Adhyaya 318

Verse 1

इत्य् आग्नेये महापुराणे गणपूजा नाम सप्तदशाधिकत्रिशततमो ऽध्यायः अथाष्टादशाधिकत्रिशततमो ऽध्यायः वागीश्वरीपूजा ईश्वर उवाच वागीश्वरीपूजनञ्च प्रवदामि समण्डलम् ऊहकं कालसंयुक्तं मनुं वर्णसमायुतम्

Thus, in the Agni Mahāpurāṇa, the three-hundred-and-seventeenth chapter entitled “Worship of Gaṇa” comes to an end. Now begins the three-hundred-and-eighteenth chapter: “Worship of Vāgīśvarī.” The Lord said: “I shall expound the worship of Vāgīśvarī together with the ritual maṇḍala—(including) the contemplative procedure, its proper times and conjunctions, the mantra, and the associated classes of varṇa (syllables/phonemes).”

Verse 2

निषाद ईश्वरं कार्यं मनुना चन्द्रसूर्यवत् अक्षरन्न हि देयं स्यात् ध्यायेत् कुन्देन्दुसन्निभां

By the mind one should establish the Lord as the inner ruler, like the moon and the sun—steady and radiant. One should not give away or divulge the letters (i.e., written signs or secret syllables); one should meditate upon the form that shines like jasmine and the moon.

Verse 3

पञ्चाशद्वर्णमालान्तु मुक्तास्रग्दामभूषिताम् वरदाभयाक्षसूत्रपुस्तकाढ्यां त्रिलोचनां

She is adorned with a garland formed of the fifty letters (varṇamālā), and ornamented with strings of pearls and floral garlands. She displays the gestures of boon-giving and fearlessness, holds a rosary (akṣasūtra) and a book, and is three-eyed.

Verse 4

लक्षं जपेन्मस्तकान्तं स्कन्धान्तं वर्णमालिकां अकारादिक्षकारान्तां विशन्तीं मानवत् स्मरेत्

One should perform one hundred thousand japa repetitions of the garland of letters, visualizing it from the crown of the head down to the shoulders, beginning with ‘a’ and ending with ‘kṣa’, and remembering it as entering the body in the manner of a human figure.

Verse 5

कुर्याद् गुरुश् च दीक्षार्थं मन्त्रग्राहे तु मण्डलम् सूर्याग्रमिन्दुभक्तन्तु भागाभ्यां कमलं हितं

For the sake of initiation (dīkṣā), the teacher should prepare a maṇḍala at the time of receiving or imparting the mantra. A lotus-diagram (kamala) is recommended, with the Sun placed at the forefront and the Moon assigned its proper share, arranged according to the prescribed divisions.

Verse 6

चन्द्रमसायुतमिति ञ कृतमिति ख वीथिका पदिका कर्या पद्मान्यष्टौ चतुष्पदे वीथिका पदिका वाह्ये द्वाराणि द्विपदानि तु

“(The plan-groups are indicated by syllabic markers) ‘ña’ denotes ‘joined with the Moon (candramasāyuta)’, and ‘kha’ denotes ‘made/constructed (kṛta)’. In the four-footed (catuṣpada) layout, the vīthikā and padikā (side lanes) should be arranged with eight ‘lotus’ divisions (padmāni). Outside, along the vīthikā–padikā belt, the doors (dvārāṇi) are to be set with two-foot (dvipada) spacing.”

Verse 7

उपद्वाराणित द्वच्च कोणबान्धं द्विपट्टिकम् सिदानि नव पद्मानि कर्णिका कनकप्रभा

There should be subsidiary doorways (upadvāra) and a double (twofold) arrangement; the corners are to be secured with diagonal bands, and the door is to be made with two leaves (double shutters). Nine perfected lotuses (padmāni) are to be drawn/placed, whose central pericarp (karṇikā) shines with golden radiance.

Verse 8

केशराणि विचित्राणि कोणान्रक्तेन पूरयेत् व्योमरेखान्तरं कृष्णं द्वाराणीन्द्रेभमानतः

One should depict the variegated filaments (keśara) in an ornamental manner and fill the corners with red. The spaces between the “sky-lines” (vyoma-rekhā) should be colored black, and the doorways (dvārāṇi) should be laid out according to the prescribed measure (the Indra/elephant standard).

Verse 9

मध्ये सरस्वतीं पद्मे वागीशी पूर्वपद्मके हृल्लेखा चित्रवागीशी गायत्री विश्वरूपया

In the center of the lotus one should place/visualize Sarasvatī; in the eastern lotus-petal, Vāgīśī; then Hṛllekhā; then Citravāgīśī; and then Gāyatrī, endowed with the universal form (viśvarūpa).

Verse 10

शाङ्करी मतिर्धृतिश् च पूर्वाद्या ह्रीं स्ववीजकाः ध्येया सरस्वतीवच्च कपिलाज्येन होमकः संस्कृतप्राकृतकविः काव्यशास्त्रादिविद्भवेत्

One should meditate upon (the mantra-powers) Śāṅkarī, Mati, and Dhṛti, together with the preceding ones, and upon Hrīṃ along with their respective seed-syllables (bīja), as forms of Sarasvatī. By performing homa with ghee from a tawny cow (kapilā-jya), one becomes a poet in Sanskrit and Prakrit and a knower of poetics (kāvya-śāstra) and the allied sciences.