SHRI SADASHIVA said:

Thou art the Adya Parama Shakti, Thou art all Power. It is by Thy power that We (the Trinity) are powerful in the acts of creation, preservation, and destruction. Endless and of varied colour and form are Thy appearances, and various are the strenuous efforts whereby the worshippers may realize them. Who can describe them? (1-2). In the Kula Tantras and Agamas I have, by the aid of but a small part of Thy mercies and with all My powers, described the Sadhana and Archana of Thy appearances; yet nowhere else is this very secret Sadhana revealed. It is by the grace of this (Sadhana), O Blessed One! that Thy mercy in Me is so great (3-4). Questioned by Thee I am no longer able to conceal it. For Thy pleasure, O Beloved! I shall speak of that which is dearer to Me than even life itself (5). To all sufferings it brings relief. It wards off all dangers. It gives Thee pleasure, and is the way by which Thou art most swiftly obtained (6). For men rendered wretched by the taint of the Kali Age, short-lived and unfit for strenuous effort, this is the greatest wealth (7). In this (sadhana) there is no need for a multiplicity of Nyasa, for fasting or other practices of self-restraint. It is simple and pleasurable, yet yields great fruit to the worshipper (8). Then first listen, O Devi! to the Mantroddhara of the Mantra, the mere hearing of which liberates man from future births while yet living (9).

By placing "Pranesha" on "Taijasa," and adding to it "Bherunda" and the Vindu, the first Vija is formed. After this, proceed to the second (to). By placing "Sandhya" on "Rakta," and adding to it "Vama-netra" and Vindu, the second Mantra is formed. Now listen, O Blessed One! to the formation of the third Mantra.

Prajapati is placed on Dipa, and to them is added Govinda and Vindu. It yields happiness to the worshippers: After making these three Mantras add the word Parameshvari in the vocative, and then the word for Vahni-kanta. Thus, O Blessed One! is the Mantra of ten letters formed. This Vidya of the Supreme Devi contains in itself all Mantras (11-13).

The most excellent worshipper should for the attainment of wealth and all his desires make Japa of each or all of the first three Vijas (14). By omitting the first three Devi the

Vidya of ten letters become one of seven. By prefixing the Vija of Kama, or the Vagbhava, or the Tara, three Mantras of eight letters each are formed (15).

At the end of the Mantra of ten letters the word Kalika in the vocative should be uttered, and then the first three Vija, followed by the name of the Wife of Vahni (16). This Vidya is called Shodashi, and is concealed in all the Tantras. If it be prefixed by the Vija of Vadhu or by the Pranava, two Mantras of seventeen letters each are formed (17).

O Beloved! there are tens of millions upon tens of millions, nay an hundred millions, nay countless Mantras for Thy worship. I have here but shortly stated twelve of them (18). Whatsoever Mantras are set forth in the various Tantras, they are all Thine, since Thou art the Adya Prakriti (19). There is but one sadhana in the case of all these Mantras, and of that I shall speak for Thy pleasure and the benefit of humanity (20).

Without Kulachara, O Devi! the Shakti-Mantra is powerless to give success, and therefore the worshipper should worship the Shakti with Kulachara rites

O Adya! the five essential Elements in the worship of Shakti have been prescribed to be Wine, Meat, Fish, parched Grain, and the Union of man with woman (22). The worship of Shakti without these five elements is but the practice of evil magic. That Siddhi which is the object of sadhana is never attained thereby, and obstacles are encountered at every step (23). As seed sown on barren rocks does not germinate, so worship without these five elements is fruitless (24).

Without the prior performance of the morning rites a man is not qualified to perform the others. And therefore, O Devi! I shall first speak of those which are to be performed in the morning (25). In the second half of the last quarter of the night the disciple should rise from sleep. Having seated himself and shaken off drowsiness, let him meditate upon the image of his Guru:

Dhyana

As two-eyed and two-armed, situate in the white lotus of the head (26); clad in white raiment, engarlanded with white flowers, smeared with sandal paste. With one hand he makes the sign which dispels fear, and with the other that which bestows blessings. He is calm, and is the image of mercy. On his left his Shakti, holding in her hand a lotus, embraces him. He is smiling and gracious, the bestower of the fulfilment of the desires of his disciples (27-28).

O Kuleshvari! the disciple should, after having thus meditated upon his Teacher and worshipped him with the articles of mental worship, make Japa with the excellent Mantra, the Vagbhava-Vija. (29).

After doing Japa of the Mantra as best lies in his power, the wise disciple should, after placing the Japa in the right palm of his excellent Guru, bow before him, saying meanwhile the following (30):

Mantra

I bow to thee, O Sad-guru,

Thou who destroyeth the bonds which hold us to this world,

Thou who bestoweth the vision of Wisdom,

Together with worldly enjoyment and final liberation,

Dispeller of ignorance,

Revealer of the Kula-dharma,

Image in human form of the Supreme Brahman (31-32).

The disciple, having thus made obeisance to his Guru, should meditate upon his Ishta-devata, and worship Her as aforesaid, inwardly reciting the Mula-mantra meanwhile (33). Having done this to the best of his powers, he should place the Japa in the left palm of the Devi, and then make obeisance to his Ishta-devata with the following (34):

Mantra

To thee I bow Who art one with, and the Supporter of, the Universe,

I bow to Thee again and yet again, the Adya Kalika, both Creatrix and Destructress (35).

Having thus made obeisance to the Devi, he should leave his house, placing his left foot first, and then make water, discharge his bowels, and cleanse his teeth (36). He then should go towards some water, and make his ablutions in the manner prescribed (37). First of all let him rinse his mouth, and then enter the water, and stand therein up to his navel. He should then cleanse his body by a single immersal only, and then, standing up and rubbing himself, rinse his mouth, saying the Mantra the while (38). That best of worshippers, the Kula-Sadhaka, should then sip a little water and say:

Mantra

Atma-tattvaya Svaha

After that he should again sip water twice, followed in each case by the

Mantras

Vidya-tattvaya Svaha.

Shiva-tattvaya Svaha, respectively. Lastly, he should rinse the upper lip twice (39).

Then, O Beloved! the wise disciple should draw on the water the Kula-yantra with the Mantra in its centre, and do Japa over it with the Mula-mantra twelve times (40). Then meditating on the Water as the Image of Fire, let him offer it thrice to the Sun in his joined palms. Sprinkling it thrice over his head, let him close the seven openings therein (41). Then for the pleasure of the Devi he should immerse himself thrice, leave the water, dry his body, and put on two pieces of clean cloth.

Tying up his hair whilst reciting the Gayatri, he should mark on his forehead with pure earth or ashes the tilaka and tri-pundra, with a Vindu over it (42). Let the worshipper then perform both the Vaidika and Tantrika forms of Sandhya in their respective order. Listen while I now describe to you the Tantrika Sandhya (4g).

After rinsing his mouth in the manner described, he should, O Blessed One! invoke into the water the Waters of the holy Rivers thus (45):

Mantra

O Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmmada,

Sindhu, Kaveri, come into this water (46).

The intelligent worshipper having invoked the sacred Rivers with this Mantra, and made the angkusha-mudra, should do Japa with the Mula-mantra twelve times (47). Let him then again utter the Mula-mantra, and with the middle and nameless fingers joined together throw drops of that water thrice upon the ground (48).

He should then sprinkle his head seven times with the water, and taking some in the palm of his left hand cover it up with his right (49). Then inwardly reciting the Vija of Ishana, Vayu, Varuna, Vahni, and Indra four times, the water should be transferred to the right palm (50). Seeing (in his mind's eye) and meditating upon the water as Fire, the worshipper should draw it through the nose by Ida, expel it through Pingala (into his palm), and so wash away all inward impurity (51).

The worshipper should then three times dash the water (so expelled into his palm) against an (imaginary) adamant. Uttering the Astra-Mantra, let him then wash his hands (52). Then rinsing his mouth, oblation of water should be offered to the Sun with the following (53):

Mantra

Ong Hring Hangsa

To Thee, O Sun, full of heat, shining, effulgent, I offer this oblation; Svaha (54).

Then let him meditate morning, midday, and evening upon the great Devi Gayatri, the Supreme Devi, as manifested in her three different forms and according to the three qualities (55).

Dhyana

In the morning meditate upon Her in Her Brahmi form, as a Maiden of ruddy hue, with a pure smile, with two hands, holding a gourd full of holy water, garlanded with crystal beads, clad in the skin of a black antelope, seated on a Swan (56). At midday meditate upon Her in Her Vaishnavi form, of the colour of pure gold, youthful, with full and rising breasts, situated in the Solar disc, with four hands holding the conch-shell, discus, mace, and lotus, seated on Garuda, garlanded with wild-flowers (57-58). In the evening the Yati should meditate upon Her as of a white colour, clad in white raiment, old and long past her youth, with three eyes, beneficent, propitious, seated on a Bull, holding in Her lotus-like hands a noose, a trident, a lance, and a skull (59-60).