vidya, Sunil ji, then do it accordingly, the speaker says. If you take it from the Krama Vidya, that is best of all; and within the Krama Vidya too, do it in one single krama, do one single Ekakshari, do the Chaturakshari — but the anushthan should be done holding to one alone. Now, if you have taken the Chaturakshari, then until four lakh are completed you should do the anushthan of that same mantra again and again.
Should a Shri Yantra be kept at home without Shri Vidya diksha?
He says the Shri Yantra will now be found house to house — such a profound thing, whose yantrarchan and the rest is very difficult without Shri Vidya diksha. But how many houses will you find in which a Shri Yantra is kept? The Shri Yantra has been marketed the most. Ask who and who is worshipped in it, in the middle — they do not know. How many kinds of Shri Yantra there are — they do not know. They know only that it is the yantra of Lakshmi ji.
What actually is a Guru mantra?
Every Kula — Shri Kula, Kali Kula, any of them — has its own Guru mantra: the mantra which, since that Guru tradition began, has held pre-eminence in that tradition in the Guru form. The whole grace of that Guru Mandal is in it, and everyone initiated in that tradition has the same Guru mantra.
Kashmir leaned philosophical, Bengal's Kalikula ritual, and South India's Srividya holds both
Kashmir Shaiva Tantra emphasized philosophical inquiry; Bengal's Kalikula system, centered on Goddess Kali, leans toward practical ritual application; and South India's Srividya tradition maintains a balance between intricate sadhana and philosophical understanding.
The North's institutions fell away; Kalikula and Srividya carried tantra on in Bengal, Assam, Odisha and the South
The advanced tantric systems and institutions of North India suffered a sharp decline after the political and social upheavals of Islamic conquest, but Shakti-based tantra continued to flourish and grow in Eastern India (Bengal, Assam, Odisha) and South India, through traditions like the Kalikula (Kali) and Srividya (Tripurasundari) systems.
Diksha and shaktipat become required, and mantra, yantra, mudra and nyasa enter with sattwik substances
Dakshinacara is the formal entry into tantric practice proper, requiring initiation (diksha) and shaktipat from a qualified guru, introducing mantra, yantra, mudra, and nyasa in worship of Shakti — using vegetarian, sattwik ritual substances, and it's the acara most closely associated with Srividya traditions in South India.
A mantra is the deity's body in sound; infused into a geometric diagram, the same shakti becomes a yantra.
A mantra is understood as the deity's subtle body in phonetic form — sustained japa is said to bring the practitioner into complete identification (advaitam) with the mantra's consciousness — and when the same mantra-shakti is infused into a geometric diagram, it becomes a yantra, a two-dimensional counterpart used in worship and meditation, such as the Sri Yantra of the Srividya tradition.
Sodasi, visualized as a sixteen-year-old girl embodying desire and beauty, holds the highest place in Srividya as Parabhattarika.
Sodasi, visualized as a sixteen-year-old girl symbolizing the totality of desire and eternal beauty, is also known as Kameshwari and holds an exalted role as Parabhattarika (the highest deity) in the Srividya system, popular among South Indian Shaktas and possibly traceable to Kashmir's Trika Shaivism.
Who is called Mahakaul in the tantra kshetra?
If you know anything at all of the Kaul marga, he says, you will know that Bhagavan Shri Krishna has been called Mahakaul, and Bhagavan Shri Hanuman ji too comes among the Mahakauls. Just as among the nitya upasakas of Bhagavati Shri Vidya you will know of Indra Dev, Varuna Dev, Kuber Dev, Maharshi Agastya Muni and Bhagavati Lopamudra, so among the Mahakauls, those who daily perform the upasana of the maha forms of Bhagavati are Bhagavan Shri Krishna Chandra ji Maharaj and Bhagavan Shri Hanuman ji.
Can a student perform the sadhana of Shri Lalita Tripurasundari?
For the special sadhana you should take diksha and then do it, the speaker answers.
What should be considered in making a Shri Yantra?
Asked about the construction of a Shri Yantra, the speaker says: discuss this matter with those from whom you will have it made. It can be had made according to the janma nakshatra.
Who has the adhikar to do nyasa with the Lalita Sahasranama?
If you recite the Lalita Sahasranama abundantly, the speaker says, or if you wish to obtain that kind of particular experience, wish to obtain grace, then it should be done after being made dikshit — otherwise you should do it without the nyasa and the rest. Because the adhikar to do nyasa belongs to Shri Vidya. Therefore it should be done only after taking diksha.
Mahakali has sixteen nityas, Shri Vidya fifteen
In this, the speaker says, if you go into the dhyana form and the mantras and the rest, tantra is very extensive, and then all of them have their nityas. In this, Bhadrakali too has nityas, and Bhadrakali herself is also in a nitya form. Mahakali too has sixteen nityas. Now go into Bhagavati Mahavidya, go into Shri Vidya, and in Shri Vidya too there are fifteen nityas — and in a way there are sixteen nityas in them as well.
What determines the time for making a Shri Yantra?
For the construction of a Shri Yantra, the speaker repeats, ask once those from whom you are having it made. If you are dikshit — dikshit in Shri Vidya — then according to the nitya in whose diksha you have been given, or according to which krama you are at now, whether Ekakshari or Tryakshari, your guru ji will tell you. Or the day of Purnima is the chief; it is had done on Purnima, and on Trayodashi too it happens. For them, the subject is not so much of tithi: it is necessary to look at the sadhak's janma nakshatra and the like, and it is had done accordingly, looking at the Chandrama and the nakshatra. So it will depend on that.
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