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Jagannatha Rao
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Worship of the
Divine Mother
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Sri Vidyopasana
Sri Vidyopasana
as Sri Kula Tantra where as Sri Vidya is the general name given to the
method of worship of the goddess by all Sri Vidya practitioners.
Origins of Sri Vidya
Sri Vidya is believed to have evolved into an independent system of
worship of the Divine Mother, during the early centuries of the Christian
era. Several works relating to Sri Vidya appeared during the period in
Kashmir. The most popular work appears to be Vamakeswara tantra
which has attracted several important commentaries. Another important
work relating to Sri Vidya is Lalita Sahasranama. A reference to Sri
Vidya Mantra is found in the Tamil work Tirumantiram by Tirumalar,
who lived in the 7th Century CE. By the seventh century, Sri Vidya had
become a very popular cult in South India as is evident from the work
Soundarya Lahari which is attributed to Adi Shankara.
As a tradition, Sri Chakra came to be installed in front of the
goddesses of most of the major Indian temples identifying them with
Lalita Tripura Sundari. By the thirteenth century the cult of Sri Vidya
had greatly expanded both in Kashmir and South India and several
notable commentaries came to be written on the earlier works. The cult
also became popular in Bengal with northern variations. Now her cult
and worship is spread throughout India.
Types of Sri Vidya
It is believed that there are 12 different schools, according to the 12
famous Rishis (Upasakas) who practiced Sri Vidya Manu, Chandra,
Kubera, Lopamudra, Manmatha, Agastya, Agni, Surya, Indra, Skanda,
Shiva and Durvasa. The order of the syllables in Panchadasi Mantra also
varies in each school of Sri Vidya.
Out of these schools, the school of Manmatha (Ka-adi Vidya the
Panchadasi Mantra starts from Ka) and the school of Agastya (Ha-adi
Vidya the Panchadasi Mantra starts from Ha) are widely prevalent.
These are in turn considered as Classical forms of Sri Vidya. Guru
mandalas, and Anga Devatas vary for each form of Sri Vidya. Devotees
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of Ka-adi Vidya worship the Sri Chakra from the perimeter to the
Centre, where as devotees of Ha-adi Vidya worship Sri Chakra from
the Centre to the perimeter.
Ka-adi Vidya is the most popular form of Sri Vidya. It is also
considered as the supreme form of Sri Vidya as Lalita Trishati follows
the aksharas of Ka-adi Vidya in its enumeration of the 300 names of
Lalita Tripura Sundari. Another reason for its supremacy is that only
Ka-adi form of Panchadasi Mantra becomes Shodasi Mantra when
the fourth part Turiya Kuta is added to it.
Ka-ha di Vidya as Mishra Vidya (the school of Durvasa, also
known as Sa-di Vidya) is practiced by a few people. Some of the other
schools are believed to have become extinct. The mantras used by all
these schools are variations of Panchadasi mantra.
Traditions of Sri Vidya Practice
The three traditions followed in Sri Vidya are Dakshinamurti,
Hayagreeva and Aananda Bhairava. These Sampradayas are not
contradictory but only complementary to each other. The main
differences are in the construction of Sri Chakra, Guru Mandala, Patra
sthapana, and procedures of worship. In Dakshinamurti and Hayagreeva
Sampradayas, the procedure of worship is Samayachara. In Aananda
Bhairava Sampradaya, the procedure of worship is either through Kaula
Marga or Vama marga.
There is also a (rather secret and rare) tradition of worshipping
the goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari using Ka-adi Vidya through
Samayachara during the day and worshipping the goddess using Haadi Vidya through Kulachara during night.
Lalita Tripura Sundari, in the form of the Divine Mother, is said to
have three forms: physical, mental and cognitive. The first is represented
by Mudra, the second by Yantra and the third by Mantra. There are
also several variations of Sri Vidya depending on the combinations of
the beejaksharas in the moola Panchadasi mantra.
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Sri Vidyopasana
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Tantric Practices in
Devi Worship
Many of the followers of the Tantric rituals did not have race, gender
or caste exclusions. This was in a way an attempt to throw away the
Brahmanical hegemony in devotional worship of gods. For example, in
the practice of a tantric method like Kaula marga, there is no restriction
on caste or gender for the sadhaka. The only condition is that he/she
is required to be initiated in to the tantric system by a qualified Guru,
who may be male or female and may belong to any caste.
Schools of Tantra
Rather than a single coherent system, Tantra has evolved over a period
of time as an accumulation of different sets of religious practices.
Divergent forms of tantric practices have been in existence in different
regions of the country for more than two thousand years. A few of them
were Satvic but many of them were also Tamasic in nature. Kashmira,
Gaudiya, Shaiva, Ganapatya, Vaishnava and Shaakta were some of the
prominent Tantric schools. Shaakta in turn had two different systems
of tantric practices known as Kulachara and Dakshinachara.
Tantra also gave freedom of worship to women and people of all
castes and categories. Thus the tantric traditions became popular among
the masses and played a crucial role in the development of the religious
and social life of the country for over three millennia.
Absorption of Several Tantric Practices by Vedic Religion
The significance of tantra is that it reduced and liberalised the elaborate
rites and rituals prescribed by the Vedic and Brahmanical systems of
worship. Even though, Tantra is believed to have evolved in opposition
to Vedic systems of worship, the Vedic systems gradually absorbed
several tantric practices over a period of time.
Many of the methods and practices in Astanga Yoga as well as
Shakti (Kundalini) Yoga are derived from Tantric sources. Various
components of Tantra like mandala, yantra, mudra, and other mystical
symbols were later incorporated into the traditional modes of worship.
Now even orthodox temple priests profess to follow the respective tantric
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8
Dasha Maha Vidya
(Worship of the Ten Wisdom Goddesses)
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Maha Vidya
In Tantra, worship of Devi as Para Brahman and also as Shakti (and her
Yantra, Mantra as well as the procedure laid down for her worship) is
referred to as a Vidya. But this knowledge is rather basic, mechanical,
bookish and rather incomplete as the goddess represents a state
beyond the comprehension of the ordinary human mind that which is
hidden, secret, subtle and sensitive and it is for the Sadhaka to discover
this knowledge. Realisation of this knowledge leads to realisation of
her awesome powers leading to understanding of her nature as pure
consciousness and finally Supreme Bliss for the Sadhaka. Hence, the
spiritual disciplines leading to the understanding of the manifestations
of the Divine Mother have come to be called as Maha Vidyas.
Of the hundreds of Tantric practices involving the worship of Devi,
the worship of the ten major forms of Devi is called Dasha Maha Vidya.
Each Dasha Maha Vidya can be considered a Brahma Vidya, as it is a
spiritual path leading to the knowledge of (a unique aspect of) Devi as
a facet of Para Brahman herself.
According to scriptures, The Divine Mother has the tendency to
manifest and reveal herself in a variety of forms and aspects, according
to the needs. This has also a very close resemblance to Dashavatara of
Vishnu (See Table 8.1).
Dasha Maha Vidya
Even though knowledge is one, it is felt and understood by an individual
in different ways through the ten senses (skin, eye, ear, tongue, nose,
mouth, foot, hand, anus, and genital). Likewise one Truth (Devi, the
Divine Mother) is sensed in ten different facets in Dasha Maha Vidya.
Dasha Maha Vidya relates to the ten great paths relating to the
spiritual knowledge of ten Tantric forms of Mahadevi or Kaali. These
ten facets of the divine mother are also considered as ten wisdom
goddesses, and they represent a spectrum of female divinity ranging
from the most beautiful to the most fearful in appearance. Even though
they are quite distinct and different from each other, they have an
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