Śiva Mantra Vidhi in the Nārada Purāṇa

Śiva Mantra Vidhi, “the rite of Śiva’s mantras”

A mantra is a sacred sound or phrase that is repeated with devotion. Vidhi means “the method” or “the rule”. Chapter 91 of the first half (Pūrvārdha) of the Nārada Purāṇa sets out a full method for the sādhana (spiritual practice) of the mantras of Bhagavān Śiva. The teaching was passed on by Sanatkumāra Maharshi.

For each mantra the chapter gives its ṛshi (the seer who first received it), its chandas (poetic metre) and its devatā (the divine form it calls upon). It then explains the nyāsa (placing the syllables of the mantra on parts of the body with the hands), the dhyāna (the form of Śiva to hold in the mind), the number of japa (repetitions) and the homa (offerings into the sacred fire). The mantras covered are the Pañcāksharī, Shaḍāksharī, Ashṭāksharī, Prasāda, Mṛtyuñjaya, Dakshiṇāmūrti, Nīlakaṇṭha, Bhaṭuka (Cintāmaṇi) and Caṇḍeśvara mantras. The chapter also describes the thirty-eight kalās placed on the body, the pīṭha-pūjā (pūjā of the seat of the deity) with nine śaktis, the five faces of Śiva known as the pañca-Brahma, and the ashṭa-mātṛkās (eight divine mothers).

The Pañcāksharī Mantra

The most basic Śiva mantra is “Namaḥ Śivāya”. It is called the Pañcāksharī, the five-syllable mantra. When Oṃ is placed in front of it, it becomes “Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya”, the Shaḍāksharī or six-syllable mantra.

  • Ṛshi: Vāmadeva
  • Chandas: Paṅkti
  • Devatā: Īśvara

Nyāsa

The sādhaka (the person doing the practice) performs shaḍaṅga-nyāsa: the six aksharas (syllables) of the Shaḍāksharī are placed on the six limbs (shaḍaṅgas). Four fingertips are given the names of four faces of Śiva: the tarjanī (index finger), madhyamā (middle finger), kanishṭhikā (little finger) and aṅgushṭha (thumb) receive the names Tatpurusha, Aghora, Bhava and Vāmeśa.

The mantra-aṅga-nyāsa is then done on the five faces (pañcavaktra) of Śiva: east, south, west, north and middle. After this aṅga-nyāsa comes the golaka-nyāsa, done for protection. It is placed on the hṛdaya (heart), arms, thighs, kaṇṭha (throat), nābhi (navel), pārśva-dvaya (both sides), pṛshṭha (back), head, face, eyes, nose, bāhus (upper arms) and pada-saṃdhis (joints of the feet).

Dhyāna

The sādhaka holds this form of Maheśvara in the mind. He sits near Rajatādri, the silver mountain. He wears a lovely crescent moon (cāru-candrāvataṃsa). His limbs shine with jewelled ornaments. In his four hands he holds a paraśvadha (axe) and a mṛga (deer), and shows the vara (gift-giving) and abhaya (fear-removing) gestures. His face is pleasant and he sits on a lotus. Hosts of devas praise him on every side. He wears a vyāghra-carma (tiger skin). He is the first of all (viśvādya), the one whose form is the universe (viśva-rūpa), three-eyed (tri-netra) and five-faced (pañca-vaktra), the remover of all fears: Śiva.

Japa and Its Results

  • 1,000 japa: freedom from all pāpa (wrongdoing) and the gaining of what one wishes for
  • 2,000 japa: freedom from disease
  • 3,000 japa: long life (dīrghāyushya)
  • Each further thousand japa brings a matching further phala (fruit or result)
  • 3 lakh japa with 3,000 pāyasa-homa (offerings of sweet milk-rice): the mantra becomes siddha (fully alive and effective) and grants all the sādhaka’s abhīshṭa (heart’s desires)
  • 1 lakh homa of tila (sesame) and ghee: destroys all troubles that arise from utpātas (bad omens and disasters)
  • 1 koṭi (ten million) japa: the sādhaka himself becomes Śiva

Pīṭha Pūjā with the Nine Śaktis

After nyāsa, Śiva is worshipped on the pīṭha (seat), attended by his nine śaktis (divine powers):

  1. Vāmā
  2. Jyeshṭhā
  3. Raudrī
  4. Kālī
  5. Kalapadārikā
  6. Vikāriṇī
  7. Balādyā
  8. Balapramathanī
  9. Sarva-bhūta-damanī (together with Manonmanī)

The āsana-mantra (the mantra for offering a seat) for Girijāpati, the husband of Pārvatī, is:

Oṃ namo bhagavate sakalādi-guṇātmaśakti-bhaktāya anantāya yoga-pīṭhātmane namaḥ.

The Shaḍāksharī Mantra (Śakti-ruddha)

The śakti-ruddha Shaḍāksharī is a further, expanded form of the mantra. Its devatā is Umāpati, Śiva as the husband of Umā. All the aṅga-nyāsa and other steps follow the Pañcāksharī method.

Dhyāna: Umāpati has the colour of the bandhūka flower (a deep red). He is three-eyed and wears the young moon (bālendu). He smiles gently. In two hands he holds a śūla (trident) and a kapāla (skull-bowl), and the other two show the vara and abhaya gestures. He wears beautiful ornaments. Pārvatī sits on his left thigh, held in his arm.

  • Japa: 9 lakh
  • Homa: 9,000 offerings of araṇyavadha samidhas (fire-sticks) soaked in madhu (honey)

The sādhaka worships Umāpati on the seat described earlier, together with the aṅgāvṛtti (the circle of limb-deities) and the Hrīllekhā devatās. The pūjā then continues with:

  • Caṇḍī, that is Durgā, with hands holding the cakra (discus) and śaṅkha (conch) and showing the abhaya and abhīshṭa (wish-granting) gestures, shining like marakata (emerald)
  • Shaṇmukha, twelve-eyed and bright as the rising sun (bālārka-sannibha)
  • Nandī
  • Vighna-nāyaka (Gaṇeśa), with ratna-bhūshaṇa (jewelled ornaments), holding paraśvadha, pāśa (noose) and aṅkuśa (goad), and showing the vara and abhaya gestures
  • Senāpati (Kārttikeya), crowned with the half-moon and dark in colour
  • The Ashṭa-mātṛkās, Brāhmī and the other seven
  • The Lokapālas (guardians of the directions) with their weapons, on the outer circle

The Ashṭāksharī Mantra

The Ashṭāksharī (eight-syllable mantra) also has Umāpati as its devatā. All nyāsa steps follow the Pañcāksharī.

Dhyāna: Śiva has the colour of sindūra (vermilion). He wears a splendid jewelled crown (ratna-kirīṭa) and the moon on his head (candra-mauli). He is adorned with divine ornaments and fragrant paste and wears a serpent as his sacred thread (nāga-yajñopavīta). Pārvatī sits on his left thigh, and his hand rests on her breast. He holds the veda, a ṭaṅka (chisel-axe) and the ishṭā, and shows the abhaya gesture.

  • Japa: 8 lakh
  • Homa: 8,000 offerings of ghee and pāyasa

The Prasāda Mantra and the Thirty-Eight Kalās of the Body

The Prasāda mantra is made of shaḍ-darba-yukta bījas (seed-syllables). Its ṛshi and chandas are the same as for the Shaḍāksharī. The six limbs (shaḍaṅga) are set up with six aṅga-mantras:

  • Hṛdaya (heart): “Sarvajñāya namaḥ”
  • Śiras (head): “Amṛta-tejo-mālinī-tṛptāya brahmaśirase”
  • Śikhā (top-knot): “Jvalaita śikhi-śikhāyā nādi-bodhāya”
  • Kavaca (armour): “Vajraṇe vajra-hastāya svatantrāya kavacam”
  • Netra (eyes): “Sauṃ khāṃ hoṃ taṃ guhya-śaktaye”
  • Astra (weapon): “Klīṃ paśuṃ huṃ phaṭ”

The thirty-eight kalās (divine powers or portions) are then placed over the whole body. They are grouped under the five faces of Śiva.

Five Īśāna-kalās (on the five faces)

  1. Śaśinī: “Īśānaḥ sarva-vidyānāṃ”
  2. Maṅgalā: “Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṃ”
  3. Brahmeshṭadā: “Brahmādhipate brahmaṇo’dhipate”
  4. Marīci: “Brahmā śivo me astu” (Sadāśiva)
  5. Aṃśumālinī (the fifth kalā)

Four Tatpurusha-kalās (on four faces)

  1. Śānti: “Tatpurushāya vidmahe”
  2. The second: “Mahādevāya dhīmahi”
  3. The third: “Tanno rudraḥ”
  4. The fourth: “Pracodayāt”

Eight Aghora-kalās (on the chest, arms, navel, belly and back)

  1. Aghora: “Aghore’bhyaḥ”
  2. Mohā: “Adaghore’bhyaḥ”
  3. Kshamā: “Aghora”
  4. The fourth: “Ghoratare’bhyaḥ”
  5. The fifth: “Sarve’bhyaḥ”
  6. The sixth: “Sarvaśarve’bhyaḥ”
  7. Kshudhā: “Namas te astu”
  8. Tṛshā: “Rudra-rūpe’bhyaḥ”

Thirteen Vāmadeva-kalās (on the private parts, thighs, knees, shins, ankles, waist and both sides)

  1. Jāyā: “Oṃ vāmadevāya namaḥ”
  2. Rakshā: “Oṃ jyeshṭhāya namaḥ”
  3. The third: “Oṃ śreshṭhāya namaḥ”
  4. The fourth: “Oṃ kālāya namaḥ”
  5. The fifth to the thirteenth: Oṃ Balāya, Vikāraṇāya, Balāya (a second time), Pramathanāya, Sarva-bhūta-damanāya, Namaḥ, and Manonmanyai namaḥ (the Jvarā-kalā)

Eight Sadyojāta-kalās (on the feet, arms, breasts, nose, forehead and the pair of arms)

  1. Siddhī: “Sadyo jātaṃ prapadyāmi”
  2. Buddhī: “Sadyo jātāya namaḥ”
  3. The third: “Oṃ bhavāya namaḥ”
  4. The fourth: “Oṃ abhavāya namaḥ”
  5. Lakshmī: “Oṃ nātibhavāya namaḥ”
  6. Prājñā: “Oṃ bhavāya namaḥ”
  7. The seventh: “Oṃ abhavāya namaḥ”
  8. The eighth: “Oṃ udbhavāya namaḥ”

The sādhaka who completes this nyāsa of the body becomes himself a form of Gaṅgādhara, Śiva who holds the Gaṅgā.

Dhyāna of Sadāśiva

After the nyāsa of the thirty-eight kalās, the sādhaka meditates on Sadāśiva. He has five faces, coloured white, yellow, dark, pale and red, and each face has three eyes. He is crowned with the young moon and shines like ten million full moons. In ten hands he holds the śūla, ṭaṅka, kṛpāṇa (sword), vajra (thunderbolt), agni (fire) and the king of serpents. In the other four he holds a ghaṇṭā (bell) and a pāśa and shows the vara and abhaya gestures.

  • Japa: 5 lakh
  • Homa: karavīra (oleander) flowers mixed with honey

The Mṛtyuñjaya Mantra

Mṛtyuñjaya means “the one who conquers death”.

Mantra: “Oṃ laṃ tryambakāya namaḥ”

  • Ṛshi: Kahola
  • Chandas: Gāyatrī
  • Devatā: Mahādeva Mṛtyuñjaya

Dhyāna: He is three-eyed, and his three eyes are Sūrya (the sun), Candra (the moon) and Agni (fire). His face smiles gently (smitāsya). In his hands he holds a mudrā, a pāśa, an eṇa (deer) and an akshasūtra (string of japa beads). He has the soft light of the moon. Nectar flows from the crescent moon on his forehead and bathes his limbs (phālendu-vigalat-pīyūsha-plutāṅga). He is adorned with a necklace (hāra) and his own natural glow. He is Viśvamohana, the one who enchants the universe.

  • Japa: 6 lakh
  • Homa: one tenth of the japa count (daśāṃśa), with pure milk, tila and ghee (the amṛta-kalaśa homa)

Particular benefits:

  • 1,000 homa offerings a day for one month, with sudhā-khaṇḍas soaked in milk, bring āyushya (long life), dhana (wealth) and sons
  • Homa with seven materials (sudhā, milk, ghee, havis and others) over seven weeks brings freedom from kṛtyā (harmful spells), droha (hostility) and jvara (fever), and a hundred years of ārogya (good health) and ānanda (joy)
  • Homa with mustard seeds stops mahā-jvara (severe fever)
  • Homa with uttareṇī samidhas removes all diseases (sarva-roga nivāraṇa)
  • The mantra is used against abhicāra (black magic), jvara, stambhana (paralysis or binding), ghora-unmāda (severe madness), śiro-vyādhi (diseases of the head), asādhya-roga (incurable disease), śvetārti (white-skin disease), moha (confusion), dāha (burning sensation) and mahābhaya (great fear)

The Dakshiṇāmūrti Mantra

Dakshiṇāmūrti is Śiva as the silent teacher who faces south.

Mantra: “Oṃ namo bhagavate Dakshiṇāmūrtaye mahyaṃ medhāṃ prayaccha svāhā” (22 aksharas). It asks Dakshiṇāmūrti to grant medhā, a sharp and retentive mind.

  • Ṛshi: Caturmukha Brahmā (four-faced Brahmā)
  • Chandas: Gāyatrī

Nyāsa: The six aṅga-mantras are taken either from the six long vowels (dīrgha-svaras) or from the six padas (word-groups) of the mantra. The three bījas (bīja-traya) are “Phroṃ, Rīṃ, Klīṃ”.

Dhyāna: Dakshiṇāmūrti sits under a great vaṭa-vṛksha (banyan tree) on a slope of the Himālaya. Around him is a forest full of siddhas and kinnaras (celestial beings). The trees are in full bloom, cool breezes blow from the mountain streams, apsarases dance, peacocks spread their tails and the deer are at peace. His arms are dark (asitābhuja) and his face is like the autumn moon (śarad-candra). His form is like Mount Kailāsa. He has three eyes and matted hair shining with the crescent moon. His gaze rests on the tip of his nose (nāsāgra-lokana). He sits in vīrāsana (the hero’s posture), his lotus-like palm resting on his knee with a deer, and a serpent is tied around his waist.

  • Japa: 6 lakh 20 thousand
  • Homa: one tenth of the japa count, with milk and tila

Particular results: 4,000 japa a day grants vākpada, mastery of speech. Drinking milk that has been blessed with the mantra (abhimantrita) three times grants mastery of all the śāstras and the skill to explain them (vyākhyāna-pāṇḍitya).

The Nīlakaṇṭha Mantra

Nīlakaṇṭha, “the blue-throated one”, is Śiva who drank the deadly poison that rose from the ocean.

Mantra: the three bījas “Phroṃ, Rīṃ, Klīṃ” joined with the Śiva mantra. This is the Nīlakaṇṭha-vrata-mantra.

The five limbs (pañcāṅgas):

  • Hṛdaya: “Hara-hara svāhā”
  • Śiras: “Kapardine namaḥ”
  • Śikhā: “Nīlakaṇṭhāya svāhā”
  • Kavaca: “Kālakūṭa-visha-bhakshaṇāya huṃ phaṭ”
  • Astra: “Nīlakaṇṭhāya svāhā”

Nyāsa: the three bījas are placed on the head, throat and heart.

Dhyāna: Śiva shines like ten thousand rising suns. His matted locks (jaṭā-jūṭa) are adorned with the moon and he wears serpents as ornaments. He holds a japamālā (string of beads), a śūla, the skull of Brahmā (brahma-kapāla) and a khaṭvāṅga (staff topped with a skull). He has three eyes.

  • Japa: 3 lakh
  • Homa: one tenth of the japa count, with ghee and havis (offered food)
  • Purpose: to destroy the two kinds of visha (poison)

The Bhaṭuka (Cintāmaṇi) Mantra

Bīja: “Aṃ”, the Cintāmaṇi bīja, which grants all kinds of growth and success (sarva-ṛddhi-prada).

  • Ṛshi: Kaśyapa
  • Chandas: Anushṭup
  • Devatā: Ardhanārīśvara (Śiva as half-male, half-female, united with Pārvatī)

Aṅga-nyāsa: done with the six consonants (vyañjanas) beginning with ra.

Dhyāna: Ardhanārīśvara has three eyes and the colour of a blue gem (nīlamaṇi). Two hands hold a śūla and a pāśa, and the others hold a kapāla and a red lotus. The form wears charming ornaments and a crown bound with the young moon (bālendu-baddha-makuṭa).

  • Japa: 1 lakh
  • Pīṭha pūjā: on a Śaiva pīṭha with the aṅgāvṛttis; the kalās of the mātṛkās beginning with Vṛsha, and the Lokapālas with their weapons on the outer circle
  • Japa for roga-śānti (healing of disease): 10,000 repetitions of the Prasāda mantra

The Caṇḍeśvara Mantra

Mantra: “Aṃ Caṇḍeśvarāya namaḥ”

The chandas and other details are the same as for the Pañcāksharī.

Dhyāna: Caṇḍa has a crimson body (rakta-deha) and three eyes, and wears the crescent moon. He holds a tri-śūla (trident), an akshamālā (string of beads), a ṭaṅka and a kamaṇḍalu (water pot).

  • Japa: 3 lakh
  • Homa: one tenth of the japa count, with pure tila and rice grains mixed with the three sweet things (madhura-traya)

Restriction: Only one who is expert in the mantras of the devas (deva-mantra-nishṇāta) may perform japa of the Caṇḍeśvara mantra. Through it the sādhaka gains everything he desires in both worlds.

The Fruit of the Pañcāksharī

The Pañcāksharī is the greatest of all mantras. Through its complete sādhana the sādhaka gains both bhukti (enjoyment in this world) and mukti (liberation). Whoever recites or hears this teaching of the Śiva mantras (the Maheśa-mantra-kathanam) receives the grace of Śiva.

Sources

  • Nārada Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha (first half), Chapter 91