Pathiṣad Rudra Mantra

The eighth mantra is pathiṣad rudra mantra, to be meditated at the forehead center. The fruit of recitation of this mantra is mārga samkata hāri - removal of dangers/discomforts in way, i.e., journey. The root word is ‘path’-way or route is taken for travel. The suffix 'ṣad’ will mean protection. The deity indicated is ‘rudra’ - a fierce, terrible form, hence the alertness is stressed. The forehead is a symbol of fate and thus the journey of life is also hinted.

The mantra from Kalpa Sūtra is:

tāro namo rudrāya pathi-ṣade svasti mā sampāraya
iti mārga-saṇkaṭa-hāriṇi vidyā | PKS 10.13 |

The mantra is:

oṃ namo rudrāya pathiṣade svasati mām sampārāya

The dhyana sloka is

ātta-sajja dhanu-rbāṇa ṭaṅka-eṇaṃvṛṣabha-sathitam
annapūrṇāsamāśliṣṭaṃpathiṣadrudramāśraye

The free translation of the meditative verse is - ‘Having strung arrow in a bow, holding a chisel and deer, seated on the bull and closely embraced by Devi Annapūrṇā, I seek refuge in Pathiṣadrudra.

The translation of the mantra would be - ‘I bow to Lord Pathiṣadrudra, let Him protect me on the way and lead me to my destination successfully and peacefully’.

The idea of travel was difficult in earlier days; dangers in travel were innumerable like - thick forest without any defined way, wild animals (lion, tiger elephant, etc), dacoits, and foreign people; again, travel by waters, to cross oceans, the only mode was a ship which had more factors of danger in it, such as storms, sinking, directionless movement and finally unknown diseases in a foreign land. However, people had to travel and hence travelled by foot, vehicle, or ship. So naturally, they also prayed for a happy and successful journey to the Lord. Even now this situation has not changed much, with terrorist attacks and risk in sky travel, chanting of this mantra still holds good.

The bow and arrows are said to represent senses and the mind; thus, the image of a strung bow and arrow reminds us of alertness to any situation. The chisel represents the finer shaping of ideas like creating a beautifully shaped idol and holding deer to restrain of ever-restless mind. The bull is said to be the personification of dharma devata, hence to adhere to one’s dharma is indicated. The Devi who hugs the Lord is Annapūrṇeśvari. She represents the Annamayakośa, the gross body. Thus, the Deity to protect on the way is held closely by the gross body.

Summarizing, we find the alter the mind, with plan on fine details, restraining the flickering mind and the safety of the gross body is granted by the Lord Pathiṣadrudra for safe travel to reach the destination successfully.

ātta-sajja dhanurbāṇa ṭaṅkaiṇaṃ = Having a strung bow and arrow, with a chisel and deer. These are allegories of an alert mind with no wandering and finer planning. These will lead to a peaceful journey and reach the destination safely. The same idea is ‘svasti’ - peaceful mind and ‘sampāraya’ - reaching the destination safely in the mantra.

vṛṣabha-sathitam = the Bull is the Lord of dharma and hence the Praṇava mantra is elucidated ‘Oṁ’.

annapūrṇāsamāśliṣṭaṃ = Hugged by Devi Dnnapūrṇā, - will signify the Annamayakośa, explicitly will point to ‘mam’.

pathiśadrudram = Lord Pathiṣadrudra, the mantra says ‘rudrāya pathiṣade’.

āśraye = I take refuge in Him. The mantra will say ‘namo’ - I bow the supreme Lord.

Thinking on a higher plane of consciousness, in the journey of an aspirant to the final destination of realization of the Divine, the protection of the body - ‘sarīram ādyam khalu dharma sādanam’- verily the gross body is the base of all sādhana is foremost. The alertness of mind in all situations bhāskararāya says - 'avivecana abhavameva jṅāna sarvasvam' - to be aware at all times is knowledge in action. Fine points in life to be enjoyed like chiseling of an idol and restraining the mind not to wander in unknown areas are the pointers revealed.

This will ensure a safe and successful journey to reach the divine. Thus, this mantra is to be chanted daily for the Śrīvidyopāsaka to attain a state of ever immersed in Śivahood - ‘satatam śivatā samāvesha’.

Looking further arrows are symbols of pañcha tanmātras. They are represented as the five in saparyā. The alertness in using the five ‘M’ in sādhanā, thus not misleading us by their undisciplined use and real comfort in this sādhana of raja yoga is also revealed in this mantra.

Source: "Meditative Texts - Revised Thoughts on the Way" by Yogamba Sameta Atmanandanatha (Ramesh Kutticad)

Yogamba Sahita Atmanandantha (Ramesh Kutticad) is a Śrī Vidyā Guru from Chennai. He is associated with Guruji since 1996. Smt. and Sri Ramesh have painstakingly written the following scholarly, research. We're grateful to him for allowing us to make these articles available for the public.

Brahmā and Sarasvatī Mantra

(śruti dharani vidyā and mātṛkākṣarā) meditation

The fourteenth and fifteenth mantras are brahma and sarasvati mantras, to be meditated at brahmarandhra and dvādashāntā respectively.

The Brahmā mantra is Vedic; the effect of this mantra is said by Bhagavān Paraśurāma as śruti dhārini - one who helps in retaining (remembrance of) heard knowledge. The Sarasvatī mantra is the 51 mātṛkākṣarā. In the Śrī Nagara, both Brahmā and his consort Sarasvatī are found in the vidruma ratna prākāra (red coral fort enclosure).

The Brahmā mantra deciphered from Paraśurāma Kalpa Sūtra is:

tāraḥ namo brahmaṇe dhāraṇaṃ me astv anirā-karaṇaṃ dhārayitā
bhūyāsaṃ karṇayoḥ śrutaṃ mācyoḍhvaṃ mamāmuṣya oṃ
iti śruta- dhāriṇī vidyā | PKS 10.20 |

oṃ namo brahmaṇe dhāraṇaṃ me astvanirākaraṇaṃ dhārayitā
bhūyāsaṃ karṇayorśrutaṃ mācyodhvaṃ mamāmuṣya oṃ

The Sarasvati mantra is am.... kṣam (51 alphabets)

This Vedic mantra is found in the mahā nārāyaṇopaniṣat as its ninth chapter.

brahmaṇe - oh brahman namaḥ- prostrations; me - to me; dhāraṇaṃ - concentration of thought (or) powerful memory; astu - be; anirākaraṇaṃ - without distraction; dhārayitā - one who practices concentration of thoughts; bhūyāsaṃ - may I be; karṇayor śrutaṃ - whatever I have heard with my ears; amuṣya - of such and such; mama - mine; mā - not be; cyodhvaṃ- fail.

A free rendering of the above translation would be - My prayers to Brahmā for perfect hearing, intact memory, absorb the heard sound to a high degree, not to lose whatever is heard, let me be so.

The dhyana śloka of Brahmā according to Nityotsava / datta Samhita is

caturānanaṃ ambhoja niṣaṇṇaṃ bhāratī sakhaṃ
akṣamālāvarābhīti kamaṇḍaludharaṃ namaḥ

caturānanaṃ ambhoja niṣaṇṇaṃ: Having four faces and seated in a lotus. The unique form of Lord brahma, the creator has four faces and was born in lotus. Thus, this will point to ‘brahmane’ in the mantra.

bhāratī sakhaṃ: with his consort Bhāratī. ‘Bhā’ means light or splendour - here the inner light. The main aspect of hearing a sound is to recognize and keep it in memory. This is possible by inner intuitive intelligence only, which is figuratively said as inner light, ‘dhāraṇaṃ me astu’ in the mantra explicitly says this idea.

akṣamālā: The count beads (fifty-one in number). The main aspect of keeping in memory required a structured way of sounds, which are alphabets, here they are the fifty-one in the language spoken - Sanskrit. This idea is visualized in the ‘anirākaraṇaṃ”

varābhīti: Showing gestures of removing fear and granting boons. Here the best boon is the analysis of beauty in the above-structured response and fear is a lapse in holding this capacity, removal of this is said here. These ideas are in ‘dhārayitā bhūyāsaṃ’.

kamaṇḍaludharaṃ: Holding the ceremonial water pot. The ritual sacrificial pot points to the action, karma, wherein the continuous usage of the structured response is kept alive; the ear is an organ of cognition - karmendriya- thus ‘karṇayorśrutaṃ mācyodhvaṃ’, explains this perfectly.

namah: I bow. This is found in the mantra as ‘namo’ in the sense of salutation and ‘mamāmuṣya’ in the sense of the doer.

The most peculiar identity of this mantra is that it starts with praṇava ‘oṃ’ and ends in praṇava ‘oṃ’. The initial throb when manifested produced a sound is praṇava; hence this is befitting that all the alphabets which are an expansion of the primordial sound start and end in the same sound form, thus making this mantra very powerful in utility.

The dhyana śloka of Sarasvatī Devi is:

pañcāśata mātṛkārṇaiḥ ārabdhākhila dehayā
samastavidyārūpiṇīṃ dhyāyeham mātṛkāmbikāṃ

pañcāśata mātṛkārṇaiḥ ārabdhākhila dehayā: The body of the Devi is made of 51 letters - this explicitly points to all the mātṛkākṣarā ‘am to kṣam.’ The placement of them please see detailed explanation in the below (another) dhyana śloka.

samastavidyārūpiṇīṃ dhyāyeham mātṛkāmbikāṃ: She is in the form of all knowledge, I meditate on mātṛkādevi. This is the expression of the above alphabets which forms all fields of vidyā (knowledge).

In Śrī Vidyā saparyā, during nyāsa, first is this mātṛkānyāsa. There we find another dhyāna śloka:

pañcā śat varṇa bhedaiḥ vihita vadana doḥ pādayuk kukṣi vakṣo deśāṃ 
bhāsvat kapardākalita śaśi kalāṃ indu kundāvadātāṃ
ākṣarak kumbha cintā likhita vara karāṃ trīkṣanāṃābja samsthāṃ
acchākalpāṃ atuccha stana jaghana barāṃ bhāratīṃ tāṃ namāmi

pañcā śat varṇa bhedaiḥ: The variations of the fifty-one alphabets ‘am to kṣam’ .

vihita: Divided into vowels, ka ca ṭa ta pa ya vargas (series).

vadana: Placed on the face, vowels - a - top of the head, ā- circumference of the face; i and ī - right and left eye; u and ū- right and left ear; ṛ and ṝ - right and left nostril; lṛ and lṝ - right and left chin; e and ai- upper and lower lips; o and au- upper and lower teeth; aṃ - tongue tip and aḥ- top of the head (this is as per paramānanda tantra).

doḥ: hands, ‘ka’ and ‘ca’ series- shoulder joint, mid-arm, wrist, start and the tip of fingers in both right and left hands.

padayuk: both legs - ‘ ṭa’ and ‘ta’ series-hip, knee, heel, and start and a tip of fingers(feet).

kukṣi: The stomach- ‘pa’ series - both sides, back and front sides and navel.

vakṣo deśāṃ: The area of the chest-the ‘ya’ series-heart, right armpit, neck nape, left armpit, from the heart to extremes of arms, legs, bottom and top of the trunk.

bhāsvat kapardākalita śaśi kalāṃ: Lighting up with the crescent on Her braided, knotted, and matted hair. The anusvra is written like a crescent, which points to the involution of the mind to a point. The ‘kaparda’ shows the structured and systematic way of analysis of all the sounds to go deep into meditations and hence the source. This is akin to bhagavān śrī ramana’s introspection of ‘who am I?’

indu kundāvadātāṃ: of the hue of moon and jasmine-white. White denotes śuddha satva guna, which is a prerequisite for the above sādhana.

ākṣarak: The beads -fifty-one. They represent fifty-one alphabets from ‘am to kṣam’. The phonetic variations of expressed structured speech, which is used for communications

kumbha: The pot filled with nectar - amṛtā. Since the first element’s (space) aspect is sound, it is eternal. paraśurāma says- ‘varṇāh nityāh’- alphabets are eternal. This is envisaged as a nectar pot.

cintā likhita: The written down palm leaves. The above phonetic speech was written down for the transmission of acquired knowledge. Thus, cumulative knowledge is said here.

vara karāṃ: The highest boon is the awareness of the eternal self, this being the ultimate goal is experienced as the grace of this devi.

trīkṣanāṃ: Having three eyes. The normal usual vision of humans is with two eyes. The three eyesight will be different, this will show the trikāla gnāna, the past present, and future knowledge of this śakti, hence Her eternal nature is indicated

abja samsthāṃ: Seated on a lotus. Lotus opens to light and is also a personification of the heart, unconditioned love. The names of the lotus are ‘padma’ when seen through ka-ṭa-pa-yadi code is fifty-one, the mātṛkākṣarās - the varṇadhva, ‘abja’ will translate as eighty the padādhva and ‘kamala’ will be one, five and three, the sum is nine which is a mystical number in mantra śāstra- pointing mantrādhv adhvā. samsthām will mean placed on, thus seeing from the above will mean seated on this sūkṣma adhvā, which are varna, pada, and mantra, (sthūla adhvā are tattva, kalā, and bhuvana)

acchākalpāṃ: Bright attire-clothes and ornaments. The brightness will show the awareness that is got. This awareness is of both the light and darkness, which is termed as knowledge.

atuccha stana jaghana bharāṃ: Very prominent breast and hip. Breasts are two in number, showing the vowels and consonants and also the nutritive nature of Divine Mother. Jaghana is the base on which the body rests. Thus, we find the whole vidyā is in this form, nurtured and resting on the mātṛkākṣarās.

bhāratīṃ: The inner light, illuminating all. All the above description will suffice to name this deity as Illuminant.

tāṃ namāmi: I bow to Her.

The Deities are found in the red coral fortress, which represents the rudhira dhātu (blood constituent). Per Śaiva Śātras, mantra adhvā is personified as blood inside the body of the invoked deity. It is so apt that deities of mātṛkākṣarās and memory are residing (reflecting) in mantra adhvā.

'O, Lord Datta!!! These are flowers on your feet”

Source: "Meditative Texts - Revised Thoughts on the Way" by Yogamba Sameta Atmanandanatha (Ramesh Kutticad)

Yogamba Sahita Atmanandantha (Ramesh Kutticad) is a Śrī Vidyā Guru from Chennai. He is associated with Guruji since 1996. Smt. and Sri Ramesh have painstakingly written the following scholarly, research. We're grateful to him for allowing us to make these articles available for the public.

Sampradāya Pravartaka (Datta Damhita)

Datta Samhita is a text on the tenets of Śrī Vidyā upāsanā. The detailed exposition of all the Raśmi Mālā Mantras with their attendant worship (āvaraṇa pūja) and sādhana with prayoga in each chapter is a joy to read. The twenty-fourth mantra of the Raśmi Mālā is the Guru Pādukā. In this chapter related to Śrī Guru, a wealth of information necessary for upāsakā is seen.

Lord Datta revealed that due to his blessings Bhārgava Rāma, will be pravartaka - cause of the spread of Sundari Vidyā. In the second yuga, while Śrī Rāma, son of Daśaratha visit Mātaṅga āśrama, he will be blessed with Vidyā of Mātaṅgi and will become a propagator of Śyāmalā upāsanā, Later in the third yuga, Śrī Paraśurāma will bless intricacies of Vārāhi worship to Balabhadra, elder brother of Bhagavān Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa, and make him propagator in that worship. During worship in daily ritual (saparya) these three sampradāya pravartakā have to be given due respect and worshipped, otherwise that puja will be incomplete.

Let us examine these ideas said above:

In the Khadgamālā mantra, we find a reference to ‘Śrī Rāmānandamayi’. Since Khadgamālā is for Śrī Krama we can explicitly infer this as a reference to Lord paraśurāma from above, and also elicit a hidden hint on the other two Rāmās.

(Incidentally, gurus mentioned in Khadgamālā - Caryānāthamayi will refer to Śrī Mahākāmeśvara, Mitreśamayi to Śrī Svacchanda Bhairava, Ṣaṣthiśamayi to Lord Sanmukha and Uddīśamayi to Sage Durvāsa Krodhabhattāraka.)

We find a name in triśati - haladṛt pūjitā and in saubhāgya aṣṭottara śata - hala hastārcita padā, which explicitly points to Balarāma when we break up the name as hala hasta arcita, who is meditated as having a plough and pestle in his hands. If we break up the name to end in a longer vowel as hala hastā arcita, it points to vārāhi, who is also holding these as weapons in her hands. These weapons take the form of a deity with the shape of these weapons on their head like a crown in her enclosure. The body is considered as a kṣetra-field, where the seeds of the past karma are sown after ploughing. Thus, the plough denotes the experience of past deeds in this body. The pestle is the remover of the husk of seeds, thus preventing its regeneration. The pestle represents actions in surrender to the Divine and submitting all our work to the Divine, thus removing the husk call - "I" or egocentric deeds. Vārāhi Devi denotes the male principle as Father (Vārāhi pitṛ rūpā) and hence points to this body, which is got from Father, thus having these weapons in her hands, sends messages of surrender to the aspirant. So also does Balabhadrā, who is described as having a perfect body, well maintained, a body combat warrior.

Balabhadra is also meditated as intoxicated with wine; Vārāhi has wine sea (surā samudrā) in her enclosure. These denote that, not the ordinary consciousness level is seen in them, they have altered higher consciousness, and to denote this state we find the reference to drunkenness. Thus, it is indeed proper that Balabhadra is identified with the sampradāya pravartaka of Vārāhi.

1. oṃ balabhadrarāmāya namaḥ
2. oṃ rohiṇyeyāya namaḥ
3. oṃ dvividhāntakāya namaḥ
4. oṃ hala-musala-dharāya namaḥ
5. oṃ vrajeśvarāya namaḥ
6. oṃ anantāya namaḥ
7. oṃ revatī-vallabhāya namaḥ
8. oṃ dvārakā-pura vāsine namaḥ
9. oṃ sāndīpinyā-paṭhitākhilāya namaḥ
10. oṃ kṛṣṇāgrajāya namaḥ
11. oṃ yadūttamāya namaḥ
12. oṃ yogeśvareśvarāya namaḥ

oṃ rohiṇyeyāya vidmahe saṅkarṣaṇāya dhīmahi tanno halī pracodayāt |

oṃ klīṃ kālindī-bhedanāya saṅkarṣaṇāya svāhā |

aiṃ glauṃ hskhaphreṃ hasakṣamalavarayūṃ sahakṣamalavarayīṃ
hsauṃ shauḥ vārtālī sampradāya pravartaka balabhadra
rāmānandanātha śrī pādukāṃ pūjayāmi namaḥ

We find a name in Triśati - lakṣmana-agraja pūjitā, which explicitly points to Śrī Raghu Rāma - son of Daśaratha and elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa, who is meditated as having a bow and arrow in his hands. Śrī Śyāmalā is also holding these as weapons in her hands during the battle with Bhandasura. Her Bow is called citrajīva and arrow is called brahma śiras, both are presented by the deity of Dhanurveda - science of weapons/ archery. Both Śrī Rāma and Śrī Śyāmalā Devi are dark-skinned. Śrī Rāma avatarā has maintained the ‘humane quality’ - ‘ātmānam mānuṣam manye rāmam dasaratātmajam’ - I consider myself as a human, son of King Daśaratha. Śrī Śyāmalā Devi is the life in the body, which is denoted by Śrī Vārāhi Devi. The sound-sangīta in the body is the heartbeat, which is the sure sign of the lively existence. Śrī Śyāmalā Devi is the prime minister, the buddhi - intellect, truthful to the king - the consciousness. This truthfulness is found throughout the life of Śrī Rāma.

Thus, it is fitting that sampradāya pravartaka of Śyāmalā is Śrī Rāma.

1. oṃ dāśaratha-rāmāya namaḥ
2. oṃ kausalyeyāya namaḥ
3. oṃ niśācara-kulāntakāya namaḥ
4. oṃ dhanurdharāya namaḥ
5. oṃ sūryavaṃśa-tilakāya namaḥ
6. oṃ pitṛvākya-paripālakāya namaḥ
7. oṃ sītāvallabhāya namaḥ
8. oṃ ayodhyāpura-vāsine namaḥ
9. oṃ vasiṣṭha-paṭhitākhilāya namaḥ
10. oṃ sadā-hanumadāśritaya namaḥ
11. oṃ śaraṇāgata-paritrāṇāya namaḥ
12. oṃ mānuṣa-veṣa-dharāya namaḥ

oṃ dāśarathāya vidmahe sītāvallabhāya dhīmahi tanno rāmaḥ pracodayāt |

oṃ rāṃ rāmāya - kliṃ raghunandanāya - huṃ jānakīvallabhāya svāhā |

aiṃ klīṃ sauḥ hskhaphreṃ hasakṣamalavarayūṃ sahakṣamalavarayīṃ
hsauṃ shauḥ śyāmalā sampradāya pravartaka dāśaratha
rāmānandanātha śrī pādukāṃ pūjayāmi namaḥ

We find a name in saubhāgya aṣṭottara śata revealed in Tripurā Rahasya - rāmārcitā. This name without any prefix can be explained as pertaining to the first of the three ‘rāmāvatāra’, and who is also called ‘ādyarāma’; since the others have ‘raghu’ and ‘bala’ as prefixes. paraśurāma is the son of Jamadagni and Reṇukā and is meditated holding an axe and also a bow with arrow in his hands. One of the main incidents in the life of Bhārgava Rāma is the slaying of his mother Reṇukā. Thus, he is called ‘mātṛhā’. ‘mātā’ means measure, as in mātṛ māna and meya, limitations imposed by the māyā on the jīvaśiva. Her head was severed with the axe. In parlance we find trees are cut with an axe - Lalitā Sahasranāma - ‘bhavāraṇya kuthārikā’ and ‘mṛtyu dāru kuthārikā’. Here forest is compared to whole samsārā and an individual tree is compared to death. The branch of this tree is used for making the handle of an axe, which finally cuts off the whole forest. This is the whole idea behind usage of five ‘M’ in tantric sādhana. We can interpret this as usage of a part of knowledge to remove total bonded knowledge. Thus, we find that knowledge is personified as an axe here. Now in this light, killing of his mother with an axe will be in reality removal of measurable to realize immeasurable with help of knowledge. After this act. He prays to his father, who is also his preceptor, for the resurrection of his mother and is called ‘mātṛ jīvaka’. Now this action will mean, after realization of infinite, the same universal māyā is now acknowledged in sahaja sthiti. This is termed as the resurrection.

Another incident is stealing of Kāmadhenu by Kārtavīrya, its retrieval after destruction of Kārtavīrya. These actions are seen in names ‘go-traṇa-kṛt’ and ‘go-pradātā’ - savior of cattle and protector (giver) of cattle. Here ‘go’ means the senses. Now this will mean to control of senses, by not letting them wander or being stolen by worldly pleasures, with a focus on path of sādhana as said in Kaulopaniṣat - ‘sarvendriyāṇām nayanam pradhānam’. The bow and arrow will point to pure mind and senses with its restraint. These weapons are there in the hands of Lalitā Devi too, pointing to the same idea. These are the playfields of the Lalitā Devi. Thus, it is indeed apt that Śrī Bhāragava Rāma is sampradāya pravartaka of Sundari. These are twelve names with his Gāyatri and mūlamantra.

1. oṃ ādya rāmaya namaḥ
2. oṃ jāmadagnyāya namaḥ
3. oṃ kṣatriya-kulānta-kṛte namaḥ
4. oṃ paraśvadharāya namaḥ
5. oṃ dātre namaḥ
6. oṃ mātṛhāya namaḥ
7. oṃ mātṛjīvakāya namaḥ
8. oṃ samudratīranilayāya namaḥ
9. oṃ maheśvarapaṭhitākhilāya namaḥ
10. oṃ gotrāṇakṛte namaḥ
11. oṃ gopradātre namaḥ
12. oṃ viprakṣatriya karmakṛte namaḥ

oṃ brahma-kṣtrāya vidmahe kṣatriyāntāya dhīmahi tanno rāmah pracodayāt |

oṃ namo bhagavate jāmadagnāya duṣṭa-kṣatriya-kula-kālāntakāya reṇukāputrāya namaḥ |

aiṃ hrīṃ śrīṃ hskhaphreṃ hasakṣamalavarayūṃ sahakṣamalavarayīṃ
hsauṃ shauḥ sundarī sampradāya pravartaka jāmadagnya
rāmānandanātha śrī pādukāṃ pūjayāmi namaḥ

Source: "Meditative Texts - Revised Thoughts on the Way" by Yogamba Sameta Atmanandanatha (Ramesh Kutticad)

Yogamba Sahita Atmanandantha (Ramesh Kutticad) is a Śrī Vidyā Guru from Chennai. He is associated with Guruji since 1996. Smt. and Sri Ramesh have painstakingly written the following scholarly, research. We're grateful to him for allowing us to make these articles available for the public.