Late in the evening the my clansmen and me left by an uncomfortable bus journey through the drAviDa country to the outpost of aunts N and H. Their clansmen had been killed by fiery abhichAras of their shatrus, but they took the help of our learned co-ethnic, a master of the mantra-shAstra to save themselves. While in gavalakuNDa he was a student of the descendent of that great exponent of samaya-vidyA of the east. Then he had come to know numerous tantriks and became a great exponent of the mantra shAstra. His network of mantra-vid-s was immense and he had an enormous collection of mantra manuscripts. At my teacher’s behest, I had obtained from him an old copy of the mantra-mahodadhi of mahIdhara, the savant of vArANasI and the shArada-tilaka tantraM. In his secular existence he was a village school master, who taught all subjects in his ramshackle school from around 9.30 AM to 3.30 PM 5 days a week. In his free-time he was also a medicine-man doling out minor tantric preparations for free. Form the outpost of our aunts’ we went to see this savant in the village of Karur, arriving there late at night. The next two days we spent in deep discussion of the mantra-shAstra and paddhatI-s, left alone by our disinterested clansmen. He had given the same line of my clan as aunts N and H several copies of texts but they were sadly lost when a mantra performance of theirs back-fired on them.

It was this savant who introduced me to the worship of the pa~nchAkSharI vidyA of shiva. The rite is very simple and has nothing unusual about its performance but is of considerable significance for the tantric realization of the pa~nchAkSharI. The pa~nchAkSharI is the first mantra a smArta child is taught, when it is introduced to the script of the devabhASha. The mUla-mantra itself itself is from the yajurveda found in all the saMhita-s embedded within the 8th section of the shatarudrIya. The tantric saMpuTIkaraNa-s with bIja-s must proceed only after one has performed the ritual mentioned here.

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One first prepares a stone or clay altar called the pITha. It should be circular or square and on it one inscribes the picture of a frog. The one utters the incantation:

maNDUkAdi-para-tatvAnta-pITha-devatAbhyo namaH |

Then into the pITha one invokes the goddess of it, the first eight from vAmA to sarvabhUtadamani in clockwise order in the periphery and manonmani in the center:

OM vAmAyai namaH | OM jyeShThAyai namaH | shreShThAyai namaH | OM raudryai namaH | OM kAlyai namaH | OM balavikariNyai namaH | OM balapramathinyai namaH | OM sarvabhUtadamanyai namaH | OM manonmanyai namaH ||

Then one prepares the yantra shown below by inscribing it on metal (gold in best case), stone, baked clay or wood.

Then one places the yantra in a copper or brass receptacle and performs an abhisheka of the yantra with ghee, milk followed by a cleansing water bath. Then one wipes the yantra with a clean cloth. Then one decorates the pITha with flowers and installs the yantra on it uttering the incantation:

OM namo bhagavate sakala-guNAtma-shakti-yuktAyAnantAya yogapIThAtmane namaH ||

Then one offers pAdyaM, arghyaM, gandhaM, dUpaM, dIpaM and puShpaM with OM namaH shivAya to shiva in the yantra||

Then concentrating on the hexagram of the yantra one worships the first AvarNa by invoking the faces of shiva in the 4 cardinal direction and zenith. While doing so one holds flowers in ones joined palms in the a~NjalI-mudra:

OM IshAnAya namaH (zenith) | OM tatpuruShAya namaH (East) | OM aghorAya namaH (South) | OM vAmadevAya namaH (North) |OM sadyojAtAya namaH (West) ||

One then offers the flowers with the formula:

OM abhIShTa-siddhiM me dehi sharaNAgata-vatsala| bhaktyA samarpaye tubhyaM prathAmAvarNArchanaM ||

Then one worships the second AvarNa comprising of the kalA goddesses in the zone outside the hexagram but inside its circumcircle holding flowers similarly, starting from the east, proceeding clockwise:

OM nivR^ityai namaH |OM pratiShThAyai namaH |OM vidyAyai namaH |OM shAntyai namaH | OM shAntyatItyai namaH ||

Then one offers the flowers with the formula:

OM abhIShTa-siddhiM me dehi sharaNAgata-vatsala| bhaktyA samarpaye tubhyaM dvitIyAvarNArchanaM ||

Then one worships the emanations of shiva termed the vighnesha-s in the middle of the eight-petals of the aShTa-dala-chakra starting from East proceeding clockwise similarly holding flowers:

OM anantAya namaH | OM sUkShmAya namaH | OM shivottamAya namaH | OM ekanetrAya namaH | OM ekarudrAya namaH | OM trimUrtaye namaH | OM shrIkaNThAya namaH | OM shikhaNDine namaH |

Then one offers the flowers with the formula:

OM abhIShTa-siddhiM me dehi sharaNAgata-vatsala| bhaktyA samarpaye tubhyaM tritIyAvarNArchanaM ||

Then at the tips of the eight petals of the aShTadalachakra one worships the agents of shiva holding flowers from East clockwise:

OM umAyai namaH | OM chaNDeshvarAya namaH |OM nandine namaH |OM mahAkAlAya namaH |OM gaNeshAya namaH |OM vR^iShabhAya namaH |OM bhR^i~NgAritye namaH |OM skandAya namaH ||

Then one offers the flowers with the formula:

OM abhIShTa-siddhiM me dehi sharaNAgata-vatsala| bhaktyA samarpaye tubhyaM chaturthAvarNArchanaM ||

Then in the directions one worships the gods:

OM laM indrAya namaH (E) | OM raM agnaye namaH (SE) | OM yaM yamAya namaH (S) |OM kShaM nirR^itaye namaH (SW)|OM vaM varuNAya namaH (W)| OM yaM vAyave namaH (NW)| OM kuM kuberAya namaH (N)| OM haM IshAnAya namaH (NE)||

Then one offers the flowers with the formula:

OM abhIShTa-siddhiM me dehi sharaNAgata-vatsala| bhaktyA samarpaye tubhyaM pa~NchamAvarNArchanaM ||

Then one worships the weapons of the gods (the thunderbolt, spear, cudgel, sword, lasso, hook-spike, mace, trident)

OM vaM vajrAya namaH (S) | OM shaM shaktyai namaH (SE) | OM daM daNDAya namaH (S) | OM khaM khadgAya namaH (SW)| OM pAM pAshAya namaH (W) | OM aM a~NkuShAya namaH (NW)| OM gaM gadAyai namaH (N)| OM triM trishUlAya namaH (NE) |

Then one offers the flowers with the formula:

OM abhIShTa-siddhiM me dehi sharaNAgata-vatsala| bhaktyA samarpaye tubhyaM ShaShTAvarNArchanaM ||

Then one offers dIpaM, dUpaM, gandhaM, puShpaM and naivedyaM of honey and pAyasa. Then one performs japa of the mantra:

oM namaH shivAya ||

Then one offers 50 oblations in the fire with this mantra with palAsha samidh-s dipped in honey and pAyasa. Then offer 5 tarpaNaM-s with the mantra. He who does so is not harmed by bhava nor sharva nor IshAna, nor are his possessions harmed by The god.