Anandakanda 1.3

Āk, 1, 3
<The Procedure for Mercurial Initiation>
Now I shall declare the initiation that bestows all alchemical perfections; / and it is said to be fivefold according to the divisions beginning with the probationer initiation.

The first initiation is named samayā, the second is known as sādhakā, / the third is named nirvāṇā, and the fourth is designated as ācāryā.

The fifth is designated as siddhā and is generally difficult for men to attain; / endowed with the characteristics previously stated, bowed in devotion, pure,

having bowed to the guru with an eight-limbed prostration and praised him in many ways, / he should address the guru: "Please favor me with initiation."

Having obtained initiation in accordance with rule, the disciple becomes one who perceives all purposes.
<Auspicious Lunar Days and Other Times Suitable for Initiation>
Aśvinī, Mūla, Revatī, Mṛgaśīrṣa, Puṣya, Punarvasu,

Rohiṇī, Śravaṇa, Anurādhā, Hasta, and the three Uttaras, / along with Maghā and Aśvinī, are the most excellent asterisms for the rite of initiation.

The third, fifth, seventh, fourteenth, / eighth, full moon, tenth, and thirteenth—

these are the primary lunar days; on the days of Mercury, the Moon, Jupiter, Venus, / and the Sun, mercurial initiation is very auspicious.

<The Procedure for Samayā Initiation>
During the waxing fortnight, under an auspicious astrological conjunction, free from the karaṇa called viṣṭi, / endowed with the strength of the moon and stars, at equinoxes and solstices,

at an eclipse, on Śivarātri, on one's birth constellation, at an auspicious hour, / under an auspicious planet and a favorable yoga, the excellent guru should grant initiation.

Having then entered the laboratory, glittering with all apparatuses, / strewn with flower garlands, and having raised arches and banners,

having performed the daily worship and the fire rites, he should observe the procedure of initiation; / on the right side of the god, on a bed of unhusked rice grains,

having made a square, he should place in its center a prastha measure of good unhusked rice; / above that he should place a water jar wrapped with white thread,

wrapped in two cloths, containing quicksilver and the five gems, / purified with the five earths, sprouts, and barks, and filled with water,

furnished with dūrvā grass, perfumes, excellent sesame seeds, gold, darbha grass, and unbroken grains; / he should contemplate this jar named Śiva as identical with Śiva.

To its left side having placed the water pot called vardhanī, / identical with Śakti and furnished with all the substances previously mentioned,

Around it he should draw the sarvatobhadra, śrīgaurītilaka, / nandyāvarta, and svastika [diagrams], adorned with five colors.

Having washed both feet and hands and properly sipped water, the best of gurus, / having reached his own seat, [should perform] the three prāṇāyāmas as well.

For the increase of longevity, health, prosperity, and lineage of this disciple, / and for liberation and the eight alchemical perfections, having formed his intention, he should worship Śiva.

With scents, flowers, unbroken grains, incenses, lamps, and presentation of food offerings, / he should worship the Śiva-jar and the vardhanī-jar with the attendant offerings.

He should recite the Rasāṅkuśī root mantra one thousand times, / and should offer a tenth part thereof in a triangular pit endowed with the [proper] characteristics.

Fruit mixed with the three sweets and endowed with the finest perfume; / then, in order, [offering to] the deities of the surrounding circles, each by their own name in the dative case,

ending in 'svāhā' and beginning with the praṇava, having uttered it, he should offer the oblation. / First, O goddess, he should worship the triad of Śivas, and then the triad of Siddhas.

Then the triad of gurus, O goddess, and the lineage elders; the best of gurus, / having worshipped the Yoginī and received permission, the guru then:

‘I worship the embodiment of Ānandaśiva endowed with Śakti, / and likewise I worship the embodiment of Parānandaśiva.’

In this way he should worship the threefold Siddha embodiment accompanied by the Śrī seed syllable; / in this way he should worship the threefold Guru embodiment joined with the Māra seed syllable.

Having taken up the triad of principles, he should perform nyāsa once more; / having himself become the body of Śiva, he should meditate: 'I am Śiva.'

Looking with the gaze of Śiva, he should behold the disciple who is joyful and endowed with śakti; / having placed him at his own left side, he should place upon his head

sacred ash consecrated with the root mantra, having covered his eyes with a cloth, / and having sprinkled his head with the water from the Śiva and vardhanī [jars],

he should worship Śiva three times together with His retinue on his own right hand; / this hand of Śiva is to be recognized as that which severs the bonds of worldly existence.

He should recite the Aṅkuśī root mantra three times, / and he should impart the instruction of the mantra into the right ear of the disciple.

First the mantra of Gaṇapati, and then the hymn of Kṣetrapāla. / The seer is Gaṇaka, the meter is remembered as Nyṛcidgāyatrikā;

the deity is to be known as Gaṇapati, and the nyāsa is performed with the seed syllable. / The third letter of the first group, with the half-moon, named 'Gaṇa',

[followed by] 'pati' combined with the dative, ending in 'namaḥ'—he should utter this mantra. / Bearing a noose, an elephant-goad, and a sweetmeat, with his own tusk,

elephant-faced, shining like coral, wearing a crescent moon upon his crown, / pot-bellied: having meditated on the Lord of Gaṇas, he should recite the mantra one hundred thousand times.

One-tenth [of the total] is libation and fire offering; he should offer with jaggery and sesame. / 'Kṣa' joined with the bindu, and 'Kṣetrapāla' in the dative case,

having uttered the mantra ending in 'namaḥ', and nyāsa [performed] with the seed syllable; / the meter is Paṅkti, the sage is to be known as Bhṛgu, and the deity is Bhairava.

Four-armed, adorned with a trident, skull-cup, granting of boons, and fearlessness, / resembling a dark cloud, having serpent ornaments and a garland of small bells,

three-eyed, and with curved fangs: having meditated [on him], he should recite the mantra one hundred thousand times. / One-tenth [of the total] is libation and fire offering; he should offer milk-rice soaked in the three sweets.

Having thus instructed him, he should follow the customary rule [and say]: / 'Perform service to the deity and attendance upon the guru;

unwearied, you must perform mantra recitation and listen to scripture with reverence; / remain constantly engaged according to the path of conduct previously declared.'

Bowing low with folded palms, [the disciple says]: 'I will do so, O Lord; / I am blessed, my purpose is accomplished, O Holy Master, by your grace!'

Thus the disciple, fortified by customary conduct, should address [him]. / Having arisen very early in the morning, he should remember the gurus in his head.

Having performed the obligatory chores and bathed, he should perform the twilight devotion, / at a river's bathing place, at a pond, or in a pool with clean water.

Having sipped water and formed the intention, he should perform the daily water libation: / first to the triad of Śivas, the lord of obstacles, the guardian of the field, and Hari;

to Brahmā, the planets beginning with the Sun, Durgā, and the mothers, / to the Bhairavas beginning with Asitāṅga; then he should declare the triad of Siddhas;

Ādinātha, Mīnanātha, Gorakṣa, the Lord of Koṅkaṇa, / the Lord of Jālandhra, Kandhanīśa, Oḍḍīśa, Ciñciṇīśvara,

and Cauraṅgi—then he should offer water libations to these nine named Nāthas; / then to Cauraṅgi, Carpaṭi, Ghoḍācūli, and the two Rāmas;

to Bholagovindasiddha, and likewise to Vyāḍi and Nāgārjuna, / to Koraṇḍa, Śūrpakarṇa, Muktāyī, and Revana;

to the Siddha Kukkurapāda, Śūrpapāda, Kaṇairika, / and to the Siddha named Kiṅkiṇika—he should offer libations to the sixteen Siddhas.

Then, having offered libations to the triad of gurus, to mother, father, and guru, / to the preceptor, brother, and friend, and having offered libations to other members of the family,

he should offer libations, sip water according to rule, and then perform worship of the deity / on the riverbank, at a pond, in a cowshed, or in a temple,

or having spread a circular mound of sand in a clean place, / he should summon the Lord of the Day, who is pale red and embodies Śiva,

two-eyed, bearing a pair of lotuses, supreme, two-armed, / radiant upon a lotus seat with red garland, red garments, red unguent, and red ornaments.

Having meditated on him, he should worship him with red flowers; then, having meditated / on the Lord of Obstacles and Bhairava as described before, he should worship the two with red flowers.

He should perform the eight-limbed prostration twelve times; / he should once more establish [the deity] in his heart and go to the service of his own guru.

Thus the samaya initiation has been declared; the sādhaka [initiation] is now explained.
<Sādhaka Initiation>
Devoted to the customary conduct, a true disciple of matured intellect,

he should initiate on an auspicious day and astrological moment with the initiation named sādhaka. / The guru should perform the occasional rite of worship and summon the disciple;

himself having the body of Śiva, he should meditate on the disciple as resting in the womb of Gaurī. / Having spread sacred ash on the ground, he should draw three corners on it.

Having seated the disciple there and bound his eyes, / [he should perform] the impregnation, the rite for procuring a male child, and then the parting of the hair;

the birth rites forming part of the initiation, and he should assign a name. / In the observance rite, having sprinkled him with ash by means of the root mantra,

and conceiving him as the son of Gaurī, he should prepare his initiation. / Looking at him with the gaze of Śiva, and having placed the sacred ash of Śiva on his head,

he should worship the root mantra ten times; / and in his right ear he should impart the ten-syllable mantra.

<The Rasagāyatrī>
[Now,] the mantra of Rasendrabhairava, designated as the Rasagāyatrī:
The seed-syllable of fire along with the bindu, then the word "rasendrasya",

and "bhairavāya" ending in the dative case, and the weapon [mantra] of action, being one-tenth;
combined with the long vowels of the fire-seed, one should perform the imposition on the hands.

The seer is Aghora, the meter is Virāj, and the deity is Maheśvara.
The preliminary recitation is one hundred thousand, with a tenth part each for oblation and water-offering.

With sesame, clarified butter, and rice grains, one should make the oblation with an unswerving mind.
One should recite the aforementioned Rasagāyatrī one hundred thousand times, and make the water-offering.

One should offer in oblation a tenth part with clarified butter together with sesame and rice grains, O dear one.
He should give to the disciple a rosary, a mercury liṅga, and the mercury tradition.

Having become observant of the conduct described before, he should worship the mercury liṅga;
he should comprehend the meaning of his own treatises, and carry out the refinement process of the lord of quicksilver.

He should instruct the disciple, who is devoted to constant service of the guru, thus:
The disciple, with hands folded in reverence and bowing low, [replies:] "I shall carry out your command."

Thus has been declared the sādhaka initiation; now the [initiation] named nirvāṇa is extolled.
<The Nirvāṇadīkṣā>
Having first performed the daily rites and offered the occasional worship,

he should set up the Śiva water-pot and so forth, along with the vardhanī vessel in proper order as before.
Spreading ashes to his left, he should draw a six-pointed earthen chamber.

Seating the disciple, the guru should sprinkle him with the waters in the pot;
he should cast upon his head the ashes consecrated with the root mantra.

He should offer sandal paste, flowers, and unbroken grains, and tie on his right hand
a bracelet measuring from the big toe of the foot to the aperture of Brahmā;

the thread, consecrated with that root mantra and made fragrant;
and placing the hand of Śiva upon his head, the excellent guru,

having imparted the twelve-syllable Rasāṅkuśā, the supreme mantra
whose deity is Rasabhairava, the preceptor should give it to the disciple.

The seer, meter, deity, and imposition are as declared before, O dear one;
and one should perform the water-offering, oblation, and meditation as before.

Rising and bowing to the guru, he should utter hymns of praise repeatedly.
The guru should indeed bestow on the disciple a seat of tiger-skin, wherein

he should give a bag filled with cloths, and a bag of medicaments.
Having caused him to read the mercury tradition, [he says:] "Disciple, become a physician!

You have been born in the form of Rudra; be beneficent to all living beings!"
Thus should the guru command the disciple; then the disciple, with a delighted heart:

"I have accomplished my duty, I am purified, I have crossed over the ocean of saṃsāra!"
Thus should the disciple submit, having praised the guru in many ways.

This nirvāṇa initiation has been proclaimed; now the consecration of an ācārya [is taught].
<The Ācāryadīkṣā>
For this high-souled disciple who has received the nirvāṇa initiation,

the excellent guru should properly perform the ācārya initiation.
He should arrange everything in the same manner as for the nirvāṇa initiation,

except that he should specifically place a pot in front of the Śiva [pot] and the vardhanī [vessel],
endowed with silver, sulphur, and other metals, as well as a collection of divine medicinal herbs.

He should deposit everything else in this just like the Śiva pot.
Touching the guru-pot, he should recite the root [mantra] one hundred and eight times.

Know this as the guru-pot; he should worship it with the guru-mantra
by means of the sixteen services, beginning with invocation, seating, and water-offering.

He should worship the lineage beginning with Śiva right there along with the guru.
With the disciple seated as before, his mind focused on a single point,

he should sprinkle him as before with the water from the Śiva [pot] and the vardhanī [vessel];
and having imparted the Śiva-hand and the root mantra as before,

and [placing it] upon his head, having worshipped the lineage of gurus and the guru
with invocation and other [rites], with sandalwood paste, garlands, and lamps,

he should worship them in succession with food offerings accompanied by fruits and excellent fragrances.
The guru should perform sprinkling with the waters of the pot by means of the five shoots:

one hundred times with the root mantra, twenty-one times with the Śiva-lineage,
likewise with the Siddha-lineage, and likewise with the guru-lineage.

To the disciple who is devoted to the guru, endowed with power, and intelligent,
[he should give] necklaces, armlets, bracelets, finger-rings, and diadems,

mounts, seats, along with umbrellas, chowries, and fans,
a pair of jeweled earrings, an inexhaustible vessel filled with prosperity,

a turban along with headgear, an excellent jacket of silk,
a yogic strap, a yogic staff, and likewise an Uḍḍiyāna waistband.

He should grant him authority in the same way: "You are now an ācārya!
You are Īśvara today, you are blessed; become a preceptor to all!

Become an expounder of the divine mercury traditions, a knower of reality!"
Thus should the guru command the disciple, who is prostrated and affectionate to the guru.

Thus this ācārya initiation [is completed]; now the initiation of a siddha is related.
<The Siddhadīkṣā>
For nine nights, or seven nights, five nights, or three nights,

heroes accompanied by their śaktis, twenty-one in number, are to be worshipped each day;
an equal number of yogins, boys, maidens, and women are to be worshipped.

Having gratified them with sandal paste, flowers, unbroken grains, blossoms, and offerings of fruits and choice scents,
he should bestow garments, ornaments, and sacrificial fees.

Then, touching with both hands the head of the pure disciple seated upon the seat
and filled with devotion, [he should impart] the mantra in the right ear:

he should initiate him into the fire [-seed] with the seed-syllable, and the moon [-seed] with the visarga.
One should meditate on the letter 'ra' arisen from the mūlādhāra, resembling a flame of fire,

crossing the lotuses of the six cakras and reaching up to the aperture of Brahmā;
and from the aperture of Brahmā, the liquefied letter 'sa' possessing the nature of the moon,

inundating all the limbs; the siddha should contemplate the mantra,
arisen from exhalation and inhalation, the cause of dissolution and maintenance.

Having known this constantly in the mind as ever embodying all mantras,
consisting of all deities, holy, bestowing all siddhis,

granting liberation while living, pure, consisting of Śiva and Śakti, supreme—
know this mercury mantra and revere it as consisting of fire and moon!

Operating day and night, numbering twenty-one thousand
six hundred [breaths]; fix your mind upon it!

The seer of this mantra is the individual soul; the meters are said to be as declared;
mercury is the deity, "raṃ" is the seed-syllable, and "saṃ" is declared to be the power.

He should perform the imposition on the hands and limbs combined with the long vowels of the letter 'ra'.
He should meditate in the lotus of the heart, O goddess, on that which resembles millions of suns and moons,

resembling pure crystal, on mercury that carries across saṃsāra.
Having thus meditated upon that partless form, he should attain identity with it.

<Hymn to Partless Mercury>
You are mercury, you are Śiva, you indeed are Śakti, you are Bhairaveśvara; / You are Brahmā, you indeed are Rudra, you are the sun, you are the cool-rayed moon.

You are earth, you are water, you are fire, and you are the wind; / You are the sky, you are the transcendent ether, you are the individual soul, you are the supreme goal.

You are the perfected adept, you are the awakened one, you are fragrant, and you are Kāmadeva; / You are the world protector, you are Tārā, you are the Mātṛkās, you are Gajānana.

You are Skanda, you are the Guru, and you are the pure generator of all; / You are the sacrificer, you are Hari, you are the triad of sacred fires, and you are the priests.

By him by whom you are worshipped, all the deities are worshipped; / And when you are pleased, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara are pleased.

By drinking the water from your feet, one obtains the fruit of all sacred places; / He who gazes upon you with true devotion, upon him Śiva looks.

For him who chants your praises, the fruit of all mantras arises; / Where you abide even for an instant, that is called a sacred field.

He whom you look upon, O lord of adepts, is Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Īśvara; / Where you consume a morsel of food, there indeed the threefold world eats.

By whom you are held, O Lord, by you he is gazed upon in that instant; / He indeed becomes the supreme self, which is pure consciousness and eternal bliss, surely.

For such a yogin, an adept whose mind is resolute, / The codes of conduct of caste and stage of life, based on the discrimination between what is to be done and what is not to be done;

Sin and merit, pleasure and pain, cold and heat, the pleasant and unpleasant, / Bathing and non-bathing, loss and gain, pure and impure, fear and fearlessness;

The acceptable and unacceptable, hunger and thirst—none of this exists here [for him]; / Free in diet and activities, he is joyful, with an exultant mind,

Free from attachment regarding all actions, wife and so forth, and kinsmen. / Having thus accepted the words of the teacher, and being initiated,

“From this day onward you are worthy of reverence; do not offer obeisance anywhere; / You are equal to me, you are an adept, you are now liberated while alive.”

Having said this, the supreme teacher also embraced the adept for a moment. / This initiation of adepts has been explained, which bestows union with Śiva.

Hard to attain in all the tantras, it has been revealed out of love for you; / O Goddess, it should be regarded in this very manner, as rare among religious traditions.