तत्पीठकर्णिकायां ससाध्यं श्रीबीजम् । वस्वादित्यकलापद्मेषु श्रीसूक्तगतार्धार्धर्चा तद्बहिर्यः शुचिरिति मातृकया च श्रियं यन्त्राङ्गदशकं च विलिख्य श्रियमावाहयेत् । अङ्गैः प्रथमा वृत्तिः । पद्मादिभिर्द्वितीया । लोकेशैस्तृतीया । तदायुधैस्तुरीया वृत्तिर्भवति । श्रीसूक्तैरावाहनादि । षोडशसहस्रजपः
tatpīṭhakarṇikāyāṃ sasādhyaṃ śrībījam | vasvādityakalāpadmeṣu śrīsūktagatārdhārdharcā tadbahiryaḥ śuciriti mātṛkayā ca śriyaṃ yantrāṅgadaśakaṃ ca vilikhya śriyamāvāhayet | aṅgaiḥ prathamā vṛttiḥ | padmādibhirdvitīyā | lokeśaistṛtīyā | tadāyudhaisturīyā vṛttirbhavati | śrīsūktairāvāhanādi | ṣoḍaśasahasrajapaḥ
"On the pericarp of that seat — the seed 'śrī' with the desired object; on the lotuses of eight, twelve, and sixteen petals — the half-verses of the Śrī-sūkta, and outside them — [the ṛc] 'who is pure' and the mātṛkā. Having inscribed thus, and the ten limbs of the diagram, let him invoke Śrī. The first enclosure by the limbs, the second by Padmā and the rest, the third by the guardians of the world, the fourth by their weapons. Invocation and the rest by the Śrī-sūkta. Sixteen thousand repetitions."
d1ea815fe977 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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A yantra, "diagram," is described: lotuses with petals on which syllables are written. It is worth saying what a yantra is, since this collection meets it here for the first time in detail. It is an inscription on which the mantra is placed: a seed in the middle, parts of the hymn on the petals, guardians of the directions at the edges.
Its purpose is the same as that of nyāsa: to place the mantra, to give it a location. The difference is that nyāsa places it on the body, while a yantra places it outside the body, on a plate or on the ground. Let us add what should be said plainly about this practice.
It is a tantric practice, not a Vedic one; and its appearance in an upaniṣad shows that this book is late. The Vaiṣṇava side does not use yantras and has no diagram of its own; and it is worth saying why. Its subject is a face, not a structure; and instead of a diagram it has an image, which is dressed, fed, and put to bed.
The distinction, to my mind, is clearest in what is done with the two: a diagram is drawn and contemplated, an image is served. Let us add the number: ṣoḍaśa-sahasra-japaḥ, "sixteen thousand repetitions." The number set is not small; and it is worth noting that in every rite of this book it is stated how many times to repeat. This measure is the chief thing in mantric practice, and it is also, to my mind, its weakness: where everything is counted, it is easy to mistake the count for the deed.