Tripura Sundari

Tripura Sundari (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरा सुन्दरी, IAST: Tripura Sundarī), also known as Rajarajeshwari, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Lalita is a Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of supreme goddess Mahadevi mainly venerated in Shaktism, the goddess-oriented sect of Hinduism. She is also one of the ten Mahavidyas. She is praised in many Shakta texts, with ''Lalita Sahasranama, Soundarya Lahari'' being the most popular one. She is known as Adi Parashakti in Lalitopakhyana of Brahmanda Purana.

According to the Srikula tradition in Shaktism, Tripura Sundari is the foremost of the Mahavidyas, the supreme divinity of Hinduism and also the primary goddess of Sri Vidya. The Tripura Upanishad places her as the ultimate Shakti (energy, power) of the universe. She is described as the supreme consciousness, ruling from above Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Kinsley says, "In one instance she is said to be sitting on Shiva's lap in the Kameshwara form, the 'Lord of Desire'. In another case, she is depicted as growing from the Sri Chakra, the yantra of Tripura Sundari.

Etymology and nomenclature

The word Tripura (त्रिपुर ) means three cities or three worlds, Sundari (सुन्दरी) means beautiful woman. Tripura Sundari means the most beautiful woman in the three worlds. She is called Tripura because it is similar to the triangle (triangle) that symbolizes the yoni and forms her circle. She is also known as Tripura as her mantra has three clusters of letters. She is called Tripura because she is manifested in Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe.

History and texts

Tripura Sundari is most often mentioned in the Lalitopakhyana of '' Brahmanda Purana'' and '' Tripura Rahasya''.
The Tripura Upanishad places the goddess Tripura Sundari as the ultimate Shakti (energy, power) of the universe. She is described as the supreme consciousness, above Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

The Bahvricha Upanishad is notable for asserting that the Self (soul, Atman) is a Goddess who alone existed before the creation of the universe.

According to the Patala Khanda of Padma purana and Narada Purana, God Krishna is the male form of the goddess Lalita.

Tripura Sundari occupies a very special place in the Tripura Rahasya, a Shakta scripture.

Role in creation

According to the Tripura Rahasya, only goddess Tripura Sundari existed before the beginning of the universe. She created the Trimurti and began the creation of the universe.

Iconography

Her form is described in her Dhyana Stotra as follows.

I imagine of my goddess Bhavani, who has a color of the rising sun. Who has eyes which are waves of mercy, who has bow made of sweet cane, arrows made of soft flowers, and Aasha, Ankusha in her hands, and who is surrounded, by her devotees with powers great, as personification of the concept of “I”.

Also details of her appearance are found in the famous hymn in her praise, the Lalita Sahasranama, where she is said to be,

She is often depicted iconographically as a 16-year-old girl (hence the appellation "Shodashi") seated on a lotus that rests on the supine body of Sadashiva, which in turn lies on a throne whose legs are the gods Brahma, Vishnu, Isvara, and Rudra. In some cases, the lotus is growing out of Shiva's navel. In other more common cases, the lotus is grown directly from the Sri Chakra.

In the Jnana Khanda of Tripura Rahasya, goddess herself describes her eternal form.

The ''Vamakeshvara tantra'' says that Tripura-sundari dwells on the peaks of the Himalayas; is worshipped 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 a jata; holds a trident and drum; is decorated with jewels, flowers, and ashes; and has a large bull as a vehicle.

The Saundarya Lahari and the Tantrasara 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. Kinsley also says that "In Saundarya Lahari and Tantrasara she is not associated with Shiva in any obvious way as she is in other depictions".

Vaishnavism traditions have a similar set of complementary parallels between Vishnu and Lakshmi. The Tantric Vaishnava Pancharatra texts associates Lalita with Lakshmi. Author Douglas Renfrew Brooks says, "Lalita, like the Pancharatra conception of Lakshmi, acts independently by taking over the cosmic functions of the male deity; yet she does not defy the god's wishes". Brooks also says, "In contrast to most Vaishnava conceptions of Lakshmi, however, Lalita destabilizes temporarily for the purpose of reasserting order".

Scholar and professor Thomas B. Coburn says,

Literary sources

''Lalita Sahasranama''

''Lalita Sahasranama'' contains a thousand names of the Hindu mother goddess ''Lalita''. The names are organized in a hymn ('' stotras''). It is the only '' sahasranama'' that does not repeat a single name. Further, in order to maintain the meter, other ''sahasranamas'' use the artifice of adding suffixes like tu, api, ca, and hi, which are conjunctions that do not necessarily add to the meaning of the name except in cases of interpretation. The ''Lalita sahasranama'' does not use any such auxiliary conjunctions and is unique in being an enumeration of holy names that meet the metrical, poetical and mystic requirements of a ''sahasranama'' by their order throughout the text.

''Lalita Sahasranama'' begins by calling the goddess ''Shri Mata'' (the great mother), ''Shri Maharajni'' (the great queen) and ''Shrimat Simhasaneshwari'' (the queen sitting on the lion-throne). In verses 2 and 3 of the ''Sahasranama'' she is described as a ''Udayatbhanu Sahasrabha'' (the one who is as bright as the rays of thousand rising suns), ''Chaturbahu Samanvita'' (the one who has four hands) and ''Ragasvarupa Pashadhya'' (the one who is holding the rope). ''Chidagnikunda Sambhuta'' (one who was born from the altar of the fire of consciousness) and ''Devakarya samudyata'' (one who manifested Herself for fulfilling the objects of the ''devas'') are among other names mentioned in the ''sahasranama''.

Composition

''Lalitha sahasranama'' is said to have been composed by eight vak devis (vaag devathas) upon the command of Lalitha. These vaag devis are Vasini, Kameshwari, Modhinee, Vimala, Aruna, Jayinee, Sarveshwari, Koulini. The sahasranama says that "One can worship Lalitha only if she wishes us to do so". The text is a dialogue between Hayagriva, an (avatar) of Mahavishnu and the sage Agastya. The temple at Thirumeyachur, near Kumbakonam is said to be where Agastya was initiated into this sahasranama. Another alternative version is the Upanishad Bramham Mutt at kanchipuram is where this initiation happened.

This sahasranama is held as a sacred text for the worship of the "Divine Mother", Lalita, and is used in the worship of Durga, Parvati, Kali, and other forms of Parvati. A principal text of Shakti worshipers, it names her various attributes, and these names are organized in the form of a hymn. This sahasranama is used in various modes for the worship of the Divine Mother.

This stotra (hymn of praise) occurs in the Brahmanda Purana (history of the universe) in the chapter on a discussion between Hayagreeva and Agasthya. Hayagreeva is an incarnation of Vishnu with the head of a horse who is held to be the storehouse of knowledge. Agasthya is one of the sages of yore and one of the stars of the constellation Saptarshi ( Ursa major). At the request of Agasthya, Hayagreeva is said to have taught him the thousand holiest names of Lalita. This has been conveyed to us by the sage Maharishi Vyasa. ''Lalitha Sahasranama'' is the only sahasranama composed by vag devatas under Lalitha's direction. All the other sahasranamas except Shiva Sahasranama are said to have been composed by Maharishi Vyasa ,Shiva Sahasranama being composed by Mahavishnu and also by Krishna.

Structure

The slokas are organized in such a way that Devi is described from head to feet (kesadhi padham). There are basically five works (''pancha krtyam''). They are creation ('' srishti''), protection (''sthiti''), destruction (''samharam''), hiding (''thirudhanam'') and blessing (''anugraham''). Devi herself has been described as "pancha krtya parayana" in the ''sloka'' and the five tasks are described as follows:

This means Devi is the aspect of Brahma, while creating ''sristhi'', aspect of Vishnu while sustaining ''sristhi'', aspect of Rudra during dissolution ''sanghara''. These five entities (Brahmma, Vishnu, Rudra, Isvara and Sadasiva) are known as "pancha-brahma". Lalitha has designated the five functions to these brahmam. Sometimes, Devi will take away the life from these five brahmmam and make them inactive, performing all the five tasks herself. At that time, they will be called "pancha pretam" that is lifeless bodies. The first three slokas are: Srimata (great mother) – srshti; Sri Maharajni (great ruler) – sthithi; Srimat Simhasaneswari (one who sits on the lion throne) – samharam. The rest of the slokas cover thirodhanam and anugraham.

The next names – "chidhagnikunda sambhutha devakarya samudhyatha" tells us that devi arose from the fire of knowledge to help devas in their task (war against asuras – bhandasura). From the nama- Udhyath bhanu sahasraba till sinjanamani manjeera manditha sree padambuja, all her parts like her face, forehead, eyes, mouth, tongue, voice, hands and legs have been described.Thereafter, Devi's place (Chintamani gruham), her war against bandasura, kundalini shakti, and her properties have been described. A common image of the goddess depicts a parrot and a sugarcane with her. Sugarcane represents the sweetness of her mind.

References in Hindu literature

The '' Soundarya Lahari'' of Adi Shankaracharya deals exhaustively about the nature of the Goddess and her worship.

The ''Lalitopakhyana'' (the fourth book of the Brahmanda Purana) tells of the epic battle between her forces and the forces of the arch-demon Bhandasura.

The ''Tripura Sundari Ashtakam'' by Adi Shankaracharya describes her as a Mother wearing a blue and red-spotted dress and holding a pot of honey.

Legend

The battle between Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari and Bhandasura is described in the Lalitopakhyana of Brahmanda Purana and Jnana Khanda of Tripura Rahasya. Lord Shiva married Sati, the daughter of the king Daksha. Sati's father did not invite Shiva to a great sacrifice as Daksha and Shiva were dissatisfied with each other. Sati, however, went to attend the ceremony despite Shiva's opposition. Daksha insulted Lord Shiva in front of Sati and she jumped into the fire to end his humiliation and committed suicide. As a result, Shiva beheaded Daksha, but when Shiva's anger subsided, he revived him with a goat's head. Adi Parasakti was also reborn as Parvati as a result of a favor bestowed on King Himavan, and Tarakasura, an enemy of the gods, was privileged to make his death possible only for the son of Shiva and Shakti. Due to this, the gods sought the help of Kama, the Hindu deity of love to unite Shiva and Parvati. Manmata aimed his flower arrows at Shiva and Parvati to make them feel loved. Angered by this, Shiva turned Kama into ashes with his third eye. Sometime later, at the request of his son Ganesha, Shiva gave birth to an asura named Bhandasura from the ashes of Kama. When the gods could not bear the persecution of Bhandasura that befell them, they sought the help of the Nirguna Brahman on the instructions of the Trinity. They prepared a great yajna for the sake of welfare of the creation and sacrificed the whole universe as libation. Then from fire, Brahman emerged in the form of Maha Tripura Sundari Devi. She split up her form as Kameshwara and Kameshwari and recreated the universe. Later, Goddess Tripura Sundari formed her army, killed Bhandasura and returned to Manidvipa.

Sri Chakra

In the Shri Vidya school of Hindu tantra, the Sri Yantra ("sacred instrument"), also Sri Chakra is a diagram formed by nine interlocking triangles that surround and radiate out from the central (bindu) point.
It represents the goddess in her form of Shri Lalita Or Tripura Sundari, "the beauty of the three worlds (earth, atmosphere and sky(heaven)"(Bhoo, Bhuva and Swa).

The worship of the Sri Chakra is central to the Shri Vidya system of Hindu worship. Four isosceles triangles with the apices upwards, representing Shiva or the Masculine. Five isosceles triangles with the apices downward, symbolizing female embodiment Shakti. Thus, the Sri Yantra also represents the union of Masculine and Feminine Divine. Because it is composed of nine triangles, it is known as the ''Navayoni Chakra''.. "These nine triangles are of various sizes and intersect with one another. In the middle is the power point (bindu), visualizing the highest, the invisible, elusive centre from which the entire figure and the cosmos expand. The triangles are enclosed by two rows of (8 and 16) petals, representing the lotus of creation and reproductive vital force. The broken lines of the outer frame denote the figure to be a sanctuary with four openings to the regions of the universe".

In a recent issue of Brahmavidya, the journal of the Adyar Library, Subhash Kak argues that the description of Sri Yantra is identical to the yantra described in the Śvetāśvatara Upanisad.

Together the nine triangles are interlaced in such a way as to form 43 smaller triangles in a web symbolic of the entire cosmos or a womb symbolic of creation. Together they express Advaita or non-duality. This is surrounded by a lotus of eight petals, a lotus of sixteen petals, and an earth square resembling a temple with four doors. The various deities residing in the nine layers of the Sri Yantra are described in the Devi Khadgamala Mantra.

The Shri Chakra is also known as the ''nava chakra'' because it can also be seen as having nine levels. "Nine" comes from" Nava" of Sanskrit. Each level corresponds to a mudra, a yogini, and a specific form of the Deity Tripura Sundari along with her mantra. These levels starting from the outside or bottom layer are:
#''Trailokya Mohana'' or ''Bhupara'', a square of three lines with four portals
#''Sarva Aasa Paripuraka'', a sixteen-petal lotus
#''Sarva Sankshobahana'', an eight-petal lotus
#''Sarva Saubhagyadayaka'', composed of fourteen small triangles
#''Sara Arthasadhaka'', composed of ten small triangles
#''Sarva Rakshakara'', composed of ten small triangles
#''Sarva Rogahara'', composed of eight small triangles
#''Sarva Siddhiprada'', composed of 1 small triangle
#''Sarva Anandamaya'', composed of a point or ''bindu''

The Sri Chakra (called the Shri Yantra) is the symbol of Hindu tantra, which is based on the Hindu philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism. The Sri Yantra is the object of devotion in Sri Vidya.

The two-dimensional Sri Chakra, when it is projected into three dimensions is called a Maha Meru ( Mount Meru).

Festivals

Lalita Jayanti

Lalita Jayanthi is celebrated on Magha Purnima, the full moon day of the month of Magha (January-February). It is a very important day in some parts of North India when special offerings and ceremonies are held. It is believed that devotees on this day will be blessed if they worship Goddess Lalita with full devotion and dedication.

Lalita Panchami

Lalita Panchami is a very auspicious tithi, celebrated on the fifth day of the Sharad Navaratri festival. Legend has it that on this auspicious day Goddess Lalita emerged from fire to defeat Bhandasura, a demon created from the ashes of Kamadeva. This day is very important in Gujarat and Maharashtra. On this day, some devotees also hold a fast called Lalita Panchami vrata. It is believed to bring wealth, happiness and wisdom. Chanting of Vedic mantras dedicated to Goddess Lalita on this day is very useful. It is a popular belief that doing so will immediately solve all the personal as well as business related problems in life.

Temples

India

The most important temple of Tripura Sundari is the Kanchi Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. Kanchipuram is one of the moksha puris. Sage Durvasa did intense penance in Kanchipuram and the pleased Lalita Tripura Sundari appeared and agrees to reside in Kanchi for the benefit of her devotees. Adi Sankaracharya installed the Sri Chakra in this temple. It is also the place of Kanchi Kamakoti mandali.

Her temple, the Tripura Sundari temple is located on top of the hills near Radhakishorepur village, which is a very important temple, 1 of the 51 shaktipeethas, a little distance away from Udaipur town railway station, Udaipur town, Tripura, Northeast India. Another temple dedicated to goddess maha Tripura sundari, or goddess kamakhya, 1 one of the 4 main adi shaktipeethas, is in Nilachal hill, Guwahati, Assam near kamakhya junction railway station, in Assam, Northeast India. In West Bengal, there is a temple of Ma Tripura Sundari Devi located in Boral, near Garia. In Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur, there is Tripura Sundari temple about 12 km from city on Bhedaghat road in village Tewar. Another temple dedicated to goddess tripura sundari is in Banaswara, Rajasthan. In Tirusulam, a neighbourhood of Chennai, is the Shri Tirusoolanathar Tripurasundari temple, an ancient temple built by Kulothunga Chola I in the 11th century. The Trisula Nathar Temple is dedicated to Sri Shiva as Trisula Nathar and Divine Mother Shakti as Tripura Sundari Amman.

A temple of Tripura Sundari temple is in Chhatrabhog (Saturbhog). It is situated in south 24 Pgs under Diamond Harbour Subdivision West Bengal. The nearest railway station is Mathurapur Road in Sealdah South section. From the source of Rajratnakar descendants of Drajhu king, Kalinda made a wooden Tripura Sundari icon at this place.

Many temples of Goddess Raja Rajeshwari are also found in Uttarakhand, where she is considered as the Kul-devi. A temple of Tripura Sundari is located at tripuradevi village in Berinag and Ancient 850 years old Tripura Sundri amma (Thibbadevi) temple in Muguru is located in the Tirumakudal Narsipur taluk of Mysore district in Karnataka. A temple of Sri Jwalamukhi Tripura Sundari is located at S.Uttanahalli, Near Vidyaranyapura-Nanjangud Road, Mysore district in Karnataka.

Goddess RajaRajeshwari Temple is in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Mysuru Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka, which is a prime location in Bengaluru. Many people throng to this place because of presence of the Goddess.

Tirumeeyachur Mehanadhar Temple is a temple located at Thirumeeyachur in Tiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The presiding deity is Shiva. He is called as Meganathaswami. His consort is known as Lalithambika.

Tripura sundari in her form Raja Rajeshwari is worshiped in Kandamangalam Sree Rajarajeshwari temple located in the village Kadakkarapalli, Cherthala taluk, Alappuzha district, Kerala. The temple is named as Kanadamangalam by Sree Narayana Guru (social reformer and spiritual leader) which comprises two words "Kandal" which means if you see and "mangalam" which means good fortune.

Germany

In Hamm in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, there is the ''Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple'', built 2002.

Influence

Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Sri Kanchi Monastery, is a Hindu institution, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is located near a temple dedicated to Goddess Sri Kamakshi, along with a shrine for the Advaita Vedanta teacher Adi Shankara. The matha-tradition attributes its founding to Adi Shankara. Shankara Vijayendra Saraswati (born 13 March 1969) is the 70th Jagadguru of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Kanchipuram.

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Lakshmi
Forms of Parvati
Mahavidyas
Shaktism
Hindu tantric deities
Consorts of Shiva