Śiva Pūjā Vidhi (Agni Purāṇa)

Śiva Pūjā Vidhi · śiva-pūjā-vidhi, “the rite of the pūjā of Śiva”

The Śiva Pūjā Vidhi, “the rite of the pūjā of Śiva“, is the daily pūjā of Bhagavān Śiva as the Agni Purāṇa gives it in Chapter 74. Parameśvara himself, Maheśvara, teaches it to Skanda: “Skanda, now I tell the method of Śiva-pūjā.” It is a pūjā in the Śaiva-Āgamic manner, done in a pūjā-maṇḍapa before the Śiva-liṅga, and every step has its mantra and its mudrā (sacred gesture of the hands).

The worshipper first honours the guardians of the door and drives away the obstacles. He draws water in silence from the Gaṅgā or another river. Through bhūtaśuddhi (the purification of the elements) he raises the jīva to the crown of the head, merges it into Bhagavān Śiva and purifies the five elements of the body. In his mind he builds the seat of Śiva and does a mental pūjā. Then comes the outer pūjā: the arghya vessel, the purification of the liṅga, the seat with its nine śaktis, from Vāmā to Manonmanī, and the dhyāna of Mahādeva, white as camphor, with five faces and ten arms. Bhagavān Śiva is invoked, honoured with ten saṃskāras (consecrating acts), and bathed with the five nectars, an abhisheka that gives both bhoga (enjoyment) and moksha. At the end the worshipper offers his japa into the hand of Bhagavān Śiva, saying “Śiva am I.” In Chapter 75 Maheśvara goes on to teach the setting up of the sacred fire after the pūjā: the fire is born as a child through the saṃskāras of birth, the ghee is offered through the three nāḍīs, and the five faces of Agni, who is Śiva’s own form, receive their homas. Chapter 21 gives a shorter, general pūjā of Śiva in Nārada‘s words.

At the doorway

The worshipper does ācamana (sipping water) and, doing japa of the praṇava, offers arghya to Sūrya. Uttering the mantra “phaṭ“, he wets the door of the pūjā-maṇḍapa with water. With the bīja “hāṃ” at the start, he worships the dvārapālas (door-guardians), beginning with Nandī.

Over the door he sets the udumbara, the wooden door-frame, either in fact or in bhāvana (holding it in the mind), and on its upper part he worships Gaṇapati, Sarasvatī and Lakshmī. On the right of the door he worships Nandī and Gaṅgā; on the left, Mahākāla and Yamunā.

Then he removes the obstacles. He casts his divine sight on the divine obstacles and throws flowers at them, holding the bhāvana: “All the obstacles that move in the sky are gone.” He strikes the ground three times with his right heel, holding the bhāvana that all the obstacles on the earth are removed. Holding the left door-post, he crosses the threshold of the maṇḍapa and does astra-nyāsa (placing the weapon-mantra) on the udumbara. In the middle of the maṇḍapa, on the ground that bears the pīṭha, he worships the Vāstu-devatā with “oṃ hāṃ vāstvadhipataye brahmaṇe namaḥ“, “to Brahmā, master of the vāstu”.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

Drawing the water

He takes the water-pots, purified by looking at them and by the astra mantra, and in bhāvana asks the permission of Bhagavān Śiva. In silence the sādhaka (practitioner) goes to the bank of the Gaṅgā or another river. There he purifies his body and, doing japa of the Gāyatrī mantra, fills the pots with water strained through cloth; or he fills them uttering the hṛdaya-bīja, “namaḥ“. He keeps all the materials of the pūjā near him, gandha (sandal paste), akshata (unbroken rice), flowers and the rest, and begins the rites with bhūtaśuddhi.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

Mātṛkā-nyāsa and the kūrma-mudrā

Facing north, on the right side of the devatā to be worshipped, he does mātṛkā-nyāsa, placing the letters of the alphabet on the limbs of his body. With the saṃhāra-mudrā he takes water for the arghya, touches it to his head with the mantra and keeps it near to offer to the devatā. Then, for the enjoyment of the fruits of karma that must be enjoyed, he shows the kūrma-mudrā (the tortoise gesture) and meditates on his own ātmā in the twelve-petalled lotus of the heart.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

Bhūtaśuddhi: raising the jīva

He visualises an opening in the body and purifies the five bhūtas in order. First he sees the big toes of the feet as hollow, from above and from within. He raises Kuṇḍalinī śakti from the mūlādhāra and joins her to the heart-lotus, holding the bhāvana: “Kuṇḍalinī śakti shines in the bīja hūṃ, bright as fire, in the opening of the heart.”

He does kumbhaka (holding the breath). After recaka (breathing out), uttering “huṃ phaṭ“, he pierces the cakras one above another and brings Kuṇḍalinī to the heart, the throat, the palate, the point between the brows and the brahmarandhra, and establishes her there. Piercing these granthis (knots), he establishes the jīva, in the form of the bīja hūṃ come from the heart-lotus, in the brahmarandhra or in the sahasrāra. By pūraka (breathing in), awareness is awakened in the jīva enclosed by the bīja hūṃ in the heart. He places hūṃ above the śikhā and sees the jīva as a pure bindu. Then, with kumbhaka, he merges the jīva, who is pure consciousness alone, into Bhagavān Śiva.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

Bhūtaśuddhi: the five maṇḍalas

Absorbed in Bhagavān Śiva, the sādhaka purifies the elements of the body by breathing out with the seed syllable. He contemplates all the tattvas of the body in reverse order, from the feet up to the bindu. He dissolves the bindu-form jīva into the end of the bindu; earth and air are dissolved one into the other, and fire and water one into the other, for these are opposed in pairs. Ākāśa is opposed to nothing. “Hear the special account of this bhūtaśuddhi,” Maheśvara says, and gives the five maṇḍalas:

The water-tattva is joined with the Vāmadeva and Tatpurusha mantras and has four guṇas; it is dissolved into the form of fire and so purified. The fire-maṇḍala’s mantra is the Aghora mantra, and it has three guṇas. The air-maṇḍala is joined with the Sadyojāta mantra and has two guṇas. Ākāśa has one guṇa and is supremely pure. Contemplating each in this way, the sādhaka purifies each tattva. Then, with the mūla-mantra that rains amṛta, he nourishes everything.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

The mental pīṭha and the mental pūjā

He worships Ādhāra-śakti, Kūrma and Ananta. On the legs of the pīṭha he places Dharma at the south-east, Jñāna at the south-west, Vairāgya at the north-west and Aiśvarya at the north-east; in the directions from the east, in order, Adharma, Ajñāna, Avairāgya and Anaiśvarya. In the middle of the pīṭha he worships the lotus. So, in the mind itself, he meditates on the lotus-seat on the pīṭha, and on it invokes Bhagavān Śiva, the fullness of sat-cit-ānanda (being, consciousness and bliss).

Seeing in that Śiva-mūrti the ātmā of Śiva’s own form, he meditates on the seat, the pair of pādukās and the nine pīṭha-śaktis. Adding “naushaṭ” to the end of the śakti-mantra, he dips that form in divine amṛta and does sakalīkaraṇa: the nyāsa of the hṛdaya-mantra (namaḥ) on the limbs from the heart to the hands, and on the fingers from the little finger onward.

With the mantra “huṃ phaṭ” he visualises a wall around himself for his protection, and outside it, beyond, below and above, he spreads a net of śakti. He shows the mahā-mudrā and, breathing in, meditates on Bhagavān Śiva in the heart-lotus. With flowers of bhāva, filled with the nectar of the amṛta of ānanda, he does the pūjā of Śiva’s limbs from the feet to the head. With Śiva mantras he satisfies the form of Śiva in the kuṇḍa of the navel. He holds the bhāvana that this very fire of Śiva is in the forehead in the form of a bindu, and that its form is auspicious.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

The arghya vessel

He takes a vessel of gold, silver or copper for the arghya and washes it, uttering the astra-bīja, “phaṭ“. Seeing amṛta flow from Bhagavān Śiva in the form of the bindu, and uttering the hṛdaya-mantra, he fills the vessel with water mixed with akshata and the rest. He does the pūjā of its six aṅgas and consecrates it with the mūla-mantra of the devatā; he protects it with the astra mantra and covers it with the kavaca-bīja, “huṃ“. This is the ashṭāṅga-arghya, the eight-limbed arghya. He makes it amṛta with the dhenu-mudrā (the cow gesture) and sprinkles its water in all directions and on his own head.

He sprinkles the pūjā materials too, uttering the astra-bīja; consecrates them with the hṛdaya-bīja; and covers them with the bīja huṃ or with the matsya-mudrā (the fish gesture). He shows the dhenu-mudrā, places a flower on his own seat, wears a tilaka on the forehead, and offers a flower to the devatā with the mūla-mantra.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

Silence and the sāmānya-arghya

The sādhaka should be firm of mind and silent at the times of snāna (the bath), the pūjā of the devatā, homa, bhojana (the meal), the performing of yajña, yoga-sādhana and the obligatory japa. Uttering the praṇava up to the nāda, he does mantra-śodhana, the purifying of the mantra. Endowed with the best saṃskāras, he begins the pūjā of the deva. With the Mūla-gāyatrī or the Rudra-gāyatrī he worships the arghya and offers this sāmānya-arghya (general arghya) to the devatā.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

Liṅga-śodhana: purifying the liṅga

He prepares the Brahma-pañcaka: the pañcagavya (the five products of the cow) and the brahma-kūrca made with kuśa-water. He removes the old flowers, the nirmālya, from the Śiva-liṅga and gives them to Caṇḍa in the north-east, saying “caṇḍāya namaḥ“. He bathes the piṇḍikā (the pedestal) and the Śiva-liṅga with the Brahma-pañcaka; uttering “phaṭ“, he bathes them again with water; and uttering “namo namaḥ“, he does abhisheka of the liṅga with water from the arghya vessel. “This is the method of liṅga-śodhana.”

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

The surrounding devatās and the seat of Śiva

The pūjā of all the devatās follows the four purifications: of the self, of the materials, of the mantra and of the liṅga. In the north-west he worships Gaṇapati with “oṃ hāṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ“. In the north-east, with “oṃ hāṃ gurubhyo namaḥ“, he worships the line of gurus: the Guru, the Paramaguru, the Parātparaguru and the Parameshṭhi-guru. He worships the Ādhāra-śakti, like a sprout, on the stone in the form of Kūrma, and Ananta Deva, the seat of Bhagavān Śiva, resting on the Brahma-śilā, with “oṃ hāṃ anantāya namaḥ“.

Śiva’s siṃhāsana is a couch with four legs shaped wonderfully like lions. The lions stand in a circle, each looking at the back of the one in front, and they stand for the Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali yugas. He worships the āsana-pādukās of Bhagavān Śiva, and then, in the intermediate directions from the south-east, Dharma, Jñāna, Vairāgya and Aiśvarya, whose colours in order are like camphor, kuṅkuma, gold and kajjala (collyrium). He worships their four legs; the lower and the upper petals of the eight-petalled lotus on the seat, and the whole lotus; and, with “oṃ hāṃ karṇikāyai namaḥ“, the middle of the pericarp.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

The nine śaktis of Śiva’s lotus

On the eight petals, from the east, and in the centre, he worships nine śaktis. They hold cāmaras (whisks) in their hands and show the varada and abhaya mudrās, the gestures of giving and of fearlessness. The eight on the petals are:

1. Vāmā
2. Jyeshṭhā
3. Raudrī
4. Kālī
5. Kalavikariṇī
6. Balavikariṇī
7. Balapramathanī
8. Sarvabhūtadamanī

The ninth, Manonmanī, is worshipped in the filaments of the lotus. Each is worshipped with a mantra such as “hāṃ vāmāyai namaḥ“. Then he worships the eight mūrtis beginning with Pṛthvī, seeing the body of pure vidyā, and Śuddha-vidyā and the seat that pervades the tattvas.

In the pañcākshara dīkshā, Agnideva gives these nine śaktis as of the form of flame, the eight on the petals from the east and the ninth on the pericarp, with their colours in order: Vāmā white, Jyeshṭhā red, Raudrī white, Kālī yellow, Kalavikariṇī dark, Balavikariṇī like fire, Balapramathanī black, Sarvabhūtadamanī black and Manonmanī aruṇa (the red of dawn).

Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 74, 304

The dhyāna of Mahādeva

On that siṃhāsana he installs Mahādeva: white like camphor, all-pervading, with five faces and ten arms, the half-moon on his head. In his right hands he holds the śakti (spear), the ṛshṭi (a spear), the śūla (trident) and the khaṭvāṅga (the skull-staff), and shows the varada-mudrā. In his left hands he holds the ḍamaru, the bījapūra (citron), a serpent, the akshasūtra (rosary) and a blue lotus.

He contemplates the divine form of Bhagavān Śiva seated on the seat, shining with the thirty-two lakshaṇas (auspicious marks). Remembering Śiva, he bows with “oṃ haṃ haṃ hāṃ śivamūrtaye namaḥ“. Leaving behind Brahmā and the other kāraṇas (causes), he establishes the mantra in Bhagavān Śiva.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

The āvāhana and the five acts

He sees Parama-Śiva in the form of the bindu, shining like the moon in the middle of the forehead, united with the six aṅgas beginning with the heart, descending into his pushpāñjali (handful of flowers), and establishes him in the mūrti to be worshipped. With the āvāhanī-mudrā, uttering “oṃ hāṃ hauṃ śivāya namaḥ“, he invokes Bhagavān Śiva onto the mūrti. With the sthāpanī-mudrā he seats him; with the sannidhāpanī-mudrā he brings him near; with the sannirodhanī-mudrā he makes him stay unmoving on the mūrti. Uttering “nishṭhurāyai kālakalyāyai phaṭ” and showing the khaḍga-mudrā (the sword gesture), he drives away the obstacles. Then he shows the liṅga-mudrā and bows, and saying “namaḥ“, does avaguṇṭhana.

The text explains each act:

• Āvāhana is making the ishṭa-devatā face oneself.
• Sthāpana is seating the devatā on the arcā-vigraha (the mūrti of pūjā).
• Sannidhāpana is forming the closest bond with Bhagavān Śiva, saying, “O Prabhu Śiva, I am yours.”
• Nirodha is making the presence of Bhagavān Śiva remain until the whole rite of Śiva-pūjā is complete.
• Avaguṇṭhana is keeping the Śiva-tattva hidden from those who are not bhaktas.

Then sakalīkaraṇa is done, and with the mantras “hṛdayāya namaḥ” and the rest the oneness of the aṅgas (the heart and the rest) with the aṅgī (the one whose limbs they are) is established. This is amṛtīkaraṇa.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

The six aṅgas of Śaṅkara

The text explains the aṅgas of Bhagavān Śaṅkara. His heart is the power of consciousness. His head is the eightfold aiśvarya. His śikhā is vaśitva (mastery). His kavaca is his tejas that nothing can pierce. His astra is his unbearable might, which wards off every obstacle.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

The upacāras and the ten saṃskāras

Beginning with the heart, uttering “namaḥ, svadhā, svāhā, vaushaṭ“, he offers pādya and the other upacāras (offerings of honour). Pādya is offered at the lotus feet of the devatā, ācamana at the lotus face, and arghya, dūrvā grass, flowers, akshata and the rest on the head. Having so done the saṃskāra of Parameśvara with ten saṃskāras, he worships him duly with the five upacāras, gandha, flowers and the rest.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

The abhisheka

First he bathes the mūrti with water and does udvartana and mārjana (rubbing and cleansing) with mustard, salt and the like. Then he does abhisheka with drops of arghya water, flowers and so on, and bathes Bhagavān Śiva slowly, slowly with the water in the ghaṭa (pot).

Milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar are consecrated in order with the five mantras of Śiva’s faces, and he bathes him with them again and again:

Mixing them, he makes pañcāmṛta, the five nectars, and bathes Bhagavān Śiva with it. By this abhisheka, the Agni Purāṇa says, bhoga and moksha are both obtained. Then, mixing water and dhūpa into the milk and the rest, he does abhisheka of Bhagavān Śiva with the mūla-mantra, and with barley flour removes the oiliness.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

Offering the japa

The sādhaka who desires bhoga recites the mūla-mantra, takes arghya water in his right hand and releases it into the hand of Bhagavān Śiva that shows the vara-mudrā. He prays: “Mahādeva, you whose nature is auspiciousness, I have taken refuge at your feet. Remove all the karmas, good and bad, that I have done.” Then, with “hūṃ kshaḥ“: “Śiva is the giver; Śiva is the enjoyer; Śiva is this whole world. Victory to Śiva everywhere. Śiva am I.” Reciting these two ślokas, he offers to Bhagavān Śiva the japa he has done.

Then he does japa again of one tenth of the Śiva-mantra japa done before; the text says this is needed for the completion of the homa. He gives arghya again and praises Bhagavān Śiva. He goes in pradakshiṇa around Bhagavān Śiva, who is Ashṭamūrti (the one of eight forms), and does sāshṭāṅga praṇāma, bowing with all eight limbs. Having bowed and done Śiva-dhyāna, he performs homa, pūjā and the rest for Bhagavān Śiva, either in the mind or in the fire and the other supports.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 74

Agni-sthāpana: setting up the fire

Maheśvara goes on to teach Skanda the setting up of the fire after the pūjā, and the rites that follow.

Preparing the kuṇḍa

After the pūjā the worshipper covers his body with cloth, holds the arghya vessel in his hand and enters the agniśālā (fire-hall), and by divine sight gathers all the implements needed for the yajña. Facing north, he looks at the agni-kuṇḍa, sprinkles it with kuśa and cleanses it. He strikes it with the astra mantra (phaṭ); sprinkles it and does its abhisheka with the kavaca mantra (huṃ); digs the ground with the astra mantra; and with the kavaca mantra sweeps it, smears it, shapes its form as made of the kalās, girds it with the triple thread and worships it.

The saṃskāras of the fire

The fire is then brought to birth as a child, through the saṃskāras of a child’s birth:

• Garbhādhāna. He worships Agni with the Sadyojāta mantra and gives three āhutis with the hṛdaya mantra.
• Puṃsavana. Holding the bhāvana of the puṃsavana done in the third month, he worships Agni with the Vāmadeva mantra and does three homas saying “śirase svāhā“; then he sprinkles a drop of water on the fire.
• Sīmantonnayana. Holding the bhāvana of the sīmantonnayana done in the sixth month, he worships Agni with the Aghora mantra and does three homas uttering “śikhāyai vashaṭ“; with the same mantra he shapes the face and other limbs of the fire, opens its face and makes it manifest.
• Jātakarma. Holding the bhāvana of the jātakarma and the rite after it, done in the tenth month, he worships Agni with darbha grass with the Tatpurusha mantra and makes it blaze. He has the bath given that removes the impurity of birth, holds the bhāvana of tying gold on the hand of the Devī, the mother of the fire-child, and worships with the hṛdaya mantra.

So that the sūtaka (birth-impurity) ends at once, he does abhisheka with water consecrated with the astra mantra.

The rims, the enclosing sticks and the cord

From outside, reciting the astra mantra, he cleanses the kuṇḍa with kuśa and, uttering “huṃ“, wets it with water. On the mekhalās (the raised rims) outside the kuṇḍa he spreads kuśa with the astra mantra: on the north and south sides with the tips pointing east, on the east and west sides with the tips pointing north. On them, with the hṛdaya mantra, he places the paridhis (the enclosing sticks) and the seat. Then, reciting the mantras of the five faces beginning with Sadyojāta and the astra mantra, for the cutting of the navel-cord he dips the roots of five samidhs (sticks of fuel) in ghee and offers them. With sarvākshata and the rest he worships Brahmā, Śiva, Vishṇu and Ananta, adding “namaḥ” to their names. On the eight seats spread on the four sides of the kuṇḍa, in the east and the other directions in order, he invokes the dikpālas beginning with Indra and establishes them.

Purifying the ghee

A prādeśa is the length from the tip of the stretched thumb to the tip of the index finger. Holding two kuśas of a prādeśa’s length between the thumb and the ring finger, uttering the astra mantra, he moves the ghee towards the fire. Uttering the hṛdaya mantra, he burns the darbha in his hand and purifies it by fire with “phaṭ“. With the burning kuśa he waves ārati to the ghee, burns it with another kuśa and throws the burnt kuśa into the fire with the astra mantra. Then he keeps in his hand a knotted kuśa of a prādeśa’s length.

The ājya-homa through the three nāḍīs

He sees in the ghee two pakshas (halves) and the three nāḍīs, Iḍā, Piṅgalā and Sushumṇā. From each part in turn he takes ghee with the sruva (the ladle) and offers it. Uttering “svā“, he pours the ghee into the fire; uttering “hā“, he puts the ghee left after the offering into a separate vessel.

• From the Iḍā part: “oṃ haṃ agnaye svāhā“.
• From the Piṅgalā part: “oṃ haṃ somāya svāhā“.
• From the Sushumṇā part: “oṃ hāṃ agnīshomābhyāṃ svāhā“.

Then, to open the three eyes on the face of the child Agni, he gives a fourth āhuti with the sruva full of ghee: “oṃ hām agnaye svishṭakṛte svāhā“.

Uttering the six aṅga mantras, “oṃ haṃ hṛdayāya namaḥ” and the rest, he consecrates the ghee and awakens it with the dhenu-mudrā. He covers it with the kavaca mantra; with the astra mantra he throws up drops of ghee; and he sprinkles and purifies it.

The homas of the five faces

For the five faces of Agni, who is of the form of Bhagavān Śiva, he does three homas: the abhighāra homa, the anusandhāna homa and the homa that makes the faces one.

In the mukhābhighāra homa he gives one āhuti of ghee to each face, flooding the faces with ghee:

1. “oṃ hāṃ sadyojātāya svāhā“
2. “oṃ hāṃ vāmadevāya svāhā“
3. “oṃ hāṃ aghorāya svāhā“
4. “oṃ hāṃ tatpurushāya svāhā“
5. “oṃ hāṃ īśānāya svāhā“

In the mukhānusandhāna homa he gives one āhuti for each two faces:

1. “oṃ hāṃ sadyojāta-vāmadevābhyāṃ svāhā“
2. “oṃ hāṃ vāmadevāghorābhyāṃ svāhā“
3. “oṃ hāṃ aghora-tatpurushābhyāṃ svāhā“
4. “oṃ hāṃ tatpurusheśānābhyāṃ svāhā“

The measures of the offerings

Camphor, sandal, saffron, musk and yakshakardama (a fragrant paste) are each offered in the size of a chickpea; guggulu in the size of a jujube seed; and of tubers, one eighth for one āhuti. Considering so, he gives the āhutis duly and completes the homa well with the praṇava and the bīja syllables.

The pūrṇāhuti

On the sruk (the larger ladle) filled with ghee he places the sruva face down, and puts flowers at the end of the sruk. He holds the two with both hands in the śaṅkha-mudrā (the conch gesture). He rises with the upper body raised and stands with the feet even, rests the roots of the sruk and sruva on his navel and fixes his gaze. In bhāvana, leaving behind Brahmā and the other kāraṇas, he goes out by the path of the Sushumṇā and stands above. He raises the ladles from the navel towards the left breast and, softly reciting the mūla-mantra up to “vaushaṭ“, offers the ghee in a stream as thin as a grain of barley.

After the homa

He offers ācamana, sandal, tāmbūla and the rest, and with bhakti does sāshṭāṅga vandana to the aiśvarya of Bhagavān Śiva. He worships the fire again and, uttering “oṃ ha astrāya phaṭ“, does the withdrawal with the saṃhāra-mudrā. He prays to the ishṭa-devatā: “O Bhagavān Śiva, forgive my offences.” Uttering the hṛdaya mantra, breathing in, with śraddhā (faith) he holds those radiant presences in his own heart-lotus.

The bali

He takes the first portion of the cooked food and, near the kuṇḍa in the south-east, makes two maṇḍalas: in one he gives the antar-bali (inner bali), in the other the bāhya-bali (outer bali). In the first maṇḍala he offers:

• in the east, to the Rudras: “oṃ haṃ rudrebhyaḥ svāhā“;
• in the south, to the Mātṛkās: “oṃ hāṃ mātṛbhyaḥ svāhā“;
• in the west, to the Gaṇas: “oṃ haṃ gaṇebhyaḥ svāhā, tebhyo’yaṃ balir astu“, “to them let this bali be”;
• in the north, to the Yakshas: “oṃ hāṃ yakshebhyaḥ svāhā, tebhyo’yaṃ balir astu“;
• in the north-east, to the grahas: “oṃ hāṃ grahebhyaḥ“.

Here the chapter as printed comes to an end.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 75

The general pūjā of Śiva

In Chapter 21 Nārada gives a shorter, general pūjā of Śiva. At the beginning Nandī is worshipped. Then Mahākāla, Gaṅgā, Yamunā, the Gaṇas and the others, Gīrdevī (the devī of speech), Lakshmī, the Guru, the Vāstu-purusha, the Ādhāra-śakti and the others, and Dharma and the others. Then the nine śaktis, Vāmā, Jyeshṭhā, Raudrī, Kālī, Kalavikariṇī, Balavikariṇī, Balapramathanī, Sarvabhūtadamanī and Manonmanī, with Bhagavān Śiva.

With the six-part mantra “hāṃ, hūṃ, hāṃ śivamūrtaye namaḥ“, worshipping the several limbs and faces, one worships Śiva; and with “hauṃ śivāya“. With the bīja “saṃ” the Īśāna face is worshipped; with the bīja “hrīṃ“, Gaurī; with the bīja “gaṃ“, the Gaṇa and Gaṇādhipati. Then Indra and the other dikpālas, Caṇḍa, and the hṛdaya and the other aṅgas are worshipped in order.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 21

Mahākāla at the door

Mahākāla, the gaṇa of Bhagavān Śiva who stands at the left of the door of the pūjā-maṇḍapa with Yamunā, holds a sword in one hand, a severed head in the second, a śūla in the third and a kheṭa (shield) in the fourth. In the adhivāsana before the installation of a Śiva-liṅga, Nandī and Mahākāla are the dvārapālas of the east door. In the pañcākshara dīkshā Mahākāla is worshipped on the third eight-petalled lotus with Umā, Caṇḍīśa, Nandīśa, Gaṇeśvara, Vṛshabha, Bhṛṅgiriṭi and Skanda, from the north in pradakshiṇa order.

Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 50, 96, 304

Sources

• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 21, 50, 74–75, 96, 304