Śrīvidyā

Śrīvidyā is a relatively recent name for a tradi- in imagery connected with red. “Śrīvidyā” is a
tion centered on the worship of the goddess Sanskrit compound designating the name of the
Tripurasundarī (see Padoux, 1994, 5, on the mod- principal → mantra (mūlamantra) of this tradi-
ern use of the term Śrīvidyā). Tripurasundarī, or tion, śrī being an honorific, and vidyā “a feminine
Tripurā, also referred to as Rājarājeśvarī and Lalitā, mantra – the mantra of a female deity” (Padoux,
is conceptualized as the supreme deity, a beautiful 1994, 5). As is common in Sanskrit, there are a
and auspicious manifestation of the Great God- number of other interpretations of the term,
dess (→ Mahādevī). Meditation (dhyāna) verses based, for example, on taking śrī in the mean-
used for the visualization of Tripurasundarī ing of saubhāgya, that is, “good fortune, success,
describe her holding a goad, noose, bow of sug- happiness, as well as beauty or charm; all these
arcane, and arrows of flowers. Her reddish com- terms evoke an important aspect of the tradi-
plexion or red garments are also mentioned, tion” (Padoux, 1994, 5). In addition, the second
and the descriptions of Tripurasundarī abound part of the compound, vidyā, can be taken in its

Fig. 1: Statue of Rājarājeśvarī at the Śrī Rājarājeśvarī Pīt ̣ham in Rush, NY, USA
(photo by Anna Golovkova).
816 Śrīvidyā
nontechnical meaning of “knowledge, wisdom” The Nityā Cult and the Emergence
(see Brooks, 1992, 81–82). While Śrīvidyā’s ear-
of Śrīvidyā
liest extant Sanskrit text, the Vāmakeśvarīmata,
probably written in the early 11th century ce or
earlier, is a tantric text (see → Tantras) focusing Although the early history of Śrīvidyā is obscure,
on external ritual, over time extensive internal several extant texts suggest the existence of an
meditative practices have also been developed. antecedent Tantric cult that propitiated the nityā
By at least the 13th century ce, when Jayaratha, goddesses, serving as the subordinate deities to
Śivānanda, and Vidyānanda composed their Tripurā. In this earlier tradition, “rites for success
commentaries on the Vāmakeśvarīmata, Śrīvidyā in love predominated,” and the Tripurasundarī’s
emerged as a sophisticated pan-Indian tradition consort was Kāmadeva (the god of love), not
with a well-developed exegesis drawing on the Śiva, as in the mature Śrīvidyā tradition (Sand-
“Krama-influenced, Pratyabhijñā-based exege- erson, 2009, 47; for textual evidence of the nityā
sis of scripture in the Trika,” which had become cult, see Sanderson, 2009, 47–49). Among the
a dominant textual resource of “exegetical and earliest sources for the worship of Tripurasundarī
spiritual inspiration” (Sanderson, 2007, 427– is the text of the Sanskrit Nityākaula surviv-
434; for dates of these commentators, as well as ing in a single incomplete palm-leaf manu-
Amṛtānanda, who composed a commentary on script from Nepal. In this text, Tripurasundarī
the Yoginīhṛdaya [c. 14th century CE], see Sand- is accompanied by Kāmadeva and a retinue of
erson, 2007, 412–419; for Krama, Pratyabhijñā, 11 nityā goddesses. The Siddhakhaṇḍa of the
Trika, see also → Kashmir Śaivism). In time, in Manthānabhairavatantra preserves a variant
South India an expurgated form of Śrīvidyā of the nityā cult, providing instructions for the
became subsumed by the śaṅkarācāryas, the spir- worship of Tripurasundarī with her consort and
itual authority of the broader community of the a retinue of nine nityās. The third text identified
orthodox Śaiva Brahmans known as → Smārtas in connection with the nityā cult is a syncretistic
(Sanderson, 1988, 689, 704). Later commentators, text belonging to the cult of the goddess Kubjikā,
such as the 18th-century Bhāskararāya and the the Ciñciṇ īmatasārasamuccaya. This text “con-
19th-century Śivarāmasvamin (author of the tains a section drawn from the Nityākaula, or
Gayatrīmantravivṛtti and the Śrīvidyāmantravivṛtti), from some lost text closely related to it” and shows
attempted to reconcile the vedic and the tan- an early classification of the Kaula doctrines,
tric domains, and contemporary branches of in which the nityā cult is classified as the tradi-
Śrīvidyā include the Advaita → Vedānta theo- tion of the southern order (dakṣiṇ agharāmnāya;
logian → Śaṅkara, author of the commentary Sanderson, 2009, 48–49).
on the Brahmasūtra, as one of the preceptors At this time, not much can be said about the
of their lineage. While Śrīvidyā ritual has been dating of this antecedent cult with certainty,
traditionally practiced in the homes of the initi- except that it flourished prior to the 11th century
ated in relative secrecy, some of its features have and perhaps significantly earlier than that, based
been incorporated into the mainstream Hindu on the references to the worship of nityās in the
temple worship, and the most treasured hymns Kubjikāmata and the later Jayadrathayāmala (see
of the tradition, the Lalitāsahasranāma and the Sanderson, 2010, 47–48; see also below). Further-
Saundaryalaharī, have remained the focus of pop- more, the cult of the nityās was known to → Abhi-
ular devotion. Initiation into Śrīvidyā has been navagupta (TĀ. 28.123–124 [nityātantravidaḥ];
traditionally open to women and men, regardless PaTrV. [śrīnityātantreṣu; see Gnoli, 1985, 238]).
of caste (see e.g. Brooks, 1992, xiii) – however, The rites of love magic, predominant in the ritual
in practice, many contemporary gurus deny ini- of the nityā cult, formed the backdrop against
tiation to those who are not male Brahmans (see which the mature cult of Tripurasundarī devel-
Dempsey, 2006, for a study of Śrī Rājarājeśvarī oped. Although this connection has been deem-
Pīṭham in Rush, NY, for a notable exception to phasized in the later Śrīvidyā scriptures and
this practice; in particular see Dempsey, 2006, exegesis, references to love magic have been
92–93). preserved in the names of the subordinate god-
desses (e.g. the 16 deities of attraction [ākarṣa],
worshipped in the outer petals of the śrīcakra
[VāMa. 1.138–141]), the descriptions of the
 Śrīvidyā 817
physical beauty of Tripurasundarī (who is por- (Tam. Akilāṇt ̣ēcuvari) temple in Tiruchirappalli,
trayed as red, the color most vested with amo- Tamil Nadu, and the Mūkāmbikā temple in Kol-
rous connotations), and the expected results of lur, Karnataka. In Kashmir, as in South India, the
worship, which encompass the amorous attrac- cult of Tripurasundarī provided the “framework
tion of women to the ritualist (e.g. VāMa. 4.38– for the conceptualization of the cults of the local
41). Furthermore, the bow, five flower-arrows, goddesses” (Sanderson, 2007, 433). With the
noose, and goad, which Tripurasundarī holds adoption of an expurgated form of Śrīvidyā by
in her hands, are the standard attributes of the Smārta Brahmans, whose tendency was to “dis-
four-armed Kāmadeva (for his visualization see, tance themselves from Kashmiri Kaulism in order
e.g., the Īśānaśivagurudevapaddhati, Kriyāpāda, to distinguish Śrīvidyā from . . . Tantrism,” a num-
22.32–35). Although the benefits of amorous ber of texts on the worship of Tripurasundarī,
attractiveness have ceased to be the focal point “which were acceptable to even the most conser-
of the worship of Tripurasundarī over time, per- vative Hindus,” came to be attributed to Śaṅkara
haps it is this very capacity of this tradition to and his paramaguru ( guru’s guru) Gauḍapāda,
embrace all aspects of human existence – from who were “viewed as pillars of conservative ortho-
the mundane to the sublime – that contributed to doxy” (Brooks, 1992, 49–50).
its popularity.

Classification
Śrīvidyā, Brahmanism, and the
Cults of the Local Goddesses The classical Śrīvidyā is among the latest tradi-
tions of the non-Saiddhāntika Mantramārga and
There is no evidence that the ritual practice of the postdates the goddess-oriented Vidyāpīṭha doc-
nityā cult has survived the reshaping of the land- trines, including the broader Kālīkula tradition
scape of the Hindu Tantra following the tremen- of the worship of goddess Kālī/Kālasaṃ karṣaṇī
dous creative development of Śaivism during the and its Kashmirian branch, known as Krama (for
10th to 12th centuries. However, the Śrīvidyā tra- Mantramārga, Vidyāpīṭha, Kālīkula, and Krama,
dition, which likely developed out of this earlier see → Kashmir).
cult toward the end of the early medieval period, However, the antecedent nityā cult is older
flourishes to this day in pan-Indian ritual prac- than the Kubjikā tradition and at least some of
tice. Many Śrīvidyā texts and commentaries are the texts of the Kālīkula (for a classification and
extant. The mature Śrīvidyā developed a sophis- features of the Śaiva and Śakta-Śaiva doctrines,
ticated commentarial tradition, which upgraded see Sanderson, 1988; 2006). The Ciñciṇīmatasāra-
a modest cult of love magic with the exegesis samuccaya, a syncretic text of the Kubjikā cult,
within the Kashmirian nondualistic Śākta-Śaiva includes the nityā cult in its classification. The
discourse. The worship of Tripurasundarī flour- Kubjikāmata and the later Ṣaṭkas (sextets) of the
ished in → Kashmir, in the Kathmandu Valley, Kālīkula’s Jayadrathayāmala refer to its deities,
in Tamil Nadu, in Andhra Pradesh, and among and the former also to one of its mantras (Sander-
the Nambūtiri Brahmans of → Kerala, as well son, 2010, 47–48).
as in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. In east India What particularly sets Śrīvidyā apart from the
(see → Assam), Tripurasundarī (also known as earlier traditions of the Vidyāpīṭha is the preva-
Ṣoḍaśī) was incorporated into the tradition of lence of the imagery of love magic, inherited from
the ten mahāvidyās (on geographical distribu- the antecedent nityā cult, which is in striking con-
tion of Śrīvidyā, see Sanderson, 2010, 80–83; for trast to the Vidyāpīṭha’s Kāpālika imagery of the
mahāvidyās see → Kālī). cremation grounds from the earlier Atimārga tra-
In a later development, “Śrīvidyā appears to ditions (Sanderson, 2009, 49; for Kāpālika imag-
have undergone something of a reformation in ery in Mantramārga, see Sanderson 1988, 669–75;
the south” (Brooks, 1992, 48). Tripurasundarī for Kāpālika, Atimārga, see → Kashmir).
came to be seen as the esoteric essence of the According to the Ciñciṇīmatasārasamuccaya,
local goddesses in the major temples of Shringeri, the nityā cult was associated with the southern
Kanchipuram, Srisailam, and Madurai, and in less transmission, or the southern order. This system
well-known temples such as the Akhilāṇḍeśvarī of classification of the Kaula traditions included
818 Śrīvidyā
Kālīkula as the teaching of the northern order, opment of which one can trace in Sanskrit (not
a system related to Trika as that of the eastern Tamil) literature that must certainly post-date the
order, and the Kubjikā cult as the tradition of the fifth century” (Goodall, 2004, xxix).
western order (Sanderson, 2009, 48–49). The first extant Sanskrit Śrīvidyā text, the
In the later schemas, Śrīvidyā saw itself as tran- Vāmakeśvarīmata, also referred to as Nityāṣoḍa-
scending the four Kaula teachings associated with śikārṇ ava or Catuḥśatī, was probably composed
the cardinal directions (VāMa. 1.12). Parātantra, in the early 11th century. It is often grouped
a syncretic scripture probably produced in the together with the later Yoginīhṛdaya. However,
Kathmandu Valley and a synoptic text of the significant differences in terminology and the
Vāḍavānalīya, quoted in the Puraścaryārṇ ava, types of practices in the Vāmakeśvarīmata and
included this new configuration (Sanderson, the Yoginīhṛdaya suggest that the two texts rep-
2003, 367–368). Both Parātantra and Vāḍavāna- resent “distinct intellectual and historical tradi-
līya provided an artificial schema of six trans- tions” (Brooks, 1992, 38).
missions, which preserved the goddesses asso- In the Vāmakeśvarīmata, the magical means
ciated with Krama in the north and the cult of for attracting the desired partner were given the
Kubjikā in the west. The goddesses of the now most prominence, compared to practices focus-
obsolete Trika were replaced with Pūrṇeśvarī in ing on speech and eloquence, and rituals for over-
the east. Instead of the nityā cult, which had been coming the negative effects of poisons, gaining
supplanted by the mature cult of Tripurasundarī, the power to cure snake bites, and the control
Niśeśvarī was established in the south. The god- over bhūtas (ghosts), pretas (ghouls), and piśācas
desses Pūrṇeśvarī and Niśeśvarī have probably (goblins). The Vāmakeśvarīmata incorporated
been artificially constructed to fill in the gaps in the subordinate nityā deities of the antecedent
this classification, since they are not attested out- cult as part of a much larger ritual system com-
side of this context. The Buddhist Vajrayoginī, prising 78 deities, arranged on the nine levels
along with Nairṛteśvarī and other minor god- of the śrīcakra (see → maṇ ḍalas and → yantras).
desses, was added as the tradition of the nadir. The text included a detailed exposition on the
The cult of Tripurasundarī (i.e. Śrīvidyā) was vidyās (mantras of feminine deities), that is, the
added as the transcendent, upper tradition mūlavidyā, given in the coded form, the supple-
of the zenith (Sanderson, 2003, 366–368). mentary vidyās, and the bījas (the so-called seed
syllables; see → mantras). Detailed instructions for
the drawing of the śrīcakra, its worship, the prac-
Śrīvidyā Literature tice of nyāsa (installing the divinity in the body of
the ritualist), and additional practices for attrac-
The Early Tantras tion, subjugation, protection, and the attainment
Śrīvidyā practice has always required “ritual lit- of various siddhis (supernatural powers) were
eracy in Sanskrit” (Brooks, 1992, xiii), and the also provided. A variety of mudrās (particular
tradition has produced a great variety of scrip- hand gestures common in Tantra that are seen
tures, commentaries, devotional hymns, and as the physical analogue to the deities and their
ritual manuals. According to T. Goudriaan, mantras/vidyās) are also discussed. A list corre-
Śrīvidyā is “conspicuous by the literary standard sponding to nine out of ten daśamahāmudrās (lit.
of at least part of its texts, and by the mere coher- the ten great mudrās), which are still in current
ence and elaboration of its doctrine” (Goudri- practice, is given with only slight variations and in
aan, 1981, 58). While the majority of these texts the same order (VāMa. 1.164; detailed discussion
have been composed in Sanskrit, some literature in VāMa. 3, a short chapter on mudrās). Among
relevant to the tradition, which is yet to be fully the daśamahāmudrās, the trikhaṇ ḍamudrā is
examined, is in vernacular languages. The fore- not mentioned in the text, but Jayaratha in
most among these is the Tamil Tirumantiram. his commentary, the Vāmakeśvarīmatavivaraṇ a,
Although the text is traditionally dated quite early, creatively interprets ādi (first, etcetera) to refer
and some have dated it as early as “the fifth, sixth, to this mudrā, completing the list of ten. Instruc-
or seventh century,” it “may have been dated six tions for homa (fire ceremony), japa (mantra rep-
or seven centuries too early” as it “contains a com- etition), and dhyāna (meditation, visualization)
plex of concepts with Sanskrit labels the devel- are also given. Among the meditations mentioned
 Śrīvidyā 819
in the Vāmakeśvarīmata is the kāmakalādhyāna century or soon after. The text incorporated ter-
(meditation on the symbolic representation of minology and doctrinal concepts derived from
the body of Tripurasundarī; VāMa. 1.165–168; Trika and Krama Pratyabhijñā-based metaphys-
for a study of kāmakalā, see White, 1998) and a ics and cosmologies that updated the cult with
detailed description of the physical form of the the Śākta-Śaiva nondualist paradigms, dominant
goddess, which spans 30 verses, excerpted below. from the 11th century onward. While retaining
the configuration of the subordinate deities to
tataḥ padmanibhāṃ devīṃ bālārkakiraṇāruṇām
be worshipped in the śrīcakra discussed in the
japākusumasaṅkāśāṃ dāḍimīkusumopamām
(VāMa. 1.113)
Vāmakeśvarīmata, in addition to the external
ritual, the Yoginīhṛdaya introduced a number of
sphuranmukuṭamāṇ ikyakiṅkiṇ ījālamaṇ ḍitām sophisticated meditative practices and ways of
(VāMa. 1.114cd) mapping the śrīcakra onto the subtle body of the
kālālikulasaṅkāśakuṭilālakapallavām practitioner, reflecting the trend toward the eso-
(VāMa. 1.115ab) tericization and internalization in this tradition.
The śrīcakra in the Yoginīhṛdaya is viewed not
kiṃ cidardhendukuṭilalalāṭamṛdupaṭtị kām
only as an external ritual diagram, but also as a
pinākidhanurākārasubhruvaṃ parameśvarīm
map of cosmic emanation (YHṛ. 1.36–49; see also
ānandamuditollolalīlāndolitalocanām
Padoux, 2003, 240). The text describes the cosmic
(VāMa. 1.116–117ab)
consciousness, which has the nature of [pra]mātṛ
mahātripuramudrāṃ tu smṛtvāvāhanarūpayā (cognizer), [pra]meya (object of cognition), and
vidyayāvāhya subhage namaskāraniyuktayā [pra]māṇ a (cognition itself) coming into being in
pūrvoktayā sādhakendro mahātripurasundarīm the form of the universe (YHṛ. 1.9–12; 1.50–51).
cakramadhye tu saṃ cintya tataḥ pūjanam This cosmic consciousness in the śrīcakra is four-
ārabhet (VāMa. 1.132–133) fold, manifesting as Vāmā, Jyeṣt ̣ā, Raudrī, and
[Mahātripurasundarī] resembling a lotus, red- the Great Goddess, Ambikā (YHṛ. 1.36–40). The
dish as the rays of the young sun, like a China four goddesses are equated with the four levels of
Rose [or] a pomegranate flower . . . adorned with speech, inherited from Pratyabhijñā – paśyantī,
glittering crown rubies and strings of bells, with madhyamā, vaikharī, and the transcendent fourth
a mass of curls like a swarm of black bees [and] level of parā vāc, the supreme word in its primeval,
a delicate fillet slightly curved like a half-moon undifferentiated state (YHṛ. 1.36–40; for a detailed
at the round forehead, the supreme goddess, exposition on Kashmirian conceptions of the lev-
whose beautiful eyebrows are shaped like the els of speech, see Padoux, 1990, 166–223; see also
bow of Śiva, eyes playfully moving about like → mantras). Among the extant commentaries on
waves delighted with bliss . . . Having meditated this text, the 14th-century Yoginīhṛdayadīpikā by
on the mahātripuramudrā and having sum- Amṛtānanda and the 18th-century Setubandha by
moned [Mahātripurasundarī] with the afore- Bhāskararāya have been published.
said vidyā of summoning, adding the namas [of
obeisance], O beautiful one, after visualizing The Later Tantras
Mahātripurasundarī at the center of the cakra, The text usually referred to as the Tantrarājatantra
the excellent sādhaka should then begin the
calls itself the Kādimatatantra, with Tantra-
worship. (trans. by author with comments by
rājatantra being merely an epithet of that title
A. Sanderson, personal communication, 2012)
(Goudriaan, 1981, 64). The text contains new
While the 13th-century commentators, particu- features in the doctrinal system, such as the
larly Jayaratha and Śivānanda, reevaluated the division into the two matas, or doctrinal lines
Vāmakeśvarīmata in light of the Kashmirian of interpretation (Goudriaan, 1981, 64). Tra-
nondual philosophy, the text itself did not display ditionally, Śrīvidyā lineages and their texts dis-
explicit awareness of these doctrines. tinguish themselves by the two mata divisions:
The Yoginīhṛdaya, introduced as an esoteric kādi and hādi (see Brooks, 1992, 87–90). The
elaboration on the points that have not been suf- hādimata is not preserved in the contempo-
ficiently clarified in the Vāmakeśvarīmata, was rary tradition. Among the doctrinal differences
evidently composed after the time of Abhinav- between the two matas, the primary divergence
agupta and Kṣemarāja, probably in the mid-11th is in the extraction of the mūlavidyā. In the
820 Śrīvidyā
Kāmarāja Sampradāya, the root vidyā is extracted Stotras
as kādividyā (i.e. the vidyā beginning with ka). In → Stotras (hymns) and other devotional literature
the Lopāmudrā Sampradāya, hādividyā begins of the tradition not only describe the popular
with ha (Brooks, 1992, 89–90). The text of the image of the goddess, but often encode technical
Tantrarājatantra, however, uncharacteristically meanings pertaining to the cult’s doctrine and
names the two matas as kādimata and kālīmata, ritual. In the short text of the Khaḍgamālāstotra,
the latter likely referring to the Kālīkula (Brooks, the arrangement of names of the subordinate dei-
1992, 42; Goudriaan, 1981, 64). While the early ties mirrors the ritual in which these goddesses
texts discussed above outlined the main features are worshipped in the śrīcakra or internally in the
of the Śrīvidyā external and internal ritual, the order of evolution (sṛsṭ ị krama). The text lists the
Tantrarājatantra includes considerably more subordinate goddesses worshipped in the nine
detail. The text offers a thorough exposition of levels of the śrīcakra ritual and the emanations
the worship of the nityās, with Lalitā named as of Tripurasundarī controlling each level. Among
the foremost of them, and introduces two dei- the groups included in the Khaḍgamālāstotra are
ties, Vārāhī and Kurukullā, to whom sacrificial 15 nityās, the Lopāmudrā Sampradāya (Khanna,
offerings (bali) are given at the end of the pūjā. 1986, 49), 11 siddhis beginning with aṇimā, and
The Tantrarājatantra covers a great number of the 8 matṛkā goddesses. The daily chanting of
subjects, including mantraśāstra, vāstuśāstra, the Khaḍgamālāstotra is understood to have the
homa, and yantras, among others, in a “learned, same efficacy as the complete pūjā of the śrīcakra
sophisticated, non-repetitive style,” combining (Khanna, 1986, 11).
“an impressive quantity of ślokas with a consid- The Lalitāsahasranāma is a popular Stotra
erable literary achievement” (Goudriaan, 1981, containing one thousand names of the goddess
66–67). Lalitā. It is widely used in contemporary devo-
Among other later Tantras, one of the most tional practice. Many people chant it daily and
popular is the Jñānārṇ avatantra. The text follows know the hymn by heart, while others use it for
the kādimata and was probably composed prior a simple pūjā, in which an offering, usually a pinch
to the 16th century (Goudriaan, 1981, 67–68). of red kuṃ kum powder or flower petals, is offered
Although of lesser literary quality than the texts to the śrīcakra with each name of the goddess.
that preceded it, the Jñānārṇ avatantra “contains The Stotra is included in the Lalitopākhyāna
precious information on the worship of Tripurā section of the Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa. Enclosed within
and other subjects which it often presents in a a framing story, it is presented in the form of
clear and unpretentious language” (Goudriaan, instruction imparted by Hayagrīva to Agastya.
1981, 68). In addition to expounding on the tri- The text of the hymn reflects several puranic
adic nature of Tripurasundarī (see below) and myths, such as the arising of Tripurasundarī from
elucidating a number of technical details of her the fire pit of the sacrificial fire of consciousness
worship, the text discusses the worship of Bālā, and the slaying of the demon Bhaṇḍāsura,
a manifestation of the goddess as a young girl, described in the Lalitopākhyāna, as well as the
who is portrayed seated on a white lotus, holding slaying of Mahiṣāsura, and Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa
a rosary (akṣamālā) and the → Vedas (Goudriaan, from the Devīmāhātmya. The kuṇḍalinī system of
1981, 68). Tripurabhairavī, a fearsome emana- cakras/ādhāras (subtle energy centers) grouped
tion of the goddess, is also described (Goudri- into the three kūṭas (sections), with the corre-
aan, 1981, 68). The exoteric Jñānārṇavatantra sponding granthis (knots) is also introduced (see
and the Kaula Paraśurāmakalpasūtra are among → Yoga).
the authoritative references for contemporary Another popular Stotra widely used devotion-
Śrīvidyā practice (Brooks, 1992, 43, 52–53; ally is the Saundaryalaharī (The Wave of Beauty).
217n42; for a summary of Paddhatis and other While containing devotional expositions on the
texts of ritual instruction, see Brooks, 1992, oneness of Śiva and Śakti and descriptive passages
51–53). The tradition has preserved a number of on the physical beauty of the goddess, the text also
other later Tantras, a number of which are yet to encodes technical information on śrīcakra ritual
be edited (see Goudriaan, 1981, 68–74, for a sum- and internal worship. The first part of the text is
mary of the later Śrīvidyā Tantras). known as the Ānandalaharī (The Wave of Bliss)
and is considered to be the essence of the hymn
(Brown, 1958, 1). In highly poetic and evocative
 Śrīvidyā 821
language, the many facets of → śakti, the femi- according to hādimata in the works of the
nine divine energy, are carefully laid out, and the 13th-century Śivānanda, see Khanna, 1986; and
goddess’s mystic union with Śiva, who cannot for the analysis of Śrīvidyā ritual, see Brooks,
accomplish anything without her, is described: 1992). Standard tantric practices, as they are pre-
served in the contemporary tradition, include
śivaḥ śaktyā yukto yadi bhavati śaktaḥ pra-
dhyāna (meditation, visualization), pūjā (ritual
bhavitum
na ced evam devo na khalu kuśalaḥ spanditum
worship), tarpaṇ a (offering of libations), nyāsa
api (installing the divinity in the body of the ritual-
atas tvām ārādhyāṃ hariharaviriñcādibhir api ist), homa (offering oblations into the fire), japa
praṇantuṃ stotuṃ vā katham akṛtapuṇ yaḥ (mantra repetition), and mudrā (ritual gestures).
prabhavati (SauLa. 1) From the earliest texts, the worship of
Tripurasundarī has been described as tripartite,
If Śiva is joined with Śakti, only then there can that is, centered on pūjā, mantra, and cakra (e.g.
be lordship, YHṛ. 1.6). These three types of worship corre-
but if not – the Lord himself can hardly stir. spond to the three forms of the goddess, which
When you are worshipped even by Hari, Hara, are her physical form (sthūlarūpa; represented in
Brahmā, and others,
anthropomorphic images), her subtle (sūkṣma)
how can one without merit bow to you or praise
or mantra form, and her transcendent, supreme
you? (trans. by author)
(parā) form, worshipped in the śrīyantra, or the
Ānandalaharī contains many “technicalities of śrīcakra, a two- or three-dimensional aniconic
this originally Kaula system,” with which “many representation of Tripurasundarī (Brooks, 1992,
late South and East Indian commentators, such xviii; see also Dempsey, 2006, 53). The geometri-
as Kaivalyāśrama, Ānandagiri, Gaurīkāntanta cal design of the śrīcakra is formed by the bindu
Sārvabhauma, Narasiṃ ha and Lakṣmīdhara, (dot) in the middle of the nine intersecting trian-
are fully conversant” (Sanderson, 2002, 23n24). gles, surrounded by two concentric rows of lotus
The second part of the Stotra, often called the petals and a threefold circle within an enclosure
Saundaryalaharī, extols the beauty of the god- with four gates (see → maṇ ḍ alas and yantras).
dess, each metaphor carefully crafted to fol- The principal mantra of the tradition is the
low her detailed physical description from pañcadaśākṣarī (a 15-syllabled mantra) or
head to toe. The text concludes with “the poet’s ṣoḍaśākṣarī (a mantra of 16 syllables, formed
prayer that he may receive Devī’s grace, have from the pañcadaśākṣarī; see Brooks, 1992, 90, for
the vision of her supernal form, achieve self- the details of the extraction of the mūlamantra).
realization, and savor the sweetness of supreme A variant of the 15-syllabled mantra is already
brahman . . . which she is” (Brown, 1958, 1). The articulated in a coded form in Śrīvidyā’s earli-
Saundaryalaharī is attributed by tradition to est extant Sanskrit text, the Vāmakeśvarīmata
Śaṅkara, who is usually dated to the 8th century – (1.93–101), and kādividyā, just as it has been
however, the text must have been composed sig- preserved in the contemporary tradition – in the
nificantly later (for a summary of the scholarship Tamil Tirumantiram (see Brooks, 1992, 31). The
on the authorship and dating, see Brown, 58, ṣoḍaśākṣarī appears to have been a later addition.
25–30). The contemporary tradition refers to the 16-
syllabledmantraasthelaghuṣoḍaśīanditsexpanded
form as the mahāṣoḍaśī (see Brooks, 1992, 108,
Practices for a variant of the latter). The bālāmantra, a nine-
syllabled mantra of the goddess as a nine-year-
In the literature overview above, we have already old girl, is also used. From its earliest attestation,
outlined some of the Śrīvidyā practices, which the mūlavidyā has been presented as threefold;
are similar to other tantric traditions, as well as its 15 syllables divided into three groups. These
the content of the practices unique to Śrīvidyā. A groups are identified in the Vāmakēśvarīmata
detailed exposition of Śrīvidyā ritual and theology as vāgbhava, kāmarāja, and śakti (VāMā.
is of course outside the scope of this article (for a 1.94–101). Each of the three stages has a corre-
discussion of tantric ritual, see Sanderson 1995; sponding syllable (VāMā. 1.82–85). Together
for a discussion of the worship of Tripurasundarī these three syllables are considered to be the
822 Śrīvidyā
contracted form of the mūlavidyā. It is these Padoux, A., Vāc: The Concept of the Word in Selected
syllables that form the bālāmantra and are the Hindu Tantras, Albany, 1990.
most basic form of initiation into Śrīvidyā at pres- Sanderson, A., “Śaivism, Society and the State,” unpubl.
draft, 2010.
ent day. Sanderson, A., “The Śaiva Age: An Explanation of the Rise
and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval
Period,” in: S. Einoo, ed., Genesis and Development of
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Anna Golovkova