`Aryaadwishati' — a revisit to Sri Chakra!
W. CHANDRAKANTH
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`Aryaadwishati', which was out of bounds, is now an easy-to-read book.
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"Symbols of various kinds were always in vogue in the religious rites and worship of the earlier races, not only in India but also in other countries. Certain symbols are geometrical expressions — circle, triangle, square and other figures. But the bases of these symbols, it must be borne in mind are to be formed in the inner and the psychic grounds... "
— Sri Kapali Sastriar in Lights on the Veda.
Among such practices of worship in Hinduism, `Chakra' which is conceived as a material manifestation of the `deity' is used for individual worship. The most celebrated Chakra is said to be the Sri Chakra in the Tantra Sastra.
Sri Chakra is the eternal abode of Lalita whose play transcends all the worlds, Lalita Sahasra Nama says. (Tantriks never believe in sculpted form, always holding that knowledge leading to liberation as the ultimate knowledge).
Aryaadwishati, a glorious work of sage Durvasa (also known as Krodha Bhattaraka), one of the 12 promulgators of the Sri Vidya cult, is a celebration of the `Sri Chakra' or Lalita.
This work remained for a long time out of bounds for Telugus without Sanskrit knowledge. Kanuparthi Venkatarama Srividyanandanatha published the work in Telugu as early as 1920, but it being in Grandhikam, not all people benefited.
Later Nagapudi Kuppuswamy Iyer, a scholar in Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit languages, rendered it into simpler Telugu. (Even this work saw the light of the day only when it got published in Supatha in 1998). Neelamraju Muralidhar, a senior journalist, who came across its mention, took pains to publish the work in the form of a book now.
The 172-page book not only contains Aryaadwishati along with Nagapudi's Teeka but also Srichakranagara varnana by Kanuparthi. The original Aryaadwishati is also incorporated for the sake of Paaraayana along with Dorbala Viswanatha Sarma's explanatory note on why `Sridevi and Sri Chakra' are the same. For the worshippers of Devi, this comes as a tool to Maanasa Puja graphically describing the spiritual journey from the gross to the subtle to the causal to the causal of all causals known as Mahaakaarana in 212 slokas.
It is well known that practitioners of Tantra speak of the Mahaakaarana, the great causal, as the storehouse of all Shabdaas — sounds — and as the permanent place of prakaasha — light. The present effort explains assiduously how a Chakra thus is a more abstract form of worship than worship through pratima (an idol).
The lore of Durvasa Maharshi incorporated in the book makes interesting reading too. Kanchi Mahaswami's Mano Netram Mundu Ambika Rupam comes along throwing further light enhancing the Soundaryam of Aryaadwishati further.
Prachee publishers (Opp. Arya Samaj, Kachiguda, Hyderabad. Ph: 040-2460 2009) are the distributors of the book published by Muralidhar (040 -27662758).
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