Anandakanda 1.10

Ānandakanda 1.10
<Perfection of pills>
Having bowed down with supreme devotion to the auspicious Bhairava, Bhairavī, / desiring the welfare of the worlds, spoke this with humility:

The illustrious Bhairavī said:
O God of gods, embodiment of compassion, Lord who bestows grace on all! / By your grace, the most rare secret has been understood by me,

the rejuvenation therapy using ash of mercury [digested with] lodestone, mica, gold, and diamond. / Beyond this, O Great God, I wish to hear, O Bhairava!
Pausing, she spoke this word: "I will declare that rejuvenation therapy."

śrībhairavaḥ
<1. sañjīvanī ghuṭikā>
"Listen carefully and attentively now, O Pārvatī.

The illustrious Bhairava said:
<1. The Revivifying Pill>
Listen attentively with care now, O Pārvatī!

First digestion is to be performed, and afterwards fixation of the mercury. / Therefore I shall tell you the seed-substances for the digestion of mica and the rest:

Sulphur, orpiment, realgar, blue vitriol, calamine, cinnabar, and amalasāra sulphur, / earthworm, copper pyrites, green vitriol, lapis lazuli, mica, red ochre,

lodestone, the three alkalis, and tourmaline—these in equal parts of powder. / This is known as the proven powder, which is best for the seeding operation.

One should place it, O beloved, in a crucible smeared with a mixture of the pairs; / and one should melt black mica essence and equal copper.

O fair-faced one, into that [crucible] one should throw repeatedly the perfected powder together with the five friends,
ten times the amount of the mica, and blow [the fire] intensely.

It should be blown until only the mica essence remains;
after this time, this mica-essence seed must be digested into mercury for rejuvenation therapy.

Into mercury endowed with an opening, one should introduce the seed in a sixty-fourth part;
one should grind it in a heated mortar with the group of acids for three days.

O beloved, one should digest that quicksilver with salt mixture in a tortoise apparatus;
then a thirty-second part and a sixteenth part of the mercury,

an eighth part, a fourth part, a half part, and an equal part—
thus, O ruler of the gods, one should digest the seed into the mercury in successive order.

O beloved, with such quicksilver, an equal amount of the mica-essence seed
one should grind in a heated mortar with the group of acids for one day.

One should place that paste, which is the king of mercury, inside a lime;
one should cook it in a swing apparatus filled with acid for seven days.

Taking it out and throwing sulphur [over it], O Pārvatī, along with the perfected powder,
one should then cook it in a subterranean apparatus with a light incinerating pit.

Cooking in a swing apparatus, coating with the perfected powder, and incineration in a subterranean apparatus
should be performed repeatedly until it attains hardness.

Named Mṛtasañjīvanī, this pill grants all alchemical perfections;
one may wear it inside the mouth, on the neck, on the head, on the arm, or on the ear.

Properly wrapped in gold, it destroys wrinkles and grey hair;
kept in the mouth, it overcomes death and destroys diseases caused by poison within a year.

One should drink pure sulphur to the measure of one karṣa with a pala of cow's milk;
by this very penetration procedure, the quicksilver permeates the body.

<2. The Divine Pill>
In a coated crucible, [placing] equal parts of magnetic iron, copper, and silver,
and melting them, [one should add] the perfected powder slowly, ten times the magnetic iron,

bringing it [into the flame] repeatedly to be melted until only the magnetic iron remains.
This is declared as the magnetic iron seed, excellent for digestion in rejuvenation therapy.

And this seed should be digested into mercury endowed with an opening as before:
first a sixty-fourth part, and then gradually up to an equal part.

With such a king of quicksilver and the magnetic iron seed—the two in equal parts—
one should grind in a heated mortar with the group of acids for three days.

And placing the formed paste inside a lime filled with the collection of acids,
one should cook it thoroughly in a swing apparatus thus for seven days.

Taking it out, O Bhairavī, one should coat it on the outside with the perfected powder;
then, in an earthen capsule smeared with divine medicinal herbs, cook it in a subterranean apparatus.

One should perform in succession the cooking in a swing apparatus, coating with perfected powder,
and cooking in a subterranean apparatus until it attains hardness.

O supreme goddess, one should digest the two in an incinerating pit by the name of Divyā;
one may wear it inside the mouth, on the neck, on the head, on the arm, or on the ear.

Wrapped well with gold, it should be worn; it destroys wrinkles and grey hair.
Granting results as before, this auspicious [pill] must be worn diligently by mortals.

The penetration procedure should be done as before; the mercury permeates the body.
<3. The Kāmeśvarī Pill>
Into mercury endowed with an opening, one should consume the seed of mica and magnetic iron,

each equal to the mercury, slowly as before:
first a sixty-fourth part, and gradually up to an equal part into the mercury.

With an amount equal to this quicksilver of magnetic iron seed and mica seed,
one should grind in a heated mortar with the group of acids for three days.

Turning it into a paste, placing it inside a lime, one should cook it suspended in a swing apparatus.
Taking out that paste again, one should coat it with the perfected powder.

In an earthen capsule smeared with the group of divine medicinal herbs, one should cook it in a subterranean apparatus.
When it reaches hardness, one should perform the procedure twofold in succession:

having performed steaming in a swing apparatus, coating with the powder, and cooking in a subterranean apparatus,
this Kāmeśvarī pill, kept in the mouth, grants all alchemical perfections.

The penetration procedure should be performed as before; the lord of mercury permeates the body.
<4. The Hemasundarī Pill>
Gold, silver, copper, magnetic iron essence, and mica essence—

one should place these in a crucible coated with the twofold mixture.
When it has melted, one should introduce the perfected powder, ten times the gold.

It should be melted slowly until only the gold remains.
This is known as the gold seed, excellent for mercury rejuvenation therapy.

O goddess, into mercury endowed with an opening, one should digest the seed equal to the mercury in succession,
beginning with a sixty-fourth part and so on, as before, O goddess.

Grinding this mercury and the gold seed in equal parts in a heated mortar
with the group of acids, after three days the mercury becomes a paste.

Making the paste reside inside a lime, in a swing apparatus filled with acid,
one should cook it for six days, O goddess; coating with the perfected powder,

likewise coating the earthen capsule, and likewise cooking in a subterranean apparatus—
one should do this as before until it attains hardness.

This divine pill is renowned as Hemasundarī;
kept in the mouth, it gives alchemical perfection to men and removes old age, death, and poison.

The penetration procedure should be performed as before; quicksilver then permeates [the body].
<5. The Madanasundarī Pill>
When mercury has been provided with an opening, mica seed and gold seed,

in equal parts, should gradually be digested, beginning with a sixty-fourth part and so on.
Thus, into the quicksilver digested with the seed of mica and gold,

one should grind an amount equal to the mercury in a heated mortar with the group of acids;
after three days a paste is formed; make it enter a lime again.

In a swing apparatus filled with acid, one should cook it for seven days;
coating with the perfected powder, and likewise coating the earthen capsule,

and likewise cooking in a subterranean apparatus until it reaches hardness.
Indeed, this pill, named Madanasundarī, grants alchemical perfection.

Held inside the mouth, it brings all alchemical perfections and long life to persons;
[it brings] subjugation of snakes, tigers, elephants and the like, as well as of kings and women.

The penetration procedure should be performed as before; the mercury permeates the body.
<6. The Khecarī Pill>
When mercury has been provided with an opening, magnetic iron seed and gold seed in equal parts,

measured against the mercury, should each be digested, beginning with a sixty-fourth part and so on.
Thus having digested into mercury the seed of magnetic iron and gold, equal to the mercury,

making a paste as before, and cooking in a swing apparatus—
one should perform this repeatedly until it attains hardness.

A pill named Khecarī is produced, which bestows all alchemical perfections.
The penetration procedure should be performed as before; one should drink fragrant cow's milk.

By that, the mercury inside the pill permeates the body.
<7. The Vajreśvarī Pill>
Into mercury endowed with an opening, equal parts each of mica, magnetic iron, and gold—

The seed is to be digested separately, beginning from a sixty-fourth part. / Of the quicksilver thus prepared, equal seed of mica and the rest,

the trio, one should grind with sour gruel for three days in a heated mortar. / That quicksilver becomes a paste. That paste, as before, O beloved,

one should cook in a swing device, smear with the proven powder, and cook in a bhūdhara pit; / this must be done without fatigue until it attains hardness.

This pill, named Vajreśvarī, held in the mouth grants all alchemical perfections. / The penetration should be performed as before; the mercury diffuses throughout the body.

<8. Mahāvajreśvarī pill> / Pure gold, diamond ash, iron powder, and mica essence: / along with lead equal to these four combined, one should blast [them] sealed within a crucible.

Having taken it again from [the crucible] coated with a blend of two [substances], O dear one, / and fused together, one should blast it once more openly in a crucible.

One should cast into it repeatedly, little by little, pyrite of washed essence, / and then remove it as soon as diamond and gold are what remain.

Into this, [one should add] mica essence, iron powder, and lead as before; / having sealed it in [a crucible] coated with a blend of two [substances], one should blast it vigorously.

Taking what has fused together, one should blast it openly in a crucible; / as soon as gold and diamond are what remain, one should retrieve it once again.

Mica essence, iron powder, and lead are to be applied repeatedly, / in sequential order as before, [along with] pyrite of washed essence.

Having cast [them] repeatedly, one should blast it externally sixfold in this manner. / This supreme diamond seed should be digested in mercurial rejuvenation therapy.

Diamond seed equal to the mercury should be digested into mercury that has an open mouth; / and starting from a sixty-fourth part, one should gradually cause it to penetrate, O dear one.

With quicksilver that has digested [it] in this way, one should grind an equal amount of diamond seed / in a heated mortar with the group of sours for three days.

That quicksilver turns into a paste; one should take that paste: / boiling in a swing apparatus, coating with perfected powder, and heating in a pit apparatus,

one should perform all [this] as before until it attains hardness. / The pill named Mahāvajreśvarī grants alchemical perfections.

Held in the mouth, the penetration should be performed; the mercury penetrates as before. / <9. Vajrakhecarī pill> / When the mercury has been given an open mouth, mica seed and diamond seed equal to the mercury

should each be digested individually, beginning from a sixty-fourth part. / With this digested quicksilver, an equal amount of diamond and mica seed

should be ground firmly in a heated mortar with the group of sours for three days. / That mercury turns into a paste; that [paste] again, O dear one,

by steaming in a swing apparatus, coating with perfected powder, and cooking in a pit apparatus, / one should perform repeatedly in this manner until it attains hardness.

A divine pill is produced, named Vajrakhecarī. / Held in the mouth, it bestows alchemical perfections on men; penetration is [done] as before, O dear one.

<10. Kālavidhvaṃsinī pill> / When the mercury has been given an open mouth, lodestone seed and diamond seed equal to the mercury

should each be digested individually, beginning from a sixty-fourth part. / With an amount equal to this digested quicksilver, seed of diamond and lodestone

is to be ground in a heated mortar with the group of sours for three days. / This quicksilver turns into a paste; one should take that paste again:

steaming in a swing apparatus, coating with perfected powder, and [heating in] a sealed pit apparatus, / repeatedly in this manner until it attains hardness. / An auspicious pill named Kālavidhvaṃsinī is produced.

Held in the mouth, it is divine and bestows alchemical perfections; one should drink the penetrative draught as before. / <11. Gaganeśvarī pill> / When the king of quicksilvers has been given an open mouth, diamond, lodestone, and mica seed [are prepared].

Each individually into the king of quicksilvers, beginning from a sixty-fourth part; / equal to that mercury, diamond seed and mica seed,

after three days of thorough grinding with the group of sours in a heated mortar, become a paste. / Boiling in a swing apparatus, coating with perfected powder, and [heating in] a sealed pit apparatus,

one should perform repeatedly until it attains hardness. / This pill, Gaganeśvarī, held in the mouth grants all alchemical perfections.

The penetration should be performed as before; the quicksilver penetrates throughout the body. / <12. Vajraghaṇṭeśvarī pill> / When the king of quicksilvers has been given an open mouth, seed of diamond and gold

should each be digested individually in equal amounts, beginning from a sixty-fourth part. / Equal to this quicksilver, seed of gold and diamond

becomes a paste after three days in a heated mortar with the group of sours. / Taking that paste again, one should prepare it as before:

boiling in a swing apparatus, coating with perfected powder, and cooking in a pit apparatus, / one should perform repeatedly until it attains hardness.

This is indeed the pill Vajraghaṇṭeśvarī, bestowing alchemical perfections; / held in the mouth, divine, granting alchemical perfections, one should drink the previously prescribed penetrative draught.

<13. Vajrabhairavī pill> / When the king of quicksilvers has been given an open mouth, seed of gold, diamond, and mica

should each be digested individually in equal amounts, beginning from a sixty-fourth part. / Equal to this quicksilver, seed of gold, diamond, and mica

one should grind with the group of sours in a heated mortar for three days. / It turns into a paste; and taking it again thereafter, O dear one,

boiling in a swing apparatus, coating with perfected powder, and cooking in a pit apparatus, / should be performed repeatedly until it reaches hardness. / A divine pill is produced, named Vajrabhairavī.

Held in the mouth, it brings alchemical perfection; the penetration is as before, O dear one. / <14. Tripurabhairavī pill> / When the mercury has been given an open mouth, seed of lodestone, diamond, and gold

is to be digested individually, equal to the mercury, beginning from a sixty-fourth part. / Equal to the digested quicksilver, seed of lodestone, diamond, and gold

one should grind with the group of sours in a heated mortar for three days. / The mercury turns into a paste; one should take it as before:

boiling in a swing apparatus, coating with perfected powder, and cooking in a pit apparatus, / should be performed repeatedly until it reaches hardness.

A divine pill is produced, named Tripurabhairavī. / Held in the mouth, it indeed grants alchemical perfections; the penetration is as before, O dear one.

<15. Mahābhairavī pill> / When the mercury has been given an open mouth, seed of lodestone, diamond, mica, and gold

is to be digested individually, equal to the mercury, beginning from a sixty-fourth part. / Equal to this digested quicksilver, seed of mica and the others

one should grind with the group of sours in a heated mortar for three days. / The lord of quicksilver turns into a paste; one should take that paste again:

boiling in a swing apparatus, coating with perfected powder, [and heating] in a sealed pit apparatus, / should be performed repeatedly until it reaches hardness. / Named Mahābhairavī, this pill grants all alchemical perfections.

One should hold it within the mouth; one should drink the penetrative draught as before. / <The penetrative agents> / Triphalā, musalī, muṇḍī, bhṛṅgarāja, and vākucī,

nīlī, kanyā, kākamācī, hayagandhā, śatāvarī, / uttarā, vāruṇī, devadālī, citrā, and punarnavā.

Nirguṇḍī, sahadevī, rudantī, gajakarṇikā, / bhūtāvāsa, bhallātaka, kākatuṇḍā, and amṛtālatā;

Palāśa, kukkurūṭa, the juice of the emblic myrobalan fruit, milk, / palāśa seeds, oil, ghee, honey, and Śiva-water;

Pulp of bilva, oil, and the oil derived from jyotiṣmatī— / these indeed are the substances suitable for penetration [of mercury].

These forty [substances] have been declared for the purpose of penetration according to application, / both in the application of mercurial ash and in the rejuvenation therapy of pills.

<The Fruits of the Fifteen Pills>
O beloved, hear the fruit of the fifteen pills: / A pill made with mica seed and combined with mercury,

Kept in the mouth for twelve years, destroys all diseases, / and that man lives for a hundred years, O Parameśvarī.

A pill made with loadstone seed and combined with mercury, / kept in the mouth for twelve years, destroys all diseases, O fair-faced one;

It produces firmness of the bodily tissues and bestows a lifespan of a thousand [years]. / An auspicious pill made with the seeds of loadstone and mica, combined with mercury,

Kept within the mouth for twelve years, destroys senescence and sickness; / it is divine, bestows a lifespan of ten thousand [years], and greatly increases strength.

A mercury pill endowed with gold seed, kept within the mouth / for up to twelve years, removes wrinkles, gray hair, and diseases of the body;

It is holy, grants longevity, and bestows the strength of ten thousand elephants. / A pill prepared with gold and mica seed, joined with mercury,

Kept in the mouth for the number of years corresponding to the suns (twelve), gives life for ten hundred thousand (one million) years; / it generates divine intellect and bestows divine vigor.

A pill made with quicksilver and the seeds of loadstone and gold, / [kept] in the mouth for twelve years, increases lifespan to a crore [of years];

It generates great splendor and reveals subterranean caverns, treasures, and the like. / A pill formed from loadstone, mica, and gold, combined with mercury,

Kept in the mouth at the end of twelve years, grants life for ten crores of years; / it withstands hālāhala and cosmic dissolution, and bestows aerial locomotion.

An auspicious pill joined with mercury and freed diamond seed, / kept in the mouth up to twelve years, grants movement to all worlds;

It increases life for as long as the earth remains firm; / he is ever youthful, a god of love capable of sexual pleasure with lovely women.

A pill made with diamond and mica seed, containing mercury within, / kept in the mouth for a number of years equal to the rasas (six), bestows all alchemical perfections;

It bestows upon men a lifespan equal to that of Brahmā, and he becomes successively a master capable of creating the universe; / he is worshipped like Brahmā by the gods, having mastered the Vedas and their auxiliary branches;

Traversing all worlds, he is attended upon by Sarasvatī and Sāvitrī, / endowed with the eight supernatural powers, beginning with atomicity, O Īśvarī.

A pill made with quicksilver and the seed of diamond and gold, / kept in the mouth up to twelve years, bestows upon men a lifespan equal to that of Viṣṇu;

He attains the state of Viṣṇu and is capable of preserving like Viṣṇu; / he is attended by Sanaka and the others, endowed with fortune, and possesses great strength;

Moving according to his own will, he is ever attended upon by immortal gods such as Mahendra. / A pill made with the seed of gold, mica, and diamond, O beloved,

Joined with mercury, kept within the mouth for twelve years, O fair-faced one, / grants upon men a lifespan equal to that of Rudra; indeed, it gives the state of Rudra;

He is a destroyer of the world like Rudra, and is attended upon by Viṣṇu, Indra, and the other [gods]; / endowed with [powers] beginning with atomicity, omniscient, he goes to all worlds;

He is served by the foremost pramathas, endowed with divine power; / the resolute one of great splendor and immense strength is meditated upon by the lords of yogins.

A pill made with quicksilver and the seeds of loadstone, gold, and diamond, / kept in the mouth for a number of years equal to the suns (twelve), grants alchemical perfection to men;

The man attains the lifespan of Īśvara and aerial locomotion; / praised by Brahmā, Indra, and the others, he vanishes at will from the world;

Resembling ten million suns, possessing the strength of a great tempest, / even at the time of the end of a great cosmic cycle he surely does not perish;

His self absorbed in the play of yoga, he is meditated upon by the foremost knowers of yoga. / A pill made of mercury with the seeds of loadstone, mica, gold, and diamond,

Kept in the mouth for a number of years equal to the suns (twelve), O Bhairavī, / he attains the lifespan of Sadāśiva, a master bestowing grace on all;

He attains the state of Sadāśiva, and likewise becomes the sovereign of the gods; / in fire he is fire, in water he is water, in the wind he has the nature of wind,

On earth he has the form of earth, in empty space he has the nature of void; / his eyes are the moon, fire, and sun, and Brahmā, Indra, and the others are his servants;

Nārada and others are his singers, and heavenly apsarases are his dancers; / solely by his command do Brahmā, Indra, and the rest carry out creation, preservation, and destruction;

He is Śiva—consisting of being, consciousness, and bliss, capable, omnipresent, omniscient, / united with the supreme power, holy, free of illusion, and utterly partless.

Thus the virtues of the pills have been declared by me, O beloved; / an arrest of weapons is also found in all of them;

This bestows the perfection of all rejuvenation therapies, O Maheśvarī. / <Application of Mantra for the Perfection of Pills>
Now this king of mantras that bestows all alchemical perfections shall be stated:

Aiṃ hrīṃ śrīṃ klīṃ sauḥ, O Amṛteśvarabhairava, make nectar! To Amṛteśvarabhairava, huṃ! / Sauḥ klīṃ śrīṃ hrīṃ aiṃ huṃ phaṭ svāhā! / Sauḥ klīṃ śrīṃ hrīṃ aiṃ! / By this mantra a man quickly attains alchemical perfection.