This delicately ornate image of the highest form of Mahadevi – Rajarajeshwari, or the Tripura Sundari – is presented to us as a bronze ‘panchaloha’ sculpture from Swamimalai. As the most significant aspect of veneration of the Shakti cult, Rajarajeshwari is the primary goddess of Sri Vidya, a Mahavidya, and a manifestation of the ultimate consciousness over the realms of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Rajarajeshwari embodies the triumvirate of godly energies: ‘iccha shakti,’ ‘jnana shakti,’ and ‘kriya shakti.’ Moreover, as the Triupura Sundari or literally ‘the one comprising all three citadels,’ Rajarajeshwari’s powers command the physical world, the astral world, and the causal world.
Her detailed iconography comes from the Lalita Sahasranama. Rajarajeshwari has a sugar cane bow in one hand and five flower arrows in the other - the bow represents the mind, and the arrows represent the five senses, allowing her to shoot her worshipers with ecstasy, leading to a blissful state of consciousness in which one might become aware of the Absolute. The noose and the goad, as with other deities like Ganesha, work in tandem – they ensnare her devout worshippers and make them witness her command over the cosmos, while at the same time benevolently guide them along the path of goodwill and righteousness.
The ornately made archway, framing her raised pedestal as a ‘prabhamandala’ behind Rajarajeshwari, is topped with the motif of a ‘kirtimukha,’ and interestingly, is also symbolic of the holy wheel or ‘shri chakra’ of her ‘yantra,’ an important medium of meditation and worship in Tantric Hinduism.
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Visual Search
Manage Wishlist