Kankal

amal
iniTant
ra

Womenaredivi
ne,
womenar eli
fe,
womenarejewel
s.Oneshoul
dalwaysbeeitheramongst
host
sofwomenorwithone'sownwoman.Whensheisonthebreastofasadhakainsexual
i
nter
cour
se,
thenspeedi
lyshebecomesl
iket
hecowofplenty-Devi
rahasya

Thewordkankalamal
inimeansgar l
andedinbones,orskelet
ons,aconstantthemeoftexts
rel
atedt
othegoddessKali.Thisworkther
efor
efal
lsint
ot heKali
kulacategoryoft
antr
iktext
s.
Theedit
ionusedfort
hisabstractwaspubli
shedbyKalyanaMandi rPrakashanin2033Samvat
(1973c.
e.)
.

TheKankamal ini
tantraisar elati
velyshor tworkofonlyf
ivepatal
as(chapters).Li
kemany
tantras,eachisofunevenl ength.Chapt erfi
veisprobabl
ylongerthanthepreviousf our
chapt ersputtogether.I
nt hecol ophonatt heendofeachchapt er
,thetantr
ai sascribedtothe
Dakshi namnaya, orsouther ntantri
kcur rent
.Mantrasaregivenbelowusingt heiTransformat
topr eservet
heircorrectform andpr onunciati
on(seeTantr
ikTextsformorei nfor
mat i
onon
i
Tr ans).Thereisat r
anscr i
ptionoft histextinSanskri
tnowattheMukt abodhaPr oject.

Chapt
erOne

Thef i
rstchapt eropenswi t
hBhai raviaskingBhai ravatot ellheraboutt hel etter
soft he
alphabet .Hesayst hatthelett
ersAt oKshaf ormtheabsol uteassound( Shabdabr ahma) ,and
thenpr oceedst oenumer at
et hefemal eshakt i
sassoci atedwi t
htheselet ters.Bhairavasays
thatthel ett
ersAt oKshaconsi stofShi vaandShakt i
,andwi thoutknowl edgeoft heirtr
ue
meani ng, i
tisnotpossibletobesuccessf ulpracti
singt heVamapat h.Thel ettersaremadeup
ofthet hreegunas.Thi schapter,shorterthantheot hers,thendi scussest hemaj orbi j
aorseed
mant ras, i
ncludi
ngOM, shr
ii.
m( Lakshmibi ja),kr
ii
.m, kl
ii.
m, hr i
i.
m, hu.m, huu. m,hrau.m, ai
.m,
krau.m, svaahaa,drii
.m andduu. m,prii.
m, Tha.m Tha. m andsphr i
i.
m.

Chapt
erTwo

Bhair
aviaddr
essesBhairavaasNi l
akantha(thebluethroat
ed)Mahadevaandaskshi mto
expl
aintoherthemeaningofyonimudr aandthethreetatt
vas.Hesayst hatyonimudr ai
sver
y
secr
etandshouldnotber eveal
ed.Iti
st heveryfor
m oftheabsolute,representingthe
chai
tanyaorconsci
ousnessofmant r
aandbest owsliberat
ion.Bygraceoft heyonimudra,
Bhair
avasayshewasabl et oconquerdeath.Semen, bl
oodandt heirconjunct i
onarethe
templeofManmatha(thegodofl ove).Theyonibij
amant rashouldber ecited108t i
mesand
t
heyoniitsel
fist
hetr
uef or
m oft hesupremeabsolut
e.Theyonishouldbeencir
cledwi
ththr
ee
t
hreads,whichar
etheida,thepingalaandthesushumna.TheyoniofDeviisthepri
mordi
al
(
Adya)form ofPr
akr
it
i(nature)
.ItisKundali
niandMahakundali
ni,saysShi
va.

Bhair
avat henspeaksoft henadisorchannelsofener gyi
nt hebody.Ther eare3.5koti(akoti
i
s10mi ll
ion)nadi s,butthethreenadisment i
onedabovear et hechief
,andr epr
esentthemoon,
thesunandf i
re.Bhairavathengoesont odescr i
bet hesi
xwel lknownchakr asthr
oughwhi ch
runsthethreadoft hesushumnaorcent ralnadii
nt hespine.Detail
saregivenoftheDaki ni
s,
thegodsandgoddesses, andthebijasofeachoft hesechakras,withverysimil
ardetail
sto
thosepublishedbySi rJohnWoodr off
einTheSer pentPower .AbovetheAj nachakra,says
Bhair
ava,isal otusof1,000pet al
s,whichistheplaceofthesevent eent
hkal a.

KundaliShakt
iist
hefor
m ofmantr
a,dwell
ingi
nthemuladhar
achakraandrisi
ngthr
ought
he
Chi
tri
nitotheBrahmandaor1,
000petall
otus,
ist
herosar
yoflet
ter
s,saysBhair
ava.

Ther
et henfol
lowsaYonikavachawhichisofsomei
nter
est
.Ishvar
asayst
hatbyhol
dingi
t
andreadingit
,itcausesal
lshakt
ist
ogiveboons.

Ther
ishiofthekavachai
sSadashiva,
themetr
efori
ttobepronouncedi
nisGayat
ri
,thedevat
a
i
stheEternalYonif
orm,whi
lei
tgivesthef
ourai
msofmankind.

OM ma.m maa.m mi
.m mi
i.
m mu.
m muu.
m me.
m mai
.m mo.
m mau.
m maHmamashi
ro
raxant
usvaahaa.

OM ma.m maa.
m mi
.m mi
i.
m mu.
m muu.
m me.m mai
.m mo.
m mau.
m maHOM maa.
m OM
aakuuTaa.
m mamar
axant
usvaahaama.
m maa.m.

OM ma.m maa.m mi
.m mi
i.
m mu.
m muu.
m me.
m mai
.m mo.
m mau.
m maHhR^
idayaadidaxa
bahu.
mr axant
u.

OM ma.
m maa.m mi
.m mi
i.
m mu.
m muu.
m me.
m mai
.m mo.
m mau.
m maHhR^
idayaadi
vaamabahu.
mraxant
u.

OM ma.m maa.
m mi
.m mi
i.
m mu.
m muu.
m me.
m mai
.m mo.
m mau.
m maHdaxapaada.
m
raxant
umama.

OM ma.m maa.
m mi
.m mii
.m mu.
m muu.m me.
m mai
.m mo.
m mau.
m maHvaamapaada.
m
raxant
umamasadaasvaahaasvaahaa.

OM ma.
m maa.
m mi
.m mi
i.
m mu.
m muu.
m me.
m mai
.m mo.
m mau.
m maHhR^
idaadi
Su
naasaa.
mraxant
usvaahaa.

OM ma.
m maa.
m mi .
m mi
i.
m mu.
m muu.
m me.
m mai
.m mo.
m mau.
m maHupast
ha.
mraxant
u
mamasadaasvaahaa.

OM ma. m maa.
m mi.m mi
i.
m mu.
m muu.m me.
m mai
.m mo.
m mau.
m maHi
da.
m hiyoni
kavacha.mrahasya.
m par
amaad.
hbhut
a.m.

Thekavachashoul dber ecitedi nt

heMul adhar
a,befor
et heeter
nalyoni.I
tgivesequalit
ywi th
thesunandt hemoon, andt hr
ought hegraceofDevicausessuccessi ntheyonimudr a.The
textsaysitshouldber ecitedwi thone'sownwomanorwi t
hanotherwoman, f
ollowi
ngwhi ch
thereshouldbei nt
ercourse.Thi si
sanexampl eoftant
rikcode.The" ot
herwoman" ,
according
totantri
kinsi
ders,isone'swi f
eorwoman, whil
eone'sownwomanher eref
erstot heDevi
within.Fr
om thispointofvi ew, sexwit
hone'sownwomani sadult
ery.Ontheot herhand,t
his
tantr
amaywel lbespeaki ngl i
teral
ly.

Thekavacha,conti
nuesIshvara,shoul
dbewr i
tt
enonbhurjaleaf(bi
rch)andwrit
tenwit
h
svayambhuf l
owers(menstrualblood)
,andsemen,andwit
hot herscentssuchasgorochana.I
t
shouldbeplacedinsi
deagol dballandwornonthebody.Reciti
ngthekavacha108timesgives
successi
nwhat everi
sdesired.Thechaptercl
oseswit
hthemant ranamoyonyainamoyonyai
kuNDali
nyainamonamaH.

Chapt
erThr
ee

Thi
schapt
err
etur
nstocomparat
ivel
ymor
esedat
emat
ter
s,i
ncl
udi
nggur
upuj
a,t
hegur
u
mantr
aandagurugi
ta(song)
.

Ishvar
asaysthetwosyll
abl
esofthewordgur
urepresentt
hatwhi
chiswi
thoutqual
it
iesand
thesupremeabsolut
e,r
espect
ivel
y.Thi
smant
ra,hesays,i
sthemahamantr
a,andshouldbe
concealed.

Hef ol
lowsbygi
vingadhyanaoftheguru,
sit
uatedinthe1,
000petall
otus.Heisseatedint
he
vir
asana,wit
hhi
st wohandsshowingthemudrasdispel
li
ngfearandgivingboons.Onhisl
eft
thi
ghsi t
shi
sshakti
,whosefaceshowscompassion.Shewearsredcl
ot hesandjewels.

Thegur
uandhi
sshakt
ishoul
dbewor
shi
ppedwi
thment
alof
fer
ings(
upachar
a).Af
terr
eci
ti
ng
t
hemant raoftheshakti,t
hekavachaoft hegurushouldt
henber ead.Thi
skavachadif
fer
s
f
rom thatgivenintheMatrikabhedat
antr
a.Wearingthekavachaondiff
erentpar
tsoft
hebody
washesawaydemer iti
nthesamewayast heGangesr i
verwashesitaway.Thechapt
ercloses
wit
habr iefsong(git
a)extoll
ingthevi
rt
uesoftheguru.

Chapt
erFour

Thi
schaptercent
resar
oundthewor
shi
pofMahakal
i.Par
vat
iasksShi
vat
ogi
vet
heKal
i
mantr
a,anddescri
beherpuj
a.

Ishvar
a(Shi
va)saysthatt
hemantr
aofMahakalibest
owseveryt
ypeofsuccess.Al
lthegods
andr i
shi
sachi
evedwhattheydi
dthroughherworshi
p.I
tgi
vesbothl
iber
ati
onandenj oyment
andbestowsli
berat
ionthr
oughenj
oyment,whenheardf
rom t
hemouthoftheguru.

ShivagivesthemantrasofMahakaliandandsaysheronesyll
abl
emantr
ai st
hegi
vessi
ddhii
n
theKaliage.Hethengivesathreesyl
lablemant
raofDakshi
naKali
ka,
fol
lowedbyot
hert
hree
syll
abl
emant r
asproducingdi
ff
erentresul
ts.

Conventionalrul
esinthewor shi
pofMahakaliar
esuspended,
saysShi
va.Therei
snor ul
easto
ti
me, astothewomanwhoi stheshakt
i,ort
odefect
softhemantr
a.Si
mil
arl
y,oneneednotpay
attent
iontobodilydefect
s.Thesadhanamaybedonedur i
ngt
hedayoratnight
,andthe
recit
ati
on( j
apa)ofthemantramaybedoneanywher e.

Bypleasur
eonegai
nsl
iber
ati
on,
Shi
vasays.Hesays:"
Thi
sist
rue,
true,
trueandagai
ntr
ue,
I
say.
"

Pujaisoft
hreetypes,
hesays:dai
ly,
everysooft
en,andaccordi
ngtodesi
re(kamya)
.Herehe
sayshewillspeakoft
hedail
ypujaofMahakali
.Bhair
avaistheri
shi
,Ushni
kisthemetr
e,and
thedevat
aisMahakali,whogi
vesthefourai
msofmanki nd.

Wit
houtfivefol
dpur
ifi
cat
ion,anypujaunder
takeni sblackmagic( abhichara)
.Thosef i
ve
pur
if
icat
ionsareoft
heatma, bat
h,themater
ials,themant r
aandt hedevat a.Fol
lowingthe
pl
acingofthemater
ial
s,oneshouldbowt ot
hegur usontheleftandt oGanapat iontheright,
andshouldthenper
form bhut
ashuddhi,
thepurif
icati
onoft heelements.(Thisisamedi tati
onin
whichthedif
ferentelement
swi
thi
nasadhakaarepuri
fi
ed.Ther
eisacomplet
eexpl
anat
ionand
t
ranslat
ionofthisprocessi
nWoodrof
fe'
sedi
ti
onoftheMahanir
vanat
ant
ra)
.

Di
ff
erentnyasasar
ethenper
for
med,
andt
het
extf
oll
owswi
thamedi
tat
ioni
mageofMahakal
i.

Oneshouldmeditat
eonAdyaMahakal iasbeingi nacelesti
alspot,onthecentr
alpeakoft
he
Hi
mal ayar
ange,underajewell
edpavil
ionwhichist hegreatpit
ha,herl
otusfeetser
vedby
Naradaandthebestofsaint
s,worshi
ppedbyBhai rava.Sheisthecolourofsapphir
e,wi
thtwo
l
argehighbreast
s,wearsvari
egat
edcol ourcl
othes,andhasf ourarmsandt hr
eeeyes.

Thetextthenfoll
owswithadescr i
pti
onofherinnermeditat
ion,wher
eshehasl imbsthecolour
ofthundercl
ouds,di
shevel
ledclothi
ng,t
hreeeyesandi sseatedonShiva'
scorpse.Sheis
ornamentedwi t
hachainofskulls.I
nherlef
tupperhandshehol dsaman' sseveredhead,and
withthelowerhandholdsacleaver.Shehasdishevel
ledhair.

Shivat hengi
vesaf urt
herdhyanaofMahakal i,whereshehasaf i
erce,f
angedmout h,i
s
compl etel
ynaked,andhast hreeeyes.Shesi tsinvirasanaonMahakal aandmakesat errif
ying
noise,wearsagarlandofskul ls(mundamal a)andhasst r
eamsofbl oodpouringoverherf ul
l
breasts.Sheswaysbackwar dsandf orwards,asifintoxi
cated.I
nherlefthandsshehol dsa
cl
eaverandasever edhead, andinherr i
ghtshowst hemudr asgi
vingboonsanddi spelli
ngfear.
Shehasat er
ri
fyi
ngf aceandhert onguer oll
swi l
dly.Shehasear r
ingsmadeupofabi rd'swing
andanar r
ow.Sheisser vedbyt err
if
ying,roar
ingjackalsinthecremat i
ongroundandby
Bhairavasmakingf earf
ullaughingnoises,andwhodanceovermen' sskelet
ons,makingt heir
vi
ctorycr i
es.

Whew.Thet extthenf oll

owswi t
hadescr ipt
ionofKal i
'sfif
teenattendants,
theKali
nit
yas.Thi
s
l
eadsupt otheleft-handwor shi
pwi t
ht hepanchatattvaorpanchamakar a.Shi
vasayswhoever
doesKul apujawi t
houtwi neorf l
eshl osesthemer itof1,000goodi ncar
nati
ons."Wit
houtwine,
thereisnomant ra,ther eisnomant raexceptwi t
hwi ne,"Shi vasays.Aft
erperf
ormingtheri
teof
thefivemakar as(seevi rasadhana, elsewher eonthissite)
, oneshouldbowagai ntoMahakali
beforedoingthedi smi ssalandcl eansingr i
tes.

Chapt
erFi
ve
Thi
schapt
eri
sconcer
nedwi t
hpur
ashchar
ana,
ther
it
est
obeper
for
medbyani
nit
iat
edt
ant
ri
ka
tomakeamantr
asuccessf
ul.

El
sewhereonthissi
te,
wehavedescr ibedtheel
aborat
er ules,st
retchi
ngoversever
aldays,
whichasadhakahastoundertake.ButtheKankal
amalini,inasimilarmat
tert
ot he
Devir
ahasyaandtheBri
hadni
latantr
aseemst osuspendt heserules.

Parvatii
stoldbyIshvar
athatintheKaliYuga,f
olkareshortl
ivedandunabl etoperformrit
esin
thewayt heywereabletodoinprevi
oust i
mes.Hesayst hatforthi
swor shi
pthereisnobad
ti
me, nospecialdayorni
ght,noneedtodot hepujaon"greatnight
s",suchast heeight
hor
f
our t
eenthofadar kf
ort
night
,noristhereanecessit
yforworshipatthet wi
li
ghts(sandhya).

Therearenorul
esaboutdi
rect
ions,
places,
recit
ati
onofmantr
a,t
imet
odothewor
shi
p."Here,
svecchachar
ya(doi
ngther
iteaccor
dingtowill
)ist
herul
efort
hemahamant
rai
nsadhana,
"
Ishvar
asays.

Performingwor shipi
ntheKal iYugainthi
sfashionbri
ngssiddhiinsi
xmonths,accor
dingt
o
thetext.Shivasays:"Devi
,intheKaliYuga,ther
earenoti
rthas(bathi
ngspot
s),
novowst o
under t
ake,nohoma, nobat h,
andnot wili
ghtworshi
p(sandhya)."Thoser
it
esbelongtothe
previouserasoft heSaya,DvaparaandTr et
aYugas,hesays.

However ,
purashcharanaisstil
lnecessar
y,headds, andpr oceedstogivet herit
esui t
ablefor
tant
ri
ksdur i
ngtheKal iYuga.Therethenfol
lowsal engthyrit
ewhi chincludesthegi vi
ngof
substancesincl
udingghee, mil
k,andsugar,andther ecit
ati
onofmanymant ras,the
perf
ormanceofmanynyasas.Thei mport
anceoft her udr
akshar osaryisstressedatgr eat
l
ength.Thesadhakashoul dsmearhi mselfwithash,andputt hreelinesonhi sforeheadaswel l
asat i
lak.

Rulesaregivenaboutt heuseoftheGayatr
imantra,
andtowardstheendofchapterf
ive,
ther
e
i
sal engthydiscourseont heDevisoft
hebodi
lydhatus,
suchasDakini,
Laki
ni,Raki
niandso
for
th,al
ongwi ththeirbij
amant r
asandthei
rvari
ousmeditat
ioni
mages.TheseDevisare
sit
uatedinthediff
erentchakras.