mysterious rites

The probable author of all the piśāca and piśācī sādhanās was a certain Prajñāpālita. His sādhanās of the same names all exist in the Tibetan Buddhist Tengyur. His teacher in that text is recorded as a certain Mañjughoṣa. Tārānātha records a certain Prajñāpālita as a disciple of Ānandagarbha. I can’t say if both names refer to the same person, though the dates align somewhat when looking at the claimed manuscript date.Also, it is to be seen if they are the same sādhanās in translation.

The names of the other sādhanās are also suggestive:gaṇacakra,mahāmāya(likely paired with Buddhakapāla?), Chinnamastā and Kurukullā, who all have strong prescences in Vajrayāna.

Could this manuscript and the later Hindu practitioners be a possible remnant of what would later be called Cīnācāra?

The village school master, and master of the mantra-shAstra possessed many a mysterious mantra. The most mysterious was a manuscript of a tantric from around 900 AD from Uttaranchal which had in an archaic script a whole collection of mantra-s, some found no where else.The pishAchi prayogas: 1) pishAchI karNagR^ihyA 2) pishAchI aulumbinI 3) pishAchI […]

mysterious rites

Prayogas of Batuka Bhairava

Nibandhas like Bṛhat Tantrasāra or Īśānaśivagurudeva paddhati view Baṭukabhairava as mainly a kṣetrapāla who is offered balis to, however He’s a deity with much more wider range. These are notes from Rudradev Tripathi’s book who cites a Bhairava tantra (about prayogas of His famous 108 nāma stotra/nāmāvalī)

  • Dhanaprāpti
  • Iṣṭasiddhiprāpti
  • Freedom from debts
  • Sarvasiddhi
  • Saving from great dangers
  • Combination with Durgā Saptashati: Another genre of Batuka aṣtottara prayogas. Maithilis use a special combination for fulfillment of all desires.
  • Kramas of pāṭha for various purposes

Needless to say, all these need upadeśa and subsequent anuṣṭhāna/puraścaraṇa of the Batuka mūlamantras from a living guru.

Dhyānas of the Aṣṭabhairavas as written according to the Rūpadhyānaratnāvalī(based on the Śrītattvanidhi)

Śrīnāgacandreśvarāya namaḥ |

The dhyānas of the aṣṭabhairavas are as follows(have also included vaṭubhairava as a sort of appendix) [I have transcribed them to the best of my ability of hearing,so kindly forgive me for any mistakes in the paṭha]

Asitānga bhairava dhyāna

sapānapātram khaḍgam ca sākṣamālākamaṇdalum||
trinetram varadam śantam kumāram ca digambaram|
brahmāṇīśaktisahitam haṃsāruḍham subhuṣaṇam||
nīlavarṇam kṛpāmūrtimasitāṇgam bhajāmyaham|

Rurubhairava dhyāna

ṭaṅkam kṛṣṇmṛgamcaiva khaḍgam pātram tathaiva ca|
trinetram varadam śāntam kumāramca digambaram||
māheśvaryā ca sahitam vṛṣārūḍham smitānanam|
śuddhāsphaṭikaśaṇkāsam namāmi rurubhairavam||

Caṇḍabhairava dhyāna

dhanurbānadharañcaiva khaḍgapātrena saṃyutam|
trinetram varadam śantam kumāram ca digambaram||
kaumāriśaktisahitam śikhivāhana bhūṣaṇam|
gauravarṇadharam devam vande’ham caṇḍabhairavam||

Krodhabhairava dhyāna

śubhacakradharam devam pānapātra gadādharam|
trinetram varadam śantam kumāram ca digambaram||
vaisṇavīśaktisahitam tārkṣyavāhana saṃyutam|
nīlavarṇamalaṃkāram vande’ham krodhabhairavam||

Unmattabhairava dhyāna

khaḍgañcamusalam caivā kheṭakam ca kapālakam|
trinetram varadam śantam kumāram ca digambaram||
hemavarṇadharam devam aśvavāhana saṃyutam|
vārāhiśaktisahitam vande’conmattabhairavam||

Kapālabhairava dhyāna

[could not understand?]vajrāyudhamcaiva khaḍgam vai pānapātrakam|
trinetram varadam śantam kumāram ca digambaram||
indrāṇīśaktisahitam gajavāhanasaṃyutam|
padmaragaprabham devam kapālam bhairavam bhaje||

Bhīṣaṇabhairava dhyāna

śulam ca mudgaraṃcaivakāpālam khaḍgahastakam|
trinetram varadam śantam kumāram ca digambaram||
cāmuṇḍāśaktisahitam harivāhana saṃyutam|
raktavarṇadharam devam vande bhīṣaṇabhairavam||

Saṃhārabhairava dhyāna

śūlam ḍamarukam caiva śaṇkham cakram gadādharam|
khaḍgaṃ pātram ca khaṭvāṇgam pāśāṇkuśadharam tatha||
daśabāhum trinetram ca sarparājopavītīnam|
digambaram kumāram ca śvānavāhanasaṃyutam||
daṃṣṭrakarālavadanāmaṣṭaiśvaryaphalapradam|
caṇḍikāśaktisahitam dhyāyet saṃhārabhairavam||

Śrī Vaṭubhairava dhyāna

vikīrṇalohitajaṭam trinetram raktavigraham|
śulam kapālam pāśañca ḍamaram dadhataṃ karaiḥ||
nānārupaiḥ piśacaiśca nānārupagaṇairvṛtam|
śvanārūḍham ca nirvāṇam vaṭukaṃ bhairavam bhaje||