Avaranas - the nine enclosures, and their Sanskrit Alphabet Letters.

There are principally three texts that throw light on this topic.

a) Bhavana Upanishad (Bhavanopanishad) from Atharvaveda

b) Soundaraya Lahiri of Adi Shankaracharya

c) Sri Matrika Chakra Viveka of Kashmir Shaivism

We have taken the commentary of Bhavana Upanishad for this book. At the end, the slightly alternate view from Sri Matrika Chakra Viveka is also given.

In the Sri Yantra, we travel anticlockwise since East is depicted below. Sequence is:

i.East ii.NorthEast iii.North iv.NorthWest v.West vi.SouthWest vii.South viii.SouthEast

An ultra powerful Mandala for immense healing and sparking devotion. Made using the Golden Ratio.

Lists each of the

- Nine Enclosures,

- the 9 basic triangles (4 Upward Apex Shiva Triangles + 5 Downwards Apex Shakti Triangles)

- the 43 subsequent triangles,

- the 8 and 16 petals and 4 gates of the Bhupura,

with clear and precise Diagrams inscribed with Sanskrit Seed Sounds.

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8th Enclosure Aṣṭama Āvaraṇa

शब्द-स्पर्श-रूप-रस-गन्धाः पञ्च-तन्मात्राः पञ्च-पुष्पबाणाः ॥ २१॥ मनः इक्षु-धनुः ॥ २२॥ रागः पाशः ॥ २३॥ द्वेषः अङ्कुशः ॥ २४॥

śabda-sparśa-rūpa-rasa-gandhāḥ pañca-tanmātrāḥ pañca-puṣpabāṇāḥ ॥ 21॥ manaḥ ikṣu-dhanuḥ ॥ 22॥ rāgaḥ pāśaḥ ॥ 23॥ dveṣaḥ aṅkuśaḥ ॥ 24॥

• Sound, Touch, Form, Taste, Smell are the five direct sensory tolerances, and are called the five alluring arrows.

• The thought producing Mind is the desirous bow ever shooting outwards

• The feeling of Infatuation is that which initially entangles and ultimately strangles

• The feeling of Aversion is that which hobbles and restricts one’s own evolution.

अव्यक्त-महत्तत्त्वम्-महत्अहङ्काराः इति कामेश्वरी-वज्रेश्वरी-भगमालिनी अन्तस् त्रिकोण-अग्रगा देवताः ॥ २५॥

avyakta-mahattattvam-mahatahaṅkārāḥ iti kāmeśvarī-vajreśvarī-bhagamālinī antas trikoṇa-agragā devatāḥ ॥ 25॥

• The unmanifest primordial nature,

• The individual consciousness, and

• The human ego

are the leading divinities of this innermost triangle, also named Kameshwari, Vajreshwari, Bhagamalini.

Sanskrit Seed Sounds (bija mantra) like ॐ Om are potent healing and nourishing energies. Sound is an energy. Pleasing sounds (meditative music, blessings) have excellent effects on one's behavior, attitude, and long-term all round success in life. Harsh and deterring sounds (cruel speech, improper audio-video) wipe away our enthusiasm, drain our energy, block talent and result in suffocation and clouding of our neural activity, thereby reducing success.

An aesthetically made Mandala can become vastly superior when infused with Seed Sounds. It is like getting a good vehicle and then employing a proper driver. The Sri Yantra is one of the most ancient mystical, benevolent and highly rewarding mathematical forms of sacred geometry. Recent archaeological and scientific explorations have again and again highlighted that famous and affluent cities of the world e.g. Washington DC, Paris, Bombay have been built using principles of sacred geometry. Architects and Engineers like Leonardo Da Vinci, Mayan Vishwakarma; and Structures including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal, the Shiva Shakti temples of Thanjavur; have made extensive use of sacred geometry.

Contains sample procedure to draw the Sri Yantra using an engineering software like AutoCAD. It is hoped that modern architects and builders and Yantra manufacturers can employ precise techniques to get it right.

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Contains Full Color Plates.

Ashwini Aggarwal