Nyasa (English: placing; literally, "deposit" or "setting down") is a concept in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. It involves touching various parts of the body while chanting specific portions of a

mantra A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...

. This imposition of mantras upon the body is considered as the assigning or locating of divinity inside one's own body. For example, nyasa is part of the equipment of a sculptor as a

sādhaka A ''sādhaka'' or ''sādhak'' or ''sādhaj'' ( sa, साधक), in Indian religions and traditions, such as Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Yoga, is someone who follows a particular ''sādhanā'', or a way of life designed to realize the goal of ...

and

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

. Each mantra is associated with a specific nyasa. There are various types of nyasas, the most important of them being kara nyasa and anga nyasa. The number seven is commonly written before nyasa mantras in ritual handbooks, indicating that the seven bijaksaras (sacred letters) should be recited before the mantra.

Srividya Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...

followers practise matruka nyasa.

References

Hindu rituals Tantric practices Mantras Yoga concepts {{Yoga-stub