Kāmasevitā कामसेविता (586)

Kāma means the lord of love, Manmatha.  She is worshipped by Manmatha. Pañcadaśī mantra was formulated by twelve of Her great devotees and Manmatha is one among them.  Names of all the worshippers have been mentioned in nāma 228. 

Kāmaḥ (कामः) also means Mahā Kāmeśvarā (the highest form of Śiva) who is also Her devotee.  Possibly this nāma could also refer to His worship (this is based on the fact that Śiva cannot function without Śaktī).  Śiva and Śaktī alternatively assumed the roles of guru and disciple.  On many occasions Śiva initiated Śaktī and on certain occasions Śaktī initiated Śiva on various aspects of mantra śāstra-s. In pūrva bhāg of Lalitā triśatī (verse 13), it is said that Lalitā triśatī was told to Hayagrīvā jointly by Kāmeśvarā and Kāmeśvarī.  Lalitā triśatī is extremely auspicious and contains three hundred nāma-s. 

Kāmaḥ signifies Manmatha without bodily form (man means mind and matha means agitating. Therefore Manmahta refers to agitating mind due to desire) There is a story in Liṅga Purāṇa, chapter 101 regarding the bodiless form of Manmatha. Śiva was doing penance forgetting his wife Umā.  Brahma and Indra summoned Manamatha and his wife Rati to break Śiva’s penance and to unite Umā with Śiva. Manmatha and his wife Ratī reached the cave where Śiva was doing His penance.  Śiva knew the purpose of Manmatha’s visit.  The fire blazed from Śiva’s third eye and burnt Manmatha.  Ratī who stood by Manmatha’s side inconsolably cried.  Śiva took pity on her and gave Manmatha a bodiless form for the purpose of dalliance.  This nāma says that body is not necessary for mental worship.  Bodily form is required only to perform rituals that are only secondary in nature when compared to mental worship (meditation). This nāma also implies that without understanding the essential natures of Śiva and Śaktī (prakāśa and vimarśa forms), worship may not fructify.  For further reading on Manmatha please refer nāma-s 84 and 375.

Saundarya Laharī (verse 5) says that Manmatha got his power to induce coquetry by worshipping Śaktī. 

Pañcadaśī mantra has fifteen bīja-s.  If the repetitive bīja-s are removed, the balance would be nine bīja-s.  Mahā Lakṣmī (consort of Viṣṇu) taught 108 nāma-s of Lalitāmbikā (nine bīja-s multiplied by numeric twelve making 108) to Manmatha beginning with these nine bīja-s of Pañcadaśī. 

Śrī-ṣoḍaśākṣarī-vidyā श्री-षोडशाक्षरी-विद्या (587)

ṣoḍaśī mantra is superior to Pañcadaśī.  ṣoḍaśan means sixteen and ṣoḍaśaḥ means sixteenth.  ṣoḍaśī mantra is derived by adding one more bīja to Pañcadaśī mantra.  In fact, ṣoḍaśī mantra consists of twenty eight bīja-s and formed like this. The first Om is excluded for computation, as all the mantras begin with ॐ.

1. Om ॐ

2. śrīṁ - hrīṁ - klīṁ - aiṁ - sauḥ: श्रीं ह्रीं क्लीं ऐं सौः (5 bīja-s)

3. om - hrīṁ - śrīṁ ॐ ह्रीं श्रीं (3 bīja-s)

4. ka – e - ī – la- hrīṁ क ए ई ल ह्रीं (5 bīja-s)

5. ha - sa – ka – ha - la - hrīṁ ह स क ह ल ह्रीं (6 bīja-s)

6. sa – ka - la - hrīṁ स क ल ह्रीं (4 bīja-s)

7. sauḥ - aiṁ - klīṁ -  hrīṁ - śrīṁ सौः ऐं क्लीं ह्रीं श्रीं (5 bīja-s)

If this mantra is observed, one can find lines 4, 5 and 6 are the Pañcadaśī mantra and each line representing one kūṭa of Pañcadaśī.  If lines 2 and 7 are observed, the bīja-s contained in the 2nd line are placed in the 7th line in reversed order.  For example, the last bīja in line two is sauḥ: and this is placed as the first bīja of the 7th line. 

This mantra is known as ṣoḍaśī because of sixteen bīja-s, each kalā (kalā means a part) representing a kalā of moon. This is arrived at by adding Lakṣmī bīja śrīṁ (श्रीं) at the end of Pañcadaśī mantra.  These sixteen bīja-s are arrived at by considering each kūṭa of Pañcadaśī mantra as one bīja.  This way, lines 4, 5 and 6 are considered as one bīja each, thus forming three bīja-s. The sixteen bīja-s are arrived by adding 5+3+1+1+1+5 (from line 2 to 7).  There are two ॐ in this mantra.  The first ॐ is not considered for calculation.  The second ॐ in line 3 is replaced by ātma bīja of the practitioner and this is decided by one’s guru.  Such a decision can be made by a guru if he is conversant with mantra-s and bīja-s.  A wrong bīja is capable of destroying the practitioner. 

ṣoḍaśī mantra is meant exclusively for liberation and those who seek liberation alone should be initiated in this mantra.  ṣoḍaśī mantra is the ultimate of all mantra-s and there is no other mantra superior to this.  It is said that ṣoḍaśī mantra yields fruits after reciting 900,000 times.  Those who are initiated into this mantra are not supposed to prostrate before anyone except his guru.

Śaktī is worshipped in ten different forms and this is known as daśa mahā vidyā and ṣoḍaśī is one among them.  ṣoḍaśī vidyā has too many prescribed rituals.

{Further reading on bīja sauḥ सौः This bīja sauḥ सौः is known as prāsāda (ŚIva sūtra II.1). It contains within itself the entire panorama of manifestation. This bīja represents all the thrity six tattva-s. This bīja is also known as hṛdaya bīja, the heart of Śiva. It is also said that, whoever masters this bīja will be identified with Supreme I consciousness.}