Upanishads · Bhāvanā p2
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं श्रीगुरुः सर्वकारणभूता शक्तिः । तेन नवरन्ध्ररूपो देहः । नवशक्तिरूपं श्रीचक्रम्
Transliteration (IAST)
oṃ śrīguruḥ sarvakāraṇabhūtā śaktiḥ | tena navarandhrarūpo dehaḥ | navaśaktirūpaṃ śrīcakram
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ओं श्री-गुरुः सर्व-कारण-भूता शक्तिःoṃ śrī-guruḥ sarva-kāraṇa-bhūtā śaktiḥoṃ, Śrī-guru is the power that became the cause of everything
तेन नव-रन्ध्र-रूपः देहःtena nava-randhra-rūpaḥ dehaḥtherefore the body is of the form of nine apertures
नव-शक्ति-रूपं श्री-चक्रम्nava-śakti-rūpaṃ śrī-cakramthe Śrī-cakra is of the form of nine powers
Translation
Oṃ. Śrī-guru is the power that became the cause of everything. Therefore the body has the form of nine apertures; the Śrī-cakra has the form of nine powers.
Version
01afb05f92ed · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The first equation is set, and it sets the whole order of the book: the nine apertures of the body — the nine circles of the diagram. The nine apertures are an ancient and precise count: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the mouth, and two lower ones. It stands also in the Gītā, where the body is called nava-dvāra pura, "the nine-gated city" (5.13); and there the Lord is described as dwelling in this city, doing nothing and impelling nothing to be done.
This coincidence is no accident: in both, the body is called a city. The difference lies in what is done with the comparison. The Gītā says: in this city dwells the master; here it is said: this city itself is the diagram, and the diagram is the Goddess.
It is worth noting also the definition of the teacher: śrī-guru sarva-kāraṇa-bhūtā śaktiḥ, "Śrī-guru is the power that became the cause of everything." The teacher is called not a person but a power. This position exists in Vaiṣṇava books too, and there it is worked out with a caution absent here. The teacher is honored as a representative, not as the Lord himself: through him things are given, but he is not the giver. This distinction matters and guards against two evils at once — neglect of the teacher, and turning him into an object of worship in place of the One he teaches about.