Note 9 — Chapter II · HEROIC GODLINGS

All bhuts, prets and spirits are thus believed to obey the commands of the god Hanumān. In the course of a sādhana (i.e. the process of procuring the fulfilment of certain desires through the favour and by the agency of spirits) the latter are conjured in the name of Hanumān, so that the sādhana may not prove inefficacious. For this purpose the Hanumān raksha mantra is repeated one hundred and eight times before the image of the god, the devotee remaining standing all the time. A lamp of clarified butter is also lighted, and frankincense is burnt. The mantra runs as follows:—‘Om namo Hanumān bālā ghatapīdam, pānikā rakhavālā, lohaki kothadi, bajarkā tālā, deva-dānava-kumār, nikal Hanumān āsan, Mahādev bāsan, Hanumān hathēla, bajarkā khīlā.’ It is neither pure Sanskrit, nor Gujarāti, nor Hindustāni, but roughly it means:—‘Bow to the young Hanumān, the tormentor of ghata, the guardian of water, the iron-safe, the lock of vajra, the son of the gods and the demons. Take your seat, the receptacle of Mahadev, O stubborn god, O Nail of adamant.’ After the repetition of the mantra, four nails are driven into the four corners of the seat of the votary, and it is believed that the sādhana is thus rendered sure of success.9