Anandakanda 1.16

Āk, 1, 16
<1. Aṅkolakalpa>
Now, O Goddess, I will declare the recipe of aṅkola seeds. / By four steadfast practitioners, purified and desiring purification,

assembled together with foremost practitioners, one should begin it during auspicious asterisms. / Having cleared the root of the aṅkola of grass, and having swept and cleaned it,

and having established a liṅga there, one should place a jar in front of it. / One should bind the liṅga, the aṅkola, and the jar with a single cord, O dear one.

One should perform worship with fragrant flowers and the like, using the Aghora mantra, / every month, by day and night, [from] the blossoms until fruiting.

Taking that ripe fruit, one should fill that jar with the fruits; / and having performed a great worship for the pleasure of the yoginīs and Bhairavī,

having brought that jar home, one should dry the fruit in the sun. / One should make the seeds huskless and rub their tips.

Then, one should smear an earth powder on a broad-mouthed vessel; / one by one, facing upwards, one should arrange them in the form of a serpent.

Then, one should likewise smear borax onto their respective mouths. / One should place that vessel inside a bronze vessel, turned upside down.

The wise one should keep it in the sun and conceal it with straw. / Day by day he should collect the oil that has dripped, for five days.

One should place that oil inside a glass flask, accompanied by mantras. / Half a measure of aṅkola oil, and twice as much sesame oil:

nasal administration in both nostrils destroys senescence and death. / He will live for three hundred years, freed from all diseases.

For men whose lives have departed through illness and the like, water, ropes and the like, dizziness and the like, or poison, / one should perform nasal administration [of it] mixed with male semen.

With dead mercury and oil, they revive, there is no doubt. / The knowledge of reviving the dead has been told, O sinless one, as stated before.

<Other rasāyana recipes>
Cardamom, abhayā, vacā, the fruit of kākatuṇḍī, aruṣkara, / sahadevī, nimba leaf, and the bulb of lāṅgalī:

one should dry equal parts; in a pātāla apparatus one should extract the oil. / One should take that oil as nasal medicine at intervals of seven days, O dear one.

Nasal administration being performed in this way for a year, a man attains a lifespan of a thousand years. / And one should drink half a pala of the oil combined with nīlikā root.

In one year he becomes perfected, free from wrinkles and grey hair. / From three years he lives for a day of Brahmā, with the speed of wind and great strength.

One should take one prastha of bhṛṅgī juice, and one prastha of black cumin; / blue water lily and licorice should each be half a prastha.

Five palas of sesame oil: one should cook it all together. / That oil, left over from cooking the oil, destroys senescence and death.

Half a niṣka, one niṣka, and one and a half niṣkas, in order: / this is stated to be the dosage of the oil; one will live for three hundred years.

Having added one pala of iṣṭikākṣi, he should drink one karṣa with water. / In a year it destroys grey hair, and a man will live for a thousand years.

Sarpākṣī, kākamācī, sahadevī, and bhṛṅgarāja, / the fruit of kākatuṇḍī, nimba, leaves and seeds of vākucī,

devadālī along with its roots, brāhmī root, the three fruits, / root of vājigandhā, and leaves of blue koraṇḍa:

equal parts of each, one should thoroughly steep with the juice of kanyā. / For seven days one should dry the powder in the shade, drenched in the three sweets.

Two karṣas should be consumed every day; within a year one conquers senescence. / He lives happily as long as the moon and stars endure, endowed with great strength.

<The Mahākāmeśvara Preparation> / Cāturjātaka, cora, candana, jala, drākṣā, tugā, reṇuka, musk, tagara, camphor, saffron, jaṭāmāṃsī, kuṣṭha, aśvagandhā, abdada, / kaṅkola, amaradāru, citraka, viṣa, the two jīrakas, rock salt, bhārṅgī, gokṣura, devapuṣpa, musalī, yaṣṭī, balā, phenaka,

rambhākanda, the three fruits, the three pungents, jātīphala, vāśaka, tālīśa, kaṭukīphala, gajakaṇā, māṣa, amṛtā, sugar, / picchā, bhṛṅga, vidārikā, madanaka, seed of kapikacchū, root of śālmali, punarnavā, agaru, śatāvarī, and also dīpyaka;

a fourth part of incinerated mica; vijayā equal to [any one of] the herbs; white sugar equal to the whole lot; blended with honey and ghee; / perfumed with flowers such as jasmine, campaka, and ketakī; one should consume half a karṣa at night—this Mahākāmeśvara bestows perfection of the body and fulfills desire.

For increasing semen and producing firmness in men, an anupāna of milk is beneficial, or an anupāna of decoction of śālmali root, or anything else that increases semen. / It gives extreme pleasure to mature women of fine eyes, causes subjugation, is a great liquefier, creates delight in the marvel of passionate desire in union, and bestows joy in the arts of love-play.

In sexual congress it destroys the arrogance of young men whose fire of youth has grown proud with a woman; it is the cause of constant bliss, its taste relished even by the primordial lords; / it accomplishes mastery of speech; produces excellent poetic compositions; and brings together a wealth of happiness, health, extraordinary youth, and artistic accomplishments.

It removes old age and creates strength; it repels supreme death; it eliminates the host of diseases, produces radiance, and brings straightforwardness; / for one devoted to the practice of yoga, it readily grants perfection; it effects the destruction of an accumulation of sins; and it bestows offspring upon women.

It swiftly destroys the accumulation of diseases, wasting disease, and the multitude of severe pains; it stops asthma, puts an end to cough and cuts off its arising; / it splits the six hemorrhoids; removes intense illnesses causing all manner of afflictions; severs the torrent of urinary disorders; and eliminates menorrhagia through its use.

In one who is emaciated it brings abundant nourishment; it rekindles a sluggish digestive fire that is fully and deeply weakened; it thoroughly eradicates grahaṇī disease and all defects without exception; / it is the foremost among all rejuvenation therapies for the wise, for seekers of pleasure, and for yogins; through daily consumption it completely develops perfection of the body here [in this world].

<Application of the Addition of Quicksilver, Mica, etc. to Herbal Recipes> / In these recipes beginning with the mahāvṛkṣa that have been taught, by practitioners / desiring alchemical perfection this common formulation should be carried out:

A measure of one guñjā of purified quicksilver, or mica, or two paṇas / of magnetic iron should be thus employed; a person should consume it.

Through the combination with quicksilver, mica, and iron, one attains immediate alchemical perfection. Just as a body devoid of life, or a flower devoid of fragrance,

just so are herbal recipes devoid of mercury: they do not bestow perfection. / Therefore, when combined with quicksilver, they are immediate granters of alchemical perfection.

<Anointing Rejuvenation Therapy; Mahānīlī Oil> / One prastha of juice of mahānīlī, one prastha of juice of bhṛṅga, O beloved, / one prastha of juice of the dhātrī fruit, [one prastha of juice] born from the kākatuṇḍī fruit,

one prastha of sesame oil, and one āḍhaka / of cow's milk; one should combine all of this; one pala of kākatuṇḍī fruit,

three palas of amala, and one pala of powder of bhṛṅga and nīlī leaves; / grinding these, one should throw everything into it and cook it over a gentle fire, O beloved.

One should cook until only the oil remains; then one should filter it through a cloth. / Anointing oneself with this oil, one should perform head-massage.

Every day one should also fill the ears [with it]; thus one should perform this rejuvenation therapy. / The hair becomes like large black bees; the hearing becomes sharp to the ends of the directions;

diseases above the collarbone perish, and it is beneficial to the feet. / <Oil Beginning with Candana> / Sandalwood, agallochum, camphor, musk, and saffron;

the two kinds of uśīra, kaṅkola, jātīphala, cloves, / nalikā, naladā, spṛkkā, turuṣka, sthāṇulocana,

hareṇu, tagara, lac, nakha, sthauṇeyaka, murā, / nalada, āmalaka, kuṣṭha, coraka, kaṭukīphala,

prapauṇḍarīka, kharjūra, padmaka, jātīpattrī, / śaileya, dhātakī flower, sarala, and elavāluka,

areca nut, saptaparṇa, and tāmalakī, O beloved, / each to the measure of one karṣa; one prastha of oil, and an āḍhaka / of cow's milk;

one should cook all that, and collect it when only the oil remains. / Into it one should throw deer's musk gland, camphor, and saffron,

each one karṣa, and the wise person should scent it with flowers such as jasmine. / With this, one should perform anointing on the lower body; it destroys foul odor.

Even if he is in the region of eighty years of age, he becomes like a sixteen-year-old; / he is a god of love to women, handsome, and full of increase of semen.

He takes pleasure with a hundred women, and he lives for a hundred autumns. / <Rubbing Rejuvenation Therapy> / Now I shall declare the rubbing that shatters wrinkles and gray hair.

Equal parts of quicksilver and sulfur are to be ground with breast-milk of a woman. / Muṇḍikā, meghanāda, viṣṇukrāntā, and muni,

and sarpākṣī: with the juices of these one should grind [it] for one day. / Ten times this amount of alkali of sesame and of barley [is added].

All this is mixed with honey and ghee; with this one rubs the body. / The destruction of wrinkles and gray hair takes place; after a year, [with a lifespan of] three hundred years,

the practitioner lives, having become a divine body; there is no doubt in this. / Quicksilver with blue lotus including its stalk one should grind for seven days;

then with one's own urine one should rub the body. / From a year alchemical perfection arises, with a divine body as before.

With urine, quicksilver and root of brahmadaṇḍī / one should grind for seven days; one should grind it thoroughly, O Goddess.

From a year alchemical perfection arises, with a divine body as before. / With mustard oil one should steep yellow vitriol for seven days;

one should eat half a pala daily; after a year he becomes one with an adamantine body, / with a lifespan of three hundred years, golden-colored, free from wrinkles and gray hair.

Powder of kuṣṭha with equal parts honey and ghee, one karṣa, a man should lick in the morning; / his body fragrant like śatapuṣpā, he lives free from wrinkles.

<Hair-coloring recipes>
Fruit of kākatuṇḍī, magnetic iron powder, and mango-stone oil: / having stirred and placed them in a pot, one should place it in grain for a month.

Taking it out, one should smear it on the head; nasal administration may be done with it. / After three days the hair becomes deep black; after six months, hair-coloring occurs.

One niṣka of harītakī, two palas of magnetic iron powder, / and one pala of lead powder: one should grind thoroughly with sour curds.

Having applied oil, one should apply [the paste] upon the head and rub it for half a nāḍikā.
Having wrapped it with castor leaves, one should bind it again with a cloth.

One should bathe again; for three days, the dyeing of hair [takes place] as before.
Indigo and bhṛṅgarāja with their roots, iron powder in an amount equal to triphalā:

One should triturate the powder with ram's urine for one day.
Having performed bathing and the like as before, the dyeing of hair is as before.

Hulled guñjā seeds, cardamom, devadāru, and kuṣṭha,
in equal parts as powder, should be triturated with juices of bhṛṅgarāja for one day, O beloved.

The wise one should cook the powder with oil over a gentle fire.
From anointing with this oil [and] ghee, the hair resembles black bees.

Equal parts of calcined elephant tusk and rasāñjana,
having ground them thoroughly with goat's milk, dyes the hair by application as a paste.

Black earth, triphalā, juice of bhṛṅgarāja, and iron powder in equal parts:
stirring this together in a vessel, one should seal it for one month.

From its application, hair becomes black after five months.
Having ground āmalakī fruit, hibiscus flower, and dross [of iron], upon the head

one should apply it for three days; through that, the hairs become like black bees.
Powder resembling vermilion, and an equal part of sāṃbraṇi:

having ground it with water, through application as a paste, hair is dyed instantaneously.
Gorocanā, black sesame seeds, and dill with water of harītakī,

and kākamācī—one should triturate all of this in an iron vessel.
After one day, it is an excellent hair-dyer by that alone.

White mustard powder, sarja resin, and barley alkali ground with sour gruel
and juices of nāgapuṣpa: applied as a paste, it dyes the hair.

Powder of plantain rhizome, vermilion, and charcoal:
one should grind them in an iron vessel with lemon juices using an iron pestle.

Through application [as a paste] for a single day, the dyeing of hair occurs from it.
Green vitriol, indigo leaf, curd, and juice of bhṛṅgarāja,

and an equal part of iron powder: through application as a paste, it dyes the hair.
And one should pound the leaves of koraṇṭa with a nāgadaṇḍa stalk;

from its application for three days, the hair becomes like black bees.
Triphalā, bhṛṅgarāja, mango seed, lotus stalk, priyaṅgu,

indigo, turmeric, iron, and lead powdered with neem oils:
having stirred it in a magnetic iron vessel, one should macerate it for one month.

Anointed with that, hairs are dyed black, resembling black bees.
Black sesame seeds and kākamācī seeds in equal parts:

its oil should be extracted through an apparatus; by that, hair dyeing occurs.
A karṣa of hibiscus juice with honey: one should perform nasal therapy for seven days.

After that, it dyes the hair; indeed this is the best of all nasal therapies.
Having ground triphalā and iron powder with juices of bhṛṅgarāja,

oil equal to this is to be added, along with bhṛṅgarāja juice again;
one should cook it all over a gentle fire until only the oil remains.

And one should deposit that oil in an unctuous jar into the earth for a month.
One should smear the head with the oil; first, with leaves of bitter gourd

one should wrap it, and then [bind it] with a cloth; one should eat milk-rice in a windless place.
One should wash with decoctions of triphalā; one should do this for seven days, O beloved.

It effects dyeing of the scalp lifelong, without doubt.
Seeds of śriyālī and kākatuṇḍī with juices of nirguṇḍī

and juices of hibiscus flower should be macerated separately for four days.
One should extract that oil in a pātālayantra; by that, smearing

one should perform on the head, and wrap it around with castor leaves
and then with a cloth. Living in a wind-free place, the intelligent person,

eating milk-rice, should bathe in sour gruel for seven days.
The hairs become like black bees lifelong, without doubt.

Jalamaṇḍanikā, kākamācī, and bhṛṅgarāja in equal parts:
having ground them, one should cook the oil into a thick soup, and then smear with the oil.

One should smear the head with it; for seven days, hair dyeing [takes place].
One should arrange bathing, food, and bed as before.

Having ground triphalā with bhṛṅgarāja juice, one should smear it on a magnetic iron vessel.
Placing it face down, in the morning one should grind it again with juices of bhṛṅgarāja,

smear the head, and wash with triphalā water.
One should do this for twenty-one days; one obtains the result as before.

Having ground poison and black cumin, and having sealed the opening,
the intelligent person should dig and deposit it in a muddy domestic courtyard.

After six months, having become a black liquid, he should properly retrieve it.
He should place a karṣa in the middle of the head; wrapping and so forth are as before.

It dyes the hair for a lifetime; and that is dyeing of the scalp.
Bhṛṅgarāja, indigo, triphalā, black iron, seeds of madana,

flowers of koraṇṭa, powder derived from the bark of arjuna,
and roots of lotus and rose-apple: all of these in equal parts,

placed inside an iron vessel, one should deposit in the ground for a fortnight.
One should take the paste contained in the vessel; four times the paste in oil,

four times the oil in bhṛṅgarāja juice, and four times that
in triphalā decoction: all this one should cook over a gentle fire.

One should cook until the oil remains. Having ground it, one should place it in an iron vessel.
And for the sake of testing, one should smear a crow's feather

with the oil: if it turns black, that medicine will grant success.
Cooked in that vessel for one month by the practitioner,

hair smeared with it resembles black bees after six months.
With the juices of tamarind, aśvattha, palāśa, and vāsā repeatedly

one should stir molten lead placed in a vessel until it turns to ash.
One should cook the lead ash so long: a pala of iron powder,

two palas of triphalā powder, three palas of pomegranate rind,
and a pala of this; equal to all this, sour gruel in an iron vessel.

One should stir and cook it slightly for a moment in that iron vessel.
One should keep it in the sun, macerated with juices of bhṛṅgarāja and koraṇṭa.

It should be macerated for twenty-one days, liquid after liquid, again and again.
Hairs smeared with that alone resemble the plumage of a peacock or the tāpiñcha blossom.

In recipes for hair dyeing, whether stated or unstated:
application of paste at night and wrapping around with castor leaves,

and bathing in the morning: this procedure is considered common to all.
<Indication of places suitable for gathering divine herbs>
In a cremation ground, in water, on a road, in a house, and in a temple,

in a place with feces and urine, in a village, in a cowshed, under a tree,
in shade, in a poisonous area, in extreme cold, and [where] disturbed by others—

In such places, an accomplished root must not be gathered. / In a forest, on a mountain, on a riverbank, in a sacred hermitage,

in a clean place strewn with stones, in an accomplished site, on a seashore, / on Śrīparvata, in the Snowy Mountains, by a pond, or at a secluded lake,

one should gather the roots that have grown, which bestow perfection of the body.
<The Procedure for Gathering Divine Herbs>
In the ritual of tying the protective amulet for all accomplished roots,

in digging, in uprooting, and in gathering them in due order, / divine mantras are proclaimed that are considered common to all.

On the very day before, having bathed well and cleaned his teeth, / anointed, wearing clean clothes, joyful, with his mind restrained,

observing silence, provided with fragrant paste and unbroken rice, having gone to the previously found / root that grants his desire, to bind it with a protective amulet,

having cleared away the grass all around, having dug and sprinkled water, / having worshipped it with fragrant paste, flowers, and unbroken rice, he should bind it with a thread,

with the mantra, the best of practitioners, fasting and with senses conquered: / 'Remain right here, O auspicious one; fulfill my purpose!

'When my purpose is fulfilled and accomplished, you will then go to heaven. / Oṃ hrīṃ, homage to you, O you who are born of nectar, who increase strength and vigor! Grant me strength and long life; slay my sin from afar! Hrīṃ phaṭ!' / Wrapped thrice with a thread using this very mantra,

he should bind a protective amulet, and touching it, chant [the mantra] one hundred and eight times. / Then, rising at dawn, having performed his daily rites and being pure,

approaching that root and worshipping it with fragrant paste, flowers, unbroken rice, and the like, / with all offerings, he should offer a motivated oblation.

The wise man should dig it up with a mantra; this mantra is also proclaimed: / 'With that wherewith Brahmā digs you up, with that wherewith Bhṛgu digs you up,

'with that wherewith Indra, Varuṇa, and Viṣṇu [dug you up], with that I approach you! / You alone shall I dig up with a hand purified by mantras!'

Having prayed in this manner first, he should then pronounce the mantra: / 'Oṃ śrīṃ hrīṃ taṃ, O Lady of Nectar, come, come! Accomplish all my perfections! Huṃ phaṭ!' / With this very mantra he should dig up the root of perfection.

Then he should uproot it; with folded hands he should pray thus: / 'Do not fly upward, do not fall down, and let nothing go amiss with you! / Oṃ hrīṃ caṇḍa huṃ phaṭ svāhā!' / He should uproot it with this very mantra, O Supreme Goddess. / Taking it with root unbroken, wrapped in a clean cloth,

and placing it in a basket, in a clean place in his own dwelling, / in a storehouse, with a joyful mind, he should then perform the breaking of the fast.

'Oṃ, homage to Bhairava, the granter of great perfection, the rescuer from distress! Huṃ phaṭ!' / Taking it with this very mantra, he should bring it into the house.