Devibhagavatapurana 11.24.2

11.24.2

śrīnārāyaṇa uvāca |
atiguhyamidaṃ pṛṣṭaṃ tvayā brahyatanūdbhava |
na kasyāpi ca vaktavyaṃ duṣṭāya piśunāya ca ||

Nârâyana said:-- O Nârada! The question asked by you is esoteric. Never divulge this to a wicked person or any hypocrite. It is to be kept secret. While doing this S’ânti Karma, the Brâhmanas are to perform the Homas with fuel soaked in milk (Payah). If the fuel of the S’amî tree be offered in Homa ceremony, then diseases caused by planets are cured. If the Homa be performed with wet As’vaththa or Udumbara or other ksîra trees, the diseases caused by demons and hob-goblins are cured. If one offers Tarpanam with one palmful of water, repeating the mantra “Sûryam Tarpayâmi namah”, the pending evils are also averted and troubles are ceased. The repetition of the Gâyatrî mantra with knees immersed in water averts all evils. The repetition of Gâyatrî with body immersed in water upto the throat, averts the danger of life; and the same with whole body immersed grants all success. This is the best of all the S’ânti karmas, the acts that bring health, wealth, happiness and peace. While performing Homa, light with the fuel of Ksîravriksa (the trees that emit milky juice); place Pañchagavya in a vessel made of gold, silver, copper or wood of ksîra trees, or in the vessels made of earth, without any knot or crack; utter the Gâyatrî mantra and offer one thousand homas. Sprinkle with water at every offering, touching the Pañchagavya with Kus’a grass, thousand times. Then offer the sacrifices there where calamities or nuisances are seen and meditate on the Highest Devatâ. Thus all the magic spells used by other persons for a malevolent purpose will be rendered nugatory. Bring under your control any Deva yoni, Bhûte Yoni, or Pis’âcha Yoni that causes you troubles; then they will quit the house, village, city, way, even that kingdom. Now hear how they are brought under control. Prepare a sacrificial altar with sand, draw a square on it, place a Sûla (spear) in its centre and plaster with Astagandha. For the sake of converting all the evils, repeat Gâyatrî mantra thousand times and impregnate it with the mantra, dig the ground and place or bury the Sûla under it. Place on the level ground or sthandila a jar or Navaphala, a fruit made of gold, silver, or copper or a newly made earthen jar and enclose it with thread. Then have the sacred waters brought from the several Tîrthas by the Brâhmins and fill the jar, repeating the Gâyatrî Mantra. Put within this jar the twigs, then of Cardamom tree, sandal tree, karpûra tree, jâti, aparâjitâ. Saha Devî, Pâtala, Mallikâ flower, Bel leaves, rice, barley, Til, mustard, as’vattha, and udumbara trees and throw them within the jar. (The Ksîra trees are As’vaththa, Udumbara, Plaksa, and Nyagrodha.) Doing all these, prepare one Kus’a Kurcha made of twenty seven Kus’a grass in the form of a braid of hair, round one end of a straight rod and tied in a knot and place it there. Then take your bath and repeat the Gâyatrî mantra over it one thousand times with your whole mind fully concentrated. Then the Veda knowing Brâhmanas would recite the Saura mantra and sprinkle the man attacked by the demon with water and make him drink also the water saturated with the mantra and bathe him also with that. Then that person will be dispossessed of the devil and be happy. Even when the man (possessed by a devil), is going to die, he gets his life again if he be made to drink this water saturated with this mantra and have his bath with that. So a wise King must do this, with a desire to have a long life; and after he is sprinkled with this mantra-charged water he is to give one hundred cows to the Brâhmanas as the Daksinâ.