DISC-0051 / ITEM-0013

Śrīvidyā mantra and initiation (dīkṣā)

Śākta Tantra (Kaula and Śrīvidyā) · India / Nepal

Disclosure date: 1922
Date precision: Year
Disclosure method: Academic research
Extent: Partial
Record review: Reviewed

Restricted material and access

The fifteen- or sixteen-syllable mantra of the goddess Lalitā Tripurasundarī and the initiations through which it is given.

Material type: Words of power
Restricted to: Initiates of a Śrīvidyā lineage
Restriction mechanism: vow, oral_only, grade_requirement
Stated reason: The mantra is regarded as the goddess herself and is held to be effective only when received from a guru
Tradition origins: c. 9th–11th century

Recorded practice status

Practiced

Provisional: no dated status evidence is linked.

Status as of: Not recorded
Status claims: Not recorded

Disclosure dates, source publication dates, tradition origins and dates of practice are separate.

What this disclosure covers

The structure of the fifteen-letter mantra and its Kādi and Hādi forms, without the mantra itself

The source

Kāmakalāvilāsa by Puṇyānanda-Nātha, with the commentary of Naṭanānanda-Nātha ↗ (SRC-0054; authenticity: Unassessed)

Author: Arthur Avalon (John Woodroffe), trans.
Original publication: 1922
Linked edition: 1953
Format: Book
Provenance: scholarship
Rights of source work: Unknown
Identifiers: ia:kamakalavilasa_1953
Source content hash: Not recorded

Tantrik Texts series. Linked copy is the second edition (Madras, 1953). A Śrīvidyā text of the Hādi school.

Claims about this item

These claims may cite other sources for the same restricted item. Supporting and contradicting evidence remain separate.

CLM-0051 · Content

The Śrīvidyā is a mantra of fifteen letters, identified with the fifteen Nityā goddesses and the fifteen lunar days, in three sections called Vāgbhava, Kāmarāja and Śakti. The Kādi and Hādi forms differ in their first section, the Hādi form having five vowels and seven consonants there and the Kādi seven vowels and five consonants. The commentary says the method of worship of both forms must be learnt from the mouth of the guru.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: Not recorded
Locators: 2nd ed. (1953), pp. 28–36
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

Kāmakalāvilāsa by Puṇyānanda-Nātha, with the commentary of Naṭanānanda-Nātha ↗ (SRC-0054; authenticity: Unassessed)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Checked against the Internet Archive text on 2026-11-04; page numbers from the scan's page index. The text describes the structure of the mantra but does not spell it out.

SRC-0054: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0054: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
SRC-0054: The source text's rights have not been established.
ITEM-0013: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

Evidence qualifications

SRC-0054 · source_authenticity_unassessed: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0054 · source_without_content_hash: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
SRC-0054 · source_rights_unknown: The source text's rights have not been established.
ITEM-0013 · status_without_dated_evidence: The recorded practice status is provisional: no dated status claims are linked.

Reviewed means checked against a source. It does not establish source authenticity, independent corroboration or present-day practice.