Empowered by the greatness of the sacred mantra, the sages—those accomplished in austerity—undertook the creation of gods, asuras, and humans, performing their task with utmost propriety and reverence. Now, the true nature of this supreme knowledge was to be revealed. To begin, one must utter the word ‘salutation,’ followed by ‘to Śiva,’ and then proceed with the rest. This is the five-syllabled knowledge, renowned as the very head of all the Vedas. It is the eternal seed from which all beings and everything in existence arise. This mantra was first spoken from my own mouth; it is my very speech, radiant as molten gold, with full and elevated breasts. She, the embodiment of the mantra, is depicted with four arms and three eyes, adorned with a crescent moon upon her brow. In her hands she holds a lotus and a blue lotus, and with gentle gestures she grants boons and dispels fear. She is endowed with every mark of beauty, bedecked in splendid ornaments, seated upon a white lotus, her hair dark and curly. Her form shines with five kinds of colors—yellow, black, smoky, golden, and red—each radiating as luminous circles. These colors are to be applied separately, unless the mantra is adorned with bindu and nāda: the bindu shaped like a half-moon, and the nāda resembling the flame of a lamp. Among the syllables of this mantra, O beautiful-faced one, the second is the seed; the fourth, which is long at the beginning, is the third; and the fifth is declared to be the power. Vāmadeva is the seer, Paṅkti is the meter, and I myself, Śiva, am the deity of this mantra. Gautama, Atri, Viśvāmitra, Aṅgiras, and Bharadvāja—these sages are remembered in order for the syllables. Gāyatrī, Anuṣṭup, Triṣṭup, Bṛhatī, and Virāṭ are the meters, while Indra, Rudra, Hari, Brahmā, and Skanda are their respective deities. It is said that I have five faces, and in their proper places, O beautiful-faced one, the syllables beginning with ‘na’ are arranged from the east upward. The first syllable is unaspirated, the fourth is the second, the fifth is svarita (intoned), and the third is said to be nihata (suppressed). The root-vidyā, Śiva, the Śaiva sūtra, the five-syllable mantra, and his names—know these as my great Śaiva heart. Among the syllables, ‘na’ is the head, ‘ma’ is the crest, ‘śi’ is the armor, and ‘va’ is called the eye. ‘Ya’ is the missile; and when ‘namaḥ’, ‘svāhā’, ‘vaṣaṭ’, ‘huṃ’, ‘vauṣaṭ’, and ‘phaṭ’ are placed at the end of the syllables, they become its limbs. Even so, this root-mantra, with some variations, has the fifth syllable adorned with twelve vowels. Therefore, with this mantra, one should worship us—by mind, speech, and body—as well as through recitation, oblation, and similar rites, according to one’s understanding, available time, scripture, capacity, resources, fitness, and inclination. Whenever, wherever, by whomever, and however worship is performed with devotion, O goddess, it will surely lead to liberation. Whatever is done with a mind attached to me, O beautiful one, whether in order or not, if it is dear to me and auspicious, it is accepted. Nevertheless, for my devotees who are not completely helpless, I have established rules for them in all scriptures. Now, I shall explain the auspicious collection of mantras, without which recitation is fruitless, and by which it becomes fruitful. O beautiful one, a recitation that lacks command, proper action, faith, purpose, offering, or is always performed without care—such a recitation is fruitless. But when it is established by command, performed with proper action, endowed with faith, and accompanied by offering, then the mantra attains success and yields great fruit. To undertake recitation, one should approach a guru—a learned Brahmin, a teacher who knows the truth, endowed with good qualities and devoted to meditation and yoga. With pure intent, one should strive to please him by every effort—by speech, mind, body, and wealth. A Brahmin should always worship the teacher with utmost effort, offering elephants, horses, chariots, jewels, lands, and houses. He should also give ornaments, garments, grains, and wealth to the guru with devotion, if he has the means. One who desires success for himself should not act with miserliness regarding wealth; afterwards, he should dedicate himself and all his possessions to the guru. Thus, having worshipped properly and to the best of his ability, without deceit, he should receive the mantra and knowledge from the guru, step by step. When the guru is thus pleased with the disciple who serves, who is free from pride, pure, bathed, and disciplined, he should bathe him for purification with clarified butter from a full vessel, with water sanctified by mantras, and with auspicious substances. The disciple should be adorned in fine attire with perfumes, garlands, clothes, and ornaments. The guru should recite auspicious hymns and honor the Brahmins. On the seashore, by a river, in a cowshed, in a temple, or in a pure place—or even at home—at a time and on a date that brings success, under a favorable star and auspicious conjunction, free from all defects, knowledge should then be bestowed according to the proper method. With a clear voice, in solitude, with a mind extremely pleased, the guru should recite and cause the disciple to recite the supreme mantra of us both. “May there be auspiciousness, may there be goodness, may there be beauty, may there be affection”—thus the guru gives the mantra and the command thereafter. Having thus received the mantra and command from the guru, with focused mind, the disciple should resolve to recite it daily, preceded by the prescribed rites, honoring the sacred tradition with devotion and discipline.