Chapter 297 - The remedial mantra that would remove poison (viṣa-hṛnmantra)

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Fire-god said:

1-2. “Oṃ, obeisance to Lord Rudra! You cut down venom [i.e., viṣa]! (Obeisance) to the wielder of an axe of fire in his hand! Obeisance to Lord Rudra in the form of the bird (Garuḍa)! You make the bitten person get up! Shake him up! Make him converse! Rouse up the person bitten by the serpent! Make him dangle! Bind him! Release him! Oh! The Excellent Rudra! You go, strike, bend, make noise and frighten and destroy the poison with your fist! Ṭha! Ṭha!”

The poison gets destroyed by the repetition of the mantra of the bird. “Oṃ! Obeisance to Lord Rudra! Destroy all kinds of poison—vegetable or animal, artificial or natural, primary or secondary! Destroy different kinds of poison! Destroy the venom in the bitten person! Subdue! Eject! You become free from poison by the showers of darkness in the form of the clouds. Destroy! Go forth! You neutralise the poison by ejecting it.” The poison would be controlled with the repetition of this mantra. “Oṃ! Throw away! Oṃ Throw away! Oblations! Oṃ, hrāṃ. hrīṃ, khīṃ, saḥ, ṭhaṃ, drauṃ, hrīṃ, ṭhaḥ!” Being accomplished by the repetition, one would be able to bind the serpents always. One could accomplish all things (by the repetition of the mantra): “Obeisance to the beloved of milk-maids” having one, two, three or four letters and having the disc of Kṛṣṇa as the fifth part.

3-4a. “Oṃ, obeisance to Lord Rudra, the lord of ghosts! Listen! Make sound! Make to rotate! Release! Stupefy! Manifest! Enter! Golden bird! Rudra makes known! Ṭha!” This mantra known as the agitator of hell would destroy the poison when repeated. A person bitten by a snake should cauterize with log or stone for subduing the poison immediately after being bitten. The bitten part of the body should be cauterized with burning red lotus etc.

4b-5a. The drinking or besmearing or collyrium of the three pungent things—seeds of śirīṣa flower, arka flower and kṣīra seeds would destroy the poison.

5b-6a. There is no doubt that the white pepper mixed with the essence of the śirīṣa flower would remove poison when drunk or used as sternutatory or collyrium.

6b-7. The three pungent things, koṣātakī, vacā and asafoetida mixed with the milk of śirīṣa and arka and the meṣa mixed with water would remove the poison when used as a sternutatory. The powder of asafoetida and all parts of ikṣvāku used as a sternutatory would remove the poison.

8. The expressed juice of indrabalā, agnika, droṇa, tulasī, devikā and sahā mixed with the'powder of the three pungent things when eaten would remove the poison. The five parts of the śirīṣa eaten on the fifth (lunar day) of the dark (fortnight) would remove the poison.