There are frequent queries regarding the puraścaraṇa saṁkhyā for mantras by many of our readers. Each mantra has its own specified minimum number but if the specific details are unknown, the following generic guideline from Tantrarāja Tantra can be followed:
एवं लक्षत्रयं प्रोक्तं प्रथमे तु कृते युगे |
त्रेतायां द्विगुणं तद्वत् द्वापरे त्रिगुणं स्मृतम् ||
कलौ चतुर्गुणं प्रोक्तमक्षराणां च संख्यया |
तार्तीयसप्तसंख्या सा तेन स्यादेकविंशतिः ||
तेनान्येषु युगेषु स्यात् संख्यावृद्धिरुदीरिता ||
evaṃ lakṣatrayaṃ proktaṃ prathame tu kṛte yuge |
tretāyāṃ dviguṇaṃ tadvat dvāpare triguṇaṃ smṛtam ||
kalau caturguṇaṃ proktamakṣarāṇāṃ ca saṃkhyayā |
tārtīyasaptasaṃkhyā sā tena syādekaviṃśatiḥ |
tenānyeṣu yugeṣu syāt saṃkhyāvṛddhirudīritā ||
The sādhaka is advised to recite akṣara-trilakṣa in Kr̥tayuga. For example, if one considers the mantra namaḥ śivāya, it consists of five syllables; 5X3 = 15 lakhs would be the japa-saṁkhyā for this mantra in Kr̥tayuga. While counting the akṣara-saṁkhyā, it is also held that only the first occurrence of each syllable is (apunaruktākṣarāṇi) to be accounted for. For example, in the case of the Kuvalaya mantra, śiva-śiva-vaśi-vaśi-hara-hara svāhā – the number of unique letters is six and hence the japa saṁkhyā would be eighteen lakhs. These numbers are doubled, tripled, and quadrupled in Trētā, Dvāpara, and Kali yugas respectively. This general rule applies to the first three categories of mantras: piṇḍa (single-syllabled), kartarī (three-syllabled) and bīja (four to nine syllabled) – according to Nityā Tantra.
In the case of ‘mantras’ which constitute ten to twenty syllables (known specifically as ‘mantra’), the japa-saṁkyā is akṣara-lakṣa. Again, the multiplication factor based on the yuga applies here.
In the case of Mālāmantras which range from twenty to a hundred syllables, the japa saṁkhyā is specifically a lakh (disregarding the actual syllable count) along with the multiplication factor determined by the yuga. For all Mālāmantras that have syllables in excess of a hundred, the fixed japa-saṁkhyā is ten-thousand (multiply by four for Kaliyuga).
As an example, if one considers the crown jewel of Mantras, śrīvidyā Pañcadaśākṣarī, though there are fifteen syllables in the mantra, the unique syllables are seven. When only the unique letters are counted, the vidyā does not get classified as a mantra but rather as bīja and hence the rule of akṣara-lakśatraya will apply here. Thus, the japa saṁkhyā for Pañcadaśī is twenty-one lakhs in Kr̥ta and four times that in Kaliyuga.
While this is the general rule, Tantras also prescribe a specific samkhyā for various mantras. Umānandanātha lists the following numbers in his Nityōtsava:
– Mahāgaṇapati – Twenty-eight thousand
– Rājaśyāmalā – One lakh
– Mahāvārahī – One lakh
– Parā – One lakh
It is further commented upon that these numbers are for Kr̥tayuga alone and need to be quadrupled in Kaliyuga.
Parā Tantra specifies the following numbers:
– Bālā – Three lakhs (for tryakṣarī)
– Annapūrṇā – One lakh
– Bhuvanēśvarī – Thirty-two lakhs
– Mahāgaṇapati – Four lakhs
– Laghuśyāmalā – Ten thousand
– Vāgvādinī – Ten lakhs
– Nakulīśvarī – One lakh
– Laghuvārāhī – Four lakhs
– Svapnavārāhī – One lakh
– Tiraskariṇī – One lakh