Todalatantra (Toḍalatantra)

The noble Goddess said:
Tell me, Lord of the worlds, O Lord who consists of all vidyās,
concerning all the Mahāvidyās who are worshipped throughout the three worlds.

On their right side, O Pināka-bearer who assumes diverse forms,
state [the consort] of each one separately unto me, O Lord, O Great God.

The noble Śiva said:
Listen, O lovely-limbed, fortunate one, to the Bhairava of Kālikā:
one should worship Mahākāla on the right side of Dakṣiṇā.

Dakṣiṇā ever takes delight together with Mahākāla.
On the right side of Tārā, one should worship Akṣobhya.

At the churning of the ocean, O Goddess, when the kālakūṭa poison arose,
all the gods, together with their wives, fell into great agitation.

Because he drank the hālāhala poison free from agitation and the like,
for this very reason, O Great Ruler, he is renowned as Akṣobhya.

Together with him, Mahāmāyā Tāriṇī ever takes delight.
On the right of Mahātripurasundarī, one should worship Śiva,

who has five faces and three eyes on each face, O Ruler of the gods.
Together with him, the Great Goddess is ever eager with desire.

For this very reason, O Great Ruler, she is celebrated as Pañcamī.
On the right of glorious Bhuvanasundarī, one should worship Tryambaka.

She who is primordial Bhuvaneśvarī in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld—
because he delights in these [three], he is called Tryambaka.

He is declared to be possessed of Śakti, worshipped in all the Tantras.
On the right side of Bhairavī, one should worship him who is named Dakṣiṇāmūrti,

five-faced indeed, with great effort.
On the right side of Chinnamastā, one should worship Śiva as Kabandha.

From worshipping Kabandha, O Goddess, one becomes the master of all siddhis.
The Mahāvidyā Dhūmāvatī bears the form of a widow.

On the right side of Vagalā, one should worship the one-faced one,
renowned as Mahārudra, the cause of the destruction of the universe.

And on the right side of Mātaṅgī, one should worship Śiva as Mataṅga;
he is Dakṣiṇāmūrti himself, the embodiment of cosmic bliss.

On the right side of Kamalā, one should worship Sadāśiva in the form of Viṣṇu,
O Supreme Ruler; he attains perfection, of this there is no doubt.

One should worship on the right of Annapūrṇā the great Lord Maheśvara,
having ten faces, granting supreme liberation, possessing the form of Brahmā.

In the region to the right of Durgā, one should worship Nārada.
The syllable na is the creator, and the syllable da is ever the protector;

because the letter r possesses the nature of destruction, he is celebrated as Nārada.
Among all other vidyās, whichever seer is proclaimed,

he alone is her husband, and one should worship him on her right side.
She who is the primordial, supreme vidyā, and the second, supreme Bhairavī,
the eternal mother of the three worlds—how is she mounted upon a corpse?

The noble Śiva said:
She who is primordial, O Supreme Ruler, herself consisting of the nature of Time,
abides in the heart-lotus of glorious Śiva, embodying destruction.

For this reason, Mahākāla is the cause of cosmic dissolution.
When Kālī, whose essence is destruction, assumes her manifest form,

at that very moment, O Goddess, Sadāśiva suddenly becomes a corpse-form.
Instantly from that, O restless-eyed one, that Goddess is mounted upon a corpse.

The noble Goddess said:
If Sadāśiva is in a corpse-form, O Great God, a dead body—
why, O Great God, is a dead body not [dissolved into] water?

The noble Śiva said:
In whom Mahākālī is manifest, Sadāśiva is devoid of power;
when he is united with Śakti, O Goddess, then alone does he possess the nature of Śiva.
Devoid of Śakti, he is directly a corpse, [yet] he does not abandon his state of being the Puruṣa.

The noble Śiva said:
Listen, O Goddess, I shall proclaim the essence of yoga in brief.
The body is like a tree whose roots are above and whose branches are below.

Whichever sacred bathing places exist in the macrocosm, those exist in the body;
whatever the form of the great macrocosm, of such form is the microcosm.

In the macrocosm there exist thirty-five million sacred bathing places;
seventy-two thousand are manifested [in the body], O you who are praised by heroes.

Among those, fourteen; and among those, an auspicious triad;
and among those, O Supreme Ruler, is the greatly steadfast one who grants liberation.

She who is Vāsukī, the Great Illusion, having the form of a serpent,
coiled three-and-a-half times, dwelling in the subterranean realm.

Listen with devotion in due order to the seven heavens, O Supreme Ruler:
Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka, Svarloka, and Maharloka,

Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka, O fair-faced one.
These are the seven heavens, O auspicious one; listen attentively to the subterranean realms:

Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala,
Mahātala, Pātāla, and beyond that, Rasātala.

From Rasātala up to Satya[loka], the greatly steadfast one is established;
situated in the middle of the Meru [axis], the nāḍī is greatly steadfast and grants liberation.

In Satyaloka is Mahāviṣṇu, Śiva named the macrocosm;
for the sake of beholding him, Vāsukī is ever longing.

When Vāsukī rises, having pierced through the six heavens,
then all [streams] that flow to the ocean become upward-flowing streams.

In this order, O Ruler of the gods, the nāḍīs are situated in the body:
iḍā, piṅgalā, and suṣumṇā stationed in the center.

If one fills the breath through both nāḍīs, O Ruler of the gods,
then by means of the prāṇa-mantra, Kuṇḍalī undertakes her ascent.

In the sahasrāra, the great lotus, the eternal and imperishable lotus,
filled with awe, Kuṇḍalinī enters the eternal abode.

All [streams] that flow downward to the underworld become upward-flowing streams.
At this time, O Goddess, one should contemplate the garland of letters.

One should recite with awareness the root mantra one hundred and eight times;
by that same path, the wise practitioner should bring [her] back to the mūlādhāra.

Having gratified the deities of the six cakras there with a stream of nectar—
now, O beloved, I shall describe another [practice]: yonimudrāsana.

Seated upon the seat, facing east or facing north,
the mantra-practitioner should make a firm binding of the two knees with the hands.

With an erect body, O Ruler of the gods, he should bring his nose down to the knees;
by means of the prāṇa-mantra, O Ruler of the gods, with great effort,

he should draw in the breath, O Supreme Ruler, and should not exhale any air;
keeping the body upright, O Supreme Ruler, then in reverse with great effort,

by the very rule spoken before, he should recite [the mantra] one hundred and eight times.
Having gratified the deities of the six cakras there with a stream of nectar,

he should bring [her] back by that same path to the mūlādhāra, O fair-faced one.
Yonimudrāsana pacifies endless diseases, O beloved.

Why say much, O Goddess? It destroys great afflictions.
Why say much, O Goddess? It is the cause of awakening consciousness in mantras.

This mudrā grants direct perception of the Self and bestows supreme liberation;
even if one had a hundred mouths, one could not describe it fully.

What [more] can I say now with five mouths, O ruler of the gods? / Even one afflicted with leprosy becomes shapely as Kāma.

The goddess said: / O god of gods, O Mahādeva, deliverer across the ocean of transmigration, / speak of the great mudrā [called] Baddhayoni, O ocean of compassion.

Śiva said: / Listen, O goddess, I shall speak of the Baddhayoni in brief. / Sitting upon a seat facing east or facing north, the practitioner of mantras,

O great ruler, should place the tip of his own heel into the opening of the anus, / and then [place the fingers] upon the ears, and likewise upon the eyes, upon the nose, and then upon the mouth.

O great ruler, the wise person should apply [the fingers] beginning with the thumbs in order; / then, with great effort, [drawing] breath through the nose and mouth,

one should fill [the breath], O supreme ruler, and not exhale at all. / Making sound perceptible, one should contemplate the garland of letters.

The wise person should recite the root mantra one hundred and eight times. / With the mantra ‘So ’ham’, O ruler of the gods, he should draw [Kuṇḍalinī] along that pathway.

Satisfying the deities of the six cakras there with a stream of nectar, / I will tell you, O sinless one, the fruit when this is performed, O great ruler.

Pārvatī said: / Speak, O Īśāna, all-knowing one, best among knowers of all principles, / of the [practice] of Kālikā, exceedingly difficult to obtain, according to the path of mantras, O ruler of gods.

Śiva said: / Listen, O goddess Sadānandā, to the supreme mantra of Kālikā, / by the mere mention of which a mortal becomes liberated while living.

Beginning with Śiva, endowed with bindu and nāda, joined with the left eye and fire— / this is the Siddhavidyā, O auspicious one, the queen of vidyās, exceedingly difficult to obtain.

These three bījas are initial; space adorned with bindu, / joined with the left ear—hear of the pair and the next [letters].

Īśāna joined with fire, endowed with the left eye and the moon, / the second [letter], O supreme ruler, and then the word in the vocative case.

Again the triad of bījas, the kūrca, the pair of māyā, and the two ṭhas: / [such is] the twenty-two-syllabled mantra, the queen of vidyās, exceedingly difficult to obtain.

The Mahāvidyā beginning with the vāgbhava has Śrīkālī as its remembered deity; / the Mahāvidyā beginning with the praṇava has Siddhikālikā as its deity.

A pair of one's own bīja, the kūrca, and one [more] bīja, O supreme goddess: / the supreme three-syllabled vidyā is remembered as Cāmuṇḍā Kālikā.

There is no vidyā granting siddhi equal to this, O beautiful one; / as is the six-syllabled vidyā, so also is the three-syllabled vidyā.

Three of one's own bījas, O auspicious one, then ‘Śmaśānakālikā’; / again three of the bījas, O auspicious one; one should then pronounce the wife of fire [svāhā].

The fourteen-syllabled vidyā is worshipped in the three worlds. / Dakṣiṇākālikā, Siddhakālikā, Guhyakālikā,

Śrīkālikā, Bhadrakālī, supreme Cāmuṇḍākālikā, / Śmaśānakālikā, O goddess, and Mahākālī: thus [she is] eightfold.

One's own bīja, O supreme ruler, then the word in the vocative case, / and again the Kālikā-bīja, then one should deposit the wife of fire.

Thus the eightfold mantra is concealed in all tantras. / Heard is the mantra of Mahākālikā, the utmost secret.

Now I desire to hear the king of mantras of Tārā, / by the mere mention of whom one does not sink into the ocean of existence.

Speak that mantra, O Īśāna, if you have affection toward me. / Having uttered the moon-bīja, the first [letter] joined with fire,

endowed with the left eye and the moon: this king of mantras, O beloved, / is the single-syllabled Mahāvidyā, worshipped in the three worlds.

Īśāna joined with bindu, adorned with the left ear: / the single-syllabled Mahāvidyā is the second king of mantras.

The head mounted upon bindu, endowed with the left eye and the moon, / the first bīja, and the second; one should utter the astra-mantra.

When the vidyā begins with the praṇava, she is proclaimed as Ugratārā; / the vidyā is also proclaimed as Ekajaṭā, granting great liberation.

Deprived of the tārā and astra, the three-syllabled one is Mahānīlasarasvatī. / When the vidyā begins with the vāgbhava, it bestows mastery over speech.

The Mahāvidyā beginning with the śrī-bīja always bestows prosperity; / the supreme vidyā beginning with māyā always bestows siddhi.

And that [vidyā] beginning with the kūrca-bīja illumines the multitude of sounds; / the Mahāvidyā beginning with the space[-bīja] bestows the liberation of nirvāṇa.

The Mahāvidyā beginning with prāsāda bestows union with Śiva; / and that [vidyā] beginning with the prāṇa-bīja bestows the attainment of desires.

The Mahāvidyā beginning with Kālikā always gives liberation and gives siddhi. / The worship of Kālikā and Tārā is described here:

Arising in the morning, the knower of mantras should worship the guru in the sahasrāra; / then, having pierced the six cakras, he should recite [the mantra] one hundred and eight times.

Then, having bowed down according to rule, he should begin the rite of bathing: / uttering ‘adyaitad’ and so on, he should state the solar month.

For the pleasure of the deity, he should then bathe with pure water; / and uttering the syllable Om, he should utter, ‘O Gaṅgā’,

and then ‘Yamunā’, and uttering ‘O Godāvarī, Sarasvatī, / Narmadā’, together with ‘Sindhu’ and ‘Kāverī’:

one should then say the words: ‘Be present in this water!’ / One should draw [the sacred waters] with the [mudrā] named aṅkuśa from the orb joined with the sun.

O goddess, one should display the four mudrās with great effort; / covering [the water] with the mīnamudrā, one should recite the mantra eleven times.

Casting the water facing the sun twelve times, / uttering the root mantra, one should wash both feet.

Submerging three times in the water flowing from the feet, one should recite the mantra; / and having recited the root mantra three times with the mudrā called kumbha,

rising from the water, O ruler of the gods, [applying] the tilaka according to the Kula path, / one should then sip water with the principles: Ātman, Vidyā, and Śiva.

Mantras joined with the wife of fire [svāhā] and beginning with the praṇava are to be known. / With ‘gaṅge ca’ and so on, O goddess, one should perform the invocation of the sacred bathing place.

With the root [mantra], the wise person should throw [water] on the ground three times with darbha-grass; / with that water, he should perform self-consecration seven times.

Then performing the placement upon the limbs on the left hand, O ruler of the gods: / space, the wind-bīja, Varuṇa, the earth-bīja,

and the fire-bīja with bindu: he should perform japa three times. / With this mantra, O goddess, that water is consecrated.

Uttering the root mantra seven times with the tattvamudrā, / by the mere consecration one is freed from all sins.

The remaining water, O great ruler, one should bring into the right hand; / drawing the water through iḍā, he should wash what is within the body.

Then, O goddess, he should expel that water through piṅgalā; / he should contemplate that water as black in color, having the form of sin.

He should throw it down before him upon a hard stone with the sound ‘Phaṭ’. / Having washed the hand and sipped water, preceded by breath control,

One should offer libation to the family deity and present the arghya to the Sun, / and then the arghya to the deity, followed by the Gāyatrī of supreme syllables.

Uttering the praṇava, one should then say "kālikāyai", / write "vidmahe", and then utter "śmaśāna-"...

..."-vāsinī" joined with the dative ending; then, O Devi, one should say "dhīmahi"; / O Great Ruler, one should then recite "tanno ghore", followed by "pracodayāt".

The wise practitioner should recite this Gāyatrī and throw water three times. / Then he should recite the great mantra, the Gāyatrī of supreme syllables.

Then, having performed the nyāsa on the limbs and sipped water, O Supreme Goddess, / having meditated upon the chosen goddess in the circular diagram, O Great Ruler:

"Oṃ tārāyai vidmahe", then one should say "mahogrāyai", / after that "dhīmahi", and then, O Devi, "pracodayāt".

Then, having performed prāṇāyāma, one should recite [it] one hundred and eight times. / The rule of worship is now spoken here in summary form, O Ruler of the gods:

Making the svastivācana and the intention (saṃkalpa), carefully installing the pot, / sipping water with the mantra should be done, and then one should set out the general arghya.

Sprinkling the doorway with that water, one should perform the worship of the doorway; / having removed the threefold obstacles, one should then expel the spirits.

Worshipping the seat, the wise one should bow to the guru; / then purification of the hands, clapping three times, and the binding of the directions.

An enclosure with fire is to be made, and then one should perform purification of the elements; / one should perform the six limbs of the mātṛkā and the internal mātṛkā.

Reciting the meditation on the mātṛkā, one should place the mātṛkā externally; / then, having performed the seat-nyāsa, one should perform prāṇāyāma.

One should perform the nyāsa of the seers and the rest, of the hands and limbs, and the phoneme-nyāsa; / then, O Devi, the sixfold nyāsa, and immediately after that the pervasive [nyāsa].

Thus, with a concentrated mind, one should perform the nyāsa of the principles; / then, O Devi, the wise one should place the bīja-nyāsa and the pervasive [nyāsa].

One should perform meditation sevenfold with the root mantra, and mental worship; / the special arghya, worship of the seat, and meditation again with the eyes [opened].

Displaying the mudrās and so on is to be performed, invocation with the six limbs, / the cow-gesture and others, then installation of the breath, and worship with the root mantra.

The request for permission, the limbs; one should worship Kālī and the others; / one should worship Brāhmī and the others, Asitāṅga and the others, and Mahākāla.

One should worship the sword and other [weapons], the lineage of gurus, and again the Devi; / then the offering of bali, the fire offering, prāṇāyāma, and then japa.

The wise one should dedicate the japa and then perform prāṇāyāma; / at this moment, O Devi, one should gather the consecrated ingredients and the rest.

Offering the arghya, O Great Ruler, one should offer oneself; / recalling the hymn of praise and the protective armor, the wise one should bow with the eight limbs [touching the ground].

Contemplating "I am Śiva", one should dismiss [the goddess] with the withdrawal [gesture]; / having drawn a diagram in the northeast for Cāṇḍālī, preceded by [the offering of] the leftovers,

holding the arghya on the head and sandalwood paste on the forehead, / taking a little of the food offering, one may roam at one's own will.

Or the practitioner, concentrated, may perform an abridged worship: / at first the nyāsa of the seers and the rest, after that purification of the hands,

the finger and pervasive nyāsas, the nyāsa on the heart and other limbs, / clapping three times, the binding of the directions, and after that prāṇāyāma,

meditation, mental sacrifice, the setting out of the arghya, / worship of the seat, meditation again, and then one should perform the invocation.

Then, having performed the nyāsa of life, one should worship the supreme deity; / worship of the limbs, Kālī and the others, Brāhmī and the others, and the eight Bhairavas.

Having worshipped Mahākāla, one should then venerate the lineage of gurus; / having worshipped the sword and other [weapons], one should worship the Devi again.

Then, having performed prāṇāyāma, the foremost of sādhakas should worship; / one should then perform the dedication of the fruit of japa into the hand of the Devi.

Then, having performed prāṇāyāma, the wise one should bow with the eight limbs; / recalling the hymn of praise and the protective armor, one should present the special arghya.

Having made the self-surrender, one should dismiss [her] with the withdrawal [gesture]; / having drawn a diagram in the northeast for Cāṇḍālī, preceded by [the offering of] the leftovers, / taking a little of the food offering, one may roam at one's own will.

The Devi said: / The worship of Kālikā has been heard; speak now of Tārā, / by the mere mention of whom the speech of men becomes [like thought].

The Lord said: / Hear, O fair-limbed, fortunate one, the great worship of Tārā: / having sipped water with the mantra, one should then bow to the guru.

Purifying the water, one should then wash the hands and feet; / having sipped water with the mantra, one should then contemplate the seat.

Having bound the hair-tuft, O Devi, then the destruction of the threefold obstacles, / purifying the ground and the seat, and making a knot in the cloth,

having purified body and speech, and then the purification of flowers; / having made the yantra, the foremost of sādhakas should set out the general arghya.

Having worshipped the guardians of the doorway, one should begin the worship of the seat / and the Śaktis of the seat, Lakṣmī and the others; then one should recite the seat mantra.

I shall explain the purification of the elements, and whatever is special here: / with the syllable "haṃsa" joined with the kūrca-bīja, through inhalation, O Ruler of the gods,

together with Kuṇḍalinī, the sādhaka [dissolves] the self and the twenty-four bījas; / there, O Ruler of the gods, they are dissolved into the Supreme Self.

With the māyā-bīja, the skilled practitioner should incinerate the man of sin, / who shines like collyrium, and turn him to ashes through breath retention, O woman of fair hips.

With the vadhū-bīja, O Ruler of the gods, he should exhale along with the ashes; / with the kūrca-bīja through inhalation, a collection of nectar in the forehead...

...one should contemplate, O Supreme Ruler, through breath retention, as an ocean of nectar; / one should recite "āṃ hrīṃ kroṃ" ending with the fire-bīja in the heart eleven times.

Then the wise one should contemplate a red lotus from the oṃkāra; / above that, he should further meditate on the syllable hūṃ, resembling the color blue.

Above that, he should further meditate on a chopper adorned with bījas; / above that, the supreme bindu, of the form of Śiva and imperishable,

a bindu that is a thousandth fraction of a grain of sand, extremely difficult to attain; / in the center of the bindu is the Jewel Island, one hundred leagues wide.

In the center of the bindu is the supreme light, a orb in the shape of a bubble; / just as, O Devi, one sees a reflection in a bubble,

in that very way looking is to be done, one should perform it with the eye of wisdom. / In the middle of it is the Jewel Island, made of golden sand;

the practitioner should imagine it as delightful, surrounded on all sides by a moat; / in the middle one should meditate on the wish-fulfilling tree, and oneself as consisting of Tāriṇī,

resembling the rising sun, an excellent orb of light, / endowed with four gates, and adorned with a golden rampart.

Adorned with many fly-whisks, bells, and heavenly maidens,
Endowed with a gentle breeze, decorated with fragrant perfumes and incenses;

In its center, he should visualize an altar adorned with various jewels;
He should imagine an excellent parasol fashioned with gold threads.

Beneath it, the mantrin should imagine a jeweled throne, O beloved;
There he should imagine the Goddess in accordance with the prescribed yoga of meditation.

He should worship her with the ritual offerings as stated in the Yogasāra;
Then, having performed prāṇāyāma, he should perform the nyāsa of the ṛṣis and the rest.

Then, having performed the nyāsa of the letters, he should perform the nyāsa on hands and limbs;
With three claps and snaps of the fingers, he should perform the sealing of the ten directions.

Then, having performed the sixfold nyāsa, and immediately after that the pervasive [nyāsa],
And having placed the special arghya, he should purify the five tattvas.

Having brought forth the nectar-goddess, he should perform the quintuplication;
Taking a flower in the pot, he should worship thrice in the triangle.

Having recited Vāmadeva thrice, he should recite the khecarī ten times;
Likewise, the wise one should recite the Ānandagāyatrī and the ṛc thrice.

The curse of Brahmā, the curse of Śukra, and the curse of Kṛṣṇa, O ruler of the gods—
The wise one should destroy them by ten recitations; then he should recite the three mantras.

Having recited Chūrikā, Amṛta, Prītisaṃrakṣaṇī,
And the Pāvamāna thrice, he should perform drying up and the rest.

He should recite the Vāruṇa thrice, O Goddess, and the Amṛta seven times;
Having shown the dhenumudrā upon the Vidyātattva, [he should recite] the root [mantra] eight times.

Having raised Kuṇḍalinī, he should then contemplate: "I am Śiva";
Having purified the meat and fish, he should perform the purification of the mudrā.

The best of sādhakas should purify the śakti and the kula-flower;
He should satisfy the gods, the ancestors, the sages, and his chosen deity.

Taking the purified substance, he should cast it into the special arghya;
Then, meditating upon it as consisting of Brahman, he should perform the meditation for worship.

Drawing [her] from the nostril and placing a flower upon the seat,
And then having performed the invocation, he should display the five mudrās.

And having worshipped with the six limbs, he should again display the mudrā;
Then, having performed the nyāsa of life, he should worship with ritual offerings.

And having worshipped the six limbs, he should worship Akṣobhya below;
Having worshipped the lineage of gurus, he should worship in the ten roots.

The discerning one should worship those beginning with Kālī preceded by "Mahā", and those beginning with Vairocana;
Having worshipped the Goddess again, he should then offer the bali.

Then, having performed prāṇāyāma, he should perform meditation upon the mantra;
Having performed japa, O Great Lady, he should offer it into the hand of the Goddess.

Having performed prāṇāyāma again, he should perform the acceptance of the tattvas;
Having given to that one and taken it himself, the foremost among sādhakas should recite [the mantra].

Drinking repeatedly and reciting repeatedly, he is liberated along with ten million people;
With each cup, the wise one should recite the mantra one hundred and eight times.

Recalling the praise and the armor, the wise one should prostrate with all eight limbs;
The special arghya should be offered, and he should surrender himself.

Becoming Rudra-formed himself, he should dismiss [the deity] with the withdrawal [mudrā];
Then, forming the yonimudrā, he should dismiss [her], saying: "Forgive me".

Nyāsa of the limbs, O Great Lady, and thereafter prāṇāyāma;
Having made a diagram in the north-east, he should worship with the floral remnants.

[Reciting:] "To the Dweller among the remnants" ending in the dative, "To Caṇḍeśvarī, homage, homage";
He should place the floral remnant upon his head and sandalwood upon his forehead.

He should draw the yantra at the guru's place and wander like a Bhairava;
O Goddess, concise worship is mental, devoid of the tattvas.

The wise one should perform what is stated here; he should not introduce anything else;
From introducing anything else, O Goddess, Tāriṇī becomes enraged.

Knowledge of reality and honor reside solely in Śakti, O Pārvatī;
Thus this has been spoken, O Goddess; what else do you wish to hear?

The Goddess said:
By your grace, O Mahādeva, I am purified, and not otherwise;
Now I wish to hear, O Lord, the worship of the lord Śambhu.

Śiva said:
Hear, O Pārvatī, I shall tell what you ask of me:
Raising Nakulīśa, adorned with the vowel of Manu,

Endowed with bindu, nāda, and kalā—the great mantra known as Prāsāda;
The greatness of this mantra was spoken by me in the upper transmission.

Raising the salutation, followed by the wind adorned with the eye,
The water-syllable, the circle of the mouth, and the wind joined with the forehead—

This five-syllable mantra yields the fruit of the five transmissions;
When it begins with the praṇava, O Goddess, it is then the six-syllable mantra.

Raising that known as Prāsāda, and "ardhanārīśvarāya",
Raising the Prāsāda again—the most secret mantra.

Such are the various forms of my manifestation, O Daughter of the Mountain;
In the Kali [age], however, O Goddess, one should never meditate on the poison in the throat.

If he desires his own death, or if he desires madness,
Only then, O Goddess, does he suddenly worship Nīlakaṇṭha.

If, under the sway of misfortune, O Goddess, he recites the praises of Nīlakaṇṭha and so on,
Or causes them to be recited, he commits the murder of me.

Therefore, O Great Lady, he is the most sinful, and not otherwise;
If the wretch performs what is forbidden, [committing] sin,

His sons, wife, and wealth go to ruin—there is no doubt;
If, O Goddess, he is intent on worship [of me with] poison in the throat,

He becomes impoverished in this world, and when dead he goes to the state of a pig;
If he should undertake the preparatory rite of the mantra of Nīlakaṇṭha,

In a single fortnight, O Great Lady, his death [follows], not otherwise;
Hear, O Goddess, I will proclaim the worship of the earthen Śiva.

First of all, O Supreme Lady, the wise one should bow to the divine guru;
Saying "Oṃ, homage to Hara", the wise one should gather the earth.

Saying "Homage to Maheśvara", carefully fashioning the liṅga;
Uttering here: "O Spear-in-hand, be firmly established!"

By this mantra, O Goddess, the nyāsa of life is prescribed;
The syllable "śa" joined with the bindu, pronounced long, is for the six limbs.

I will tell his meditation; listen with focused mind:
"Oṃ. One should constantly meditate on Maheśa, resembling a silver mountain, crested with the lovely moon, his limbs radiant with jewel ornaments, his hands holding an axe, a deer, granting boons and dispelling fear, tranquil, seated upon a lotus, praised on all sides by the hosts of immortals, wearing a tiger skin, the origin of the universe, the seed of the universe, dispelling all fear, five-faced, and three-eyed."

Placing a flower upon his head, he should perform mental worship;
Having meditated again, O Great Lady, and having placed a flower on Śiva,

And uttering, "O bearer of the Pināka," one should speak the pair, "Come here!"
Then the pair, "Stay here!" and here the pair, "Be present!"

Then "here," then "confined," and then one should speak one's own words.
Having uttered, "So long as the worship," then [saying], "I perform [it]."

And one should offer the bath-water to Paśupati with the dative ending and "namas."
O Devi, the Brahmin, the best of sādhakas, should prefix it with the beginning of the Veda [Om].

"This is water for the feet, O Maheśānī"; then the six-syllable mantra;
uttering the salutation, the wise one should present everything.

Having worshipped [him], O Maheśānī, one should worship the eightfold form:
Śarva, Bhava, and likewise Rudra, Ugra, Bhīma, Paśupati,

and Mahādeva and Īśāna—carefully make them end in the dative case.
Earth, water, and likewise fire, wind, and ether,

the patron of the sacrifice, and likewise the moon and the sun, together with the form.
Making them all end in the dative case everywhere, the best of sādhakas should worship them