How it is drawn

The Sri Yantra is famously hard to draw well. For its lines to meet exactly at every crossing, each triangle must be placed with great care, and mathematicians have written whole papers on its construction. In temple practice it is drawn, engraved or built by hand following traditional rules, and sometimes raised in three dimensions as a meru, a sacred mountain.

A living tradition

• The Sri Yantra is the heart of Shri Vidya, a Hindu Tantric tradition devoted to the goddess Lalita Tripurasundari.
• The Saundarya Lahari, a beloved hymn traditionally attributed to the philosopher Adi Shankara, sings of the worship of the Sri Chakra.
• It is worshipped today in homes and temples across India and beyond, honored with flowers, light and prayer.

What it means

In Shri Vidya the upward triangles belong to Shiva, the masculine principle, and the downward triangles to Shakti, the feminine, and their union is the creation of the universe. The bindu at the center is the point from which all of it unfolds, and to which the seeker returns. The Sri Yantra is sacred to the people who hold this tradition, and anyone who feels drawn to it will find great depth in learning from its teachers.

In grids and meditation

• Meditate on the Sri Yantra by letting your gaze travel slowly inward, from the outer square through the petals and triangles to the bindu at the center.
• As a grid base, keep it simple: one stone on the bindu, with the diagram itself as the pattern, rather than covering the triangles with many stones.

In our shops

We have carried Sri Yantra grid boards in Bear and Butterfly designs. Ask at either shop about what is in stock now.