her mouth, & draw 02-Klims on either side of her yoni.

Drawing her towards you by her hair, caress her breasts & then place the linga into her yoni pot. O pure smiling one. Recite the mantra 1,000 times, O sweet faced one. Dearest, one becomes accomplished by doing the rite for a week. Maheshani, recite the mantra not in the manner written of in books, but in her yoni . This brings mantra siddhi, there is no doubt of it. So, De i, the secret thing gi ing all desires has been declared to you. One should not re eal it, one should ne er re eal it, !aheshani. O "aganandini, at the risk of your life, ne er re eal it. #t is the gi er of all siddhi. # cannot speak of the magnificence of this mantra. $ad # ten thousand million mouths % ten thousand million tongues, # could still not speak of it, O &arames ari. #t is the most secret thing in the 0'(worlds, ery hard to obtain, the great pitha )amarupa, gi ing the fruit of all desires. !aheshani, reciting in this way gi es endless fruit, if, by the power of good fortune one attains this pitha. O !aheshani, after reciting the mantra there, it gi es endless fruit. haira!i, siddhi resides in that high place *described in+ this tantra, without doubt.

Guptasadhana Tantra
A mantra is, like everything else, Shakti. But the mere utterance of a mantra without more is a mere movement of the lips . Shakti & Shakti, Sir John Woodroffe. This tantra is likely -uite old. #t is -uoted as a source in the Matrikabhedatantra, which may possibly date from the 1'th century c.e. The edition used for this abstract is "o. '11 in the .howkhamba $aridas Sanskrit series. The work is unabashedly of a )aula slant, briefly e/posed in twel e short patalas *chapters+. "hapter #ne$ Set on the pleasant peak of )ailash mountain, De i first says that she has heard of the greatness of the path of the )ulas, but now wants to hear more. Shi a says that as he is her sla e, % out of lo e, he will tell her what she re-uests. )ulachara, he says, is great knowledge % should be concealed, particularly from those of the pashu *herdlike+ disposition, in the same way that De i would hide her se/ual organs from others. )ulachara, he says, is the essence of the edas, the puranas % other shastras, % is ery difficult to obtain. 0 en if he had tens upon tens of millions of mouths, he would be unable to describe the magnificence of the path of )ula. Shakti, he says, is the root of the entire uni erse, per ading all, % she is the cause of knowledge arising in a sadhaka. )nowing Shakti brings happiness in this world % causes a sadhaka to dissol e in the body of Shakti in the ne/t. "e/t, Shi a says that the Kula-shakti should be worshipped with the 0%-makaras, & describes suitable shaktis for this worship as a dancer, a Kapalini, a whore, a washing girl, a girl who cuts hair, a rahmani, a &hudrani, a hopala maiden & a flower-girl. 'hese are the 0(-tantrik Kulashaktis. "hapter 'wo$$ &ar ati says she wants to know about sadhana, % breaks into a eulogy of the guru. She says the guru is 1rahma, 2ishnu % Rudra % is the refuge. 3uru is sacred bathing places *tirtha+, guru is tapas, guru is fire, guru is the sun % consists of the whole uni erse. She asks by which mantra % in which ways the guru should be ser ed % worshipped. She asks what his meditation image is.

&hi!a says that women, because of their emotional nature, should not ha!e secrets re!ealed to them. "e ertheless, out of lo e for her, he will tell her of the meditation image % the nature of the guru. #t should not be re ealed to pashus, he warns. $e says that )ust as Kula represents &hakti, so *kula represents &hi!a . 4 person who is dissol ed in Shakti is called a )ulina. This is a reference to the idea that Shi a is the witness, inert, a corpse, % it is Shakti, )ula, who creates, maintains % destroys the uni erse. The guru is the )ula circle, % one should bow to the guru seated in the centre of a great lotus which has the colour of an autumnal moon. $e has a face like the full moon, % wears celestial clothes, % is scented with hea enly perfumes. $e is united with the greatly alluring &urade!i, on his left, % his hands show the mudras gi ing boons % dispelling fear. $e is marked with e ery auspicious sign, % is situated in the great 1,000 petal lotus on the head. Shri &ar ati then asks to hear more. She wants to know about the meditation image of the guru5s shakti. Shi a replies that she is like the red lotus, wearing beautiful red clothes, she has a slender waist, % is adorned with red 6ewels % a red diadem. She resembles the brightness of the autumn moon, wears beautiful shining earrings, % sits on the left of her own lord *natha+. She shows the signs gi ing boons % dispelling fear % holds a lotus in one of her hands.

Chapter Three
&ar ati asks #sh ara, whom she addresses as the gi er of liberation, the lord of breath % !ahade a, about preparatory acts *purashcharana+ sadhakas must undertake. 4s in the Kankalamalinitantra, Shi a says that the way to accomplish sadhana of the great mantra is through one5s own will, here described as sveshtachara rather than svecchacharya. The usual defects % rules applying to whether worship is during the day or night do not apply. 4t morning, % at midday the sadhaka should recite the mantra % ha ing performed pu6a should once more recite the mantra at the e ening twilight. #n the e ening, the sadhaka is to offer food % other offerings acc7to his will. 4fter doing so, the best of sadhakas should also recite the mantra at the dead of night. Together with his own shakti, he should recite the mantra. 8oined with his shakti, the mantra gi es siddhi, % not otherwise, Shi a says. 'here is no siddhi without a Kula-shakti , e en in thousands of millions of years. 4fter worshipping the )umari, a sadhaka should gi e her offerings of food % the like % recite the mantra 109 times. 4fter doing so, one should gi e dakshina *gift+ to the guru, such as gold % clothes. :nless the guru is satisfied, success in the mantra cannot be obtained. Success means that one becomes like 1haira a or Shi a himself.

Chapter Four::
This chapter deals with the shakti % her characteristics. Shankara says that she may be one5s own shakti or another5s. She should be youthful % intelligent, % should be free of shame *lajja+ % disgust *ghrna+. 4fter using the 0;(elements acc7to the rule, the sadhaka should recite the mantra placing it 100 times on the head, 100 times on the forehead, 100 times where the hair is parted in the centre *sinduramandala or simanta+, 100 times on the mouth, 100 times on the throat,

100 times in the region of the heart, 100 times for each of her breasts, 100 times for the na el, % 100 times at the yoni. 4fter doing so, the sadhaka should think of himself as one with Shi a, % using the &hi!a mantra should worship his own lingam. .hewing tambula *pan+, % with bliss or e+citement in his heart, he should place his lingam in the yoni of shakti . $e should offer his atma, together with dharma % adharma, % e erything else in his nature as a sacrificer offers to fire in the susumna-nadi using a mantra ending with &!aha . Then, while still 6oined with his shakti, he should utter the mantra 100 or 1,000 times. The full sacrifice, which here implies orgasm, he should then offer using the prakashakasha mantra, again ending with S aha. 'he semen which flows from this orgasm should then be offered to the De!i . #t may be noted here that this whole process, though couched in e/plicitly se/ual terms, can also refer to the bliss when )undalini rises through the sushumna(nadi % the chakras. <hoe er worships acc7to the pre ious method, says Shi a, becomes free from illness, wealthy, % e-ual to the god of lo e )ama himself. $is enemies are all destroyed, % he becomes successful on earth, gaining all dominion, % e-ual to Shi a himself.

Chapter Five
4fter all this e/citement, &ar ati wants to know about preparatory acts, % how many times the mantra gi en to the disciple by the guru should be recited in the months after initiation. Shi a says that during the first month, the mantra should be recited =00,000 times, in month two 1,>00,000 times, % in the third month 1,=00,000 times. #n months four % fi e, the number is ',000,000 times for each. #n month si/, the mantra has to be recited ',=00,000 times, % in the se enth month, ?,>00,000 times. #n the eighth month, 6apa is ?,?00,000 times, % in month nine ?,;00,000 *or could be ;,?00,000+ times. !onth ten needs recitation =,000,000 times, while month 11 the number creeps up to =,;00,000 times. 1y the time the last month of the year is reached, the mantra has to be recited 10,000,000 times. Shi a says that only be reciting the mantra this many times, does it become successful. 4s well as worshipping the shakti in the manner described in chapter four, a sadhaka must also worship the )umaris, or irgins, feeding them % so forth. The Kulachudamani tantra goes into some detail about this process. Shi a says here that without shakti, he has the form of a corpse, while when he is 6oined with the de i, he is Shi o(ham.

Chapter Six
The goddess says she wants to know about the Dakshina form of Kalika, who she describes as the gi er of siddhi, % ery hard to get knowledge of in the 0'( worlds. Shi a says he will re eal this info7, which, he says is also spoken of in the Kalitantra % in @amala. $e says that knowing the essence of Dakshina )ali liberates an indi idual from the ocean of being % says that 1haira a is the rishi who re ealed the mantra, it should be pronounced in the :shnik metre. $e gi es the linchpin *kilaka+, shakti % other details % says that the application of the mantra is the four ends or aims of all human beings, dharma, artha, kama %

moksha. $e tells the De i that he has already gi en the complete mantra in the Kalitantra. De i then responds by asking about different elements in pu6a including meditation, the place of worship the different asanas *positions, seats+ called 4lidha % &ratyalidha, the cremation ground, % the nights when she should be worshipped. $e answers that a candidate should be an adhikari, that is competent or entitled to worship Kalika , % should do the daily pu6a dedicated to his or her guru, or the guru5s son or the guru5s shakti. <ithout this, the fruit of a sadhaka,s pu)a is taken by the rakshas & the yakshas. The guru % his or her family are to be offered the fruit of the pu6a % satisfied in e ery way. The 4lidha % &ratyalidha postures are the form of )ali as the destroyer % deluder of the uni erse, the form of )ali as fire itself, % so situated in the cremation ground. 1y performing these acc7to the in6unctions of the guru, one obtains the 0?(aims of mankind. One should do the pu6a, by implication in the cremation ground, at night at a time which appears to be in the second ghatika *a ghatika A>? minutes+ after midnight. On a great night of )ali, one should perform pu6a at midnight, using the fi e bha as, here meaning the 0;(makaras, as part of ira sadhana. <orshipping at different times, % in the different elas, gi es different results. Those of the di ine % heroic dispositions *bha as+, should worship using the 0;( tatt as, at midnight, to achie e the highest results % become free from time.

Chapter Seven
The chapter opens with something of a tiff between Shi a % Shakti. The goddess wants to know about the tatt a, % entreats Shi a, if he has lo e for her, to re eal these details. Shi a replies that she herself is the supreme tatt a, while he is a scatterbrain, % got it from her. De i entreats him to speak, % he says that he has spoken of these matters in many tantras of old. $e asks her why she keeps asking again % again. 4fter another short e/change, Shi a launches into the matter in hand. $e re eals a 0;(syllabled purifying mantra which he says is hidden in all the tantras % which refers to the 0;(elements of the hidden ritual. $e then describes how this affects the different worshippers. 1rahmins, he says dissol e into the supreme tatt a, 6ust as water flows into waterB )shatriyas achie e oneness *sahayoga+B 2aishyas gain e-uality with the De i, Shudras dwell eternally in the De i5s hea enB while others achie e e-uality with the *supreme+ tatt a. !ore details, he says, may be found in the !ilatantra, which may be the Brihadnila tantra, % in other places such as yamalas.

Chapter Eight
This chapter describes a chakra which may be used to decide whether a gi en !antra will produce success. The then follows a description of the bases used for pu6a. These may be yantras, gems, images, or a Shi a lingam. :nlike some other tantras, this work recommends the pu6a using the lingam should be performed only when the lingam is made of a permanent substance. The 'odala 'antra recommends that &hi!a lingams should be made of clay . This chapter only has >> erses.

Chapter Nine
This entire chapter is de oted to the worship of Dhanada -akshmi . #t includes her !antra, @antra, pu6a, )a acha, % other ritual details. Dhanada bestows wealth to a de otee.

Chapter Ten
Deals with the worship of the 3oddess known as Matangi. contains the hymn of !atangi, )a acha % the !antra. She bestows the four aims of mankind.

Chapter Eleven
This brief chapter co ers the garland of letters, of ;0 letters of the alphabet which make up the body of the goddess. #t also deals with the physical rosary % describes the different substances from which it may be fashioned. These include crystal, red sandalwood, % beads of the Rudraksha plant. The best rosary is made of human skulls, % as also described as the great conch rosary. #nner recitation of the mantra is more powerful than e/ternal 6apa.

Chapter Twelve
The !antra known as 3ayatri is described in this chapter. The fifteen erses describe the 3ayatri as the greatest of all mantras. ha ing this tantra in one5s house protects from all misfortunes, % brings liberation. , , ,