Chapter 31 - The worship of Śaktis

The chapter starts speaking of the vīra puraścaraṇa (1-30’), as also found in the Tā.Bh.S.^[1] : the worship of paraśakti is prescribed, i.e. a woman who is not the wife of the sādhaka. The text continues with a description of the worship of eight Śaktis, i.e. eight women, each belonging to one of the following classes: brahmāṇī, kṣatriyā, vaiśyā, śudrā, a harlot, the daughter of a barber, a washer-woman and a yoginī. The vīracārī sādhaka has to invite them in his house, welcome and please them by offering good dresses and ornaments; then he should worship them as the Eight Mothers, i.e. the eight different aspects of the Goddess, and invoke the grace of the Goddess for his mantrasiddhi by singing a hymn in the left ear (karṇejapastotra) of each of these ladies whom he considers to be the symbol of the Goddess. This hymn is found in verses 18-26 of this chapter.

Next, it is spoken about prayoga (vv.30"-34’) and the importance of cakrapūjā at the end of any prayoga, for one’s own protection and to eliminate the errors done during the prayoga (vv.34"-41’).

Verses 41"-45 mention three mudrās to perform during the homa, which are mṛgī, haṃsī and śūkarī.^[2]

Verse 46 says which vessel one should use for each of the ṣaṭkarmas.^[3]

Then the Lord, requested by the Goddess, speaks of some medicines which enable a person to attain good health (vv.47-52) and of some rituals which give perfection in speech (vv.53-103).

Again, questioned by the Goddess, the Lord reveals the ingredients of a few medicines for the protection of children and of the house (104-120’)^.204

The chapter concludes with two hymns which are not present in the Tā.Bh.T., one dedicated to the yoginīs and one to Vārāhī (vv.120"-194).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See pages 328-330 of the Tā.Bh.S. (Vārāṇasī: 1983).

[2]:

See pages 373-374 of the Tā.Bh.S. (Vārāṇasī: 1983).

[3]:

See page 379 of the Tā.Bh.S. (Vārāṇasī: 1983).