The Essence of the Tantra · Chapter 13

The Essence of the Tantra — Chapter 13

तन्त्रसार

Tantrasāra


Chapter 13 101 verses

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  1. 1 atha prasannahṛdayo yāgasthānaṃ yāyāt tac ca yatraiva hṛdayaṃ … Now, with serene heart he should go to the place of worship;
  2. 2 pīṭhaparvatāgram ityādis tu śāstre sthānoddeśa etatpara eva boddhavyaḥ But the specification of place in scripture — "a sacred seat, a mountain-top," and so on…
  3. 3 teṣu teṣu pīṭhādisthāneṣu parameśaniyatyā parameśvarāviṣṭānāṃ śaktīnāṃ dehagrahaṇāt āryadeśā … In those various places — the sacred seats and the rest — by the ordinance of the Supreme…
  4. 4 tatra yāgagṛhāgre bahir eva sāmānyanyāsaṃ kuryāt karayoḥ pūrvaṃ … There, before the worship-house, outside, he should perform the general imposition (of…
  5. 5 hrīṃ na pha hrīṃ hrīṃ ā kṣa hrīṃ … With these two — hrīṃ na pha hrīṃ and hrīṃ ā kṣa hrīṃ — which are the (mantras) denoting…
  6. 6 mālinī hi bhagavatī mukhyam śāktaṃ rūpaṃ bījayonisaṅghaṭṭena samastakāmadugham For the Mālinī, the blessed Goddess, is the principal śākta form, and, through the…
  7. 7 anvarthaṃ caitan nāma rudraśaktimālābhir yuktā phaleṣu puṣpitā saṃsāraśiśirasaṃhāranādabhramarī … And this name is significant: she is entwined with the garlands (mālā) of the…
  8. 8 ata eva hi bhraṣṭavidhir api mantra etannyāsāt pūrṇo … For this very reason, even a mantra whose ritual procedure has lapsed becomes complete…
  9. 9 dehanyāsānantaram arghapātre ayam eva nyāsaḥ After the imposition upon the body, this very same imposition is (made) upon the…
  10. 10 iha hi kriyākārakāṇāṃ parameśvarābhedapratipattidārḍhyasiddhaye pūjākriyā udāharaṇīkṛtā tatra ca … For here the act of worship has been taken as an example for firmly establishing, among…
  11. 11 evaṃ kriyākrameṇāpi parameśvarīkṛtasamastakārakaḥ tayaiva dṛśā sarvakriyāḥ paśyan vināpi … Thus, even by the course of ritual action — having made all the case-factors into the…
  12. 12 evam arghapātre nyasya puṣpadhūpādyaiḥ pūjayitvā tadvipruḍbhir yāgasāraṃ puṣpādi … Thus, having made the imposition upon the argha-vessel and worshipped it with flowers,…
  13. 13 tataḥ prabhāmaṇḍale bhūmau khe vā oṃ bāhyaparivārāya nama … Then, in the orb of radiance, on the ground or in the open space, he should worship with…
  14. 14 tato dvārasthāne oṃ dvāradevatācakrāya nama iti pūjayet Then, at the place of the door, he should worship with "oṃ, homage to the wheel of…
  15. 15 agupte tu bahiḥsthāne sati praviśya maṇḍalasthaṇḍilāgra eva bāhyaparivāradvāradevatācakrapūjāṃ … But when the outer site is unguarded, having entered, right before the maṇḍala-altar…
  16. 16 tato 'pi phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ iti astrajaptapuṣpaṃ prakṣipya … Then, casting a flower charged by reciting the Weapon-mantra with "phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ," and…
  17. 17 tatra mumukṣur uttarābhimukhas tiṣṭhet yathā bhagavadaghoratejasā jhaṭity eva … There the one desiring liberation should stand facing north, so that by the Lord's…
  18. 18 tatra parameśvarasvātantryam eva mūrtyābhāsanayā diktattvam avabhāsayati There it is the autonomy of the Supreme Lord alone that, by the manifestation of an…
  19. 19 tatra citprakāśa eva madhyaṃ tata itarapravibhāgapravṛtteḥ prakāśasvīkāryam ūrdhvam … There the Light of consciousness alone is the centre, since from it arise the other…
  20. 20 tatra madhye bhagavān ūrdhve 'sya aiśānaṃ vaktram adhaḥ … There, in the centre, is the Lord;
  21. 21 ity evaṃ saṃvinmahimaiva mūrtikṛtaṃ digbhedaṃ bhāsayati iti dik … Thus it is the majesty of consciousness alone that makes manifest the division of…
  22. 22 yathā yathā ca svacchāyā laṅghayitum iṣṭā satī puraḥ … And just as one's own shadow, when one seeks to overstep it, comes ever further in front…
  23. 23 evaṃ yathā bhagavān digvibhāgakārī tathā sūryo 'pi sa … Thus, just as the Lord is the maker of the division of directions, so too is the sun;
  24. 24 evaṃ svātmasūryaparameśatritayaikībhāvanayā dikcarcā iti abhinavaguptaguravaḥ Thus the reckoning of directions is (made) by contemplating as one the triad of self,…
  25. 25 evaṃ sthite uttarābhimukham upaviśya dehapuryaṣṭakādau ahambhāvatyāgena dehatāṃ dahet … This being so, having sat facing north, with regard to the body, the subtle body, and the…
  26. 26 tadāsanatvāt bhagavannavātmādīnāṃ śakter eva ca pūjyatvāt iti guravaḥ (This is so) because they serve as the seat of the Lord Navātman and the rest, and…
  27. 27 tatra ca pañca avasthā jāgradādyāḥ ṣaṣṭhī ca anuttarā … And there, five states beginning with waking, and a sixth named the Absolute — the…
  28. 28 iti ṣoḍhā nyāso bhavati Thus the imposition is sixfold.
  29. 29 tatra kāraṇānāṃ brahmaviṣṇurudreśasadāśivaśaktirūpāṇāṃ pratyekam adhiṣṭhānāt ṣaṭtriṃśattattvakalāpasya laukikatattvottīrṇasya bhairavabhaṭṭārakābhedavṛtte … There, because the causal lords — in the forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudra, Īśa, Sadāśiva,…
  30. 30 yad āhuḥ ataraṅgarūḍhau labdhāyāṃ punaḥ kiṃ tattvasṛṣṭir nyāsādinā … As for what (some) say: "Once being-established in the waveless has been attained, what…
  31. 31 tāvat hi tad ataraṅgaṃ bhairavavapuḥ yat svātmani avabhāsitasṛṣṭisaṃhārāvaicitryakoṭi (the reply is:) that waveless body of Bhairava is, after all, precisely that within which…
  32. 32 evam anyonyamelakayogena parameśvarībhūtaṃ prāṇadehabuddhyādi bhāvayitvā bahir antaḥ puṣpadhūpatarpaṇādyair … Thus, having contemplated breath, body, intellect, and the rest as having become the…
  33. 33 tatra śarīre prāṇe dhiyi ca tadanusāreṇa śūlābjanyāsaṃ kuryāt … There, in the body, the breath, and the intellect, he should accordingly perform the…
  34. 34 tan nābhyutthitaṃ tanmūrdharandhratrayanirgataṃ nādāntarvartiśaktivyāpinīsamanārūpamarātrayaṃ dviṣaṭkāntaṃ tadupari śuddhapadmatrayam aunmanasam … That (trident), risen from the navel, issuing from the three apertures at its crown, is…
  35. 35 dvādaśāntam idaṃ prāgraṃ viśūlaṃ mūlataḥ smaran Visualizing this trident from the root upward, with its tip foremost, ending at the…
  36. 36 devīcakrāgragaṃ tyaktakramaḥ khecaratāṃ vrajet — reaching the summit of the wheel of goddesses, having relinquished the gradual mode, he…
  37. 37 mūlādhārād dviṣaṭkāntavyomāgrāpūraṇātmikā (This Khecarī) consists of the filling, from the root-base up to the summit of the void…
  38. 38 khecarīyaṃ khasañcāramsthitibhyāṃ khāmṛtāśanāt — this is Khecarī, by reason of moving and abiding in the void, and by feeding on the…
  39. 39 evam antaryāgamātrād eva vastutaḥ kṛtakṛtyatā Thus, in truth, from the inner worship alone comes the state of having accomplished all…
  40. 40 satyataḥ tadāviṣṭasya tathāpi bahir api kāryo yāgo 'vacchedahānaya … In truth, even for one absorbed in that, the worship is still to be performed outwardly…
  41. 41 atha yadā dīkṣāṃ cikīrṣet tadādhivāsanārthaṃ bhūmiparigrahaṃ gaṇeśārcanaṃ kumbhakalaśayoḥ … Now, when he wishes to perform an initiation, then for the preliminary consecration he…
  42. 42 nityanaimittikayos tu sthaṇḍilādyarcanahavane eva But in the case of the regular and the occasional rites, (it is) only the worship of the…
  43. 43 tatra adhivāsanaṃ śiṣyasya saṃskṛtayogyatādhānam amblīkaraṇam iva dantānāṃ devasya … There, the preliminary consecration is the instilling, in the disciple, of a refined…
  44. 44 upakaraṇadravyāṇāṃ yāgagṛhāntarvartitayā parameśatejobṛṃhaṇena pūjopakaraṇayogyatārpaṇam iti (And it is) the conferring upon the implement-substances, by their being within the…
  45. 45 tatra sarvopakaraṇapūrṇaṃ yāgagṛhaṃ vidhāya bhagavatīṃ mālinīṃ mātṛkāṃ vā … There, having prepared the worship-house filled with all the implements, and having…
  46. 46 tata uktāstrajaptāni yathāsambhavaṃ siddhārthadhānyākṣatalājādīni tejorūpāṇi vikīrya aiśānyāṃ diśi … Then, having scattered — charged by reciting the aforesaid Weapon-mantra, as far as…
  47. 47 tataḥ śuddhavidyāntam āsanaṃ dattvā gaṇapateḥ pūjā tataḥ kumbham … Then, having given a seat (the throne-mantra) ending at Pure Knowledge, (comes) the…
  48. 48 dvitīyakalaśe vighnaśamanāya astraṃ yajet In the second jar, he should worship the Weapon-mantra for the quelling of obstacles.
  49. 49 tataḥ svasvadikṣu lokapālān sāstrān pūjayet Then he should worship the guardians of the regions, together with their weapons, each in…
  50. 50 tataḥ śiṣyasya prāk dīkṣitasya haste astrakalaśaṃ dadyāt Then he should place the Weapon-jar into the hand of the disciple who has been previously…
  51. 51 svayaṃ ca guruḥ kumbham ādadīta And the guru himself should take up the pot.
  52. 52 tataḥ śiṣyaṃ gṛhaparyanteṣu vighnaśamanāya dhārāṃ pātayantaṃ sakumbho 'nugacchet … Then, as the disciple pours out a stream (of water) around the borders of the house for…
  53. 53 sāvadhānena karmāntaṃ bhavitavyaṃ śivājñayā — by the command of Śiva, one must remain vigilant until the end of the rite.
  54. 54 tryakṣare nāmni bho ity ekam eva When the (guardian's) name is trisyllabic, (one uses) only a single "bho.
  55. 55 tata aiśānyāṃ diśi kumbhaṃ sthāpayet Then he should set down the pot in the north-eastern quarter.
  56. 56 vikiropari astrakalaśam (He should set) the Weapon-jar upon the scattered grain-heap.
  57. 57 tata ubhayapūjanam Then the worship of both.
  58. 58 tataḥ sthaṇḍilamadhye parameśapūjanam Then, in the midst of the altar-mound, the worship of the Supreme Lord.
  59. 59 tataḥ agnikuṇḍaṃ parameśvaraśaktirūpatayā bhāvayitvā tatra agniṃ prajvālya hṛdayāntarbodhāgninā … Then, having contemplated the fire-pit as having the form of the Supreme Lord's power,…
  60. 60 arghapātreṇa ca prokṣaṇam eva tilājyādīnāṃ saṃskāraḥ And the consecration of the sesame, clarified butter, and the rest is simply the…
  61. 61 sruksruvayoś ca parameśābhedadṛṣṭir eva hi saṃskāraḥ And the consecration of the two ladles is simply the vision of (their) non-difference…
  62. 62 tato yathāśakti hutvā sruksruvau ūrdhvādhomukhatayā śaktiśivarūpau parasparonmukhau vidhāya … Then, having made oblation to the best of his ability, having arranged the two ladles —…
  63. 63 tataś caruṃ prokṣitam ānīya sthaṇḍilakalaśakumbhavahniṣu bhāgaṃ bhāgaṃ nivedya … Then, having brought the sprinkled oblation-porridge and offered a portion to each — the…
  64. 64 tato dantakāṣṭham Then the tooth-stick.
  65. 65 tatpāto 'gniyamanirṛtidikṣu adhaś ca na śubha iti Its falling in the quarters of Agni, Yama, and Nirṛti, and downward, is not auspicious.
  66. 66 tatra homo 'stramantreṇa kāryaḥ In that case the oblation is to be performed with the Weapon-mantra.
  67. 67 tato vikṣepaparihāreṇa bhāvimantradarśanayogyatāyai baddhanetraṃ śiṣyaṃ praveśya jānusthitaṃ taṃ … Then, by the avoidance of distraction, for fitness to behold the mantra-deity about to…
  68. 68 tataḥ sahasā apāsitanetrabandho 'sau śaktipātānugṛhītakaraṇatvāt sannihitamantraṃ tatsthānaṃ sākṣātkāreṇa … Then, his eye-binding suddenly removed, that (disciple), because his faculties are graced…
  69. 69 tataḥ svadakṣiṇahaste dīpyatayā devatācakraṃ pūjayitvā taṃ hastaṃ mūrdhahṛnnābhiṣu … Then, having worshipped the wheel of deities in his own right hand by its blazing…
  70. 70 tato vāme somyatayā pūjayitvā śuddhatattvāpyāyinaṃ tataḥ praṇāmaṃ kuryāt Then, having worshipped (the wheel of deities) in the left hand by its lunar (cooling)…
  71. 71 tato bhūtadevatādigbaliṃ madyamāṃsajalādipūrṇaṃ bahir dadyāt ācāmeta Then he should offer outside the directional offering to the spirit-deities, full of…
  72. 72 tataḥ svayaṃ carubhojanaṃ kṛtvā śiṣyātmanā saha aikyam āpannaḥ … Then, having himself eaten the oblation-porridge and attained unity with the disciple's…
  73. 73 svapan api prabhāte śiṣyaḥ cet aśubhaṃ svapnaṃ vadet … If the disciple, having slept, reports an inauspicious dream at dawn, (the guru) should…
  74. 74 śaṅkātaṅkau hi tathāsya syātām kevalam astreṇa tanniṣkṛtiṃ kuryāt For doubt and anxiety would thereby arise for him;
  75. 75 tatas tathaiva parameśvaraṃ pūjayitvā tadagre śiṣyasya prāṇakrameṇa praviśya … Then, having likewise worshipped the Supreme Lord, before Him, having entered by way of…
  76. 76 ity evāpāditāṣṭācatvāriṃśatsaṃskāroparikṛtarudrāṃśāpattiḥ samayībhavati Thus, having had the forty-eight sacraments effected upon him and attained thereby the…
  77. 77 tataḥ asmai pūjyaṃ mantraṃ puṣpādyaiḥ saha arpayet Then he should bestow upon him the mantra to be worshipped, together with flowers and the…
  78. 78 tataḥ samayān asmai nirūpayet Then he should set forth for him the rules of observance.
  79. 79 gurau sarvātmanā bhaktiḥ tathā śāstre deve tatpratidvandvini parāṅmukhatā … Wholehearted devotion to the guru, likewise to the scripture and to the deity;
  80. 80 striyo vandhyāyās tajjugupsāhetuṃ na kuryāt He should give no cause for contempt toward a woman who is barren.
  81. 81 devatānāma gurunāma tathā mantraṃ pūjākālāt ṛte na uccārayet The name of the deity, the name of the guru, and the mantra he should not pronounce…
  82. 82 gurūpabhuktaṃ śayyādi na bhuñjīta He should not make use of a bed and the like that has been used by the guru.
  83. 83 yat kiñcit laukikaṃ krīḍādi tat gurusannidhau na kuryāt Whatever is worldly — sport and the like — he should not engage in within the presence of…
  84. 84 tadvyatirekeṇa na anyatra utkarṣabuddhiṃ kuryāt Apart from that, he should form no notion of superiority elsewhere.
  85. 85 sarvatra śrāddhādau gurum eva pūjayet In all rites such as the ancestral offering, he should worship the guru himself.
  86. 86 sarveṣu ca naimittikeṣu śākinītyādiśabdān na vadet And in all the occasional rites he should not utter words such as "Śākinī" and the like.
  87. 87 parvadināni pūjayet He should honour the festival days with worship.
  88. 88 vaiṣṇavādyair adhodṛṣṭibhiḥ saha saṅgatiṃ na kuryāt He should not keep company with Vaiṣṇavas and others of lower vision.
  89. 89 etacchāsanasthān pūrvajātibuddhyā na paśyet He should not regard those established in this teaching with a notion of their former…
  90. 90 guruvarge gṛhāgate yathāśakti yāgaṃ kuryāt When the guru's circle comes to one's house, he should perform worship to the best of his…
  91. 91 adhomārgasthitaṃ kañcit vaiṣṇavādyaṃ tacchāstrakulāt gurūkṛtyāpi tyajet Someone stationed on a lower path — a Vaiṣṇava or the like, belonging to the family of…
  92. 92 tadāpi na utkarṣabuddhyā paśyet Even then he should not regard (him) with a notion of superiority.
  93. 93 liṅgibhiḥ saha samācāramelanaṃ na kuryāt tān kevalaṃ yathāśakti … He should not engage in a mingling of observances with the bearers of (sectarian) emblems;
  94. 94 śaṅkās tyajet He should abandon doubts.
  95. 95 cakre sthitaś caramāgryādivibhāgaṃ janmakṛtaṃ na saṅkalpayet When stationed in the sacred circle, he should not entertain distinctions of last,…
  96. 96 śarīrāt ṛte na anyat āyatanatīrthādikaṃ bahumānena paśyet Apart from the body, he should not regard anything else — shrine, sacred ford, and the…
  97. 97 mantrahṛdayam anavarataṃ smaret ity evaṃ śiṣyaḥ śrutvā praṇamya … He should recall the heart of the mantra unceasingly.
  98. 98 bhāvividhinā ca mūrticakraṃ tarpayet And by the procedure to be described, he should satiate the wheel of embodiments.
  99. 99 itthaṃ samayībhavati In this way he becomes a samayin (a bound initiate).
  100. 100 mantrābhyāse nityapūjāyāṃ śravaṇe 'dhyayane adhikārī naimittike tu sarvatra … In the practice of the mantra, in the regular worship, in hearing and in study, he is…
  101. 101 iti sāmayiko vidhiḥ Such is the procedure pertaining to the bound initiate.