महामनुस्तवः

KADI VIDYA

The subject of our study, Kadi Vidya, consists of fifteen letters. It is known as Panchadasi. If a secret seed-sound Bijakshara is added at the end, it becomes shodasi, the sixteen-lettered Mantra. Then there is the twentyeight lettered mahashodasi, comprised of eight Bijaksharas, the Panchadasi, and the first five Bijak-sharas in the reverse order, viloma. If each of the three parts of Panchadasi is prefixed with the correspondirg Bijakshara of the Bala Mantra, we have the Saubhagya Vidya Mantra which is the giver of all auspiciousness.²⁴

The seer of the Mantra, the Rishi is Dakshinamurti, the Supreme Master of masters, the Sovereign of the silent ones. The metre, Chandas, is Pankti and goddess, Devata, is Lalita Tripurasundari²⁵

The Light of lights submits itself to a threefold classification as Moon, Sun and Fire for the purposes of manifestation. So the first khanda of the Mantra is known as somakhanda, the part pertaining to the moon, the second as suryakhanda, pertaining to the sun and the third as agni-khanda, pertaining to the fire. The relevant deities presiding over the three parts are Kameshwari, Bhagamalini and Vajreshwari and they occupy the primary triangle Yoni in the Sri Chakra. In the human body, the Somakhanda corresponds to the head-centre, Sahasrara, the Suryakhanda to the heart-centre, Anahata and the Agnikhanda to the centre at the bottom of the spine, Muladhara. Thus, the sadhaka during contemplation establishes an identification be-tween his body and the Mantra.

We have already said that there is a very close correlation between the Mantra and the body of the Deity. The body of the Deity is actually constituted of the fifteen letters of Panchadasi²⁸

Again, the crowning letter of each kuta is the Bijakshara hrim. We should understand the significance of this seed-sound for getting at the purport of the Sri Vidya Mantra.