Mental worship is superior, and external worship is inferior. By
worshipping Devata, a sadhaka is himself honoured - Niruttara Tantra
The word Nyasa means placing and refers to a large component of tantrik
ritualism in which the practitioner touches various parts of the body at
the same time pronouncing a mantra and visualising a devata or a bija
(root) mantra. Nyasa is supposed to "divinise" the body of the
worshipper.
There are many types of nyasa, with some being very complex and
elaborate. One example on this site is Mahashodha nyasa where a sadhaka
or sadhvika places planets, constellations, sacred sites and other
elements of Lalita's cosmology on her or his body. This demonstrates the
identity of macrocosm and microcosm in the tantrik tradition.
The types of nyasa most often encountered in tantrika ritual are Rishi
Nyasa, Kara (hand) Nyasa, Matrika Nyasa and Sadanga Nyasa. Every mantra
has a Rishi or seer who first pronounced the mantra, thus giving birth
to a line. According to many tantrik texts, using mantras which you take
from books is fruitless, although this rule does not hold for
Mahachinachara and, say some, the worship of Shri Shri Kali.
Matrika Nyasa is a form where the 50 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet
are placed on the body. As this is done, the practitioner uses various
hand gestures (mudras). The letters are prefixed with Om and suffixed
with namah.
Sadanga Nyasa uses bijas connected with long vowels of the Sanskrit
alphabet. Again, there are many examples here on this site.
The worship of different devatas introduces forms of Nyasa tailored to
the particular divinity. For example, in the ritual worship of Bala,
there are optional forms such as the Nine Yoni Nyasa, relating to the
nine triangles in her yantra and an Arrow Nyasa, related to the five
flowering arrows she holds in one of her hands.
And in the worship of Jvalamukhi, there is a very extended Nyasa which
relates to the 21,600 breaths a human being takes in a day and a night.
This is related to the position of the chakras within the human frame.
The worship of Kali is very ancient and there are hundreds of forms of
related Nyasas. In an appendix to the Guhyakali section of the
Mahakalasamhita, we find a multitude including Kalikulakrama Nyasa,
Yogini Nyasa, Yajnamaharaja Nyasa, &c. &c. |
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