गान्धर्व तन्त्र (शैव-शाक्त आगम - मन्त्र-रहस्य, यन्त्र एवं देवतोपासना सटीक)

In this Patala is given the Kavacha of Rājarā- jeśvarī called Trailokyamohana. The sage of the Kavacha is Śiva, metre Virāt and the goadess Mahātripurasundarī. The Kavacha is said to have various kinds of efficacy which are detailed in the text. It is efficacious not only when practised but also when borne on different parts of the body after being written on a birchbark. The way of writing is that the names of the practitioner and the object of practice are written in the triangle of the Śrichakra, the Mūlamantra coming at the top and around it the alphabet and around the alphabet the Kavacha. 5th CHAPTER In this Śiva describes the way in which the Śrichakra is to be drawn and the different deities are to receive their worship in the nine component parts of Śrichakra. The Śrichakra is to be drawn either on a metallic plate or the earth with red led by the golden pen. Devi is said to have three forms physical, mental and cognitive. The first is represented by Mudrā, the second by Yantra and the third by Mantra. Mahātripura-Sundarī as seated in the lap of Mahāśiva is to be worshipped in the Binduchakra or the centre. The maidens forming the six limbs of Mahātripurasundarī Sarvaiñā etc. as also the Datal Eternities are to receive their worship in the four sub-quarters, centre and the quarters. The fifteen Kalas or fifteen vowels are to be worshipped in the traingle five

in the right side and five in the left side and five in the base of the traingle The Datai Eternities are to be worshipped through the medium of the lady. ATTENDANT DEITIES The 3 rectangles otherwise called Trailokyamohana Chakra are respectively presided over by Brahmā, Vishnu and Śiva Lord Buddha, and the 10 Yoginīs Animā etc are to have their worship in the external rectangle, in the inner rectangle 8 mothers Brahmānī to Mahālakshmī and in the innermost the Mudrādevis Sankshobhinī etc All the deities of the 3 rectangles above referred to go by the name of Prakatayoginīs In the sixteen-petalled lotus called Sarvā- śāpūraka Chakra, Brahmā and sixteen Guptayoginīs Kāmākarshiṇika etc are to be worshipped Eight Guptatara Yoginīs and Śiva receive their worship in the eight-petalled lotus called Sarvasankshobana In the fourteen-sided figure called Sarvasaubhāgyadāyaka Chakra the sun-god and the Sampradāyayoginīs Sarvasankshobinī etc get their worship Kulakaula Yoginīs and Nārāyana are worshipped in the outer decagon called Sarvārthasādhaka and in the inner decagon Nigarbha Yoginīs In the octagon called Sarvarogahara Chakra Rahasya Yoginīs Vaśinī etc receive their worship The divinities of the weapons of Paramaśiva and Mahātripura- sundarī receive their worship outside the triangle Kāmeśwarī Vajreśvarī and Bhagamālinī the 3 Śakties respectively of Rudra, Vishnu, and Brahmā are to be worshipped in the apex, left and right sides of the triangle which is called Sarvasiddhiprada Chakra These Śakties are called Atirahaysa

Yoginis. In the centre of the triangle or the Bindu Chakra Parāpararahasya Yoginī Mahātripurasundarī is to receive her worship The worship of Mahātripurasundarī is threefold Para, Apara and Parāpara, In the Apara the Practitioner has to worship her as indentical with the Kundalinī in the body In the Apara she is to receive her worship in Śrī- chakra, with all the necessary articles of worship The third form of worship includes both the inner and outer aspects of the worship. 6th CHAPTER. In the 6th, Patala Śiva in reply to the quiry made by Pārvatī regarding the third form of worship gives in detail instructions for the guidance of the practioner. These are that the practioner should rise early in the morning, sit on the Padmāsana, have the Prānāyāma exercise and meditate upon his Guru seated in the thousand-petalled lotus, dressed in white, having two eyes and two hands with Vara and Abhaya in them, with his wife sitting on the left thigh and having two hands one holding the white lotus and the other engaged in the tight embrace of her husband. Mantra of the Guru is ऐँह्रीँश्रीँ हसखफ्रें, हस- क्षमलवरयूं, हसखफ्रे, हसक्षमलवरई, ह्सौ स्हौ. and names of the Guru and his wife followed respectively by आनन्दनाथ- पादुका पूजयामि and अम्बापादुका पूजयामि He should offer the objects of senses through the latter to his Guru, smell as perfume, sound as flower, touch as incense, form as lamp, flavour as Naivedya After this come

the mention of Yoga which is defined as the unification of Jīvātmā and Paramātmā and of the eight limbs of the Yoga and their detailed description At the end is given the description of the centres of Kundalinī in the body i e Mūlādhāra, Svādhishthāna, Manipura, Anāhata, Viśuddha, Ājñā and the thousand-petalled lotus above them, which, in turn is followed by such instructions as those for bathing and application of collyrium to the eyes and the cleaning of teeth 7th CHAPTER In the above is given the way in which the devotee of Mahātripurasundarī is to purify his body and perform the Sandhyā Bathing is said to be of three kinds as also the Sandhyā The kinds are physical, mental and psychic consisting in the purification respectively of the body, the mind and the soul In the three kinds of Sandhyā done in the morning, mid-day and evening the devotee is to meditate upon Mahātripurasundarī in three forms. The Gāyatrī of Mahātripurasundarī is given as त्रिपुरसुन्दरि विद्महे कामेश्वरि धीमहि तन्न. क्लिन्ने प्रचोदयात् . Each of these twentyfour letters is said to have a peculiar colour and shape The muttering of the same results in having release form different kinds of sins Agni etc, are the presiding deities of these twentyfour letters Paraśurāma, Menanātha, Agastya, Vaśishtha and Dattātreya are declared to have freed themsleves from heinous crimes such as matricide etc. Every important event in the life of a practitioner is to commence with the worship of Tripura-

sundarī and at the end of the Sandhyā he is to offer a handful of water mixed with red flowers and the powder of sandal wood to the sun under the name of the Mārtandabhairava with the Mantra ह्रीं हस मार्त्तण्डभैरवाय प्रकाशशक्तिसहिताय इदमर्घ्यं नमो नम 8th CHAPTER The 8th chapter describes the sacrificial altar and the way in which the practitioner should, while entering it, bow to the presiding deities of the quarters and other deities such as Ganeśa, Kshetrapāla etc and how he should make an offering to the Bhútas with the mantra ॐ ह्रीँ सर्वविघ्नकृत् सर्व- भूतेभ्यो हू स्वाहा how he should remove all obstacles by muttering seven times Astra-mantra which reads as ऐँक्लीँसौ. अस्त्राय फट् and how he should clean the sacri- ficial altar Every article of worship is to be concealed till the invocation of the Devi The Devotee is instructed to use his discretion in selecting Āsana because the fruit of worship varies with the material of which the Āsana is made. Red blanket is specially advised for the worship of Tripurā. It must measure two cubits in length and one cubit and a half in width He has to sit also on it under the instruc- tions of Āsana The posture peculiar to the worship of Tripurā is Padmāsana and the North is the quarter which the practi tioner must face to secure success in the worship of Tripura- sundarī The practitioner should take care that when wor- shipping he should have everything red such as saffron ointment, red dress, red seat etc and while following instructions regarding the use of the articles of worship and their places, he should have the

Śrīchakra drawn in red lead, placed on the Siṃhāsana Towards his left he should place a stand with a pot full of water on a rectangular diagram The stand is to be indentified with the orb of the fire, the pot with the solar orb and the water with the moon and these must as such be worshipped with the Kalās of the fire, the sun and the moon Ānanda-bhairava and Ānanda-bhairavī are to receive their worship through the pot Conch and other vessels are also to be placed in particular places The purification of the five elements constituting the body by removing the impurities attaching to them through the letters peculiar to the elements and by subsequent infusion of the energy of the Changeless Reality is to be attended to and per- formed as a preliminary to the worship For this purification the practitioner is to deeply concentrate in the Bindu-chakra on the Turīyā aspect of Mahātripurasundarī After this he has to protect himself against all sinister influences by the Digbandhana with the mantra ॐ ह्रीं हंसः सोऽहं स्वाहा ऐं क्लीं सौः त्रिपुरसुन्दरि मां रक्ष रक्ष. 9th CHAPTER In the 9th chapter is given the Mātṛkānyāsa In per- forming this the practitioner is first to wash his hand in a particular manner with the mantra अ्र आँ सौ Then he has to pay his attention to Ṛṣinyāsa etc Then comes the Mātṛkānyāsa of which all details such as Ṛṣhi etc and six limbs etc. are given. Mātṛkā is said to be of two kinds as Antarmātṛkā and Bahirmātṛkā In the case of the fromer letters of the alphabet are to be meditated

upon in the six centres of the body Mulādhāra to Bhrūmadhya. In the latter case letters of the Mātṛikā preceded each by क्लीं are to be meditated upon, vowels individually in the sixteen different parts of the head, five groups of letters gutturals to labials in hands, feet, sides, back, navel and belly, identifiable with the seven constituents of the body, skin etc vital soul, individual soul and supreme soul in heart, armpits, throat, shoulders, lower end of the heart, hands and feet, belly and face Different poses of the hands are also to be used in having this Nyāsa Towards the end various results obtainable from Mātṛikā-nyāsa are described 10th CHAPTFR In the 10th Patala the sixfold Nyāsa of Śrīvidyā as consisting of those of Gaṇeśa, planets, constellations, Yoginīs, signs of Zodiac and Pīṭha is described Gaṇeśa Nyāsa. In this the fiftyone Gaṇeśas vighneśvara to Gaṇeśa with their Śaktis are to be contemplated upon in the different parts of the body forehead etc assigning each letter of the alphabet to a couple as अं विघ्नेश्वराय श्रियै नमो ललाटे. (Planets) Graha Nyāsa The planets Sun to comet occupy the places heart, middle of the eyebrows, eyes, heart, throat, navel, anus and feet Their letter are respectively vowels, semivowels, gutturals, palatals, linguals, dentals, labials, aspirates, ळ & क्ष

Constellations ( Nakshatra Nyasa ) Details regarding this are as given in the following table –

Yoginī Nyāsa

The Nyāsa of Yoginīs is to be performed with the mantras in the following manner –

The mantra of the first is अंआंइंईंउंऊंऋंॠंऌंॡंएंऐंओंऔंअंअः डां डीं डमलवस्यूं डाकिन्यै नमो डाकिनि त्वग्धातुगते चतुष्षष्टिलक्षकोटि- योगिनीस्वामिनि सर्वसत्त्ववशंकरी आज्ञां मे देहि मम विच्चे. The mantra of the second is कंखंगंघंङंचंछंजंझंञंटठ रां रीं रमलवस्यूं राकिन्यै नमो राकिनि असृग्धातुगते द्वात्रिंशल्लक्षकोटियोगिनीस्वामिनि सर्वसत्त्ववशंकरी आज्ञां मे देहि मम विच्चे The mantra of the third is डंढंणं तंथंदंधनं पं फं लां लीं लमलवस्यूं लाकिन्यै नमो लाकिनि मांसधातुगते षोडशलक्षकोटियोगिनीस्वामिनि सर्वसत्त्ववशंकरी आज्ञां मे देहि मम विच्चे The mantra of the fourth is बंभंमंयरंलं कां कीं कममलवस्यू काकिन्यै नम काकिनि मेदोधातुगते अष्टलक्षकोटियोगिनीस्वामिनि सर्व- सत्त्ववशंकरी आज्ञां मे देहि मम विच्चे The mantra of the fifth is वं शं षं सं शां शीं शमलवस्यू शाकिन्यै नम शाकिनि अस्थिधातुगते चतुर्लक्षकोटियोगिनीस्वामिनि सर्वसत्त्व- वशंकरी आज्ञा मे देहि मम विच्चे The mantra of the sixth is हं क्षं हां हीं हमलवरयूं हाकिन्यै नमो हाकिनि मज्जाधातुगते द्विलक्षकोटियोगिनीस्वामिनि सर्वसत्त्ववशंकरी आज्ञां मे देहि मम विच्चे The mantra of the seventh is अंआंइंईंउंऊंऋंॠंऌंॡंएंऐंओंऔंअंअः कंखंगंघंङंचंछंजंझंञंटठडंढंणंतंथंदंधनं पफंबंभमंयरंलवशषसंहंक्ष यां यी यमलवरयूं याकिन्यै नमो याकिनि शुक्रधातुगते दशकोटियोगिनीस्वामिनि सर्वसत्त्ववशंकरी आज्ञां मे देहि मम विच्चे Rāśi Nyāsa Like the two previous Nyāsas the above Nyāsa also is prescribed in the table as given below -

In this the practitioner is to identify the fiftyone Pīṭhas Kāmarūpa etc. with the different parts of the body and in doing so the letters of the Mātṛkā are to go along with the names of the pīṭhas one with each with a Bindu at the top The chapter ends with the spiritual powers that the practitioner of this Shodhānyāsa gets 11th. CHAPTER In the 11th Paṭala are described first the Nyāsa of (1) Āsana, (2) Vaśinyādivāgdevatā (3) Mūlāṅga (4) Navayoni (5) Caturvyūha, (6) Tattvanyāsa (7) Mūlavidyā and (8) Sammohana. In the Ist, Āsanas i.e. Amṛtārṇavāsana, Potāmbujāsana Ātmāsana, Chakrāsana, Sarvamantrāsana, Sādhyāsana, Sādh- yasiddhāsana, Paryaṅkaśaktipīṭhāsana and Mahāpretāsana, respectively presided over by Tripurā, Tripureśvarī, Tripura- sundarī, Tripuravāsinī, Tripuraśrī, Tripuramālinī, Tripurasiddhā, Tripurāmbā and Mahātripurabhairavī are to be contemplated upon in feet, knees, thighs, hips, private part, Mulādhāra, Navel, heart and cavity in the head The Mantras to be used are (1) अअ्रासौः त्रिपुरामृतार्णवासनाय नमः (2) ऐक्लूँ सो. त्रिपुरे- श्वरीपोताम्बुजासनाय नमः (3) ह्रीङ्क्रासाः त्रिपुरसुन्दर्यात्मासनाय नमः(4) ऐ- ह्स्लीं ह्सौः त्रिपुरवासिनीचक्रासनाय नम. (5) ह्से ह्स्क्रीं ह्स्सौः त्रिपुरश्रीसर्वम- न्त्रासनाय नमः (6) ह्रीँ क्लँ ब्लैं त्रि पुरमालिनीसाध्यास नाय नम (7) ह्रीं श्रींसौ

त्रिपुरसिद्धामाध्यसिद्धासनाय नम (8) ह्स्रं हस्रक्लीं हस्रौ महात्रिपुरभैरवीसदा- शिवमहाप्रेतपद्मासनाय नम In the 2nd, eight goddesses of speech are to be meditated upon as presiding deities of (1) Vowels (2) gutturals (3) Palatals (4) Linguals (5) Dentals (6) Labials (7) Semi vowels and (8) Aspirates Their names, seats and Kūtas are (1) Vaśinī, cavity in the head, ब्लूं (2) Kameśvarī, forehead, क्ल्रीं (3) Modinī, middle of eye-brows, न्व्लीं (4) Vimalā, throat, य्लूं (5) Aruṇā, heart, ञ्स्त्रीं (6) Jayinī, navel, ह्सलवयूं (7) Sarveśvarī, Liṅga, झ्मरयूं (8) Kaulinī, below the liṅga, क्ष्म्रीं. In the 3rd, the six limbs i e heart, head, tuft of the air on the head, armour, eyes and the weapons are to be, located in the five fingers of the hands and their palm and back While doing so the practitioner is to mutter in each, case the mantra of Śrīvidyā twice The six poses of the hands are prescibed for these six limbs the three fingers- middle, ring and index for Hṛidaya, two fingers - mid and index for Śiras thumb for Śikhā ten fingers for Kavacha, the three above referred to for eyes and the two above mentioned for Astra In the 4th, Vaśinī etc are to be meditated upon in the different parts of the body named in book and the muttering of all the three Kutas of Śrīvidyā is to be done in each case

In the 5th, the four forms of Mahātripurasundarī i e. Kameśvarī, Vajreśvarī, Bhagamālinī and Mahātripurasundarī are to be contemplated upon below the Liṅga, in the heart, in the middle of the eyebrows and in the cavity in the head, with the four famous centres of her worship and their priests. The mantras to be uttered are (1) ऐं अग्निचक्रे कामगिरि- पीठे मित्रेशनाथात्मके कामेश्वरीरुद्रात्मशक्ति श्रीपादुकायै नमः (2) क्लीं सूर्यचक्रे जालन्धरपीठे षष्ठीशनाथात्मक वज्रेश्वरीविष्ण्वात्मशक्तिश्रीपादुकाये नमः (3) सौः सोमचक्रे पूर्णगिरिपीठे उड्डीशनाथात्मके भगमालिनीब्रह्मात्मशक्तिश्रीपादुका- यै नमः (4) तुर्यबीजं ब्रह्मचक्रे उड्डियानपीठे चर्यानाथात्मके परब्रह्मात्मशक्तिश्रीपादु- काये नमः In the 6th, the three tattvas Ātma, Vidyā and Śiva are to be located in the three parts of the body viz (1) from feet to the place below the Liṅga, (2) thence to heart, (3) from the heart to the middle of the eyebrows, uttering the following mantras - 1 ऐं आत्मतत्त्वव्यापिकायै महात्रिपुरसुन्दर्यै नमः , 2 क्लीं विद्यातत्त्वव्यापिकायै महात्रिपुरसुन्दर्यै नमः , 3 सौः शिवतत्त्वव्यापिकायै महात्रिपुरसुन्दर्यै नमः In the 7th, the three Kutas of Śrīvidyā are to be located in hands etc, individually and the fourth bījā is to have its place in the cavity in the head The fifteen syllabes of the Pañchadaśī are located in the cavity in the head, Mūlādhāra, heart, eyes, ears, mouth, arms, back, knees and navel In the 8th, the practitioner is to consider himself as endowed with a body of mantras and meditate upon Śrīvidyā

in the mantra form While this is being done, Yonimudrā is to be placed in the cavity of the head, forehead, middle of the eyebrows, face and heart What has been described above relates to the ex- ternal worship. As regards the internal, the practitioner is first to purify his mind and soul through Prāṇāyāma which is said to be of the highest value in the spiritual do- main By Prāṇa is meant the life breath and by Āyāma the control thereof Prāṇāyāma consists of the three functions—inhalation, exhalation and retention AWAKENING OF KUNDALINI While doing the Prāṇāyāma referred to above, the practioner is to mutter mentally either the whole mantra or its initial syllable The Kundalinī lying dormant in the Mulādhārā is to be contemplated upon as a thin red flame rising upwards when awakened with the help of ओंकार and piercing the six life - centres in its up- ward march, till it reaches Śiva and becomes united with him in bliss Thence she comes down again through the same way to Mulādhāra The Kundalinī while moving up from Mulādhāra to the heart receives the name of वह्निकुण्डलिनी being fiery, from heart to the throat सूर्यकुण्डलिनी being solar and from throat to head सोमकुण्डलिनी being lunar. The three Kutas respectively get assimilated to her in the three places referred to above In the Bindu, the 4th form of Kundalinī as embracing all the Bījas and all forms of light is to be contemplated upon

Meditation on Kundalinī, which constitutes the inner worship, helps the practioner to acquire freedom from all sins 12TH CHAPTER. In the 12th Patala the mental offering of worship and the mental approach to and unification with Mahātri- purasundari are at length described. In the first, the pract- itioner is to sit on the prescribed Āsana keeping his body quite erect and, with the hands full of red flowers placed near the heart, close the eyes and, feeling as it were the august presence of Mahātripurasundarī in the heart, offer worship to her with the mental sixteen requisites of worship The Yogīs and sages have a recourse to this worship only In the second i e the Dhyānayoga, the practioner has to select a solitary place and seat himself in a particular posture with all his mental operations brought under control He should feel oneness with the Transcendental Self through absolute introspection In order to rise to that plane of con- sciousness he has to immerge the different elements of which the world is composed in the causeless cause The order in which these evolutes are absorbed from the following into the preceding is given as follows: The earth element merges in the water, water in the fire, fire in the air, air in the ether, ether in the mind, mind in the ego, ego in the manifest, the manifest matter in the unmanifest and the unmanifest in the Supreme Self

After the absorptive meditation is over, he has to think of evolution In this he is to think of evolution of the world from the causeless cause through matter, ego, mind, etc. etc, down to the frog, Kālāgnirudra, Ādhāraśaktı in the form of a crocodile and boar holding on the tooth the earth. There he has to think of the nectar-ocean, the coral island, the golden hill, the heavenly garden Kalpodyāna and of streams and lakes On the shore of the biggest among the lakes he should imagine the existence of the desire-grant- ing tree with a jewel-pavilion having four gates fitted with diamond doors and coral threshoulds and other decorative parts After having done so, he is to imagine the presence of one big lotus enclosed in another placed in the centre of the simhāsana arranged on a platform of jewels inside the pavilion described above The outer lotus represents all the elements, its bulb the bliss, its stalk the consciousness, all the evolutes of Prakriti furnishing the thirtytwo leaves and the fifty letters furnishing the pericarp of the lotus Inside the lotus he has to think of the sun, moon and fire one placed below another In the fiery orb there stands the triangular mass of light borne by the five kāraṇās. In the centre of this triangle stands the third lotus in which the practioner is to think of the seven goddesses Tripurā to Tripurāmbā. Of the last, beautiful description of each part of the body is given in detail in the text. While thinking

so, the practioner is to be at one with Mahātripurasundarī. 13th. CHAPTER. In this stress is laid first of all on the actual real- ization of the unity between the worshipper and the wor- shipped Everything else used in the worship receives san- ctity by it. A devotee is enjoined to worship Śrīvidyā both mentally as well as physically in case he happens to be rich enough All vessels required for worship may be of copper A devottee may, if he can, make five vessels from five jewels which are named as Garuda, Mānikya, Vajra, Vaidurya and Nīla. The Bījas of the five jewels are ग्लूं स्लूं प्लूं म्लूं न्लूं. The pot which is to contain Viśeshā- rghya is to get a place in the cerimonious manner between Śrīchakra and the worshiper on a diagram drawn on the earth The diagram is to consist of a rectangle, a hexagon, a circle and a triangle, one enclosing the other The mantra to be used is ऐं ह्रीं सौ महात्रिपुरसुन्दर्या अर्घ्यपात्रासनं साधयामि. The stand of the pot, the pot and the liquid poured into the pot represent the fire, the sun and the moon and hence the former are to receive the worship respectively of the Kalās of the latter. The liquid to be poured is to be one of the following. wine, milk, coconut-juice, sugar-cane-juice, sugar, honey, ghee Presence of the sacred waters is to be invoked in the pot from the solar orb with the Anku- śamudrā Then the pot is to be covered over with the

hands in the Matsyamudrā. The jewels Māṇikya etc., are to be put into the liquid of the pot, the goddess of jewels being worshipped through the jewels. Her mantra is nine-syllabled as श्रीं ह्रीं ग्लूं स्लूं प्लूं म्लूं न्लूं ह्रीं श्रीं The Mātṛkā is to be contemplated upon in the form of a triangle, vowels occupying the base, consonents क to त and थ to स the arms and ह and क्ष the centre. The three angles and the centre are to be identified with Kāmarūpa, Jālandhara, Pūrṇagiri and Uḍḍyāna presided over by the four forms of Tripurā Ānanda-Bhairava described as ten-armed, five-faced and having ten emblems and Surādevī similarly formed in his lap are to be worshipped inside the pot. Amṛtīkaraṇa, Sakalīkaraṇa and Paramīkaraṇa are to be done afterwards with Dhenumudrā and Mahāmudrā as also with Musalamudrā, Yonimudrā and Gālinīmudrā. The mantras of these are (1) हसक्षमलवरयूं आनन्दभैरवाय वौषट् (2) सहक्षमलवरयूं सुरादेव्यै वौषट्. In the purification the verses to be muttered are (1) हंसः etc. (2) प्रतद्विष्णु etc. (3) त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे etc. (4) तद्विष्णोः etc. (5) विष्णोर्योनि etc. The mantra ऐं क्लीं etc., is to be muttered ten times. The last items of purification are to be done with the help of the Sandīpinī Vidyā ऐं वद वद etc. At the end, the practitioner is to offer libation to Śrīvidyā from the liquid thus consecrated. 14TH CHAPTER. The 14th Paṭala deals with the worshipping of Kāmeś-

varī In it the practitioner is to offer the Asana on the Kāmapīṭha to Kāmeśvarī invoking the presence of Adhāra- śaktı and others upto Kāmeśvara who serve as her seat Kāmeśvara is to be contemplated upon as four-armed, seated on the white lotus and holding in the left hand trident and bow and in the right white lotus and Bījapūra. Then Kāmeśwarī is to be contemplated upon as being seated in the lap of Kāmeśvara in response to the invo- cation with the mantra ऐं ह्रीं सौं महात्रिपुरसुन्दर्यमृतचैतन्यमूर्तिं कल्पयामि The rites of removing the sinister influences and Digbandhana come after this The vitalizing of the idol is to be conducted by the practitioner, after holding the breath and realizing through contemlation the presence of Mahātripurā- sundrī in the heart, by conceptualizing the vitality in the handful of flowers after it comes out through the nostrils with the Bīja यं Trikhaṇḍā and Āvāhanī Mudrās which are described in the text should be used as also the Avāhanīvidyā ह्सै ह्स्क्लीं ह्स्रौः invoking the presence of Mahātripurasundarī in the idol. This being over, the practitioner has to address his prayers to Mahātripurasundarī for firm stay, for being eye to eye and mind to mind with the practitioner, for success in completion, for being invisible to the undeserving, for being blissful and finally for being merciful using the Mudrās such as are prescribed for these acts

After these preliminary rites, comes the offering of three handfuls of flowers and three libations of the con- secrated liquid with the mantras (1) ऐं क्लीं सौः महात्रिपुरसुन्दरी- श्रीपादुकां पूजयामि (2) ऐं क्लीं सौ महात्रिपुरसुन्दरीश्रीपादुकां तर्पयामि. Exhibition of the nine Mudrās Sankshobani to Yoni follows the offering of the following prayer to the goddess - “O Goddess, May you be kind to me, may you accept my worship as I though poor physically as well as in material resources offer it in a devotional sipirit ” After the exhibition of the Mudrās, the practitioner is to present the seven items of offering using नमः स्वधा and वौषट् wherever necessary Tarpana is to be done with the Tatva Mudrā in which the thumb and the Index finger are to be joined of the left hand At the end, come Japa and offer of the sacrifice, ointment, collyrium, mirror and umbrella 25TH CHAPTER The 15th chapter describes the things to be offered in worship These are Āsana, Pādya, Arghya, Āchamana, Madhu- parka, Snāna Vastra, Bhushana Gandha Anjana, Pushpa, Dhupa, Dipa, and Naivedya Āsana or the seat It is to be either of gold or silver or cloth or jewels or flowers or wood Among the cloths red blanket is preferable