Shri Yantra: a Quest for Knowledge and Meaning

A yantra can be seen as an equivalent to the famous mandalas, these circular geometric figures used in rites and meditations for millennia now.

Found in the Vedas (divine Hindu texts), the Dharma (a philosophical path) and the mystical mythology of India, yantras will improve your karma and keep demons away from you. Aside from its obvious visual balance, a yantra will actually bring a certain energy to those who look at it. Much like a mantra is recited, a yantra is observed in order to gain its powers.

Very varied, there are hundreds of different types of yantras. We will discuss a few of them in this article, but we will focus more particularly on the most famous (and most powerful) of them: the shri yantra.

What is a yantra?

To immediately get to the heart of the matter, let's start by providing a definition to the term "yantra".

If we were to describe in the West what it represents to Indians, it would be something along the lines of a “ meditation machine ”… and that actually describes what these designs are quite well.

Considered for centuries for their harmony and balance, yantras have the ability to soothe our minds and immerse us in deep states of meditative trances.

These are schools of yoga, movements of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, or even a whole bunch of branches of the New Age which have incorporated them into their practices. This is no coincidence: behind these drawings are actually hidden prayers, sacred formulas and secrets about castes and the cosmos.

Between sacred texts, Hindu temples and Tantric iconography, yantras are everywhere present in Indian spirituality. Without further ado, let's continue with an analysis of how yantras work!

The mysteries of the Orient

through the ancient wisdom of Hinduism

Discover

How does a yantra work?

You will have understood: in Indian tradition, a yantra is a kind of device used to develop the human being on a spiritual level. Although the purposes of the different patterns and symbols may be different, the spiritual mode of operation will more or less always be the same.

From a purely linguistic point of view, the word “yantra” can be divided into “yan” and “tra”.

“Yan” is a Sanskrit term used to describe the essence of a thing. The term “tra” could be translated as “liberation from servitude”. (These two translations aren't perfect, but you get the idea).

A yantra would thus be “the essence of what liberates us”… Interesting!

When we observe them carefully, we can notice that each yantra has a small red dot in its center. Known as “ bindu ”, this element is in a way the origin, the source of purity around which the rest of the pattern is built. Concretely, it is this precise point that meditators fix during their sessions.

By developing a complex geometry from this center, yantras actually allow the mind and soul to align with certain very specific vibrations.

We thus better understand what justifies the great diversity of yantras: given that there are millions of different modes of vibration, each motif will work in a different way from the others.

In fact, spiritual practices that use yantras are quite numerous. For example, we can cite:

• Active meditations during which participants fix yantras
• Others where they are simply visualized
• The actual creation of yantras
• The simple wearing of a piece of jewelry (like this shri yantra amulet for example) on which one of these patterns is drawn
• Etc

Ultimately, whatever form it takes, meditating on a yantra will free your mind from certain chains, transform your intentions into reality or even change negativity into positivity.

Really, we are talking here about extremely powerful lucky charms that have proven themselves over the centuries (and even millennia).

Shri yantra: the most famous of all

As we told you earlier, we could not talk to you about yantras without mentioning the shri yantra.

Also known as Sri Yantra, Shri Chakra or Sri Chakra, many Indians consider it the father of all yantras, the first created and the one from which the entire tradition stems.

When we look at it closely, the shri yantra is actually composed of a circle in which there are nine triangles nested within each other. In the end, this creates a lot more... but there are only nine triangles to begin with.

In short, of these nine figures, four point upwards while the other five face downwards. We'll see this in a moment, but this distinction is important.

As for explaining its meaning... There are a whole bunch of theories about Shri Yantra. Here we have decided to select the most interesting ones for you.

Some Indian mystics say it represents Mount Meru, a kind of legendary great mountain believed to represent the center of the universe.

Still others speak of a common vision that all people attaining the state of bliss, known in India as samadhi, would have. According to this theory, the Shri Yantra would therefore be a “sign of recognition” between those who have achieved enlightenment.

A few lines ago we just made the distinction between triangles pointing up and those pointing down.

According to many Hindus, the former represent masculine energy while the latter are associated with feminine energy. Together (and therefore by forming the shri yantra), they would express the balance and harmony between these complementary opposites.

The most religious even draw a parallel between the god Shiva (the Destroyer) and the goddess Shakti (the Power), and their cosmic marriage. Speaking of the Hindu pantheon, the gods Vishnu (the Protector), Brahma (the Creator) and Kali (the Transformation) are also cited in certain sacred texts speaking of Shri Yantra.

In short, Hindu spirituality is full of these kinds of exciting little stories. The Vedic hymns and Sutras bear witness to this. If the subject interests you, you will undoubtedly appreciate our collection dedicated to this religion.

In any case, one thing is certain about Shri Yantra: meditating on it can only benefit you and bring you a certain inner peace.

Other common yantras (and their benefits explained)

We have therefore described to you what you need to know about the shri yantra before starting to use it… but know that it is far from being the only one you can benefit from!

There are actually hundreds of different yantra designs, some linked to deities or legends while others express phenomena from our world.

In short, there is a yantra for each of us at every moment of our lives.

Here are a few that we found particularly interesting:

• The Kuber yantra : It is used to pay homage to a Hindu deity named Kuber, reputed to be capable of bringing prosperity.
• The Lakshmi yantra : Linked to the goddess Lakshmi, it will also be used to ward off poverty and money problems.
• The mahamrithyunjay yantra : With its unpronounceable name, this yantra offers good health and prevents premature death.
• The Bhairavi yantra : This is intended to improve the well-being of human beings.
• The avighna yantra : Indians use it to remove obstacles from our lives.
• The Sarasvati Yantra : Associated with the goddess Sarasvati, many students and scientific researchers use this yantra.
• The Shakti yantra : It represents the absolute divinity of the Shaktist tradition, one of the many schools of Hinduism.
• And many others to discover on our site, each in a sense more divine than the other.

So select the yantras that you think are best for you and focus on them!

To help you in your research, and because after all, our expertise is not the only thing that counts, here is a page bringing together many Indian spiritual motifs and a site which brings together useful information on Hinduism.

Either way, we hope this was an enjoyable read for you. Don't hesitate to leave us a little comment to tell us if you liked it!

Discover this article in video format

Lucky charm featured in this article