My Ishta, or favorite divine, also happens to be the final goal of Sri Vidya: Sri or Divine Energy. When Sri manifests in feminine forms, she is referred to as Sri Devi—an epithet for all female deities.

In this post, I honor my Ishta by sharing the meaning of my favorite song, Sri Chakra-Raja, which is said to have been composed by Sage Agastya.

The Legend

The story of Sri Devi’s Sadhana is documented in the Lalitōpākhyānam, which is believed to be a part of the Brahmanda Purana.

This legend shows Lord Vishnu appeared in his Hayagriva form before Sage Agastya. Vishnu blessed the sage and sent him to another acclaimed sage, who was also nicknamed Hayagriva (someone with a horse-like long neck).

From Sage Hayagriva, Agastya received Sri Devi’s Sadhana, which included the esteemed Lalitā Sahasranāmam and Lalitā Triśatī. After an extended period of penance, Sage Agastya became one of the greatest Sri Vidya Upasaka (practitioners) of all time. He was also instrumental in spreading this wisdom throughout the world.

The Song’s Intro

Sage Agastya composed Sri Chakra-Raja as an offering to Sri Devi. This popular Carnatic classical song beautifully showcases the sage’s humility, devotion, and talents.

This song is a Ragamaalika, which means it effortlessly combines multiple ragas. Such a composition typically requires an in-depth knowledge of the Indian classical music system, which the sage had.

Through this blog, I express my gratitude to Sage Agastya by presenting the lyrics and translation of the Sri Chakra-Raja song. I also express gratitude to his equally eminent wife, Devi Lopamudra, an acclaimed Sri Vidya practitioner.

The lyrics below are from the most popular and widely accepted Carnatic music textbook, Ganamruta Kirtanamala II, by AS Pancapakesha Iyer. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

The Song

Lyrics: Sage Agastya
Language: Sanskrit and Tamil 
Mode/rāga: rāgamālikā 
Rhythm/tāla: ādi (8-beats)

Opening Para (Pallavi)

śrī cakra rāja siṃhāsaneśvarī
śrī lalitā ambhikai bhuvaneśvarī

āghama vedha kalāmaya rūpiṇī
akila carācara janani nārāyaṇi

nāga kaṅkaṇa naṭarāja manohari
jñāna vidhyeśvarī rāja rājeśvarī

Seated in the Sri Chakra-Raja
On the throne of a lion,
Sri Lalita, The Divine Mother,
You are the queen of this existence.

You are (Gayatri) the personification of
Agamas, Vedas, and all arts.
You are Narayani (Vishnu’s energy), 
The mother of all movables and immovable.

You are the charmer of Nataraja, the King of Dance, 
Who is ornamented by a serpent.
You are the queen of Vidya, the Divine Wisdom
And the sovereign of monarchs.

Stanzas (Charanam) #1

palavidamāy unnai pāḍhavum āḍhavum
pāḍhik koṇḍhāḍhum anbar pada malar sūḍavum

ulagham muḻudhum unnai takumurai kāṇavum 
orunilai taruvāy kāncikāmeśvarī (śrī cakra)

To sing and dance to you in various ways,
To wear as a flower (on my head),
The feet of those who sing and dance (to you),

To see you, who is all over this world 
In a proper (clear) way,
The one situated at Kanchipuram — 
Kameshvari, the queen of love,
Please give me the one-pointed state (ekāgratā).

Note: ḻ — The letter ழ is unique to Tamil and has no IAST equivalent. Hence, its ISO 15919 representation ḻ is used. You can look up the IPA symbol (ɻ) to learn the pronunciation of this voiced retroflex approximant.

Stanzas (Charanam) #2

uḻanḍru tirindha ennai uttamanākivaittāy
uyariya periyorruḍhan onḍriḍhak kūṭṭivaitāy

niḻalena toḍarndha mun ū ḻ koḍumaiyai nīṅgha seydāy 
nitya kalyāṇi bhavāni padmeśvarī (śrī cakra)

I was loitering, 
You turned me into a good person.
You placed me in the company of
Highly eminent (noble) people.

You removed my torturous erstwhile fate
That followed me like a shadow.
You are Nithya Kalyani, the eternally auspicious, 
Bhavani, the origin, and
Padmeshvari, the queen on a lotus.

Stanzas (Charanam) #3

tunba puḍattilliṭṭu tūyavanākki vaittāy
toḍharndha mun māyam nīkki
piranda payanait tandāy

anbai perukki undhan āḍhalai kāṇa seydāy 
aḍhaikkalam nīye ammā akhilāṇḍheśvarī (śrī cakra)

You purified me by putting me
Through melting furnace-like sorrows.
You removed the persistent illusion
And gave me the purpose of my birth.

You increased the feeling of love within me
And made me see your dance (Leela). 
Akhilandesvari, ruler of this universe, 
You are my refuge, Mother.

With this humble offering, I invoke the grace of Sri, the Divine Energy. I also seek the blessings of Sage Agastya, Devi Lopamudra, and all Sri Vidya Upasaka (practitioners) on my journey ahead.

Om Tat Sat

Love,
Sri Devi Om