Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 161
The Description of the Four Durgā Mantras
बीजं साध्योपरि न्यस्य तस्मिन्स्थाप्य शवं जपेत् । अवष्टभ्य शवं शत्रुनाम्नाथ प्रजपेन्मनुम् ॥ १६१ ॥
bījaṃ sādhyopari nyasya tasminsthāpya śavaṃ japet | avaṣṭabhya śavaṃ śatrunāmnātha prajapenmanum || 161 ||
Indem man die Samen-Silbe (bīja) über dem beabsichtigten Ziel anbringt und dort einen śava etabliert, soll man Japa vollziehen. Nachdem man diesen śava niederdrückt (unterwirft), rezitiere man das Mantra wieder und wieder zusammen mit dem Namen des Feindes.
Narada (instructional discourse within technical/ritual section; framed in the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue tradition)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
The verse highlights the technical discipline of mantra-śāstra: correct placement (nyāsa), establishing a ritual support (śava), and sustained japa—showing that mantra practice is treated as a precise applied science within the Purana’s Vedāṅga-oriented section.
This verse is not primarily bhakti-oriented; it presents a pragmatic ritual-mantric method aimed at influencing an adversarial situation. In the broader Narada Purana, such technical methods are typically subordinate to higher dharma and devotion, but here the focus is procedural efficacy rather than devotional surrender.
It emphasizes applied mantra procedure—nyāsa (ritual placement), japa (repetition), and name-linked sankalpa—reflecting the Purana’s technical-science orientation in Book 1.3, adjacent to disciplines that systematize ritual performance.