ललितोपाख्याने मन्त्रतारतम्यकथनम्
Hierarchy of Mantras in the Lalitopākhyāna
यैस्तु तप्तं तपस्तीव्रं तैरेवात्मनि ध्यायते / तस्य नो पश्चिमं जन्म स्वयं यो वा न शङ्करः / न तेन लभ्यते विद्या ललिता परमेश्वरी
yaistu taptaṃ tapastīvraṃ tairevātmani dhyāyate / tasya no paścimaṃ janma svayaṃ yo vā na śaṅkaraḥ / na tena labhyate vidyā lalitā parameśvarī
Only those who have undergone fierce tapas can meditate upon her within their own self. For one who is not himself Śaṅkara (Śiva), there is no “final birth”; by such a one the Vidyā—Lalitā Parameśvarī—is not attained.