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The Siddhacakra and Namokara Mantra: 83
The Siddhacakra is a yantra depicting "nine essential elements of Jainism." It is to be used in meditation by one as an alternative towards worshipping one's guru in case he is not present, because it depicts the nine elements of Jainism most worthy of worship. These elements include arihant (meaning conqueror of enemies), siddhas (accomplished/liberated ones), Acaryas (heads of the samgha), upadhyaya (teachers of scriptures) the sadhu (ascetic), darśana (faith) jñāna (wisdom) caritra (conduct), as a sort of collective idol which one can perform the ashta pūjā to, or the daily offering of eight items to a Jain idol, typically a Tīrthankara. Sandalwood paste and flowers are among the eight items offered to the figures on this Siddhacakra. While one might think that the offering of flowers and sandalwood paste is merely a common Indian method of devotion (bhakti), the Jains are careful to incorporate spiritual meaning to the pūjā, so as to blur the lines between merely devotion (bhakti) practice and methodological meditation. For example, when one places the flowers and sandalwood paste on the Siddhacakra, or any Jain idol, mandala etcetera, it symbolizes the conduct and knowledge that the worshipper aspires to respectively. The meanings of the other six items offered to the Siddhacakra or any Jain idol are the ocean of samsara one must cross to reach liberation as water, the tapa of ascetic life as incense, pure consciousness as the candle, rice as a non-fertile grain as meaning the confidence that this is one's last birth, sweet food as indulgence devoid of attachment, and finally fruit as the resulting reward of ones long self-cultivation.2
This use of the yantra shows that the Siddhacakra can be worshipped daily by oneself with the principle rite of Jain worship, the astapūjā, and also conveys the importance of meanings of offerings attributed to the Siddhacakra or Idol worship. While many may typically assume that Jain devotion or bhakti is primarily based on the desire to acquire good karma, many Jains in fact worship the idols with devotion with the hopes of eliminating their karma, thereby
