68 
E. T. Atkinson — Notes on the history 
[No. 1, 
eyes, vaushat; dhiyo yo nah y}rachodaydt^ to the weapon of tlie mantras, 
phat., ]jhat, pliat accompanied by clapping the bands. Other gesticnla- 
Eons are bringing the right hand around the head and clapping the hands 
three times which is supposed to purify all beings ; also snapping the 
thumb against the two fore-fingers thrice with appropriate mantras which 
bring the deity into one’s self. 
The earth, air and sky are represented by the mystic syllables hhur, 
blmvah^ svah, whilst these again are held by some to represent the old 
trinity Agni, Indra and Surya, who even amongst the non-Brahmanical 
tribes attained to considerable popularity. Again in the mystic word ‘ Om ’ 
we have according to some A. U. M., representing the initial letters of the 
names of Agni, Varuna (a form of Indra) and Mitra (one with the sun) : 
others refer these letters to Brahma, Vishnu and S'iva, who comprise the 
Tri-murti of advanced Brahmanism. A triad is also worshipped at the 
temple of Jagannatha in Orissa, the actual forms of which represent the 
double cursive form of ‘ Om ’ as ordinarily written in manuscript, and 
that this is the true meaning of the form which those unnecessarily 
hideous blocks assume I have little doubt. In a note to his translation 
of the Malati and Madhava of Bhavabhiiti, Professor Wilson^ explains 
‘ Nyasa ’ as “ a form of gesticulation made with a short and mystic prayer 
to the heart, the head, the crown of the head and the eye, as Otn sirase 
namah, ‘ Om ! salutation to the head ’; with the addition of the Jcavacha, 
the armour or syllable Anand the astra, the weapon or syllable hu?n. 
The entire mantra, the prayer or incantation, is then ‘‘ Om sirase namah, 
hu)n, phat.'” These formulae were specially used by the’sect of Yogis or 
Pasupatas, “ the oldest sect probably now existing amongst the Hindus 
and with whose tenets and practices Bhavabhiiti appears to have been 
thoroughly acquainted.” Again Cunninghamf in his Ladak gives the 
mantra addressed to the Bodhisattwas by the Buddhists of Tibet, taken 
from an actual Tibetan stereotype block, which ends with the line :— 
‘ Om Vajra-hrodlia, hdyagrwa, hulu, Jmlu, liun, phat. 
This important portion of the daily prayer is therefore clearly deri¬ 
vable from the non-Brahmanical worship of deities which we shall show 
hereafter were probably of montane origin and common alike to the 
Shiva and Bauddha systems. 
Dhyana. In the daily worship the anga-nydsa is usually followed by 
the dhyana or aghamarsliana or meditation in which with clasped hands 
and closed eyes the celebrant mentally recites and considers the verses 
commencing Om ritam cha satyarn chdhUddhdt &c. In Kumaon, the 
prdndyama is occasionally further prefaced by a short address (chhandah) 
* Works XII : 5, 11, 53. 
t p. 386. 
