Meaning and symbolism of Nava Avarana of Shri Cakra

The basic meaning and symbolism of the Nine Enclosures (Nava Avarana) of Sri Chakra, as expounded by Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati of Devipuram.

1. Prathamavarana (Bhupura/Earthworks)

 Trailokyamohana Chakra (“The Wheel That Enchants the Three Worlds”). The Bhupura is the earth level, where srishti is completely manifested and separateness is felt. Our five senses enable us to interact with the world, leading to pleasant as well as unpleasant experiences that agitate our mind. These diverse agitations are represented by the matrika shaktis who inhabit the second wall of the Bhupura. The mudra shaktis who help us to overcome these disturbing influences are represented within the third wall of the Bhupura. The attainments (siddhis) that we attain by controlling the disturbing influences are represented within the first wall of the Bhupura.
Dram means vibration or sound. Sankshobana means intercourse. It is a request to speak openly, without inhibitions, and listen to her response.

2. Dviteeyavaranam (Shodasha Dalapadmam/Sixteen-Petaled Lotus)

Sarvasaparipuraka Chakra (“The Wheel That Fulfills All Desires”). With the completion of the evolution procedure, we not only start experiencing things statically but also dynamically. Just as a woman menstruates every 28th day, the Cosmos has its own cycles and periods that are governed by the lunar calendar (as the Moon is the second-fastest moving object in the sky besides the Sun). We sometimes resonate with the cosmic cycles; at other times, we remain tone-deaf to it. At times we are sane, at other times lunatic. The lunar clock is divided into sixteen digits or phases of the moon. These phases are represented by the sixteen petaled lotus.
Drim means touch. Vidravana means melting profusely; like the orgasmic flow which can happen in intercourse. Usually these are mental feelings.

3. Triteeyavaranam (Ashta Dalapadmam/Eight-Petaled Lotus)

Sarvasamkshobana Chakra (“The Wheel That Agitates All”). Upon completing the evolutionary process, we begin experiencing interactions. The cosmic wealth of our experience is called the ananga devatas, which are eight in number. They take the form of wealth; the wealth of experience, of God, of the cosmos. The eight-petaled lotus is the cosmic wealth, the wealth of God; the eight forms of aishwarya.
Klim means attraction. Expanding oneself into the other and into the whole world is sarva akarshana. Dissolving the entire world into oneself is a function of manmata’s shaktis who are all forms of intercourse.

4. Chaturdhavaranam (Chaturdasara/Fourteen Triangles)

Sarvasaubhagya Dayaka Chakra (“The Wheel That Bestows All Auspiciousness”). The explosion which leads to the creation process is best explained in terms of three stages: (1) the explosion of the interface between the inner self and outer worlds, manifested by the ashtakona; (2) the explosion of the outer universe, manifested by the inner 10 triangles (antar-dashara); and (3) the explosion of the inner self – the ego, manifested by the outer 10 triangles (bahir-dashara). This explosion is completed in 14 different stages of one’s existence. After having passed through seven worlds are in the Bhu, the eighth world and you have to pass through six more worlds, after leaving your body so as to complete the explosion (evolution) process leading to the Fourth Chakra. The fourteen-cornered figure represents the 14 phases of evolution, corresponding to which there are 14 powers (Goddesses).
Blum means a taste of wonder. Looking at all the 14 worlds (namely, athala, vithala, suthala, rasathala, thalathala, mahathala, paathala, earth, ocean, fire, air, space, time and transcendence), coming out of the mother’s womb creates this taste of wonder and awe.

5. Panchamavaranam (Bahirdasara/Outer Ten Triangles)

Sarvarthasadhaka Chakra (“The Wheel that Bestows All Wealth”). The outer set of ten triangles, described as the Bahirdasara, represents the five sensory and five motor organs of an individual through which our mind can be disturbed. In order to attain the yogic state, the mind has to be decoupled from these disturbing sensory inputs.
Saha means the perfume which maddens. This whole world that we see is created out of memories. There is only a reflection of truth in it; it is only imaginary. Just as when we wake up from a dream, the dream dissolves, so also does this world dissolve when we wake up from a state called Samadhi.
Knowing that the world is temporary, like a dream or a thought, and that being attached to it can only bring misery, moves the devotee from the muladhara and svadhishtanna chakras. This is called kulotheerna.

6. Shashtavaranam (Antardasara/Inner Ten Triangles)

Sarvarakshakara Chakra (“The Wheel of Complete Protection”). The process of exploding the Cosmos – through space-time interaction – results in the cosmos expressing itself in terms of the five elements (states of aggregation) which are the solid, liquid, plasma, gaseous and vacuum states. These are the five elements and their properties are sound, touch, form, taste, and smell. This set of five elements and their properties constitute the set of inner ten triangles of the Sri Chakra.
Krom means anger against the six enemies known as lust, anger, possessiveness, delusion, pride, jealousy. All these binding negatives come from the fixation that “I am this body, mind and intellect and these are mine.” Wanting something that is not mine is lust. The object of lust not coming to me creates anger. The object of my lust comes to me and the emotion that I should not lose it creates possessiveness. The feeling that I cannot live without it is delusion. The sense that only I have it and no one else has it is pride. The sense that others have it and I don’t have it is jealousy.
Anger against these children of “I” and “mine” pushes them away. Thus we become a life in everyone. We become mothers to this illusory world giving the positive elements protection and nourishment. Protecting the good and disciplining the evil and helping the needy is the function of the Sarvarakshakara Chakra. It eliminates the conceptions of all feelings of guilt, as well as the diseases that come out of negativities; it enhances the powers of knowledge, abundance and bless; and it fulfills all desires.

7. Saptamavaranam (Ashtakona/Eight Triangles)

Sarvarogahara Chakra (“The Wheel that Destroys All Illness”). Once space and time have come into existence, they start interacting with the result of creating matter, as matter is formed when time curves around space. This expansion process continues, forming more matter. It is represented by the eight triangles of the ashtakona. Each triangle is a yoni. The Cosmos becomes an individual through the yoni of birth, while an individual becomes the Cosmos through the yoni of death. Death is simply a yoni that causes time to stop for an individual.
Khechari means moving astrally. Through this it is possible to travel in time and space and experience the big-bang and explore the invariants (aksharas formed into eight groups of Sanskrit alphabets). Khechari makes you nada brahma, expanding into the entire sky.

{The Weapons Around the Eighth Avarana}

In between the mandalas of the eight triangles and the central triangle, are the four weapons of the Red Goddess – sugarcane bow, flower arrows, noose and goad. * The sugarcane BOW in the hands of Lalita represents the character of the mind, for it is through the mind that we can experience the joy; the sweet juice of realization. To gain the juice of the ...sugarcane requires effort - the hard outer coat must be removed, and the white stem inside must be squeezed hard to obtain the juice which pervades it. *
The five flower ARROWS are those of Manmatha, which represent the five senses:
1. Sound - music to make one ecstatic
2. Touch - eros to make one crave for contact.
3. Sight - beauty to make one stupefied which perhaps suggests making one spaced out or senile.
4. Taste - sweetness to make one emaciated and dried out, which can induce hunger and thirst so as to disturb his meditative mind.
5. Smell - fragrance to make one worry that he may die while meditating, so being afraid of that he would get up.

These five flower arrows represent the five senses, or the subtle involutes of the five senses, which pierce the sense-objects. In the hands of Lalita we are reminded that our minds are not separate to her, that she is the source of joy, of our sensory delights, and experiences. Whereas in the hands of the god Kama, the arrows cause delusion, attachment, and momentary desire for the sensual, the bow in the hands of Lalita pierces the devotee with the arrow-desire for her Vidya, the ‘knowledge’ of liberation.

* The NOOSE signifies subjugation - to bring under control; and
* The greatly illustrious GOAD protects from acts of paralysis directed against us.

 8. Ashtamavaranam (Trikona/ Triangle)

Sarvasiddhiprada Chakra (“The Wheel That Bestows All Powers”). The triangle represents the creation of the space-time interval. When an interval is generated about a point then there arises a new point as well as the space-time separation between the two. From one we move to three which the triangle represents. Expansion of Bindu into the triangle is the projection of cosmic awareness into separateness by a wave-like phenomenon called ‘Maya.’ The point and the triangle are the most fundamental things. The emanation of the triangle from the point is called Tripura Bhairavi. The triangle is the yoni, the gate through which everyone comes into being.
Siva is called Bhutha Natha, Lord of the Past. He kills the present and pushes it into the past. Shakti is called the Supreme Mother. She manifests the future into the present. The intercourse of Shiva and Shakti is the union of the past and future. The flow of time against life keeps on creating, nourishing and withdrawing continuously. Bija means seed whose content is knowledge. Keeping the attention always at the eyebrow center can bestow the knowledge of past, present and future.

9. Navamavaranam (Bindu/Point/Shiva-Shakti Identity)

Sarvanandamaya Chakra (“The Wheel of Complete, Pure Bliss”). Creation of individuality from the state of a cosmic being by providing a space-time interval is the function of Shakti while dissolution of individuality back to cosmic being by the removal of the interval is the function of Shiva. At the Bindu the creator and the creation is in a combined state. Siva gives birth to cosmic consciousness while Shakti gives birth to individual consciousness. Hence what we interpret as birth is the generation of individual awareness while death the generation of cosmic awareness. On the contrary birth can be interpreted as dissolution of cosmic awareness while death the dissolution of individual awareness. At the Bindu Siva and Shakti are co-creators having equal potency and equal powers which is Shiva-Shakti identity.

Summary: Placement of avaranas on the body, and from Ajna to Sahasrara...
~ Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati