History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c99.1355
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c99.1355
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Mantra (or Mantras, acc to context), (vide under 'Aurobindo, Brāhmaṇa texts, Kapaly Sastri, Nigada, Śāradātilaka Tantra, Veda, Vedic Interpretation). are employed in sacrifices for bringing to mind the act that is being done 1097, 1220, 1244; are the 3rd out of the five classes of Vedic texts 1244, *bīja* m like hrīm, śrīm, are said to make visible the form of the *devatā* in Tāntrik worship 1099; Buddhist Tantras (some) state that certain m. can confer even Buddhahood 1104; called 'Abhaya' 769n, difficult to define what a Vedic Mantra is and hence it is held that those Vedic verses or passages are m. that are recognized as such by the learned, 1096, 1098, 1220, 1223, difference between M. and prayer, 1100, difference between Vedic M and Tāntrik M 1107, differing interpretations of Rg IV. 58 3 (catvārı śṛngā etc) by Nirukta and others, 985; examples of short mantras of 5, 6, 8, 12, 13 syllables from Smrtis and Purāṇas as efficacious for securing all objects, 1096 and n, for killing an enemy in Agnipurāṇa, 1102, four classes of Vedic M viz *ṛk*, *yajus*, *sāman* and *nigada* 1097, 1221, great controversies about meaning and purport of Vedic M. illustrated, 984-5; great importance attached to recitation of M and many educated men even of these days believe in their great efficacy 172; has three senses, acc to Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā, *sthūla*, *sūkṣma* and highest, 1115;
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have no efficacy if learnt from books but are efficacious when learnt from a qualified guru 1100, 1112, have to be repeated thousands of times to secure full results, 1103-4; M in all tantras are m. of the great Devi 1102; Kutsa's view that M. have no sense or serve no purpose refuted in the Nirukta, 1097, list of hymns and verses of Ṛgveda that are cosmological, philosophical, or speculative 983-4, most famous Buddhist M. 'Om Manipadme hūm' discussed and results supposed to be derived from it, 1104n, 1451, most sacred Vedic M is Gāyatrī (Rg III 62. 10) called Vedamātā in Atharvaveda 1097; no difference of meaning in the words used in Veda and the same words in ordinary life acc to Jaimini and Śabara, 1097, numberless mantras in Tantra 1102, M of Rāma worship 87n; Paurānik Mantras like 'dātāro no' and 'yāntu devaganāh' came to be used even in Śrāddha by Yāj and others, probably to meet Buddha's appeal to masses 1024; peculiar pattern of M. prescribed for worship of a deity 788n, Rgveda I 164 39 is explained in four ways and Rg. I 164 54 in six ways by Sāyana 981-5, repetition of Vedic and Tāntrik M is called 'puraścarana' 1107; 'sac cid-ekam brahma' is the best of mantras acc to Mahānirvāna-tantra and perfection in it leads to moksa 1112, several Vedic mantras with two meanings are cited in the Nirukta 981, some Vedic M are hortatory 1214, some Buddhist M embody Mahāyāna doctrines with the addition of syllables like *om*, *phat*, *svāhā* 1105;
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synonyms of the word Mantra are stoma, brahma, gīr, dhīti, mati, manīṣā, vacas vacasvā and are used hundreds of times in the Veda and in several places a Vedic prayer is said to be new 983, Tāntrik M. are treated like Vedic M. with sage, metre, deity and viniyoga, 1103; Tāra or Tāraka M. is *om* 1115, theory about sounds of M. being Śakti, 1100, three classes of Tāntrik M, masculine, feminine, neuter, 1101n, 1103; two theories about M. 1155; varieties of M called astra, hrdaya, kavaca, netra, raksā are mentioned in Tāntrik texts 1102, verses of Rgveda show that a host of mantras already existed and were inspired by the Lord of Prayers 981-983; Vedic M. were relegated to a secondary role by the Pūrvamīmāmsā system 1244, Vedic M. were supposed even in Rg to have great potency, that they induced God to come to the sacrifice and to bestow on sacrificer and worshipper valiant sons, wealth and protection 1098, word 'Mantra' derived and explained 1102, word Mantra occurs about 25 times in the Rgveda and 'Mantrakrt' only once 980, word Mantra is not described as new in the Rg while the words 'Sukīrti' and 'Sūkta' that occur only four or five times are spoken of as new or fresh 983