[Query] What is Khaḍgamālā and what is its significance?
Khaḍgamālā is not merely a stōtra or a hymn but is a Mālāmantra which invokes Mahātripurasundarī along with all her āvaraṇa dēvatās. It is a very powerful invocation. Lalitā Sahasranāma, Lalitā Triśatī Shudda śakti mālā – these are considered to be an absolute must for the daily recitation of a Srīvidyā upāsaka. By chanting this Mālāmantra in current times where daily Navāvaraṇa cakrārcana saparyā is difficult, the complete fruit of performing Navāvaraṇa is assured to the sādhaka who chants this mālāmantra while contemplating on the āvaraṇa deities within the Srīcakra.
Several scriptures have dealt with this immensely powerful and important mālāmantra. Those include Tripurārṇava Tantra, Tantrarāja Tantra, Vāmakēśvara Tantra, Rudrayāmala’s Rājarājēśvarī Pariśiṣṭa, Lalitā Pariśiṣṭa Tantra, etc., to name a few. Even the Lalitōpākhyāna, a later addendum to the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa reveals a mālā named “Sahasrākṣarī Vidyā”, on the lines of the Shuddha śakti mālā.
The Mālāmantra is of five types: Sambuddhyanta, Namō’nta, Svāhānta, Tarpaṇānta, and Jayānta. By having each of these five malās for Shiva, Shakti, and Shiva – Shakti Mithuna, we end up with fifteen mālās, which along with the three Tripurasundarī mālā mantras, form the eighteen Malas of Srīvidyā.
As per some Tantras, Sambuddhyanta is for japa, Namō’nta is for archana, Svāhānta is for hōma, Tarpaṇānta is for tarpaṇa, and Jayānta is for stōtra. Thus, most of the things required for the mantra puraścarana are taken care of through these mālā mantras. Each of these fifteen mālās is chanted one per tithi from Pratipat to Amāvāsyā or Pūrṇimā. There are three different sets of r̥ṣyādi nyāsa for these mālās, based on different Tantras and sampradāya-bhēda. Even the number of letters in each of these mālās is calculated differently based on different readings of the mālās, sampradāya bhēda, and also depending on whether the mālā is chanted for kāmya or niṣkāma purpose. Pāṭhabhēdas depend on one’s own Guru Krama. That said, this mālā cannot be modified willy nilly without a proper pramāṇā from any of the Tantras accepted in the śrīkula. For example, a certain lineage claiming to trace itself back to Vidyāraṇya has a version of the mālā edited by one Kalyāṇānanda Bhāratī with ridiculous modifications to this mālā – including the addition of names such as ādiśaṅkaramayi, vidyāraṇyamayi, etc.) to the mālā, as well as insertion of words such as pratāpabhārati, etc. Such practices are not only ridiculous but also asāmpradāyika.
It is actually wonderful if one is able to chant all the fifteen mālas every day. The next better thing is to chant Shuddha śakti sambuddhyanta mālā plus the mālā designated for that particular tithi. The least would be to simply recite the Shuddha śakti sambuddhyanta mālā, which is considered mandatory.
These mālās represent the āvaraṇa dēvatās of Srīcakra and hence the sādhaka should internally worship these deities in one’s own body, in the seven chakras. This is the way of chanting the mālāmantra during the antaryāga. The exact method is to be learned from one’s own Guru. In Saundaryalaharī, in the ślōka ‘kṣitau ṣaṭpañcāśat’, Shaṅkara Bhagavatpāda explains the secret raśmi-krama of Srīvidyā. The total number of raśmis in the bodily chakras is 360, which corresponds to the 360 days of the physical year. Every man, who has healthy living, healthy thinking, healthy food habits i.e., living an ideal and perfect life, evolutes with time. The climax of this evolution is what may be known as the state of mōkṣa. However, due to the difficulties in achieving perfect lifestyles as advocated by various śāstras, evolution goes on at a very slow rate, requiring crores of births for mōkṣa. Thus the need for techniques like Yoga and upāsanā to accelerate this process of evolution.
Yōgasiddhas know how to rapidly achieve the evolution of one complete year of optimal living in one day. The chanting of this mālamantra, if done correctly, has a similar effect. The above-said ślōka of Saundaryalaharī can be interpreted in two ways as related to raśmi saṅkalana. One is the complicated technique of Shaḍanvaya Shāmbavākhya Mahāmithuna Saparyā, which can be performed only by sādhakas who have received the Mahāśāmbhava dīkṣā after having undergone Pūrṇābhiṣēka and performed at least two puraścaraṇas of Mahāṣōḍaśī. Only such a sādhaka who has pravēśa into Shāmbhavāmnāya has access to this maṇḍala of Siddhas invoked during this worship. It may be performed only on five particular days, which again have to be known from one’s own Guru. The second interpretation again speaks of raśmis, which are same as the āvaraṇa dēvatās detailed in the Khaḍgamālā. Thus, raśmi saṅkalana may also be done by using Shuddha śakti śiva mithuna sambuddhyanta mālā. Vdānanda Kavim ḍiṇḍima and other great scholars have given hints with respect to these higher practices of Srīvidyā whereas Saubhāgya Kalpalatā and Lalitā Tantra detail the prāyōgika aspects of these two raśmi kramas respectively. This matter was discussed here only to throw pointers at the advanced use of Khaḍgamālā and not to encourage people to undertake these upāsanā kramas without the direct guidance of a learned Guru.
As mentioned earlier, one needs to be initiated into at least Pañcadaśī to be qualified to chant the Khaḍgamālā and necessarily have the Mahāśāmbhava dīkṣā to be able to undertake the Shaḍanvaya Krama and other advanced practices.
The Shuddha mithuna mālā addresses all the 360 raśmis and brings about the evolution that should have normally happened in a year. This information was revealed to me one morning by Brahmaśrī N. Subrahmanya Iyer, known far and wide with his dīkṣānāma Chidānandanātha.
[Query] Does Khaḍga mean sword or mantra?
Sanskrit words can have many meanings and khaḍga could mean stuti, though if one understands the context of this mālā, such interpretations are easily realized as farfetched and unnecessary.
Sword is the correct interpretation here for the word khaḍga. Each of the fifteen mālās is popularly recognized by upāsakas in two ways:
1. The actual type of the mālā: Shuddha śakti sambuddhyanta, Shuddha śiva jayānta, etc.
2. Based on the siddhi granted by the mālā (in sakāma pakṣa), it is identified as khaḍga mālā, pādukā mālā, etc.
This becomes clear by observing the viniyōga of the śuddha śakti mālā, khaḍgasiddhau, as stated in the Lalitā Parisiṣṭa Tantra. It is this mālā that promises the following:
tādr̥śam khaḍgamāpnōti yēna hasta sthitēna vai |
aṣṭādaśa mahādvīpa samrād bhōktā bhaviṣyati ||
As śuddha śakti mālā is the most popular, and the siddhi associated with this mālā is khaḍga siddhi, people popularly refer to all the mālās as Khaḍgamālās which is technically incorrect. It is only the first of the fifteen that is called the Khaḍgamālā. Now the Pañcadaśa mālās are discussed in various Tantras such as the Lalitā Pariśiṣṭa, Rudrayāmaḷa, and Tripurārṇava. But Br̥hadvāmakēśvara (quoted by several manuals), while describing the ṣaṭkarmas, does the uddhāra of the mālā mantra. This mālā has a longer phalaśruti which is mostly about protection: agnivāta mahākṣōbhē, etc. Khaḍga is used for defense and offense and the utility of the mālā (śuddha śakti sambuddhyanta) for both these purposes is detailed in this Tantra. One can see that the phalaśruti was modified later to drop some lines indicating its use for ṣaṭkarmas.. The corrupted readings of the phalaśruti are abundant. Every text published in Kannada reads:
āpatkālē nityapūjāṁ vistārāt kartumārabhēt |
Now, we are talking of situations like bhūkampa, agnivāta, viplava, etc. When nitya pūjā itself is difficult, would Parāmbā be foolish to expect a detailed Māhāyāga at that time? The correct reading is:
āpatkālē nityapūjām vistārāt kartumakṣamaḥ |
During āpatkāla, when one is unable to perform nityapūjā, he can recite the mālā mantra and obtain the benefit of nityapūjā. It is with this pramāṇa from Vāmakēśvara that Brahmaśri Chidānandanātha composed the Laghu pūjā paddhati using the Khaḍgamālā. Of course, unlike the incorrect practice followed by many, he correctly teaches the use of namō’nta and tarpaṇanta for pūjā and tarpaṇa as sambuddhyanta is specifically for japa. Shaṅkarāraṇya, while commenting on Lalitā Sahasranāma touches on this subject when dealing with the ślōka:
cakrarājārcanam dēvyā japō nāmnām ca kīrtanam |
bhaktasya kr̥tyamētāvadanyadabhudayam viduḥ ||
During āpatkāla, japa without nyāsa, etc., Sahasranāma and Khaḍgamālā (as a substitute for cakrārcana) is prescribed in Sundarī Tantra (quoted by Shaṅkarāraṇya). Moreover, the phalaśruti of the mālā in Br̥hadvāmakēśvara also says:
ēkavāram japadhyānam sarvapūjā phalam labhēt |
However, it is to be noted that this statement is only referring to āpatkāla caryā and should be taken as pramāṇa to justify laziness or non-performance of advised karma even when possible.
A hymn of similar nature is the Khaḍgamālā of Bhagavatī Dakṣiṇā Kālī. In the phalaśruti there, Lord Bhairava states that every name invoked in the mālā is like a protective sword, which protects the upāsaka and destroys his foes.
[Query] Should Garimā siddhi be used in Khaḍgamālā?
The structure of the Srīcakra varies within the three primary sampradāyas of Srīvidyā. The popular ślōka which describes the Srīcakra is as follows:
bindutrikōṇa vasukōṇa daśārayugma manvaśranāgadalasaṁyuta ṣōḍaśāram |
vr̥ttatrayaṁ ca dharaṇīsadanatrayaṁ ca śrīcakramētaduditaṁ paradēvatāyāḥ || (Rudrayāmala – 25, 3 and Siddhayōgēśvarīmata – 13,5)
This describes vr̥ttatraya (three girdles or circles) after the Bhūpura Trailōkyamōhana chakra. As per samhāra krama, this will thus become the dvitīyāvaraṇa of the Chakrarāja. In Hayagrīva sampradāya, these three circles will be absent in the Srīcakra. In the ānandabhairava sampradāya, these lines are present in the Srīcakra, but there is no archana performed in this āvaraṇa. However, in the Dakṣiṇāmūrti sampradāya, these three lines are present in the Srīcakra and are also worshipped as one of the āvaraṇas. In the outermost line, which is described as white in color, the mātr̥ka śaktis or yōginīs of the letters kaṁ to kṣaṁ (Kalarātrikā and others) are worshipped. In the second circle, which is described as red in color, following an anti-clockwise pattern, the śaktis of the svaras, i.e., aṁ to aḥ (Amr̥tā, etc.) are worshipped. In the third and the innermost circle, described as having kr̥ṣṇa varṇa, the Nityā goddesses are worshipped. The Chakrēśvarī of this āvaraṇa is Tripurēśinī, mudrā is Mahāyōni and the siddhi is Garimā. So, this is where the Garimā siddhi fits in. Hence, people who are following the Khaḍgamālā of sampradāyas other than Dakṣiṇāmūrti should not include Garimā siddhi in the first āvaraṇa. Also, this āvaraṇa, which is found only in Dakṣiṇāmūrti sampradāya and which houses the Garimā siddhi is called Trivarga sādhaka cakra.
[Query] Please guide me where I can find 75 Khaḍgamālās.
There are only fifteen mālās:
1. Shiva
2. Shakti
2. Shiva-Shakti mithuna
These combined with:
1. Sambuddhyanta
2. Namō’nta
3. Svāhānta
4. Tarpaṇānata
5. Jayānta
Together, they form 3X5 = 15 mālāmantras. Some add an additional Suvarṇa Puṣpāñjali mālā to form sixteen mālās. Others add three mālās to the standard fifteen to form a set of eighteen. These three should be learned directly from Sadguru as these three are related to siddhi of the three kūṭas of the mūlamantra.
[Query] I have a doubt, whether it is Mahāskandhē or Mahāspandē? Please clarify.
This really depends on the sampradāya or the Tantra used as the pramāṇa. Our sampradāya uses both these based on pramāṇas from several Tantras. Lalitā Pariśiṣṭa, used as the pramāṇa by Bhāskararāya Makhīndra in his Mālāmantrōddhāra, uses only Mahāmahāspandē.
Speaking from the point of Krama tantra, each of these ten names – Mahāmahēśvari to Mahāmahāśrīcakranagarasamrājñi has a special significance. Even in the tradition followed by the Sringērī pīṭha, widely misrepresented by the likes of Tummalapalli Ramalingeshwara Rao, etc., and modified after the siddhi of Srī Chandraśēkhara Bhāratī (who did not pass on Mahāṣōḍaśī to his successor), there is a procedure to offer tarpaṇa to these ten divinities during the navāvaraṇa pūjā. Though the practice exists, the intention behind this practice is not generally known to most. In the Krama system, each of these ten epithets represents specific divinities. For example, Mahāmahāguptā refers to Bhagavatī Guhyakālikā. Each of these ten refers to the ten āmnāya nāyikas of the Nirvāṇa śrīcakra, following the pramāṇa of ūrdhvamnāya Tantra, Br̥hadbaḍabānala, etc. The same krama is listed in the procedure taught by Mahāmantrasiddha Brahmībhūta Srī Mūrkhāraṇya. Srī śrīdharānanda, a learned scholar and a disciple of Dhēnukānanda of Kāśī, describes the use of these epithets in the Kālīkrama as well, but with minor differences. Also, our Guru once mentioned that there is a small shrine dedicated to Bhagavatī Bimbāmbikā somewhere near the Dvārakā maṭha and the carving below the idol of Bhagavatī reads: Mahāmahājñaptā, indicating her association with Mahāvidyā Bagalāmukhī.
[Query] Can I chant Khaḍgamālā learning it from the web?
Khaḍgamālā should never be chanted without initiation into Srīvidyā. It is like trying to barge into a labyrinth without access to its front door. The very basic mistake is to even refer to it as Khaḍgamālā stōtra. It is not a stōtra but a mantra, a mālāmantra to be precise. The popular version, now being broadcasted without discrimination, is called śuddha śakti sambuddhyanta mālā, the first of the fifteen mālās. Because it confers Khaḍga siddhi on the sādhaka, it is referred to as Khaḍgamālā. This mantra can be chanted with sakāma or niṣkāma attitudes, and some letters change based on this criterion. By referring to it as Khaḍgamālā, one automatically hints at the sakāma mode. It is said in Lalitā Tantra, “During dīkṣā, the Guru invokes the navāvaraṇa dēvatās into the disciple by reciting the powerful mālāmantra. He then recites the same in the disciple’s ears and then explains the fifteen variations of the mālā. He also then warns the śiṣya against even mentioning the mālā in front of a person who is a non-initiate”. It becomes clear here that like other mantras, even the śuddha śakti mālā is given during the dīkṣā by the Guru to the disciple. Again, each of the fifteen mālās belongs to a particular prakr̥ti and arises from the fifteen letters of the Pañcadaśī mantra.
Rudrayāmala says, “One should repeat the śuddha śakti mālā after the japa of the mulavidyā (Pañcadaśī or ṣōḍaśī). This increases the merit obtained by chanting the mūlavidyā by a thousand times. O Umā, a person who is not duly initiated into the secrets of Srīkulācāra, destroys his life here and thereafter, by chanting this mālā. Kurukullā destroys his family and dynasty”. By reciting the śaktimālā, one begins to accelerate the activity of Kuṇḍalinī and begins to lead her through the various chakras. This is an advanced practice and requires the grace of the Guru. Without the mūlamantra and the energies of one’s Guru lineage (Guruśakti), most aspirants are incapable of handling or channeling the huge amounts of energies generated by chanting mantras. The deities, who are various forms of energy, begin manifesting in the sādhaka, and without the energy of the mūlamantra, they attain a state of non-synergy and create havoc. The aspirant thus brings upon himself a great risk.
गत्यालसा घूर्णितनेत्रपद्मा
वाण्या स्वभक्तोष्महरापि सौम्या ।
जाने दुरज्ञानविनाशनेन
चण्डीति गीता सुभगा भवानी ॥