The goddess of speech, vāg devatā, is worshipped by all upāsakas. In the beginning, this is often implicit, or consists of a simple vandana to vāg devī or saraswatī. At a later time, this is often made explicit, in the form of the bahir mātr̥kā nyāsa and antar mātr̥kā nyāsa, i.e. when vāg devī and the alphabet are explicitly worshipped externally and internally respectively.

The dhyāna śloka for vāg devatā (as part of the bahir mātr̥kā nyāsa) follows:

I take refuge in that goddess of speech, who is herself the 50 letters of the alphabet divided to form her mouth, arms, feet, waist and chest. She sports a sliver of the shining [dvitīyā] moon on her crown and has full breasts. She holds the mudrā, japa māla, kalaśa of nectar and vidyā in her lotus hands. She is bright hued and has three eyes.

The antar mātr̥kā nyāsa describes the division of the 50 letters amongst the various chakras in the kuṇḍalinī. One simple description is given in the following śloka:

This is a memory-aid that serves as a reminder to those who have already learnt the details. The six chakras from the bottom up are located at the base of the spine (ādhāra), generative organs (liṅga), navel (nābhi), heart (hr̥daya), palate (tālu) and forehead (lalāṭa). From top to bottom, they have 2, 16, 12, 10, 6 and 4 petals. From the bottom up the following letter sequences are placed on the petals: va - sa, ba - la, ḍa - pha, ka - ṭha, the vowels, haṁ and kṣaṁ. This is better described by the following table:

Each of these chakras, along with the adhidevatās are then worshipped separately. One śaiva tradition uses the following ślokas in that worship (there are minor differences from the table above).

In the ādhāra padma with the letters va, śa, ṣa and sa, meditate upon the lord of obstacles, gaṇeśa, who is youthful and reddish, with the face of an elephant. He sports the abhaya and varada mudrās in his hands along with the noose and goad.

In the svādiṣṭhāna with the letters ba, bha, ma, ya, ra and va in the six petals, meditate upon the source of creation (brahmā), seated comfortably upon the swan, and worshipped by the devas. His vedas themselves are his face, and his hands show the abhaya and varada mudrās along with a water-pot and rosary.

In the maṇipūraka with the letters ḍha to pha, contemplate upon hari who is seated there with the splendour of the sun. He is the everpresent first being known as nārāyaṇa. He is manifest, unmanifest and is present in various forms, is clothed in yellow, and is marked with the kaustubha gem and śrīvatsa. He always sports with lakṣmī who was born out of the ocean and enchants the world.

In the lotus of the heart with the letters ka to ṭha, contemplate upon pārvati’s consort rudra. His matted locks shine with the lustre of thousand full moons. He is peaceful and holds the axe, deer, abhaya and varada mudras. The king of serpents shines on his waist. He has no beginning, middle or end.

In the bindu, contemplate upon maheśvara who is peaceful with white lustre in the sixteen-petalled lotus. He permeates the entire worship of moving and fixed, and is surrounded by all good beings like those who are all-knowing. He is unmanifest, manifest, and is present in various forms. He is devoid of defects, and shines with radiance.

Contemplate incessently upon sadāśiva in the divine lotus with the letters ḷa and kṣa. He is the cause of the world, and permeates it. He is the pure first deva whose body is the threefold icchā, jñāna and kriyā śaktis. He accompanies the manonmamī śakti who permeates time. He is the bud of existence and knowledge. His vigraha is imperishable.