The h2g2 Poem
Created | Updated Jan 6, 2005
Tripurashundari
What immortal powers
Rise from the pond?
The sacred and profane;
The good and evil
All transcend space and time
Before Her eyes sparkling bright,
In a gold gleam of midnight darkness
The swamps in water float in shyness.
The pedlar of bangles bows in wonder
The girl in water swims asunder.
If beauty is measured in hours of grace,
Quiet as the dawn the stillness pervades
The courtyard of the temple at high-noon
Long before the dance of the bangled-moon.
NB: In Hindu mythology, Tripura is the ultimate, primordial Shakti, the
light of manifestation. She is the pile of letters of the alphabet and gave birth to the three worlds. At dissolution, She is the abode of all tattvas, still remaining Herself - Vamakeshvaratantra.
Vidya means knowledge, specifically female knowledge, or the goddess, and in this context relates to her aspect called Shri, Lalita or Tripurasundari whose magical diagram is called the Shri Yantra. She is a red flower, so her diagram is a flower too.
The tantrik tradition views its symbols as having a gross aspect, a subtle aspect, and a supreme aspect. In terms of Lalita, the gross form is the image of the goddess with her four arms and so forth, the subtle form is as yantra, and the supreme form is her mantra, all three being the goddess in different aspects. Behind the sometimes colourful symbolism is deep wisdom coupled with practical methods for realising oneself.
