Mantras and Vidyas - Godhead As Sound

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htm
Mantras and Vidyas -- Godhead as

sound
There will be born at London English folk whose mantra for worship is in
the Phiringa (foreign) language, who will be undefeated in battle and
Lords of the World - Meru Tantra, XXIII, 17th century
The 51 matrikas (letters of the Sanskrit alphabet) constitute the Goddess

in the form of sound. This is why Kali wears a garland of 51 skulls and it is
also why these letters are shown on the petals of the six chakras. The
yantra above is called the Tortoise Chakra (source Gandharva Tantra)
and is used to determine whether the area a practitioner is working in is
inimical or not to his worship.
Below is the Matrika Chakra. This, says Ram Kumar Rai in his
excellent Encyclopaedia of Yoga, is to be drawn with saffron (kesara)
for Shakti worship and with ashes (bhasma) for Shiva worship. It contains
all the 51 matrikas and is used in the first of the ten rites to purify a mantra
(samskara) after it has been received from a guru. On the petals of the
© 1975-2018 All rights reserved. None of this yantra are the consonants while the vowels are in the eight spokes. In the
material may be reproduced, apart from purely centre is the syllable Hsauh while in the cardinal directions is the Bam bija
and in the intermediate directions the Tham bija mantra.
personal use, without the express permission of
the Webmaster
Web pages designed by Mike Magee.
[email protected]
Original artwork is © Jan Bailey, 1996-2018.

Translations are © Mike Magee 1996-2018.
The U.K. Main Site

at www.shivashakti.com is
Perhaps one of the
Hosted by Register.com
clearest expositions of
the tantrik view of
mantra is given in Sir
John Woodroffe's
collection of
essays, Shakti and
Shakta, chapter 24.
The supreme absolute

(Parabrahman) exists
in the human being
(jivatma) as Shabda
Brahman, the absolute
as sound. Mantras are
not prayers and the
relationship of the
letters of the Sanskrit
alphabet, whether
consonants or vowels,
he says, point to the
appearance of devata
(divinity) in different forms. An uttered mantra is the manifestation of a
more subtle sound while mantras themselves are forms of Kundalini.
Mantras may be male, female or neutral. Female mantras are called
Vidyas.
"By Mantra the sought for (Sadhya) Devata appears, and by Siddhi therein
is had vision of the three worlds. As the Mantra is in fact Devata, by
practice thereof this is known. Not merely do the rhythmical vibrations of
its sound regulate the unsteady vibrations of the sheaths of the
worshipper, but therefrom the image of the Devata appears." (op cit)
Mantras are masculine (solar), feminine (lunar) or neuter. A female mantra
is called a vidya, which means knowledge, while solar and neuter forms
are called mantras. Mantras are only such if they were first revealed by a
rishi or seer. Only then do they have life, according to the tradition. A
mantra can only work if it is received from a guru who has, herself or
himself, received it in an unbroken line from its first rishi. There are,
however, exceptions to this, according to some tantras which prescribe
methods of purification for mantras received in dream. And, according
to Mahachinachara, the Kali mantra does not rely on the very elaborate
rules usually found in the Tantras.
In describing mantras, the different tantrik texts always give their origin or
rishi as well as the metre to pronounce them. While a mantra is divinity in
sound form, a yantra is the same in geometrical form and an image the
devata in gross form. Refer also to the page on Tattvas on the relationship
between the consonants and the 36 tattvas.
Bija Mantras
The word Bija means a seed and describes a mantra which is usually of
one syllable. There are many tantrik 'dictionaries' of the matrikas which
indicate their significance as well as the meaning of the bija or seed
mantras. This section below draws information from
the Bhutadamara (BD); the Varnanighantu (VN), alleged to be part of
the Rudrayamala; and the Uddharakosha (UK), ascribed to
Dakshinamurti. Longer mantras are often formed from a concatenation of
these bijas. The table below is not exhaustive, there are many more bijas.
Om Shrim Hrim Krim Hum
Aim Phat Krom Svaha Klim
Hum Hraum Drim Sphem Plrem

Klrim Svaha Thah Prim Tham Tham Thah Thah Sphim
Hrum Hrum Hskphrem Gam Blum
Om is the most renowned bija mantra. The Bhutadamara describes it as

the face of Kala. Revealed by Mahakala, it is the form of creation,
maintenance and withdrawal.
The bija mantra Shrim is described as Vishnupriya - the beloved of Vishnu

- that is Lakshmi, according to the UK. The syllable Hrim is called the
Maya bija. It is also Raudri, according to the Bhutadamara. The UK
describes it as the Para or supreme bija. The bija mantra Krim is
described as the pitribhuvasini, that is the goddess who dwells in the
ancestral or cremation ground, Kali. It is also the dravana and kledana
bija.
Hum with the long letter 'u' is called the Kurcha bija and is the mantra of
the Mother worshipped by heroes (viras). The Bhutadamara also
describes it as the mantra of Mahakala. Aim is called Vagbhava bija and is
the syllable of Sarasvati, according to the BD. Phat is the bija of the great
fire at the end of time (Pralayagnirmahajvala).
Krom is called the Krodhisha bija. Svaha, otherwise known as Thah Thah,
is Vahnijaya, representing the fire sacrifice.
Klim is the deluder of the three worlds bija, also known as Kama or
Manmatha, the Hindu god of love, often identified with Krishna. It is the
sexual desire bija, says the BD. Hum (with the short letter 'u') is called
the Kavacha or armour bija. It is the bija of Chandabhairavi. Hraim is the
bija which destroys great sins (mahapataka), and is the light mantra. Drim
is called the great Kinkini (small bell) bija, says the Bhutadamara.
Sphem is the Bhairava (Shiva) bija which comes at the end of a yuga.

Plrem is the Vetala (vampire) bija, according to the Bhutadamara.
Klrim Svaha is called the bija which causes things to tremble. It is the
Manohari and ends in Thah Thah (Svaha, see above). The mantra Prim is
the crow bija, used in works of Indrajala (magic). The UK describes this
bija as the Vagura. Tham Tham Thah Thah are the bijas in the worship of
the greatly alluring Chandika, says the BD. Sphrim is the bija of the
uncanny Dhumrabhairavi (smoky Bhairavi), also known as Phetkarini.
The bija Hrum (with long letter 'u') is the single syllable mantra of Kalaratri,
the great night of time. The same bija, but with a short letter 'u', is the
mantra of Vaivasvata.
Hskphrem, says the BD, is the bija mantra of Ananda Bhairava in the form
of one's own guru.
Artwork is © Jan Bailey, 1996-2018. Translations are © Mike Magee 1996-2018. Questions or
comments to [email protected]
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http://www.shivashakti.com/mantra.

Mantras and Vidyas -- Godhead as

The 51 matrikas (letters of the Sanskrit alphabet) constitute the Goddess

Web pages designed by Mike Magee.

Original artwork is © Jan Bailey, 1996-2018.

The U.K. Main Site

The supreme absolute

Om Shrim Hrim Krim Hum

Aim Phat Krom Svaha Klim

Hum Hraum Drim Sphem Plrem

Hrum Hrum Hskphrem Gam Blum

Om is the most renowned bija mantra. The Bhutadamara describes it as

The bija mantra Shrim is described as Vishnupriya - the beloved of Vishnu

Sphem is the Bhairava (Shiva) bija which comes at the end of a yuga.

Back to the Home Page.

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