About Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi)

Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari,
Also Revered As
Maa Shodashi, Is The Third
Maa MahaVidya Form Of
Maa Maha Kaali.
‍
Maa Maha Kaali As
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Embodies
The Beauty That Is Seen
In the world externally
And The Inner Beauty Which
Resonates Deep Within an aware mind.
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Imparts Wisdom
Of unity and oneness in all existence.
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Guides
deserving devotees to purify their minds
by clearing away negative thoughts
and showing them beauty in everything.

By meditating On
The Transcendent Beauty Of
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi),
devotees can find joy and compassion
both outwardly and inwardly,
gradually leading them to
a deep awareness of
the oneness of all existence.

Maa Shodashi,
The Divine Mother Of
Transcendent Beauty,
Imparts Wisdom That
Leads deserving devotees
to a complete understanding of reality
and the state of
enlightened consciousness

As A Maa MahaVidya Form
Of The Primordial
Divine Mother Of the universe,
Maa Tripura Sundari Is Also
Recognised And Worshipped As
Maa Shodashi,
Maa Lalita Devi,
Maa Kamesvari,
Maa SriVidya, And
Maa RajaRajesvari.
‍
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Guides
deserving devotees towards
a complete understanding of
reality and the state of
enlightened consciousness.

Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Is Depicted As
A Radiant Form Of
The Divine Mother With
The Light Of The Rising Sun,
Holding A Noose, A Goad, Arrows,
And A Bow In Her Four Divine Hands.
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Is Also Depicted
Seated On A Lotus That Emerges
From lord shiva’s navel, Signifying
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) As Self-Emergent.

The Depiction Of
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Is Mentioned In Detail
In Sacred Texts Such As
“Sri Maa Lalita-Sahasranama”,
Describing The Divine Depiction Of
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi)
Seated On
A Throne Adorned With Jewels
(And With Auspicious Marks
(of a married woman).
In The Depiction,
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi)
Is Attended By the gods
lord brahma, lord vishnu, and lord Shiva.
Maa Lakshmi, And
Maa Sarasvati Are Also Present
In The Divine Depiction.

The history of the worship

The worship Of
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) have deep roots
in both kashmiri and south indian tantrism,
particularly within The “SriVidya”,
which is a tantric religious system
devoted to the worship Of
The Divine Mother.
“SriVidya” developed out of various influences,
especially kashmir shaivism, and
its doctrines remain similar to this tradition.
The “SriVidya” tradition emphasizes private,
tantric worship Centered On Mantra
For the worship Of
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi),
Known As “SriVidya Mantra”
And The Sacred Yantra For the worship Of
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Known As
“Sri Chakra”.

The earliest references to
“SriVidya”
can be found in the tamil work tirumantiram
by tirumular (7th century CE).
By the 9th century, the worship Of
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi)
spread,
with significant texts attributed to
the philosopher sankara.
Over time, the worship Of
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi)
expanded throughout india,
including bengal, and
continues to be significant today.

The Divine Mother
Destroyed
the demon bhanda
To Protect the gods and
restore cosmic stability

As Per Myth,
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Defeated the demon bhanda,
who was born from lord shiva’s rage.
The Tale begins with lord shiva destroying
lord kama, the god of love,
when lord kama tries to distract
lord shiva during meditation.
One of lord shiva’s followers then
makes a man from lord kama’s ashes.
This man made from the ashes
asks lord shiva for a powerful mantra,
which lord shiva gives him.
This mantra gives
the man made from ashes
half the strength of his enemies.
Lord shiva also makes the man
ruler of the world
for sixty thousand years and
praises him with the words
“bhand! bhand!” (“good! good!”).
Thus named bhanda, this man
now becomes a dangerous demon and
builds a city to rival the gods’ city.
When bhanda attacks lord indra,
lord indra asks the sage narada for help,
who then tells him to pray To
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi).

lord indra and his allies
perform vedic rites, in worship Of
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi).
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Arrives To
Bring An End To bhanda’s rule.
To Prepare For battle,
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Creates
An Army Of powerful warriors
And Many Divine Weapons
From Her Noose And Goad.
The ignorant demon bhanda
mocks the Divine Weapons,
ignorantly thinking they will be weak,
and is Soon Destroyed By
The Divine Mother
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi).

After the battle,
the gods, led by lord kama’s wife,
rati, pleads With
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi)
To Bring lord kama back to life.
To Restore desire in the world,
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi)
Accepts their prayers
And Brings lord kama back to life.
This Myth Signifies
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) As The Protector
Of the gods and cosmic stability,
Overseeing cosmic processes.

The Divine Forms And
The Holy “Names”
Through Which
devotees praise and worship
The Divine Mother

As per Myth in
“Sri Maa Lalita-Sahasranama”,
In the battle against demon bhanda,
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Created
the ten forms or avatars of lord vishnu
From Her Ten Divine Fingernails
To Fight against bhanda’s army.
As The Valiant Destroyer Of bhanda
And The Protector of all gods,
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Is Revered As
The Divine Mother
Who Rules Divine Armies,
Slays demons,
And Grants Boons to warriors.

As The Divine Mother
Who Grants Boons to warriors,
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Is worshipped
by warriors, and mothers of warriors.
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Is Also worshipped
by kings, And So Is Venerated As
Maa RajaRajesvari,
The Divine Mother Who Is
Queen Of kings.

The Many Holy “Names”
Through Which devotees praise and worship
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi)
Hold Deep Significance, Reflecting
The Divine Mother’s
Cosmic Wisdom Teachings.
‍
The Holy “Name”
“Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari ”
“Means”
“The Divine Mother Who Is
The Source Of all beauty in the three worlds”,
Symbolizing various triads
in ancient indian philosophy.
These triads include creation,
maintenance, and destruction,
and the relationship between subject,
instrument, and object.
“Tripura” Is Also Said To Symbolize
the three states of consciousness,
which are identified by the yogis
as jagrat (waking), swapna (dreaming),
and shushupti (sleeping).

The Holy “Name”
“Maa Shodashi”
“Meaning”
“The Divine Mother Who Is Sixteen,”
Signifies That
The Divine Mother Is Beyond
the constructs of time and age.

By praising
The Divine Mother As
“Maa Lalita”,
devotees meditate On
The Divine Grace And Beauty Of
The Divine Mother.

Conclusion

Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) As
The Divine Mother Of Transcendent Beauty
And The Protector Of Cosmic Stability,
Maa Sri Lalita Tripura Sundari
(Maa Shodashi) Imparts Wisdom
About the unity and interconnectedness
of all existence Upon deserving devotees,
Guiding them To purify their minds,
embrace inner beauty, and
achieve a higher state of consciousness.