In the sacred tradition of mantra, there is One who stands apart—he is not counted among the multitude, for he is the Lord of mantras themselves. The path of kalās, or divine energies, is characterized by pervasiveness, while the other paths are defined by being pervaded. Without true understanding of the nature of these paths, one cannot hope to achieve the purification that the path offers; the sixfold form of the path remains veiled to such a person. Only when one grasps the reality of pervading and being pervaded can the true nature of the path, and its states, be known. Therefore, with proper understanding, one should perform the rite of path purification, extending it up to the very boundary of the altar-circle, just as prescribed before. To the east, a circle two cubits wide is drawn for the water-pots. The Śiva-ācārya, having bathed and completed his daily rituals with his disciples, enters this circle. There, he worships Śambhu as previously described, and prepares a pāyasa—a sweet rice offering—using rice suitable for sacred use. Half of this pāyasa is offered in the fire as oblation; the remainder is set aside. Within the prepared circle, or one marked with sacred letters, the teacher arranges five water-pots at the cardinal directions and one at the center. Into these pots, he establishes the Brahman mantras, each with their root letters, empowered with the bindu and nāda, the subtle energies of sound, and invokes them with salutations that begin and end with 'ya'. Īśāna is invoked in the central pot, Puruṣa in the one before him, Aghora to the right, Vāma to the left, and Sadya in the west. Having established their protection and formed the appropriate mudrā, he consecrates the pots with mantras. With this done, the fire-offering is begun, using the fires of Śiva, as before. The reserved half of the pāyasa is offered into the fire, and the remaining portion is prepared for the disciple to eat. After completing the tarpaṇa, or offering of satisfaction, with the proper mantras, the rite proceeds as previously instructed. The full oblation having been offered, the teacher performs the kindling of the fire. After invoking Oṃkāra, the sacred Huṃkāra, and the root mantra ending with Phaṭ, he concludes with Svāhā, reciting the limbs of the mantra in order during the kindling. For each, three oblations are given. With each mantra, the forms are visualized as radiant and luminous, and the threefold act is performed by a twice-born maiden, pure and white in color. A consecrated thread is then tied to the tip of the disciple’s hair tuft, reaching down to his big toe as he stands upright. The thread is lengthened and connected to the suṣumṇā, the central spiritual channel. Assuming the Śāṃtī mudrā and uttering the root mantra, the teacher offers three oblations to establish the presence of the divine. He gently touches the disciple’s heart with a flower, as before. Consciousness is then gathered and placed at the dvādaśānta, the subtle point above the head. The teacher joins thread with thread and protects it with the weapon of mantra armor. The thread is covered, and the disciple’s body is contemplated as being bound by the triple root noose, marked by the states of enjoyer and enjoyed. This is seen as the source of the senses, sense-objects, and the body itself, with the kalās beginning with Śāṃtyatītā manifesting as space and the other elements. These kalās are joined to the thread by their own names and worshipped with salutations, or, alternatively, invoked in their seed forms as previously described. At the beginning, starting from impurity and the tattvas, the pervasion of the kalās is observed. Oblations are offered at the point of impurity, and the kalās are kindled accordingly. The teacher then strikes the disciple gently on the head, marking the thread on his body in sequence. At the Śāṃtyatīta stage, the thread is inscribed while reciting the mantra. The process continues through the end of Nivṛtti and Śāṃtyatīta, each step followed by three oblations, and then the worship of Śiva in the maṇḍala. The disciple is seated to the right of the deity, facing north. The teacher then gives him the remains of the oblation, the charu, within the maṇḍala, using darbha grass. The disciple, with reverence, receives and consumes what the teacher gives, with Śiva as witness. He rinses his mouth twice and recites the Śiva mantra. In another maṇḍala, the teacher offers pañcagavya, the sacred mixture of five cow products, which the disciple drinks according to his capacity, rinses his mouth twice, and remembers Śiva. In a third maṇḍala, the disciple is seated as before, and the teacher gives him a tooth-cleanser, as prescribed in scripture. With its tip softened and facing east or north, the disciple, silent and seated, cleans his teeth. After rinsing and discarding the cleanser, he rinses his mouth again, remembers Śiva, and, following the teacher’s instruction, enters the Śiva maṇḍala with hands joined in devotion. If the teacher sees that the discarded tooth-cleanser lies in the east, north, or west, he offers the remainder to Śiva or another deity. If it is in an inauspicious direction, the teacher removes this fault by offering one hundred, fifty, or half as many oblations with the root mantra. Then, embracing the disciple, the teacher recites the Śiva mantra in both his ears and seats him to the right of the deity. On a clean, unused bed of darbha grass, properly prepared and consecrated, one lies down for the night with the head to the east, maintaining purity and meditating inwardly on Śiva. The teacher ties the sacred thread into the disciple’s tuft of hair, binding it with his own hair, and covers him with a new, unworn cloth and protective garments. Around the bed, three lines are drawn with ashes, sesame, and mustard seeds. Protective mantras are recited, and offerings are made outside these lines to the guardians of the directions. The disciple, lying nearby and fasting, having completed all prescribed preparations, rises upon awakening and reports the dream he has seen to his teacher. After completing all bathing and related rites as instructed by the teacher, the disciple approaches the side of the Shiva maṇḍala with joined hands, meditating on Śiva. Then, having performed all rites except the worship—just as on the previous day up to the binding of the eyes—the teacher reveals the sacred maṇḍala, continuing the holy transmission of knowledge and presence.