Dīkshā Vidhi

Dīkshā Vidhi, “the rite of initiation”

Dīkshā is initiation into formal Vaishṇava worship. The Varāha Purāṇa (chapters 126 to 128) gives the Dīkshā Vidhi: a different rite for each of the four varṇas (brāhmaṇa, kshatriya, vaiśya and śūdra) and a secret initiation called Gaṇāntika dīkshā, given only on three Dvādaśī tithis. The Agni Purāṇa (chapters 27, 28 and 201) also teaches the Vaishṇava dīkshā, with its fire rite, nyāsa (placing mantras on the body) and consecration of the ācārya.

In the Agni Purāṇa, Nārada calls dīkshā the rite that gives all fruits. He teaches it over Chapters 24 to 28: the fire rite and the first purifying of the disciples, whom the text calls paśus (jīvas still bound by the bonds of prakṛti); the full dīkshā, in which the guru binds the tattvas of prakṛti on a red thread, burns them in the fire one by one and leads the freed jīva to rest in the Paramātmā; the shorter dīkshās for those without means and the śakti-dīkshā given by the guru’s inner power alone; and the consecration of the ācārya. Agni Deva adds that a wise man should undergo forty-eight saṃskāras in the nirvāṇa and other dīkshās, and that these are the same in the Saura, Śākta, Vaishṇava and Śaiva dīkshās; Īśvara (Bhagavān Śiva) teaches that dīkshā destroys all pāpas, removes mala and māyā, and gives jñāna to the śishya. The Purāṇa also gives the dīkshā of the nava-vyūha pūjā and the dīkshā in the Tvaritā vidyā, and it promises that one who seeks bhoga gains all bhogas by dīkshā, and one who seeks moksha is absorbed into Hari.

Preparation

Before dīkshā, the initiate first keeps either the mahā-sāntapana or the tapta-kṛcchra vrata. These are strict purifying austerities.

Articles required

The initiate brings these things to the ceremony:

• Puffed rice, honey, darbha grass, ghee, dhūpa (incense), gandha (sandal paste) and mālya (garland)
• A palāśa stick (Butea monosperma), a black deer skin, a kalaśa (water pot) and a kamaṇḍalu
• Two garments, pādukā (sandals) and a white yajñopavīta (sacred thread)
• A small knife, pūjā vessels, a caru pot and a ladle
• Sesame, rice, fruits, water, gems, gold, pāyasa (rice pudding) and jaggery

Dīkshā for each varṇa

The Varāha Purāṇa gives the ritual ground, the āsana (seat), the daṇḍa (staff), the umbrella and what each person gives up.

Brāhmaṇa dīkshā

The brāhmaṇa takes the vow of initiation at the guru’s feet, with the mantra prescribed for brāhmaṇa dīkshā.

Kshatriya dīkshā

Vaiśya dīkshā

Śūdra dīkshā

Gaṇāntika dīkshā

The Gaṇāntika dīkshā is a secret initiation. It uses a mālā (rosary) drawn from the right side of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The guru gives it to the disciple.

When it is given

It is given only on three tithis:

• Kārtika Śukla Dvādaśī
• Mārgaśīrsha Śukla Dvādaśī
• Vaiśākha Śukla Dvādaśī

The mālā

Rules for the mālā

• It must never be touched when the wearer is ritually impure.
• It must never be given to women or handled by them.
• It is worn with constant awareness of the presence of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Vaishṇava dīkshā in the Agni Purāṇa

The Agni Purāṇa gives its own account of the Vaishṇava dīkshā, told by Nārada.

Nārada first teaches the agni-kārya, the fire rite that fulfils all desires (Chapter 24). The kuṇḍa (fire-pit) is made with its mekhalās (raised bands) and yoni, the sruk and sruva (ladles) are made, and on a pīṭha the embodied Vaishṇavī Śakti is adorned and the fire is placed, remembering Vishṇu. In that fire the saṃskāras are performed for the fire itself, in order: garbhādhāna, puṃsavana, sīmantonnayana, jātakarma, nāmakaraṇa, annaprāśana, caula, vrata-bandha, the veda-vratas, snātaka, vivāha and ādhikāraka, with eight āhutis (offerings) for each, and the pūrṇāhuti (the final full offering) with the mantra ending in vaushaṭ. Vishṇu with his aṅgas and āvaraṇa deities is worshipped in the fire and on the sthaṇḍila (the prepared ground), and a hundred or a thousand homas are made with ājya (ghee), or with samidhs (fuel sticks) joined with tila. When the homa is over, the disciples, who have fasted and are pure, are called and seated before the guru. These paśus are sprinkled with the astra-mantra, and the guru unites them with himself by the bonds of vidyā and karma.

Preparation of the maṇḍala (chapter 27)

The ceremony begins on the daśamī tithi. The guru prepares the maṇḍala and makes the whole ritual ground holy. He says the Narasiṃha mantra with “Phaṭ” at its end one hundred times and sprinkles the blessed materials in the four directions to drive away hostile forces. An auspicious Śakti, called svastikā and prasāda-rūpiṇī (of the form of grace), is set at the centre of the maṇḍala.

The guru prepares pañcagavya and sprinkles the ground with water blessed with the tips of kuśa grass, using the Vāsudeva mantra. The kalaśa, filled with the auspicious materials, is set up. Bhagavān Vishṇu with all his aṅgas is worshipped in it with the Vāsudeva, Saṃkarshaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha mantras, one after the other.

The blessed materials are mustard seeds, consecrated with the Nārasiṃha mantra, and the vikiras (grains for scattering), consecrated a hundred times with the Vāsudeva mantra and thrown three times with the hand turned upward. The kalaśa stands with its companion vessel, the vardhanī. The vardhanī is consecrated a hundred times with the astra-mantra and carried round to the north-east, wetting the ground with an unbroken stream; the kalaśa is carried behind it and set upon the vikiras. Then Kumbheśa, the deity of the kalaśa, and Karkarī, the vardhanī, are worshipped. Bhagavān Vishṇu, with cloth and the five gems, is worshipped on the sthaṇḍila and in the fire.

The caru (cooked rice offering) is then made. Rice and ghee are added to the milk with the vyūha mantras. The caru is stirred, cooked and taken off the fire with the four vyūha mantras in order. The pot is marked with ūrdhvapuṇḍra using sacred ash and the Nārāyaṇa mantra.

The caru is divided into four parts: one for the Deva, the second for the kalaśa, the third for three āhutis, and the fourth the guru eats together with the disciples. A tooth-stick from a milky tree, consecrated seven times with the Nārāyaṇa mantra, is chewed and thrown away, facing north-east, and the guru sees all pāpa fall away from him. He makes a hundred homas with the Narasiṃha mantra, sips water, enters the pūjā-gṛha, installs Vishṇu in the east and goes round him in pradakshiṇa. Then he prays:

“O Deva, who loves his devotees! You alone are the refuge for removing the pāpas of these paśus sunk in the ocean of saṃsāra. O Devadeva, by your grace free these paśus bound by the bonds of prakṛti. Give your permission.”

The initiation night: dream-divination and flowers (chapters 24 and 27)

On the night of initiation the disciple goes through the svapna-parīkshā, a dream-divination that shows whether the initiation is auspicious.

1. The guru covers the disciple’s eyes with a clean cloth and says the netra mantra.
2. The blindfolded disciples sit facing east, their hands cupped and filled with flowers.
3. At the guru’s word, each disciple scatters the flowers on the maṇḍala as an añjali (offering of flowers).
4. The place on the maṇḍala where the flower falls, and near which deva it falls, shows the disciple’s ishṭadevatā (chosen deva).
5. After this, the disciples give guru-dakshiṇā. A royal disciple gives elephants, horses, jewelled ornaments, gold and agrahāras. A middling disciple gives according to his means. Any disciple gives what he has, in pairs.
6. The guru then tells the disciples to worship Bhagavān Vishṇu with the divine names. He gives all the remains of the pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu to Vishvaksena.

In Chapter 24 the cloth that binds the eyes is untorn and has a border. With the guru’s permission the disciples throw the flowers and worship Hari, then perform the Vāsudevārcana with flowers and the rest, worship the guru’s feet, and give as gurudakshiṇā all they have, or half of it. Vishvaksena is worshipped as the master who bears the śaṅkha, cakra and gadā and raises his forefinger in warning. Then Hari in the maṇḍala is given leave (udvāsana), the nirmālya of Vishṇu is given to Vishvaksena, and the guru sprinkles himself with the praṇītā water, draws the fire of the kuṇḍa into himself and gives Vishvaksena leave.

In Chapter 27, after his prayer to Vishṇu, the guru goes among the paśus, purifies them with dhāraṇās (holdings of the mind) and with burning, as he did before, consecrates them, joins them with the mūrti and binds their eyes. They throw handfuls of flowers, and the arcana is done in order as before, without mantras. On whichever mūrti the flower falls, that mūrti’s name is given to the disciple.

The fire rite and mantra-nyāsa (chapter 24)

The homa is the central act of the dīkshā.

1. The guru sees the disciple’s liṅga-śarīra (subtle body) in meditation and purifies it. First he dries it with the Vāyu bīja. Then he burns the whole created universe to ash with the Agni bīja and floods it with water. Then he builds a pure body again by placing the Śakti in it.
2. A primal Purusha form is seen at the centre of this pure field, and the disciple’s purified subtle body is drawn into it.
3. The guru places the whole mantra in the disciple’s body by nyāsa. He touches the head, heart, śikhā, arms and limbs while saying the right mantras.
4. The guru puts his hand on the disciple’s head and gives the dvādaśākshara (twelve-syllable mantra). This completes the giving of the mantra.

Through this whole rite the disciple becomes the mantra.

In the text’s own words, the guru sees the whole brahmāṇḍa burned by the agni-bīja and lying like a heap of ash; he floods the ash with water and sees the whole world made of water. In it he places the śakti called bīja, and on its support, formed of all the tanmātras, he sees the Purusha-mūrti whose form is the praṇava. He places the disciple’s purified liṅga-śarīra in it and sees it grow, with its senses arranged in order. He sees that the egg remained for one year and then burst; its halves became dyuloka (the upper world) and the earth, and Prajāpati was born between them. Looking again at this newborn child, the guru makes him a body made of mantra by the praṇava and the nyāsas, places the Vishṇu-hasta (his hand as the hand of Vishṇu) on the disciple’s head and meditates on the Vaishṇava mantra.

The dīkshā-sūtra and the bonds of prakṛti (chapter 27)

A red thread of six strands, as long as from the big toe to the śikhā, is spun by a kanyā (maiden) and then made into three strands. On it the guru contemplates prakṛti, in which the universe dissolves and from which it is born. On that thread as many knots are tied as there are tattvas: these are the prākṛtika pāśas, the bonds of prakṛti. It is placed in a clay dish beside the agni-kuṇḍa. Meditating on the tattvas from prakṛti down to the earth in the order of creation, the guru places them by nyāsa on the disciple’s body, and the knotted thread is divided by its parvans (joints) in five, ten or twelve ways. On the thread and on the body he meditates on prakṛti, the liṅga-śakti, the kartā, buddhi, manas, the tanmātras, the jñānendriyas, the karmendriyas, the five bhūtas and the twelvefold one. A hundred homas each are made in the order of creation, forward and reverse (anuloma and viloma), the pūrṇāhuti is given, and the thread is closed in the clay dish and offered to Kumbheśa. This is the adhivāsa, the preparation, done according to śāstra.

The dīkshā proper: purifying the tattvas (chapter 27)

The karaṇī, scissors, coloured powders, chalk and the other things needed are placed on the disciple’s left, touched with the mūla-mantra and consecrated. Remembering Hari, the guru gives bhūta-bali on kuśa with namo bhūtebhyaḥ. The maṇḍala is adorned with a canopy, a ghaṭa and laḍḍus; Vishṇu is worshipped on it, then Agni, and the disciples, seated in padmāsana, are called and given dīkshā.

1. Touching the disciple’s head, the guru contemplates creation from prakṛti to its products, with the adhibhūta and adhidaivata, and then withdraws it in order, until the whole creation has become the tanmātras and is equal to the jīva.
2. He prays to Kumbheśa, takes the thread, comes to the fire and places it beside the fire, and worships Agni, the adhipati (master) of creation, with a hundred āhutis of the mūla-mantra and a pūrṇāhuti.
3. With white powder consecrated a hundred times with the mūla-mantra, he strikes the heart (hṛdaya-tāḍana).
4. With mantras that carry the word of separation and the bījas, he separates the tattvas one by one, beginning with the earth, and offers them in homa, seeing the whole path of arcana placed in order in the fire, the abode of all tattvas, and in Hari.
5. In that same fire he does eight homas each for garbhādhāna, jātakarma, bhoga and laya, and then the śuddha-homa, the homa of purity.
6. He offers each purified tattva in order, up to the unmanifest, with a pūrṇāhuti into the supreme tattva.
7. By jñāna-yoga he dissolves that supreme tattva in the Paramātmā, and contemplates the jīva, freed from bondage, rejoicing in the Paramātmā who is pure, of the nature of knowledge, changeless and of the form of supreme bliss. Then the pūrṇāhuti is given, and the dīkshā is complete.

Nārada gives the mantras of the rite: for striking and separating, oṃ yaṃ bhūtāni viśuddhaṃ huṃ phaṭ; for taking up, oṃ yaṃ bhūtāny āpātaye ‘ham; for the homa, oṃ bhūtāni saṃhara svāhā; and for the pūrṇāhuti, oṃ śrīṃ oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya vaushaṭ. Each tattva is purified with its own bīja ending in namaḥ, as oṃ vāṃ karmendriyāṇi namaḥ and oṃ deṃ buddhīndriyāṇi namaḥ, and the gandha-tanmātra and the rest, up to prakṛti, each with their own mantras. After the pūrṇāhuti the disciple is accomplished in that tattva, and so the guru purifies all the tattvas in order. This is the dīkshā for the eka-mūrti, the single form of Vishṇu; for the nava-vyūha and the other forms it is the same.

Dīkshā for the adhikārin and the sādhaka (chapter 27)

In the nirvāṇa-dīkshā the guru burns prakṛti and joins it to supreme nirvāṇa, to the changeless Īśvara. For the adhikārin, the one to be given authority, he does bhūta-śuddhi and purifies the indriyas, then the tanmātras, manas, jñāna and ahaṅkāra, then the liṅgātmā (the subtle body) and at the end prakṛti again. Meditating on the purusha who is wholly pure, who stands in the state of Īśvara, has all bhogas within reach and has attained a place in mukti, he gives the pūrṇāhuti. For the sādhaka, the guru worships with the mantra-aṅgas, purifies the tattvas in full order, and gives the pūrṇāhuti meditating on the one endowed with all siddhis.

The short dīkshā and the śakti-dīkshā (chapter 27)

If there are no means to gather the materials, or no strength, the best of teachers worships the Deva with all the articles as told before and gives dīkshā at once on the dvādaśī. A disciple who is devoted, humble and of good qualities, but not wealthy, is made to do the sthaṇḍila-abhyarcana and is given dīkshā. The guru satisfies Vāsudeva and the other devatās, and Agni and the others, with eight āhutis each; he purifies by homa in the order of withdrawal, unties the karma-sūtras tied on the disciple’s body, does tattva-śodhana, and purifies each tattva with its impurities by pūrṇāhuti into the fire and into Vishṇu. When the guṇas of prakṛti are burned, the guru releases the disciple, or appoints the disciples to adhikāra.

The guru who is established in bhāva may give another dīkshā, the śakti-dīkshā. When yatis or the poor take refuge in him with bhakti, he worships Vishṇu on the sthaṇḍila and seats the disciple at his side, facing the deity. He meditates on the whole path with its parvans on the disciple’s body, and by dhyāna-yoga purifies all the tattvas, one after another, into Hari on the sthaṇḍila. He frees them by tāḍana, takes them into himself, joins them with the Deva, brings them back in pure bhāva, and, resting in dhyāna, purifies them with the jñāna-mudrā. When all the tattvas are pure and only Īśvara remains, he burns the disciples’ bonds, makes them free of vāsanā, and appoints them in the place of Īśvara.

The householder after dīkshā (chapter 27)

The gṛhastha who has received adhikāra should perform karma without sloth and go on purifying himself until rāga (attachment) wanes. Knowing that his rāga has waned and his pāpas are gone, he hands the adhikāra to his son or disciple, becomes self-restrained, burns the bond made of māyā, takes sannyāsa, devotes himself to the contemplation of the ātmā, and, without showing his state to others, waits for the body to fall.

Consecration of the ācārya (chapter 28)

After the dīkshā of the disciples, the ācārya-abhisheka is done. The newly initiated disciples consecrate the teacher in reverence and thanks.

1. Jewelled pots are set in the maṇḍapa.
2. Bhagavān Vishṇu is set on a pīṭha (seat) and worshipped.
3. The sakala-karaṇa rite, the full placing of all the limb mantras, is done for the guru and for the disciples.
4. The guru then teaches the disciples all the niyamas (observances), the daily rules they must keep as initiated Vaishṇavas.

Nārada begins with its phala: by the ācārya-abhisheka the sādhaka attains siddhi, the sick man is freed of disease, and a king gains his kingdom, Śrī (prosperity), a son and the destruction of pāpa. The pots are of clay, set with good gems from the east onward in the middle of the maṇḍapa, and consecrated with a thousand or a hundred repetitions of the mantra. Bhagavān Vishṇu is placed on the pīṭha in the east and north-east of the maṇḍapa. With song and the rest, pūjā is done to the ācārya and the abhisheka is given; the yoga-pīṭha and the rest are offered to him, and he is prayed to: “You should show grace to men.” The disciple who thus receives the guru’s protection attains every gain.

The Agni Purāṇa says that one who has taken dīkshā by this rite and enjoys bhoga in the order prescribed gets all pleasures. One who seeks moksha is absorbed into Hari.

Dīkshā with the nava-vyūha pūjā (chapter 201)

Chapter 201 of the Agni Purāṇa describes the nava-vyūha pūjā-maṇḍala. It also gives a short account of the dīkshā done in that rite.

Agni Deva tells it to Vasishṭha Maharshi, in the way Śrī Mahāvishṇu told it to Nārada.

Blindfold and flower divination

At the time of dīkshā the eyes of the śishya (disciple) are bound. He is made to throw a flower on the ishṭadevatā-vigraha (the image of the chosen deva). The place where the flower lands decides the mantra-name given to that disciple. This is pushpa-vikshepaṇa (flower-throwing). It shows the deva whom the disciple’s nature is drawn to, and to whose mantra the dīkshā joins him.

Seating and the homa

The śishya sits to the left of the ācārya. The ācārya offers homa into the sacred fire with tila (sesame), rice and ghṛta (clarified butter).

• The homa begins with 108 āhutis (offerings).
• After this, 1,000 more homas are offered for kāya-śuddhi, the purifying of the disciple’s body.

Pūrṇāhuti and initiation

After the thousandfold homa, the pūrṇāhuti (final full offering) is made. It ends the purifying fire rites. The guru then formally initiates the śishya and gives the mantra of the ishṭadevatā shown by the flower divination.

The śishya honours the guru with gifts: wealth (dhana), cloth (vastra) and whatever else is within his means. This dakshiṇā acknowledges the mantra received and keeps up the guru-śishya paramparā (line of teacher and disciple).

The Agni Purāṇa also says that the same nyāsa done on the sādhaka’s own body in the nava-vyūha pūjā is done in the same way on the śishya’s body at the dīkshā. In this way divinity is set in the initiate.

The forty-eight saṃskāras of dīkshā (chapter 32)

Agni Deva says that a wise man should undergo forty-eight saṃskāras in the nirvāṇa and the other dīkshās, and that by them a man becomes equal to the devas. The text names them in groups:

• The saṃskāras of life: garbhādhāna, puṃsavana, sīmantonnayana, jātakarma, nāmakaraṇa, annaprāśana, cūḍākarma and brahmacarya.
• The four brahmacarya-vratas: Vaishṇavī, Pārthī, Bhautikī and Śrautikī; then godāna and samāvartana.
• The seven pākayajñas: ashṭakā, anvashṭakā, pārvaṇa-śrāddha, śrāvaṇī, āgrahāyaṇī, caitrī and āśvayujī.
• The seven havir-yajñas: ādhāna, agnihotra, darśa, paurṇamāsa, cāturmāsya, paśubandha and sautrāmaṇī.
• The seven soma-saṃsthās: agnishṭoma, the best of yajñas, atyagnishṭoma, ukthya, shoḍaśī, vājapeya, atirātra and aptoryāma.
• The golden yajñas: hiraṇyāṅghri, hiraṇyāksha, hiraṇyamitra, hiraṇyapāṇi, hemāksha, hemāṅga, hemasūtra, hiraṇyāsya, hiraṇyāṅga, hemajihva and hiraṇyavat, with the aśvamedha, the chief of all yajñas.
• The eight guṇas: compassion to all beings, forbearance, straightness, purity, freedom from strain, auspiciousness, freedom from meanness and freedom from craving.

A hundred āhutis are offered with the mūla-mantra of one’s ishṭa-devatā. These saṃskāras are the same in all dīkshās: Saura, Śākta, Vaishṇava and Śaiva. The man made pure by them gains both bhoga and moksha, is freed from all diseases and is like a deva; by the japa, homa, pūjā and dhyāna of the mantra of his ishṭa-devatā he attains what he desires.

Dīkshā in the other teachings of the Agni Purāṇa

• The Śaiva dīkshā. Īśvara, Bhagavān Śiva, tells of the dīkshā that gives bhoga and moksha. That which destroys all pāpas, removes mala, māyā and the rest, and gives jñāna to the śishya is called dīkshā (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 81). The Śaiva dīkshā is told in full in Chapters 81 to 90.
• No āśauca. For yatis, for those under the dīkshā of a yajña and for those carrying out the king’s command there is no āśauca (ritual impurity); if they go in a funeral procession, a bath makes them pure (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 157).
• After dīkshā. The śishya who has duly received dīkshā ending with abhisheka, and has learned from the guru the method told in the tantra, should accomplish the mantra the guru gives him (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 293).
• Dīkshā in the Tvaritā vidyā. After worshipping Tvaritā Devī on the maṇḍalas, fifty homas are offered with the Tvaritā Gāyatrī, then three hundred homas of tender shoots with the mūla-mantra, and then dīkshā is taken. Before dīkshā one takes pañcagavya, and during the dīkshā one eats only caru (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 309).
• Dīkshā on the vajra-lotus. Agni Deva teaches dīkshā on the lotus pervaded by the vajra on the siṃhāsana. The guru places the disciple in the hand of the Devī and leads him into the maṇḍapa, strikes him with the astra-mantra, places the guhyāṅgas on him by nyāsa and makes him throw a flower; then, near the agni-kuṇḍa, he does a hundred homas with yava, tila and ghṛta, uttering the mūla-vidyā. The first homa gives the disciple a birth as an unmoving being and frees him from it; the next, a birth as a creeping being; then, in order, as a bird, a wild animal, a domestic animal and a human, freeing him in each; then Brahma-pada, Vishṇu-pada and Rudra-pada are attained. By the one āhuti of the pūrṇāhuti the disciple becomes fit for moksha. If in this maṇḍala dīkshā is given to women and they are made to do the japa, the king swiftly conquers other kingdoms, and if he has lost his own kingdom, he regains it (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 311).
• Among the subjects of the Purāṇa. In its account of its own contents the Agni Purāṇa names dīkshā with the Vaishṇava āgama, pūjā, pratishṭhā and pavitrārohaṇa (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 383).

Sources

• Varāha Purāṇa, chapters 126 to 128
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 24, 27–28, 32, 81, 157, 201, 293, 309, 311, 383