The Second Enclosure (Avarana) of the Shri Yantra
The second enclosure of the Śrī Cakra is called the Sarvāśā Paripūraka Cakra, meaning “the perfect fulfiller of all hopes.” This āvaraṇa represents the realm of longing and desire, but at a more refined and inward level than the first. It is the lotus of sixteen petals (ṣoḍaśa-patraka-padma) and is placed just within the three concentric circles (trivṛtta), and outside the eight-petaled lotus of the third āvaraṇa.
🌕 Mind and the Moon Connection
The presiding energy (prakṛti) of this cakra is linked to the moon’s seed syllable — saṃ. Since the mind (manas) is governed by the moon (candra), this āvaraṇa is associated with the dream state (svapnāvasthā) — a realm where mind predominates. In this state, the mind resides in the region of the throat (kaṇṭha), which is traditionally linked to the moon's seat.
The sixteen petals of this lotus are visualized in such a way that no space is left between them. This intermediate space is technically called keśara (defined as the interspace between two petals, dala-dvaya-madhyāvakāśa).
The three concentric circles (trivṛtta) that surround the lotus represent three of the four Puruṣārthas — Dharma (righteous living), Artha (wealth), and Kāma (desire). The fourth goal, Mokṣa (liberation), lies only in the central triangle of the Śrī Cakra.
🧭 Direction and Worship Method
Unlike the first āvaraṇa, this enclosure is worshipped in an anticlockwise direction, starting from the East. The sequence of petals and deities follows the ascending numerical order, as indicated in traditional pūjā charts (often in red ink).
Each of the sixteen petals is joined outwardly to the three concentric circles and inwardly to the next lotus of eight petals — the third āvaraṇa. This establishes the energetic continuum from gross desire to refined will.
🪔 Presiding Deity and Yoginīs
- Cakreśvarī (Presiding Goddess): Tripureśī
A form of the Supreme Goddess Lalitā who rules over the field of cosmic desire and divine will. - Yoginīs (Attendants): Gupta Yoginīs
These are hidden or unmanifest energies representing subtle aspects of power, devotion, and awareness.
🌺 The Sixteen Śaktis of the Lotus
These sixteen śaktis govern all aspects of human desire, perception, cognition, and experience. Each śakti attracts (ākarṣaṇī) a specific function of life. They are:
- Kāma-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward desire
- Buddhy-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward intellect
- Ahaṅkāra-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward ego
- Śabda-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward sound
- Sparśa-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward touch
- Rūpa-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward form
- Rasa-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward taste
- Gandha-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward smell
- Citta-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward thought process
- Dhairya-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward fortitude and resilience
- Smṛti-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward memory
- Nāma-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward names and identities
- Bīja-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward the source of phenomena
- Ātma-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward the self
- Amṛta-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward immortality
- Śarīra-ākarṣaṇī – Attraction toward the body and embodiment
These śaktis represent sixteen deliberations (vimarśas) of Śiva’s consciousness that typically flow outward into creation, but within this cakra, they begin turning inward — back toward their source.
🌙 Sixteen Kalās of the Moon
These sixteen śaktis are closely linked to the sixteen kalās (phases) of the moon. In tantric and Vedic understanding, kalā means a unit of expression, a vibration of vital force (spanda-prāṇa). These vibrations give rise to the five elements, ten senses, and the mind — forming a set of sixteen vital components.
The sixteen lunar kalās are:
Amṛtā, Māndā, Pūṣā, Tuṣṭi, Puṣṭi, Rati, Dhṛti, Śaśinī, Candrikā, Kānti, Jyotsnā, Śrī, Prīti, Aṅgadā, Pūrṇā, and Pūrṇāmṛtā.
These kalās are worshipped during Viśeṣārghya Pūjā and symbolize the nitya (eternal) vibrational forces within the moon and the self.
🔥 Sixteen Kalās of Sadāśiva
In parallel, the cakra also reflects the sixteen kalās of Sadāśiva:
Nivṛtti, Pratiṣṭhā, Vidyā, Śānti, Indhikā, Dīpikā, Recikā, Mocikā, Parā, Sūkṣmā, Sūkṣmāmṛtā, Jñāna, Jñānāmṛta, Āpyāyinī, Vyāpinī, and Vyoma-rūpā.
Each petal of the lotus is a junction where one lunar kalā, one kalā of Sadāśiva, one śakti (ākarṣaṇī), and one nityā śakti converge.
🔱 Nityā Devīs
This āvaraṇa is also home to the sixteen Nityā Devīs, each one named with the prefix nityā to denote their eternal nature. They are:
Kāmeśvarī, Bhagamālinī, Nityaklinnā, Bheruṇḍā, Vahnivāsinī, Mahāvajreśvarī, Śivadūtī, Tvaritā, Kulasaṃkarṣiṇī, Nityā, Nīlapatākā, Vijayā, Sarvamaṅgalā, Jvālāmālinī, Citrā, and Mahānityā.
Each represents not only a specific tithi (lunar day) but also a transcendental mood, a cosmic principle, and a path to realization. While these are primarily worshipped in the eighth āvaraṇa, in Navāvaraṇa Pūjā they are invoked at the outset itself.
🧘♀️ Inner Science and Symbolism
This cakra is intimately connected with:
- Pañca Mahābhūtas – Five great elements
- Jñānendriyas – Five organs of perception: hearing, touch, sight, taste, smell
- Karmendriyas – Five organs of action: speech, hands, feet, excretion, reproduction
- Manas – The mind
Together, they constitute sixteen psycho-physical constituents that are gradually dissolved as one moves inward.
- Color (Meditation Hue): Yellow (pītavarṇa)
- Mudrā: Sarva Vidrāviṇī
- Corresponding Body Cakra: Mūlādhāra
- Pūjā Bhāva: Ātma Rakṣā (Self-Protection)
Discontent arises from fragmented longing. True fulfillment arises not from the satisfaction of desire, but from its sublimation and return to source. This is the great secret of this āvaraṇa.
🕯️ Pūjā Krama (Order of Worship)
- Chandra Kalā Pūjā: At the outer corners of each petal
- Sadāśiva Kalā Pūjā: At the inner corners of each petal
- Nityā Devī Pūjā: Beneath each petal corner
- Śakti Pūjā (Ākarṣaṇīs): In the center of each petal
Each act of worship invokes a different layer of one's being, calling all parts home into wholeness.
In this ṣoḍaśa-dala-kamala, Mahāśakti begins to reveal Herself as the force behind the entire physical universe. With Her sixteen śaktis, She manifests gross creation from subtle deliberation. The Sarvāśā Paripūraka Cakra teaches that longings are not the enemy—they are invitations. Only by tracing them inward, back to the light of awareness, can we discover the truth of contentment, which is none other than Śiva Himself, ever full and ever free.
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