12.4

Pis`aca-mocana Temple

525-30

“N[ila-mata] P[urana] 210 ff. tells of pis`acas in the employ of the gods. These pis`acas are under the direct command of the pis`aca lord Nikumbha, who has been hired by the god Kubera … . These pis`acas, numbering fifty million, are … for the good”.

p. 525

“the N[ila-mata] P[urana] (397-410) describes a … festival in which humans become possessed by these good pis`acas … . … .

p. 526

… the celebrants, followers … of the good pis`aca Nikumbha, should smear their bodies and those of their friends with mud, then engage in revelry and well-turned lascivious speech that is both sexually enticing and arousing … . ... At that time, they become possessed by frightful-looking pis`acas – the ones who work for Kubera”. [p. 570, n. 12:183 : “For the cakrapuja and tantric sexual ritual, see Bharati 1965:228 ff.; Marglin 1985:227 f.”]

p. 527

“the concerns of raks.asas are “to master the sports of lovemaking and hold crowded fairs and festivals.” [Rama-ayana 3:36:20ab; cf. Pollock 1991, pp. 79, 163]

Their pursuit of lovemaking can be traced back to the S`atapatha Brahman.a and their powers of transformation to the R.[c] V[eda].” (Pollock 1991, p. 79, n. 170)

p. 527

“pis`acas … in … tantric texts … require ritual expiation. A specific venue for such expiation, the Skanda Puran.a [its “Kas`i Khan.da, uttara-ardha” (cap. 54) – Tagare 1997, pp. 28-35] informs us, is a certain Pas`upata … temple called Pis`acamocana in Varanasi. It is here … that …, during the tretayuga, a great-souled ascetic named Valmiki performed … before the Kapard[in-]is`a linga … . He saw there a ghastly … raks.asa who described to him how … While … he was a brahman temple priest in far-off Pratis.t.hana on the banks of the Godavari river …

p. 528

he was condemned to exist as a pis`aca. … Like Kali possessing Nala, this pis`aca passed into the body of this brahman boy … . Eventually that brahman made his way to Varanasi, … to the Kapard[in-]is`a linga. There … Valmiki … gave him ... a bathing in the sacred pond. As a result, the pis`aca lost its frightful qualities”.

p. 528

“The Pis`ac[a-]mocan[a] temple continues as a venue for exorcism. Two types of officiant serve those in need : the bhagat, who invokes the deity in charge of the exorcism, and the ojha, who actually performs the exorcism. … Among the substances employed are cloves, which, given to the client, serve to transport the pret away from the body, while lemons … are used for bali … . ...

… the client will drive a nail into the trunk of a large tree on the temple grounds, fixing the offending spirit to it.

{This is likewise a rN~in-ma rite.}

… the prevailing viewpoint is that the spirit rides or sits on the individual, not inside the person. …

{cf. the Bodish external souls of each persons; also known in some Siberian religions}

Many of the clients are women who have suffered a miscarriage, influenced bythe notion that an evil spirit has been sent … . …

p. 530

Many more are relatives of people who have died suddenly, a condition that is said to render the subtle body of the deceased vulnerable to possession by nasty spirits.” [p. 571, n. 12:189 "See Parry 1994:242 ff. for an ethnography of an exorcism at Pis`acmocan."]

12.5

Pis`aca-gr.hita-bhais.ajya-m ('Pis`aca-Seizure Therapy')

530-5

12.5.1

Is`ana-s`iva-guru-deva-paddhati 41

531-3

12.5.2

Vis.a-nara-ayan.iya

534-5

p. 530

“descriptive lists of balagrahas, diseases attributed to them, and remedies ... appears in the Kas`yapa Samhita … of the seventh century, … translated well by Dominik Wujastyk [1998, pp. 213-35]”.

p. 571, n. 12:193

“For a fairly comprehensive discussion of balagrahas in the major ayurvedic texts and the Agni[-]puran.a, see Kumar 1994:

12.5.1

Is`ana-s`iva-guru-deva-paddhati 41

531-3

p. 531

“the I[s`ana-]S`[iva-gurudeva-]Paddhati … discusses … the procedures prescribed in the Khad.ga[-]ravan.a and in the Narayan.iya.”

“the Khad.ga[-]ravan.a enumerates several general procedures, … depending on … the identity of the matr.ka (Little Mother), the offending spirit.”

p. 572, n. 12:197

“On Khad.ga[-]ravan.a and the lost Khad.ga[-]ravan.a[-]bala[-]cikitsa, see Goudriaan 1977. On Khad.ga[-]ravan.a …, also called Can.d.es`vara … and Can.d.asidharapati [Can.d.a-asidhara-pati] (Lord of the Edge of the Fierce Sword), see Bu:hnemann 1999:325. … The Kumara[-]tantra … Filliozat [1937, pp. 159-78] discusses in detail. The Narayan.iya mentioned here is … the Tantra[-]sara[-]samgraha, known in Kerala as the Vis.a[-]narayan.iya.”

p. 531

“The wrapper should … be tied tightly with yellow thread. … . … the ground … should be embellished with thirteen svastikas, eight ghee lamps, and … bananas. … Gan.es`a should be worshipped … . Brahmi and the other matr.kas should be installed as the deities of the primary directions around it, and Varahi and other goddesses, including Can.d.ika, should be installed and worshipped in the directional corners. ... the tantric ritualist invokes and worships

Vira[-]bhadra and ...

p. 532

offerings should be given to ... Khad.ga[-]ravan.a ... . ...

The fumigation rite for an infant prescribes igniting neem leaves and ... mustard seeds left over from offerings made to S`iva. ... Neem leaves ..., along with mustard seeds, ... give off an intense smoke when burned. ... This combination is ... inhospitable to bhutas ... . ...

p. 533

Instructions for the third year [of the child]'s exorcism state that aja[-]s`r.n.ga {goat-horn} (... read aja[-]s`r.n.gi) should be added to the fumigant. This is a malodorous shrub whose fruit is ... recommended as early as the A[tharvan-]V[eda] (AVS` 4.37; AVP 13.4) as a remedy for sore eyes ... . [HIML 1B:237 n. 6]

For the fifth- to twelfth-year ritual, neem leaves should be burned ... with ... guggulu, an aromatic resin prescribed to strengthen ... connective tissue {tendons}".

"The Kaus`ika[-]sutra ... prescribes a treatment for hepatitis in which a yellow bird should be placed in a bowl on the floor beneath the head of a person ... . ... The disease then exits the patient and enters the bird."

12.5.2

Vis.a-Nara-ayan.iya

534-5

“The (Vis.a-)Narayan.iya, so-called because its first ten chapters deal with poisons (vis.a, primarily from snakes) and their treatment, mentions grahis

not only for specific years of the child's life

but for the first ten days of life

and for the first twelve months as well. …

After noting the name of the grahi, Papini, which might inflict a child on the day it is born, the text states that ... a crossroad (catvari) … is prescribed … . Virabhadra should be installed in the center and the goddesses (matr.h.) in the corners and primary directions. Gan.es`a (vinayakam) and Camun.d.i should be installed in the northeast”.

for the __

daemonifuge

1^st day

“neem leaves dipped in ghee, ... with shoots from the us`ira, (apa)marga … trees.”

2^nd day

“After … an ointment of … us`ira leaf, mayura leaf, and goat's urine on the baby, a demonifuge of cow's teeth, horn, and hair should be burned.”

8^th day

“After an ointment of goat's urine … with vaca … and kus.t.ha … is applied, a demonifuge of tiger's nails is burned.”

10^th day

“monkey's hair and nails are burned.”

2^nd month

“burning of … garlic.”

p.

day

goddess

534

1^st

Papani (“Transgressive”)

2^nd

Bhas.ini (“of Speech”)

3^rd

Jhan.t.ali (“Misty”)

535

4^th

Kakoli (“Raven”)

5^th

Simhika (“Lion[ess]”)

6^th

Phat.-kari (“Who exclaims phat.!”) [p. 572, n. 12:210 : “This bija [/PHAT.!/] is exclaimed at the funeral pyre when the skull cracks and the jiva exits the body.”]

7^th

Muka-kes`i (“Whose Hair Smells Like Cowdung”)

8^th

Dan.d.ini (“Who Holds the Staff”)

9^th

Maha-mahis.i (“Great Buffalo[ess]”)

10^th

Rodani (“Tearful”)

mo.

goddess

1^st

Putana (“Stinking”)

2^nd

Makut.a (“Crested”)

3^rd

Go-mukhi (“Cow-Mouthed”)

4^th

Pingala (“Tawny”)

5^th

Hamsika (“Goosey”)

6^th

Panka-ja (“Lotus”)

7^th

S`itala (“Cool”)

8^th

Yamuna

9^th

Kumbha-karn.i (“Pot-Eared”)

10^th

Tapasi (“of Austerities”)

11^th

Raks.asi (Daimoness)

12^th

Capala (“Trembling”)

y.

goddess

2^nd

Yatana (“Vengeful”)

3^rd

Rodini (“Weeping”)

4^th

Cat.aka (“Sparrow[ess]”)

5^th

Can~cala (“Fickle”)

6^th

Dhavani (“Loping”)

7^th

Yamuna

8^th

Hayani (“Relinquis[h]ing”)

9^th

Kalini (“of Time”)

10^th

Kala-hamsi (“{Part of a} Goose[ss]”)

11^th

Deva-duti (“Emissary[ess]”)

12^th

Palita (“Crone”)

13^th

Vayavi (“of the Wind”)

14^th

Yaks.ini

15^th

Mun~jaka-mun~ci (“of the Bullrushes”)

16^th

Vanari (“Monkey[ess]”)

17^th

Bandha-vati (“Who Binds”)

18^th

Kumari (“Princess”)

p. 535

“For all of these, sesame is offered … with a mantra … mun~ca paca daha agaccha balike t.hat.ha (… Liberate! Cook! Burn! Come! Young lady, svaha).

After these bali offerings are made, japa … is performed while the ritual officiant touches the child. The japa mantras are …, for example, … sphot.aya sphura gr.hn.a akars.aya trot.aya … t.hat.ha … (… Flash! Spring forth! Possess! Attract Break apart! … svaha).

Other mantras follow, … to the liberation of the spirit (graha[-]mukti). A number of protective verse mantras should then be recited …, invoking an abundance of male divinities to protect the directions”.

p. 573, n. 12:211

“Many of the words here (e.g., man~ja, kad.hd.ha, and t.hat.ha are incomprehensible … and …

{That they are incompraehensible to Samskr.ta-speakers would imply that they are in some other language (Mun.d.a?).}

this mantra in reads rather differently, and more comprehenbsibly {i.e., in Samskr.ta, not in some Austro-Asiatic language}, in the text of the Narayan.iya, viz. the Tantra[-]sara[-]samgraha (pp. 158-60) … . The mantra in the Narayan.iya reads : … mot.aya bhan~ja pat.a sphot.aya sphura gr.hn.a akat.u trot.aya … (… Crush! Break! Rip! Flash! Spring forth! Possess! … pungent … Break apart! …) …

One of the striking features of these mantras is the extensive use of retroflex consonants … . This could be due to … Dravidian or tribal origins … .

For … similar speculations regarding the secret speech of the Himalayan tantras, see Davidson 2002:267 ff.”

{No D.awida language is spoken in northeastern India, whereas a plethora of Austro-Asiatic languages is spoken thereabouts : indicating the mantra-s of “the Himalayan tantras” cannot be derived from D.awida, but may be Austro-Asiatic (Mun.d.a).}