[INDOLOGY] Question

[Madhav Deshpande]

Thanks, Harry, for this info.  I have been getting somewhat contradictory
information as well.  I was hoping to get a referetnce to a Sanskrit text
or commentary that will explain this in some detail.  But so far, I have
not come upon any such original source.  The statement "La mention du *k**ī*
*laka *est courante à l’époque moderne." is also interesting.  How old are
these notions?  Are they limited to relatively late texts?  I see the *kīlaka
*in the Rāmarakṣāstotra, but there is no *argalā *in it.  So it looks like
there is no invariable connection between *kīlaka *and *argalā.  *I have a
manuscript in my hand that has some preamble to the *Viṣṇusahasranāmastotra*,
that refers to various verses in it as *bīja, śakti, hr̥daya, kīlaka,
astra, kavaca, *and *mantra*.  It does not have *argalā*, and these various
verses assigned these roles are scattered throughout the text of the
*Viṣṇusahasranāma*.  I wonder if it means that while reciting the text of
the *Viṣṇusahasranāma, *these various steps or landmarks happen.  I was
taught the recitation of this stotra, but the recitation does not halt at
these various verses to perform anything specific. There is something
mysterious to me.

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]


On Tue, Jun 16, 2020 at 5:39 PM Harry Spier <vasishtha.spier at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear Madhav,
> I've been trying to find this out (especially about *k**ī**laka *for over
> 20 years.
> 1. Thomas Coburn in his book "Encountering The Goddess" note 27 to Chapter
> 6 says:
> Ambika Datta UpAdhyAya observed that all mantras, Rg Vedic and other, have
> placed over them a curse which renders their recitation ineffective until
> it is removed with a kIlaka, a sort of "counter curse". An appropriate
> kIlaka exists for every mantra.  The episode that appears here in the
> kIlaka is clearly similar, but the restraint is placed on the mantra in
> SaptazatI not as a curse, but to contain its overwhelming power.
> 2. The TAK entry for kIlaka is:
>
> Au sens figuré, le *k**ī**laka *est un des éléments servant à caractériser
>
> un mantra tantrique et qui, dans les rites, doivent être imposés,
>
> par *ny**ā**sa**, en commençant par le ṛ*ṣ**i* (v. s.v. *rṣā**di**)*. Ce
>
> *kī**laka *est conçu comme la pointe grâce à laquelle le mantra va
>
> pouvoir se ficher dans la personne ou l’objet qu’il vise et donc
>
> agir. Les manuels de rituel qui mentionnent le *k**ī**laka *le donnent
>
> comme formé par un des éléments constitutifs (mot ou syllabe) du
>
> mantra. Une telle mention ne paraît pas être très ancienne. [A.P.]
>
> Le *k**ī**laka*, *PHA**Ṭ**􀄝****, du *sudar**ś**anasahasran**ā*
> *mastotramah**ā**mantra *est
>
> mentionné dans le Sudarśanasahasranāmastotra donné en appendice
>
> de l’AhS (p. 617). [M.R.] Voir aussi TBhS, p. 170, citant un
>
> texte non daté. La mention du *k**ī**laka *est courante à l’époque
> moderne.
>
> [A.P.]
>
> 3. Other than whats above.  The vague contradictory information that I've
> received 15 0r 20 years (I no longer remember the sources)  is that it is
> like a bolt of a lock or a door.  Some informants saying that repeating the
> kIlaka bija syllable removes the pin of the lock or door releasing the
> power of the mantra.  Other informants saying repeating the kIlaka bija
> syllable puts the pin in the lock or door of the mantra to contain its
> power so the repeater of the mantra isn't destroyed by the power of the
> mantra.
>
> If you receive any information offlist please pass it on to me.
>
> Thanks,
> Harry Spier
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 15, 2020 at 11:54 PM Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
>> What is the exact significance of the terms अर्गला and कीलक as they
>> appear in qualifying several mantras, stotras etc?  I have seen these
>> terms, but did not think further about them. Someone asked me this
>> question, and I did not have an answer.
>>
>> Madhav M. Deshpande
>> Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
>> University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
>> Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
>>
>> [Residence: Campbell, California, USA]
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