#primordial source

SRI YANTRA , also known as SRI CHAKRA, is called the mother of all yantras because all otheryantras derive from it. In its three dimensional forms Sri Yantra is said to represent Mount Meru, the cosmic mountain at the center of the universe.

The Sri Yantra is conceived as a place of spiritual pilgrimage. It is a representation of the cosmos at the macrocosmic level and of the human body at the microcosmic level (each of the circuits correspond to a chakra of the body).Sri Yantra is first referred to in an Indonesian inscription dating to the seventh century C.E. It may have existed in India, its country of origin, long before the time of its introduction to Indonesia.

The Sri Yantra is a configuration of nine interlocking triangles, surrounded by two circles of lotus petals with the whole encased within a gated frame, called the "earth citadel". The nine interlocking triangles centered around the bindu (the central point of the yantra) are drawn by the superimposition of five downward pointing triangles, representing Shakti ; the female principle and four upright triangles, representing Shiva ; the male principle. The nine interlocking triangles form forty three small triangles each housing a presiding deity associated with particular aspects of existence. The Sri Chakra is also known as the nav chakra because it can also be seen as having nine levels. “Nine” comes from “Nau or Nava” of Sanskrit.

WHO DOES IT REPRESENT ?

It represents the goddess in her form of Shri Lalitha Or Tripura Sundari, “the beauty of the three worlds (Heaven, Earth, Hell)”.

The worship of the Sri Chakra is central to the Shri Vidya system of Hindu worship.Four isosceles triangles with the apices upwards, representing Shiva or the Masculine. Five isosceles triangles with the apices downward,representing Shakti or Female .Nine Triangles association it is also called Navayoni Chakra.Thus the Sri Yantra also represents the union of Masculine and Feminine Divine.

These nine triangles are of various sizes and intersect with one another. In the middle is the power point (bindu), visualizing the highest, the invisible, elusive centre from which the entire figure and the cosmos expand.The triangles are enclosed by two rows of (8 and 16) petals, representing the lotus of creation and reproductive vital force. The broken lines of the outer frame denote the figure to be a sanctuary with four openings to the regions of the universe.

Together the nine triangles are interlaced in such a way as to form 43 smaller triangles in a web symbolic of the entire cosmos or a womb symbolic of creation.Together they express Advaita or non-duality.This is surrounded by a lotus of eight petals, a lotus of sixteen petals, and an earth square resembling a temple with four doors.

The various deities residing in the nine layers of the Sri Yantra are described in the Devi Khadgamala Mantra.

1.Mahadevi 2.Durga 3.Saraswati 4.Shri-Lakshmi 5.Parvati 6.Kali 7.Mahavidya 8.Navadurga

SIGNIFICANCE

Man's spiritual journey from the stage of material existence to ultimate enlightenment is mapped on the Sri Yantra. The spiritual journey is taken as a pilgrimage in which every step is an ascent to the center, a movement beyond one's limited existence, and every level is nearer to the goal. Such a journey is mapped in stages, and each of these stages corresponds with one of the circuits of which the Sri Yantra is composed from the outer plane to the bindu in the center.

The Sri Yantra is a tool to give a vision of the totality of existence, so that the adept may internalize its symbols for the ultimate realization of his unity with the cosmos.The goal of contemplating the Sri Yantra is that the adept can rediscover his primordial sources. The circuits symbolically indicate the successive phases in the process of becoming.

Few  temples  where SRI CHAKRA is known to installed 

Parashakthi Temple Rajagopuram in Pontiac, Michigan, USA.

Kamakshi temple, Jonnawada, Nellore installed by Adi Shankaracharya

Kamakshi temple, Kanchipuram

Kalikambal temple, Chennai

Kamakshi temple, Mangadu, Chennai

Shree Kali Temple, Out side Sanganeri Gate, MotiDunri Road, Jaipur

Nimishamba temple, SriRangapatana, Mysore District.

Prasanna Meenakshi Temple, Shivanasamudra, Malavalli Tk, Mandya Dist,Karnataka.

Kollur Mookambike Temple, Udupi dist, Karnataka installed by Adi Shankaracharya

Pashupatinath Temple, Nepal, At the roof of Ganga Mai temple (This temple is carved in shape of meru shri yantra)

Matrubhuteshwar Temple, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai installed by Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi

At Kamakhya Temple, Guwhati, Assam (This mandir itself in the shape of shree yantra)

Puthenkavil Devi Temple, Cherumukha, Nooranad, Alapphuzha, Kerala