Whatever the revered teacher of Shiva has spoken, whatever has been grasped or declared within the sacred tradition of samaya, all this, the disciple must hold as supremely precious—bearing it upon his head, as if carrying the highest treasure. The study, recitation, and attentive listening to the scriptures of Shiva must always be done in accordance with the teacher’s instruction, never according to one’s own whim or any other way. In this concise manner, the rite known as samaya has been described, for it is the highest means by which a person may directly attain the divine city of Shiva. After the samaya rite, the teacher, having carefully examined the disciple’s readiness, proceeds to perform the purification of the six paths, which frees the disciple from all worldly bonds. These six paths are briefly enumerated as: kala, tattva, bhuvana, varna, pada, and mantra. The wise know that the five kalas, beginning with nivritti, form the path of kala; the remaining five paths are each pervaded by these kalas, five in each. The path of tattva is said to stretch from the supreme principle of Shiva down to the lowest realm, comprising twenty-six elements, both pure and impure. The path of bhuvana is described as ranging from the base to the highest state, consisting of sixty worlds, not counting their distinctions and subdivisions. The fifty forms of Rudra are the letters, which constitute the path of letters; and the path of words, with its many varieties, is thus declared. The path of mantras is pervaded by all the highest mantras through supreme knowledge, just as Shiva, being their Lord, is not counted among the tattvas. Similarly, in the path of mantras, Shiva is not counted; thus, he is known as the Lord of mantras. The path of kalas is defined by pervasiveness, while the other paths are those which are pervaded. If one does not know the true nature of each path, one is not fit for the purification of the path, for the sixfold nature of the path remains unknown to him. Such a person cannot truly understand the states of pervading and being pervaded, and so the real nature of the path and its pervasiveness remain hidden. Therefore, only after proper understanding should one undertake the purification of the path, extending it up to the boundary of the altar-circle, as done before. A circle, two cubits in size, is to be made for the water-pots, situated to the east. Then, the Shiva teacher, having bathed and performed the daily rites with his disciples, enters the circle. There, he worships Shambhu as before. In that place, a special rice pudding, pāyasa, suitable for offering, is prepared. Half of this pāyasa is offered for the sacred oblation, and the remainder is set aside. Within the prepared circle, or in one marked with the sacred letters, the teacher places five water-pots in the directions and one in the center. Into these pots, the Brahman mantras, complete with their root letters, bindu, and nāda, are established with salutations that begin and end with ‘ya.’ Īśāna is established in the central pot, Puruṣa in the one placed in front, Aghora to the right, Vāma to the left, and Sadya in the west. After establishing protective measures and forming the mudrā, the teacher consecrates the pots with the mantras. Having completed these preparations, the teacher begins the fire-offering with the sacred fires of Shiva, as before. The half of the pāyasa that was set aside for the oblation is now offered, and the remaining pāyasa is prepared for the disciple to eat. After performing the tarpaṇa, or offering of satisfaction, with the mantras, the rite proceeds as previously described. Having offered the full oblation, the teacher then performs the kindling of the fire. This is done with the sequence of mantras: first Oṃkāra, then Huṃkāra, followed by the root mantra, and ending with Phaṭ, and finally Svāhā. In this kindling, the limbs are recited in order, and three oblations are offered for each. With these mantras, each form is to be meditated upon as radiant. The threefold act is performed by a twice-born maiden, who is white in color. A sacred thread, consecrated with another thread, is tied at the tip of the disciple’s hair tuft, extending down to the big toe as the disciple stands upright. After lengthening the thread, the teacher connects it to the suṣumṇā channel. Assuming the Śāṃtī mudrā, he uses the root mantra. Three oblations are offered, and the presence of the goddess is established. The teacher then strikes the disciple’s heart with a flower offering, as before. He gathers the awakened consciousness and places it at the dvādaśānta, joining the thread with the thread and protecting it with the armor of the mantra. Covering the thread, the teacher contemplates the disciple’s body as bound by the triple root noose, marked by the dual state of enjoyer and enjoyed. He considers this as the source of the sense objects, the senses, and the body itself, and joins the kalās, beginning with Śāṃtyatītā, in the forms of space and the other elements, into the thread by their own names, worshipping them with salutations. Alternatively, having made them into seed-forms, he proceeds as previously described. Starting from the realm of impurity and the tattvas, the teacher observes the pervasion of the kalās, offering oblations at the beginning with impurity and kindling the kalās. Striking the disciple on the head, he marks the thread on the body in the proper order, and at the Śāṃtyatīta stage, he inscribes the thread while reciting the mantra. Having thus performed the rite up to the end of Nivṛtti and Śāṃtyatīta in sequence, and after offering three oblations, the teacher worships Shiva in the maṇḍala. He seats the disciple to the right of the deity, facing north, and gives him the remains of the oblation—the charu—within the maṇḍala, using darbha grass. The disciple, receiving this offering from the teacher with reverence and Shiva as witness, eats it, rinses his mouth twice, and recites the Shiva mantra. In another maṇḍala, the teacher gives pañcagavya in the same way; the disciple drinks as much as he is able, rinses his mouth twice, and remembers Shiva. In a third maṇḍala, the disciple is seated as before, and the teacher gives him the prescribed tooth-cleanser, according to the scriptures. With its tip soft, facing east or north, the disciple, restraining his speech and seated properly, cleans his teeth, thus concluding this portion of the sacred rite.