Greatness of Panchakshara Mantra Continued

Devi said

Kali yuga is a polluted age, hard to cross and hard to conquer. The world is wrapped in the inauspicious and turns from dharma. The good conduct of varnas and ashramas decays and calamity arrives. Rights are uncertain and everything is against us. Since the line from guru to disciple disappears, the instruction is lost. Maheshvara, by what means are you devotees freed?

Ishvara replied

People who are my devotees cleanse their selves by taking refuge in the supreme learning of the panchakshara in their hearts, and are liberated, even though they may be tainted in thought, word and deed, may no longer remember the smritis, may be polluted and ungrateful, may be fault-finders and deceitful by nature, greedy and crooked, so long as their minds are sunk in me. My panchakshara is the learning that enables a person to cross the fear of samsara. Devi, I have promised the world that my devotee will be freed by this knowledge, even if he is fallen.

Devi asked

A fallen mortal is not held fit for karma. If he does the karma of karma yoga, he goes to hell. How then can a fallen person be liberated by this knowledge?

Ishvara replied

Beautiful one, what you say is true. Now hear from me a mystery kept secret until now. If a fallen person is so deluded that he worships me with a mantra other than the panchakshara, he doubtless goes to hell. Some live on water, some on air and keep other vows to make themselves suffer, but they cannot reach my world by those vows. If a person worships me even once with the panchakshara, he goes to my region. Such is the power of the mantra. Crores of austerities, sacrifices, vows and niyamas do not equal worship with the panchakshara. A person who worships me with the panchakshara is freed from the Pashas of bondage; he is liberated, and there is no need to think about it. Whether or not he uses a mantra to Rudra, so long as he worships me with the panchakshara even once, he is freed, even if foolish. Devi, a person who devoutly worships me with the six-syllable or the panchakshara, with the brahmanga, is liberated. Whether a person is fallen or not, whether he has reached me or not, when he has conquered his anger and worships me with this mantra, he becomes my devotee. Having reached me has a crore times the worth of not having reached me. So, Devi, one should worship me with this mantra in order to reach me. Having reached me, a person with qualities like friendliness and brahmacharya who devoutly worships me with this mantra gains my sarupya. Why say more? All devotees have the right to the panchakshara, and so it is best. By its powers the worlds, the Vedas, the great sages, eternal dharma, the gods and the whole universe stand. When dissolution comes, all that moves and does not is destroyed. Everything merges into Prakriti and dissolves. Devi, only I am established then; there is no second anywhere. At that time all the Vedas and sacred texts are established in the panchakshara. Protected by my Shaktis, they do not meet destruction. Through Prakriti and differences of the self, creation goes forth again from me. The gunas that had withdrawn within appear again. Then the divinity Narayana takes a form full of maya and lies on the waters on a couch made by a serpent. The five-faced grandfather was born from the lotus. He wanted to create the three worlds but, with no helper, could not. In the beginning, by the power of his mind, the very energetic one made ten sons. To increase their siddhis, the grandfather spoke to me: "Maheshvara, give Shakti to my sons." So he begged me. I took five faces and in order spoke the five syllables to the lotus-born one. The grandfather of the worlds took them with his five faces. He understood me, Maheshvara, as the one expressed by that expression. Having learned the different methods of application, Prajapati became a siddha through that mantra. He gave the mantra and its accurate meaning to his sons, and they received this jewel of a mantra directly from the grandfather of the worlds. Taught the path by him, they wished to worship me.

On Meru's summit there is a beautiful mountain named Munjavat, prosperous and loved by me, always guarded by my devotees. Eager to create the worlds, they tormented themselves there with fierce austerities, living on air, for a thousand divine years. Seeing their devotion, I showed myself before them at once. To make the creation of the worlds prosper, I told those noble ones everything about its application: rishi, metre, kilaka, bija-shakti, deity, nyasa in six limbs and digbandha. Understanding the greatness of the mantra, the rishis who were practising austerity saw the creation of devas, asuras and humans flourish properly. Now I will tell the supreme learning about the nature of this mantra. "Namah" must be said first and then "Shivaya." This learning of the panchakshara is present in all the Upanishads. It is the eternal seed of everything, of every kind of being. It expresses me and was first uttered from my mouth.

The goddess of this mantra has the colour of molten gold. Her breasts are full and peaked. She has four arms and three eyes, with the crescent moon on her head and hands like lotuses. She is gentle, her hands in the boon-giving and fearless gestures. She has every auspicious sign and is adorned with every ornament. She sits on a white lotus and her hair is dark blue and curly. Five coloured discs of rays are around her: yellow, black, smoky, golden and red. She is separately adorned with bindu and nada, which must be worshipped separately. Bindu is in the form of the crescent moon and nada has the form of a lamp flame. Fair-faced one, the second syllable is the seed (bija) of the mantra. The fourth syllable has a long vowel and the fifth is called Shakti. The rishi is named Vamadeva and the metre is pankti. I, Shiva, am the deity of the mantra. Beautiful one, the letters in order are said to stand for the rishis Goutama, Arti, Vishvamitra, Angiras and Bharadvaja. In general, the metres are gayatri, anushtup, trishtup, brihati and viraj and the gods are Indra, Rudra, Hari, Brahma and Skanda. Fair-faced one, my five faces are stated to be their places, starting with the east and moving upward, with "Na" and so on. The first, second and fourth syllables are pronounced with the udatta accent, the third is anudatta and the fifth is svarita. This is known as the fundamental learning of Shiva, Shiva's sutra and the panchakshara; it has other names too. This Shiva mantra is my great heart. "Na" is called my head, "ma" my tuft, "shi" my armour, "va" my eyes and "ya" my weapon. At the end of the letters one should say their accompaniments: namah, svaha, vashat, hum, vaushat and phat. While the basic mantra stays the same, the fifth letter can be embellished with the twelfth vowel sound.

With this mantra, through japa, oblations and the like, according to differences in thought, word and deed, a devotee should worship us. There will be variations according to wisdom, time, sacred text, understanding, capacity, wealth, use of yoga and inclination. Devi, wherever and whenever one does this, so long as the worship is full of devotion, it carries him to liberation. Beautiful one, so long as the mind is devoted to me, whether things are done in right order or reverse order, Shiva loves it. Even so, in all the sacred texts I have laid down some rules, so that my devotees are not utterly helpless. So I will first state the auspicious procedure for receiving this mantra. Without it, japa fails. With it, japa succeeds.