Anandakanda 1.21

Āk, 1, 21
<Rule for the Construction of a Hut Granting Perfection in Yoga>
Glorious Bhairavī:
A hut was mentioned by you earlier. How is it to be made, and of what kind? / How long a time is one to reside there, O Śambhu? Tell me, O Lord!

Glorious Bhairava:
I shall describe that hut properly; listen, O Tripurasundarī! / Raising the ground and then making it firm, my dear,

one should erect straight pillars, six by six in rows in proper order. / Having mounted strong timbers and crossbeams on top,

one should then lay bricks and plaster thickly with lime. / Having fashioned a roof all around, one should make an auspicious wall with three enclosures,

and inside it one should construct a hut. Then, within the third enclosure, / one should dig a square measuring just ten spans,

five spans in depth below, and likewise [raised] above; / thus, [measuring] ten spans [of twelve fingers], this wondrous and charming [hut] is fashioned.

There is an east-facing door in the outer enclosure; in the second enclosure, O auspicious goddess, / a south-facing door; and in the third, a west-facing door is prescribed.

The measure of the doors is stated indeed to be two spans. / Every door is equipped with panels, devoid of gaps, and furnished with a bolt.

One should make the wall plastered with lime, and the floor extremely smooth. / On the south and on the north within the hut, [there should be] two raised platforms,

three and a half spans wide, ten spans long, / one span in height, and three spans in the middle.

There, one should fill [the plaster] with ash produced from cow dung, sifted through a cloth. / And on the wall of the hut, [one should paint] a manifold, very extensive picture:

Bhairava, resembling a dark rain cloud, with flaming, upright hair, / with an eye on his forehead, curved fangs, and adorned with serpent earrings,

having a serpent sacred thread, wearing a garland of bells and skulls, / sky-clad, his feet and hair adorned with kākoṭī snakes,

adorned with necklaces, armlets, bracelets, seal rings, and the like, / possessing ten arms, bearing a hourglass drum, an elephant goad, a sword, and a trident,

granting boons with his lotus-like right hands, and holding a snake, a noose, a bell, / a vessel of liquor, and dispelling fear with his left arms,

abounding with black body ointment and garlands, destroying all diseases, / destroying illness, spirits, serpents, and enemies, and removing danger from poison and the like.

Then one should paint peaceful Vaṭuka Mṛtyuñjaya, my dear, / white as mercury, the moon, and snow, a youth adorned with two arms,

adorned with ear ornaments and anklets fastened with strings of little bells, / a boy with beautiful luster from earrings, three-eyed, naked in form,

with white garlands and unguent, and holding a full cup in his left hand, / and holding a staff in his right hand, the destroyer of death.

One should first utter this māyā-seed syllable and 'vaṭuka'; / one should write the two five-syllable phrases 'āpaduddhāraṇāya',

and 'vaṭukāya' followed by māyā. This is remembered as the mantra of Vaṭuka. / This mantra has been declared for both forms, O goddess revered by the gods!

And whatever yantra belongs to this mantra, one should draw that yantra there: / Ramā, Bhuvaneśī, Kāma, and Cintāmaṇi in succession,

one should first write in the pericarp, followed by the desired 'vaṭukāya'. / On eight petals one should write the remaining letters on the eight petals.

Outside, on sixteen petals, one should write the sixteen vowels; / on thirty-two petals, the thirty-two consonants from ka to sa;

on the other petals, ha and kṣa; and one should draw an earthen perimeter outside. / This is the Āpaduddhāraṇa yantra, which averts untimely death,

providing protection for those afflicted by seizing spirits and for all living beings; / bringing subjugation of women, subjugation of kings, subjugation of men, and subjugation of beasts,

constantly granting various perfections, and removing all diseases and poisons; / charming with necklaces and armlets, bewitching the universe with its radiance.

One should meditate on the god Mahāmṛtyuñjaya; one becomes a conqueror of death. / Thus, the third letter of the second group together with the fifth

vowel, combined with the bindu, ending in sa, then the word denoting the person to be mastered, / then the pair of words 'rakṣa', and then the previous three seed syllables again,

pronounced in reverse order—one should recite the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra. / In the center, one should write the praṇava together with the name of the person to be mastered; on the petals of the cardinal directions, the letter bha;

on the petals starting from the southeast, one should write the final letter in sequence. / Having drawn an earthen perimeter outside, one should write thickly in the cardinal directions,

and the syllable ṭha in the four corners. This is the yantra embodying Mṛtyuñjaya, / destroying untimely death, fever, disease, venom, and delusion.

There one should paint the deity Cintāmaṇi, who grants desired objects, / brilliant as a blue coral, three-eyed, with a delightful face,

holding a noose and a red lotus in the left hands, and a trident and a skull cup in the right, / wearing a crescent moon crown; one should meditate on him as the Lord who is half Ambikā.

The fire syllable [ra], the first of the first group [ka], then ṣa, ma, and the letter ra in succession, / accompanied by the breath [sa], the wind [ya], and the dental [da], together with the sixth vowel [ū] and the bindu:

this auspicious mantra of Cintāmaṇi grants desired objects. / Cintāmaṇi, surrounded by the sixteen vowels, bestows wishes;

one should encircle it with the syllable ṭha. It destroys fever, epilepsy, and death. / And then, one should paint the goddess Śāradā, who bestows perfection.

White as a conch, kunda flower, and the moon, bearing a crescent moon on her diadem, / [holding] a jar of nectar, bestowing boons, an akṣamālā, and the cinmudrā with her lotus hands,

Wearing white garments, resplendent with pearl ornaments. / Then the speech-seed-syllable, the Bhuvaneśī [seed], and the pair of words “vada vada,”

One should utter “vāgvādinī” in the vocative case, followed by the wife of Agni (svāhā). / This is declared as the glorious Mātṛkā mantra, which bestows eloquence.

Omitting the first two seed-syllables, one should utter the remainder as before; / [this is] the ten-syllabled Śāradā mantra, the bestower of the play of eloquence.

The space letter (ha) joined with u-kāra, ending with visarga (saḥ or huṃ / saḥ), / one should first write on the pericarp, and the vowels on the filaments.

On the eight petals, the eight groups [of consonants] beginning with a, śa, ha, and the next three [groups] / along with the five letters beginning with ka—these are declared as the eight groups.

One should write [these], and place the syllable “ṭha” in the corners of the bhūpura and in the cardinal directions. / This indeed is the Mātṛkā yantra, which removes poison, death, and disease.

One should draw Aghora, O goddess, resembling a dark blue raincloud, / with fierce fangs, three eyes, and adorned with the eight lordly serpents;

With red body unguent and garments, resplendent with a red garland, / holding an axe, an hourglass drum, a sword, a shield, an arrow, a bow,

A trident, and a full skull-cup in his eight arms. / [Then the mantra:] the Bhuvaneśī [seed], the double “sphura,” then the repeated “prasphura,”

“ghora,” then “aghoratara,” “tanurūpa,” the double “caṭa,” / “prakaṭa” repeated twice, and then the pair of words “kaha,”

The pair of words “vama,” O goddess, and the repeated word “bandha,” / the double “ghātaya,” O goddess, the kavaca (huṃ), and ending with phaṭ.

This fifty-one-syllabled [formula] is remembered as the Aghora mantra. / For subjugation, [he has] the luster of molten gold, endowed with the form described before;

For liberation and conquering death, however, [he is] white, with the previously stated form. / One should draw the peaceful Aghorāstra, which grants success in all aims, O dear one.

The Māyā seed-syllable accompanied by the name of the adept should be in the center, joined with vowels; / outside that, on the filaments, one should write the eight groups [of consonants].

Then on the eight petals, one should write the mantra syllables in sets of three; / similarly on the petal tips, and the kavaca and astra [syllables] in that hexagon.

Outside that, a bhūpura should be drawn: this is the Aghora yantra. / Surrounded by the two “sphura”s, one should then write the Śakti seed in the center;

The pair of “prasphura”s in the hexagon, and then on the eight petals in sequence: / with six, four, four, six, six, and eight

And six of the remaining mantra syllables, one should then write them down. / In the hexagon, extracted with fire and weapon, with its corners freed;

One should draw the Aghora yantra surrounded by a bhūpura, O dear one; / it removes [the afflictions of] serpents, enemies, thieves, malevolent spirits, epilepsy, ghosts, and seizing spirits.

Then one should draw Mahāgaṇapati, resembling coral, / with a crescent moon on his diadem, an elephant face, and three eyes;

Pot-bellied, wearing red garments, with red garlands and unguent, / splendid with ten arm-staffs, with a woman seated on his left thigh;

Radiant with necklaces, armlets, bracelets, rings, and earrings; / [holding] a citron fruit, a mace, a sugarcane bow, a trident,

A discus, a lotus, a noose, a blue water lily, a sheaf of paddy, / and holding a jewel jar with his trunk alongside his tusk, with his ten hands;

Embraced by Śrī who is seated on his left thigh, holding a lotus in her hand; / a wish-fulfilling tree for whatever desired objects his devotees contemplate.

The Praṇava (oṃ), Kamalā (śrīṃ), Māyā (hrīṃ), Kāmarāja (klīṃ), Vasundharā (glauṃ), / in order, the seed of Gaṇapati (gaṃ), then “mahāgaṇapati”

Ending in the dative case with the vocative particle, and “vara,” and likewise “varada,” / then the words “sarvajanaṃ me” and “vaśamānaya,”

Writing the wife of Agni (svāhā) at the end—the twenty-eight-syllabled / mantra of Mahāgaṇapati destroys death and poverty.

Having written the seed of the lord of Gaṇas in the triangle accompanied by the Tāra (oṃ), / one should write outside in the directions the seeds of Śrī, Śakti, Madana, and Bhū.

In the hexagon, the group of six seeds, and at its intersections, the aṅga mantras; / then within the eight petals, one should write the mantras in groups.

On the last petal with the last syllable, one writes the mātṛkā in regular order, / and in reverse order; then it is enclosed by the goad and noose;

The auspicious yantra of Gaṇapati, adorned with an earth sanctuary, / ending with elephants, an abode of fortune, divine, increases lifespan and health.

One should draw these collections of yantras and deities inside the hut; / on the outer part of the wall of the hut, one should paint the Bhairavas along with the letters:

Asitāṅga, Ruru, Caṇḍa, Krodha, Unmattabhairava, / Kapālin, Bhīṣaṇa, and Saṃhārabhairava in order.

Inside the second enclosure, on the wall, one should paint in order the eleven / Rudras, three-eyed, with matted hair locks bearing the crescent moon;

Outside that, the nine Nāthas, the nine Siddhas, the sixteen [elders], / and then one should draw Sanatkumāra, Sanaka, Sananda, and the others.

Inside the third enclosure, on the wall, the Mothers beginning with Brāhmī / and the sixty-four Yoginīs are to be drawn according to rule.

Outside that wall, the guardians of the directions headed by the lord of the gods (Indra) in order, / the planets beginning with the moon and the sun, and the constellations beginning with Aśvinī;

The zodiac signs beginning with Aries are to be drawn, adorned with ornaments and weapons; / and on either side of the doorway of the hut, one should draw Gaṇeśa and Bhairava.

On the sides of the door of the second enclosure, the two: Śaṅkha and Padma; / and Garuda and Hanumat on the sides of the door of the third enclosure,

One should draw, O goddess, the destroyers of fear on both sides. / In whatever country this divine hut is constructed by the best of yogins,

That country becomes exceedingly blessed, praiseworthy, a sacred field, and purifying; / the subjects living there are fortunate, prosperous, and doers of meritorious deeds.

The realm has abundant food, health, brings ease free from disease, / is free from calamities, blessed with timely rains, and filled with grain.

Free from dangers such as thieves, wild beasts, and serpents; / and there abide all sacred waters such as the Gaṅgā.

Gods too, led by Indra; planets led by the Sun and the Moon; / yoginģs, bhairavas, siddhas, Gaṇeŕa, Guha, and the Mothers.

For a monarch residing there, victory, wealth, and life are attained; / universal sovereignty is also attained, resplendent with perpetual festivals.

Barren women obtain the gift of sons merely by sighting the hut; / there is destruction of major diseases such as leprosy, epilepsy, and spirit possession.

Those who, having entered the hut, partake of rejuvenation therapy, / easily attain perfection that is rare even for the gods.

<Procedure for the Nectar of Immortality>
O goddess, I shall speak of a wonder: divine, most secret, auspicious, / the blameless procedure of the nectar of immortality, easily obtained, born of one's own body,

bestowing the eight powers beginning with atom-like minuteness, perfection of the body, transmutation of base metals, and the rest. / One whose limbs are cleansed through vomiting and other [purifications], avoiding salt and sour things,

residing inside the hut, O queen of gods, wise in mind, should drink the water of Śiva. / He should make a drinking vessel from the wood of a mature kataka tree,

and having ground triphalā, he should smear one karṣa of it inside the cup with Śiva-water. / Having set the vessel upside down at night, my dear,

then in the morning, he should discard the initial and final discharge, / and collect the middle stream into that vessel; he should then stir

that triphalā mixed with the nectar of immortality and, facing east, drink it always, / having bowed to chosen deities, teachers, and elders, and having worshipped Gaṇeśvara.

Moderate in diet, restrained in conduct, avoiding wind and sun, / within the span of merely a single cycle [of forty days] he becomes pure within and without.

With a second cycle, there is the destruction of all forms of leprosy; / with a third cycle, it dispels the four kinds of poison.

With the fourth cycle, his own water becomes like coconut water; / with the fifth, foul odor of the excreta is destroyed.

Through the practice of the sixth cycle, foul odor of the body is destroyed; / through the practice of the seventh cycle, acuity of the senses is attained.

Then in the eighth cycle, taking one karṣa of turmeric powder, / he should ingest the water of Śiva for up to twice seven [i.e., fourteen] cycles.

He becomes free from wrinkles and grey hair, released from the fear of potent poison. / In the fifteenth cycle, [taking] one karṣa each of śṛṅga and sulfur,

mixed with the water of Śiva, he should drink it until the twenty-first / cycle, and at the end of that, he attains perfection of the body and transmutation of base metals.

In the twenty-second cycle, O goddess, [he takes] mica combined with triphalā; / thus he, self-controlled, should continue up to the twenty-eighth cycle.

Endowed with the strength of a rutting elephant, possessing the eyesight of a vulture, free from disease, / when the twenty-ninth cycle arrives, combined with triphalā,

he should also drink the pure morning urine mixed with powder of lodestone, my dear. / Up to the end of the thirty-fifth cycle, a man becomes vajra-bodied.

From the thirty-sixth cycle onwards, he should drink his own morning urine / combined with gold and powder of dhātrī, up to two more [cycles],

until the end of the forty-second cycle, [whereby] he becomes a sky-traveler in his own body. / But when the forty-third cycle is reached, combined with mercury

and mixed with triphalā, he should drink up to the limit of forty-nine cycles. / Endowed with the qualities of atom-like minuteness and the rest, vajra-bodied, moving through the air,

joined with the perfected beings, free from affliction, free from decay, free from blemish, / he disports everywhere at will across all the worlds at all times.

Beginning from the first cycle, O goddess, he should practice daily: / he should thoroughly stir [it] with his own water together with juice of dhuttūra,

and with that very ash he should repeatedly rub all his limbs. / One's own water gathered at other times, especially,

he should constantly apply to the head, nostrils, ears, eyes, and the two feet and hands, O goddess; / a man thereby attains a purified body.

Never, my dear, should he discharge his own morning urine onto the earth. / For a man who consumes the nectar of immortality, by means of the water of Śiva,

all base metal turns to gold, divine and rare among mortals. / One should drink the morning urine with vijayā every single day.