Anandakanda 2.9

Ānandakanda, Chapter 2.9
Śrī Bhairavī said:
Of what nature is the auspicious herb, O Lord, that accomplishes alchemical work?
Or by what does quicksilver become ash, and by what is khoṭa fixation achieved?

Quicksilver having reached a lifeless condition, how does it bestow life?
And how does life indeed exist through what is lifeless, O Śaṅkara?

Tell me this doubt so that I may understand, O Śiva!
Śrī Bhairava said:
Hear, O Bhairavī! I shall tell you all that, which is unprecedented,

which was not known by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, the lord of the gods, and the others, O you revered by heroes!
[Herbs] that destroy wrinkles, greying hair, and disease, and banish death and poverty,

that accomplish alchemical work, divine, and family herbs that grant excellent alchemical perfection.
Fools wander about like beasts, deprived of the family herbs.

And alchemical perfection of mercury never arises from ordinary grass-herbs;
therefore, by every effort, the family herb must be understood.

The sixty-four divine herbs reside within the families;
fools do not know them at all, deluded by the delusion of Śiva.

Non-divine grass-herbs, on the other hand, arise in mountain ravines;
quicksilver in mercury is never at all bound by an ordinary grass-herb.

Deprived of the family herbs, it does not remain indestructible;
and lacking a family herb, they do not kill mica.

That mercury, O woman of beautiful hips, does not endure within fire;
it is not a khoṭa, nor is it ash, nor does it create genuine substance.

They produce a little substance, but it does not endure when blown with bellows;
that gold does not stand up to the test of the foil, the fire, the touchstone, or cutting.

That mercury does not effect transmutation beyond a factor of a hundred, O beloved;
and before a single year passes, that gold sold [turns false].

One should never give it away for the sake of virtue, wealth, pleasure, or liberation, O beloved!
When the lord of mercury is triturated with a divine herb, O goddess,

quicksilver becomes permanently free from the kālikā defect, O Pārvatī!
Mercury freed from the kālikā defect destroys another's death.

And it instantly pacifies the impurity of the eight metals.
Who could call quicksilver dead when it has only entered into a great swoon?

It is only through the juice of a divine herb that its consciousness is destroyed;
consisting of the five elements, quicksilver endures as Sadāśiva.

Mercurial herbs, great herbs, and also perfected herbs,
and divine herbs: four kinds have been declared by me.

The divine herbs are proclaimed; among them, these are superior in quality:
trees, twiners, creepers, shrubs, herbs, and epiphytic parasites.

The herbs that effect the fixation of mercury are proclaimed to be of six kinds.
<Somavallī>
Somavallī is a great shrub, the best of the Yakṣas, bow-vine,

named somā, shrub-vine, sacrificial creeper, dear to Brahmins,
possessing lunar milky sap, somā, sacrificial plant, considered a divine creeper.

Somavallī is pungent, cooling, sweet, removes pitta and burning sensations,
especially soothes thirst, promotes digestion, and is a rasāyana.

Having five parts, rich with fifteen leaves, serpent-shaped, with blood-red nodes—
that somavallī, gathered on the day of the full moon, performs the fixation of mercury.

In the dark fortnight, one leaf drops off each day, and in the bright fortnight it grows again, becoming a hanging vine;
her tuber, especially gathered on the full moon, having bound quicksilver together with gold, accomplishes perfection of the body and transmutation of base metals.

This creeper named somalatā is extremely difficult to obtain;
bound by this, the lord of quicksilver becomes capable of transmuting a hundred thousand times its weight.

The characteristic of the twenty-four somas has been clearly described in the section on rasāyana.
<Somavṛkṣa>
The somavṛkṣa also performs the fixation, killing, and other actions of mercury.

Gathered on the day of the full moon, between the two, the creeper has superior qualities.
And mahiṣavallī is described, and pratisomāntravallikā,

and the leafless creeper is described, with stems and branches, possessing milky sap;
in taste, potency, and post-digestive transformation, it is remembered as equal to somavallī.

<Sthalapadminī>
Now hear the prescription for the divine herb sthalapadminī:
It resembles a lotus in its leaves, and likewise in its flowers.

And when broken, it exudes very beautiful, red-colored milky sap.
Stepping on it with the left foot, one can see the vault of the sky;

and one can see the orb of the planets and lunar mansions endowed with stars
from a distance of a hundred thousand yojanas, O goddess; she is to be known as sthalapadminī.

<Gonasā>
It is a creeper shaped like a gonasā serpent, adorned with variegated rings,
allaying old age, sickness, and death, capable of the fixation and killing of mercury.

<Uccaṭā>
Now I shall declare uccaṭā, which accomplishes the fixation of mercury, O beloved:
She has only a single stalk, encircled with hair.

At its tip is a flower resembling a parrot's beak,
and its leaves, O sovereign of the gods, resemble the feathers of a parrot.

Its tuber has the form of a tortoise, and its milky sap resembles red lead;
water oozes out from beeswax. Taking that, O Pārvatī,

one can transmute all metals, and they become gold.
<Īśvarī>
A certain [plant] having a form equal to Īśvarī is called īśvarī.

It exudes abundant milky sap, and fixes mercury seeded [with gold or silver].
<Bhūtakeśī>
[The herb] with leaves like neem leaves is called bhūtakeśī.

Quicksilver is not killed by it, but this quicksilver becomes an agent of binding.
<Kṛṣṇalatā>
A creeper resembling broken collyrium is this kṛṣṇalatā.

Destroying all poisons, it binds mercury even without a seed.
<laśunavallī>
Named laśunavallī, its foliage is similar to garlic leaves;

Exuding milky sap and possessing a good tuber, it quickly binds mercury.
<rudantī>
Having leaves similar to chickpea leaves, and also similar in flowers;

Famed by the name rudantī, it truly rains water from below,
As if weeping upon seeing people afflicted by death, wretchedness, and senescence.

It should be known to be of four kinds: yellow, red, white, and black.
A rejuvenating agent, it destroys mercury that has consumed mica, and fixes [it].

Possessing a tuber like the tuber of musalī, leaves having the form of its leaves,
Abounding in milky sap, and hairy, it is called vārāhī, a fixer of mercury.

<saptapattrī>
Filled with seven leaflets, this is considered to be saptapattrī.
Rejuvenating and destroying senescence, mercury is bound by it.

<nāginī>
The creeper called nāginī has parts like the coils of a snake;
Destroying poisons of snakes and the like, it fixes clear mercury.

<sarpiṇī>
And another slender creeper is sarpiṇī, having a crooked stalk like a serpent,
With milky sap and unctuous leaves; it binds immature mercury.

<chattriṇī>
Having stalked leaves like an umbrella, neither too low nor elevated,
Possessing rich milky sap, named chattriṇī, it is considered a cause of mercury's fixation.

<gośṛṅgī>
Arising from rock on a mountain, possessing a tuber shaped like a cow's tuber,
When injured it discharges milky sap; gośṛṅgī is a fixer of mercury.

<jyotirlatā>
The one named jyotis is declared to be threefold: composed of a tree, a tuber, and a grass.
It blazes at night on the mountain; the creeper binds mercury.

<raktavallī>
Having red milky sap, leaves, and stems, a creeper that does not spread too much,
This divine [plant] designated raktavallī is a fixer of mercury.

<padmavallī>
The creeper whose leaves have the form of lotus leaves is declared by experts on mercury to be patravallī;
With a milky tuber and water-born, it does not stay on dry land; it fixes mercury.

<kākinī>
Endowed with coarse thorns and [dark] color, it is called the kākinī creeper;
This very [plant] causes the fixation of mercury and destroys senescence and death.

<cāṇḍālī>
Designated as cāṇḍālī, bearing three or four leaves,
It is red and has a milky tuber; quicksilver is bound by it.

The tuber called caṇḍālakanda can be single-leaved, two-leaved,
Three-leaved, then four-leaved, and five-leaved, according to its varieties.

<tāmravallī>
Endowed with copper-colored creeper, leaves, flowers, and milky sap,
That is declared to be tāmravallikā, an accomplisher of mercury, base metals, and the rest.

<pītavallī>
Endowed with yellow leaves, creeper, flowers, and sap, extremely rare,
That is called pītavallikā, beneficial in the operation of mercury fixation.

<vijayā>
With white milky sap, foliage like pigeon pea leaves, not very spread out,
Renowned as vijayā, this is beneficial in the procedure of fixing mercury.

<mahauṣadhī>
Endowed with a triangular tuber, with leaves like the foliage of citraka,
That is declared mahauṣadhī, supremely beneficial in mercury fixation.

<devadālī>
Abounding in leaves resembling the hue of a peacock's neck, rich in fragrance of sandalwood,
This divine plant named devadālī binds mercury in an instant.

<navanītakagandhī>
[The creeper] called navanītakagandhī is bitter, with the fragrance of an unguent,
Possessing milky sap and red flowers; the lord of mercury is bound by it.

<garuḍavallī>
Possessing milky sap and red flowers, with leaves like jujube leaves,
Declared as gāruḍavallī, it quickly binds mercury.

<tumbinī>
The creeper called tumbinī is endowed with its leaves and flowers,
Possessed of bitter red juice, with its fruits; it is a fixer of mercury.

<bhūtumbinī>
The one with leaves resembling the leaves of tumbinī is bhūtumbinī, not spreading very far,
And endowed with fruits resembling limes; it destroys all diseases and fixes mercury.

<gandharvā>
With leaves like castor leaves, having milky sap, not very spread out,
That is indeed called gandharvā; by it mercury undergoes fixation.

<vyāghrapādī>
Having leaves resembling a tiger's paw, red flowers, and milky sap,
Designated as vyāghrapādī, it definitely binds mercury.

<mahauṣadhī>
Having leaves like the saptacchada, of slender frame, not very spread out,
This is declared mahauṣadhī; it binds and slays mercury.

<gomārī>
The creeper named gomārī has leaves resembling bamboo leaves;
Having obtained its root, prepared quicksilver is bound.

<triśūlī>
Having leaves shaped like a trident, with fruits like the cassia fruit,
It is proclaimed as triśūlī, famed in the fixation of mercury.

<rutasī>
With leaves and fruits like rutā leaves, possessing a milky tuber,
It is declared the creeper rutasī, mountain-born, a fixer of mercury.

<tridaṇḍī>
With good flowers, possessing tilaka markings, red, endowed with three fruits,
Called tridaṇḍī, it is proclaimed in the procedure of fixing mercury.

<bhṛṅgavallī>
Abounding in leaves colored like a bee, milky, with yellow flowers,
That is declared bhṛṅgavallī, employed in the fixation of mercury.

<camarikā>
Abounding in leaves shaped like a fly-whisk, possessing milk, bearing a crescent mark,
The creeper named camarikā also binds mercury.

<karavīralatā>
A creeper possessing leaves and flowers shaped like the oleander,
It is called the karavīralatā, an absolute binder of quicksilver.

<vajravallī>
Having blossoms and leaves resembling the foliage of koraṇḍa leaves, with a milky tuber,
That vajravallī has a pungent and bitter essence, leaves marked with a thunderbolt, and fixes mercury.

<vāravallī>
Possessing red milky sap, endowed with leaves like bilva leaves,
That vāravallī binds quicksilver and destroys diseases.

<rohiṇī>
Having ten flowers with leaves shaped like hemp flowers, and possessed of milk,
That is designated as rohiṇī, a binder of the king of mercury.

<bilvinī>
Having leaves shaped and colored like the leaves of jyotiṣmatī, glorious,
Declared in the procedure of mercury fixation, it is spoken of as bilvinī.

<gorocanalatā>
Endowed with a vine whose leaves possess the radiance of gorocanā,
The gorocanalatā releases [from] spirits and fixes mercury.

<karīrī>
Arising on the peak of Śrīśaila, an herb resembling mārkaṇḍī,
When wounded, it discharges red milky sap; karīrī is a fixer of mercury.

<akṣarā>
Having leaves like patrasīsā, yielding fruit after three years,
Celebrated as akṣarā, it is an intense binder of mercury.

<apattrā>
Leafless like the somavallī, endowed with juice resembling collyrium,
This apattrā grows in the Vindhyas, is not very tall, and fixes mercury.

In its first year it is sour; it becomes bitter in the second;
And in the third year it is produced endowed with sweet fruits.

It instantly relieves fever caused by pitta humor and possesses fine leaves and fruits.
[The vine Kuṭajavallī]
The vine called kuṭajavallī has fruits and leaves like those [of the kuṭaja plant].

It is sweet, has reddish nodes, and binds the king of quicksilver.
[The plant Mūlakandā]
Known as mūlakandā, it has leaves and fruits resembling a radish.

Possessing milky sap, this vine certainly effects the fixation of quicksilver.
[The plant Brāhmaṇī]
Growing on Mount Pārijāta, this vine has leaves and foliage resembling śatapuṣpā.

Said to have black latex and fruits, brāhmaṇī binds mercury.
[The vine Munivallī]
With leaves like those of agasti and reddish flowers of the same shape,

smelling like clarified butter and destroying [unbound] mercury, it is called munivallī.
[The plant Nimbakā]
A vine resembling the nimba tree in its leaves, flowers, and fruits;

quicksilver is bound with its roots; it is declared to be the nimbakā vine.
[The plant Tilakandā]
Known as tilakandā, it has leaves and fruits resembling its root.

The vine, possessing latex, binds quicksilver in the fierce heat of the sun.
[The vine Atasīvallikā]
Its flowers, fruits, and leaves are like those of atasī;

that vine atasīvallikā is indeed a binder of mercury.
[The vine Bodhilatā]
The vine called bodhilatā possesses leaves and sap like those of the bodhi tree;

it binds the king of mercury just as Acyuta bound the lord of the Dānavas.
[The plant Madyagandhā]
Known as madyagandhā, it is leafless [yet] endowed with fruits and leafy scales;

its tuber certainly brings mercury quickly to fixation.
[The vine Kūrmalatā]
The vine called kūrmalatā has a tuber shaped like a tortoise and is endowed with milk;

its leaves and blossoms resemble jasmine; it binds mercury.
[The plant Mādhavī]
Having roots like the root of mādhavī, and endowed with betel leaves,

the vine is called mādhavī; mercury is bound with its roots.
[The plant Viśālā]
A vine distinguished by white leaves, and likewise having white flowers and fruits,

is designated viśālā; it also binds mercury.
[The plant Mahānāgā]
Having a tuber like the coil of a serpent and leaves resembling its hood,

this vine, called mahānāgā, completely binds mercury.
[The vine Maṇḍūkalatikā]
Having a tuber shaped like a frog, and leaves like those of the maṇḍūkī,

this is the maṇḍūkalatikā; mercury is bound with its roots.
[The vine Udumbaralatā]
Having leaves and fruits shaped like the fruit of udumbara,

it is called udumbaralatā, a binder of the king of quicksilver.
[The vine Citravallī]
The very tall one that has a milky tuber, leaves like banyan leaves, and variegated leaves and large fruits,
is called citravallī; placed within its fruit, the lord of mercury is bound.

Thus the sixty-four divine herbs of great potency have been spoken of.

Bound by these, mercury accomplishes the purpose of transmuting the human body and base metals.
somavallī, somavṛkṣa, and then sthalapadminikā,

gonasā, kāravallī, uccaṭā, and then īśvarī,
bhūtakeśī, kṛṣṇalatā, and what should be known as laśunavallarī,

rudantī, vārāhī, saptapattrī, and nāginī,
sarpiṇī, chattriṇī, and gośṛṅgī, bestower of all alchemical perfections,

the one named jyotiṣ, threefold raktavallarī, patravallarī,
kākinī, cāṇḍālīvallarī, tāmravallarī,

pītavallī, vijayā, which should be known as a great herb,
and devadālī should be known, and what has the fragrance of fresh butter,

garuḍavallī should be known, and tumbinī, bhūmitumbinī,
gandharvā, and vyāghrapādī, known as a great herb,

gomārī, triśūlī, rutasī, tridaṇḍikā,
bhṛṅgavallī, camarikā, then karavīralatā,

vajravallī, vāravallī, rohiṇī, and bilvinī,
gorocanalatā, karīrī, and akṣarā,

apattrī, kuṭajāvallī, mūlakandā, brāhmaṇī,
ghṛtagandhā, nimbavallī, tilakandā, and atasī,

bodhivallī, madyagandhā, kūrmavallī, mādhavī,
viśālā, mahānāgā, and maṇḍūkavallī must be recognized,

udumbaralatā, and citravallī, O goddess worshipped by the gods.
Thus the sixty-four divine herbs of great potency have been proclaimed.