History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c92.210

v7.c92.210

The repetition of mantras, Vedic as well as Tāntrik, is called 'Puraścaraṇa'¹⁷⁹⁹ (which literally means 'performing or carrying out before'). The Mahānirvāṇa (VII. 76-85) sets out various modes of puraścaraṇa (brief as well as elaborate). One way is to bring together five *tattvas* on the 14th tithi of a dark fortnight or on a Tuesday or Saturday, then the Devī is to be worshipped and the worshipper is to repeat ten thousand times with single-mindedness the mantra in *mahāniśā* (midnight), then he is to feed persons devoted to *brahman* and becomes one who has carried out puraścaraṇa. Another way is that he should repeat every day one thousand times the mantra beginning on a Tuesday up to (including) the next Tuesday, so that by repeating the mantra in all eight thousand times on eight days, he will be deemed to have performed puraścaraṇa. Sometimes, it is prescribed¹⁸⁰⁰ that a mantra such as ‘Śivāya namaḥ’ (this is five-lettered mantra) or ‘Oṁ Śivāya namaḥ’ (a ṣaḍakṣara mantra) should be repeated 24 lakhs of times and the sādhaka should offer into Agni twenty-four thousand *āhutis* of *pāyasa*. Then the mantra becomes perfect and confers on the sādhaka whatever he desires. The Kulārṇava states that Puraścaraṇa is so called because by the five-fold *upāsanā* the deity desired (as if) moves¹⁸⁰¹ before the worshipper for conferring on him her favour. A mantra like the Gāyatrī is¹⁸⁰² to be repeated every day 1008 or 108 or 10 times. This requirement is in keeping with what the Purāṇas and Dharmaśāstra works say. For example, the Nāradapurāṇa (II. 57 54) provides that a mantra is to be repeated 8, 28, or 108 times. The Ekādaśītattva¹⁸⁰² quotes Devīpurāṇa for the proposition that the offerings in the homa to planets should be 108, 28 or 8 according to one's ability.