The kubjikA mantra mAlA is one of the remnants of the once active kubjikA-mata system that currently survives in southern India. Text is a collection of mantra-s which are deployed like a stotra by the votary in worshiping kubjikA. The average tAntrika typically does not know of the mantra sAdhana-s of the individual mantra-s and simply uses them as though the whole mantra mAlA were a stuti to accompany the worship of durgA. Further, the published texts of the mantra mAlA have several corrupt readings – at least those in drAviDa and nAgarI lipi-s; I do not know of the state of the versions published in the Andhra lipi. Again some upAsaka-s state that they use it prior to the worship of vanadurgA and others state that they use it before the worship of chaNDikA (the devatA of mArkaNDeya’s saptashatI). Tradition has it that these mantra-s were from the lost gaurI tantra of the kubjikA kula tradition.
I am attempting to correct the readings as per my tradition:
OM shrUM shrUM shrUM shaM phaT aiM hrIM klIM jvalojvala prajvala hrIM hrIM klIM srAvaya srAvaya shApaM mochaya mochaya shrAM shrIM shraM jUM saH AdAya AdAya svAhA || 1
OM shloM huM gloM jUM saH jvalojvala mantrAn prabalaya prabalaya haM saM laM kShaM svAhA || 2
OM aM kaM chaM TaM taM paM sAM bindur-Avirbhava bindur-Avirbhava vimardaya vimardaya haM kShaM kShIM strIM jivaya jivaya troTaya troTaya jambhaya jambhaya dIpaya dIpaya mochaya mochaya huM phaT jrAM vauShaT aiM hrIM klIM ra~njaya ra~njaya saMjaya saMjaya gu~njaya gu~njaya bandhaya bandhaya bhrAM bhrIM bhrUM bhairavI bhadre saMkucha saMkucha saMchala saMchala troTaya troTaya mlIM svAhA || 3
namaste rudra-rUpAyai namaste madhu-mardini |
namaste kaiTabhAryai namaste mahiShamardini || 4
namaste shuMbha-hantryai cha nishuMbhAsura-sUdini |
namaste jAgrate devi jape siddhiM kurUShva me || 5
aiMkArI sR^iShTirUpiNyai hrIMkArI pratipAlikA |
klIMkArI kAmarUpiNyai bIjarUpe namo.astu te || 6
chAmuNDA chaNDghAtI cha yaikArI vara-dAyinI |
vichche no.abhayadA nityaM namaste mantra-rUpiNi || 7
dhAM dhIM dhUM dhUrjaTeH patnI vAM vIM vUM vAgIshvarI tathA |
krAM krIM krUM kubjikA devi shrAM shrIM shrUM me shubhaM kuru ||8
hUM hUM hUMkAra-rUpiNyai jrAM jrIM jrUM bhAlanAdinI |
bhrAM bhrIM bhrUM bhairavI bhadre bhavAnyai te namo namaH || 9
pAM pIM pUM pArvatI pUrNA khAM khIM khUM khecharI tathA |
mlAM mlIM mlUM mUlavistIrNA kubjikAyai namo namaH || 10
This kubjikA mantra-mAlA has close resemblance to the siddha-kun~njikA stotra (SKS) which is used with the mArkaNDeya saptashatI and belongs to the vana-durgA tradition. The SKS exists in two recensions which are respectively supposed to have come from the gaurI-tantra (like the above stotra) and the DAmara tantra. On the face of it both the kubjikA mantra mAlA and the two versions of the SKS have a stotra section that clearly describes chaNDikA of the mArkaNDeya puraNa. In the case of the SKS from the gaurI tantra the mantra-s at the beginning of the stotra are from the chaNDikA tradition based on the navAkSharI vidyA (aiM hrIM klIM chAMuNDAyai vicche ||). Hence, it would seem that the southern kubjikA tradition at some point “recycled” and incorporated this text from the vana-durgA tradition. The SKS’s association with the saptashatI appears to have also resulted in the votaries believing that the kubjikA mantra mAlA is used before the saptashatI just as the ku~njikA text.
mAnasa-taraMgiNI 