History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c92.215

v7.c92.215

Rāghavabhaṭṭa in his commentary on Śāradātilaka (16 56) has a very exhaustive and learned note on the details of puraścaraṇa that are common to all mantras. According to the Vāyavīya-saṁhitā¹⁸⁰³ the perfecting of the procedure of the mūlamantra is called puraścaraṇa, since it has to be practised before the acts in which it is to be employed The Kulārṇava¹⁸⁰⁴ provides that there are at least five constituent elements of puraścaraṇa viz. pūjā (worship of the desired deity) three times a day, japa (muttering of the mantra), *tarpaṇa*, *homa*, and dinner to brāhmaṇas, that if any one of these cannot be carried out, then he should perform japa of the mantra twice as many times more as the number prescribed for that constituent, that, in the absence of some constituents, by providing a good dinner to brāhmaṇas everything becomes successful and that if one mantra is perfected by performing the five constituents mentioned above, then he secures *siddhi* of all mantras. Rāghavabhaṭṭa suggests another way of puraścaraṇa viz. one should be pure,¹⁸⁰⁵ observe a fast and then in an eclipse of the sun or moon should stand in the navel deep water of a river directly falling into the sea, should recite a mantra with concentration of mind from the time the eclipse begins till its end, thereafter perform homa and the rest in order reducing each to 1/10 of the number of japa recitation, then secure the guru’s contentment (by gifts) and that by this method mantra becomes perfect and the deity becomes favourable The Kaulāvalinirṇaya describes (14th paṭala, verses 75-260) a terrible sādhanā whereby in a single night a sādhaka secures mantra-siddhi viz. by going to a cemetery or other lonely spot after one watch of the night, securing the corpse of a cāṇḍāla, or of one who is killed by some one with a sword or one bitten by a snake or a young handsome warrior dying in a battle (not killed by himself), he should wash the corpse, offer worship to it and to Durgā and repeat the mantra ('om Durge Durge rakṣaṇī svāhā'). If he is not frightened by the terrific sights that he may see and after following a very long procedure he secures *mantrasiddhi*. The Tārābhaktisudhārṇava (*taraṅga* IX pp 345 ff) describes the ‘śavasādhana-vidhi’ and so does the Kulacūḍāmaṇi-tantra (Tāntrik texts, vol IV.) VI. 19-28