vyāṁ vyāsadevāya namaḥ|
Dear Śiṣya, Namaste.
You have asked some questions which would benefit many to get answered. With your permission, I am here displaying the my answer on the website.

  • ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चै (om aiṁ hrīṁ klīṁ cāmuṇḍayai viccai)| is correct.
  • When हुं (huṁ) is used with फट् (phaṭ) as the ending of the mantra then it retains a laghu उ (u) thus making it हुं (huṁ).
  • In the Hanuman mantra the second akṣara should be हां (hāṁ), i.e. nakuliśa (h), dirgha (ā) with anusvara (ṁ).  हुं फट् स्वाहा (huṁ phaṭ svāhā)is a valid ending of the mantra but it is a double ending and normally implies that two devatā are worshipped in the mantra. It does not make the mantra more or less effective to add स्वाहा (svāhā) instead it implies an offering to the ajñakhya chakra, which is good depending on the purpose of the sadhana. The difference between the two mantras is whether you 1) worship Hanuman as Rudra (8th house) or 2) worship Hanuman as Hara (11th house), respectively. The former is advised if you have malefics in sixth house in the birth chart, and the latter is advised if you have malefics in 7th. If you have neither conditions I would be careful with these two variations of the Hanuman mantra and advise either: ॐ हां रुद्राय हनुमते नमः (om̐ hāṁ rudrāya hanumate namaḥ), in case of malefics in 5th house, or ॐ हां हनुमते नमः (om̐ hāṁ hanumate namaḥ), in case of malefics in 4th house. If you have strong benefics in these mentioned houses then don’t perform the mantra which accomodates that house, e.g. a mantra with 7 words will completely ruin a chart which has an exalted benefic in seventh house.
  • Laghu (short) svara (vowels) are puṁliñga (male) whilst Dirgha (long) are striliñga (female). But the difference between हुं (huṁ) and हूं (hūṁ) is whether you are simply supressing (उ (u)) or you are completely destroying (ऊ (ū)). Regardless of the gender of the Devatā, this purpose of the mantra has to be decided upon first. This Graha mantra is to be found many places online and many times without the sanskrit or its source given. Because of this I don’t advise this mantra. Notably I rarely advise graha mantras unless for health reasons, i.e. for loosing weight, strengthening the physical functions of the body or ensuring best possible outcome of a surgery. This is because we are taught in the tradition that the Graha Devatā work at the body level, Adhidevatā at the manasa and Pratyadhidevatā at the atma.
  • You are right about dhūṁ (note dirgha ū) being associated with Śrī Dhūmavatī Mahavidyā, but whether to use it with a Rāhu graha mantra, I cannot tell you nor will I experiment with it without a clear reference. My further reasons are the same as with my answers reg. the Ketu mantra.
  • The Guru Graha Mantra you gave is correct. Its very good for working on the brain cells. If not for this purpose, don’t do it.
  • Ketu’s bīja is trīṁ, no doubt. But this bīja is not for married people! Brahmaṛṣi Vasiṣṭha was very kind and gave us a variation for householders, i.e. strīṁ. So those two options for the Ketu mantra should be decided based on this.

I hope this helps.
Yours sincerely, Visti Larsen

 


This is an enquiry e-mail via https://srigaruda.com/ from: Śiṣya

Namaste Sir,

There are 6 mantras for which I seek your clarification.

The first mantra, based on my understanding, is a Devi mantra: ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे (om aiṁ hrīṁ klīṁ cāmuṇḍayai vicce). However, I have seen other sources state this as: ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं छमुण्डायै विच्चे (om aiṁ hrīṁ klīṁ chāmuṇḍayai vicce). Which of these 2 is the correct form of this mantra?

The second mantra is a Hanuman mantra, which goes as: ॐ हं हनुमते रुद्रात्मकाय हुं फट्. I have also seen a variation of this mantra in this form: ॐ हं हनुमते रुद्रात्मकाय हुं फट् स्वाहा (om̐ haṁ hanumate rudrātmakāya huṁ phaṭ svāhā). Is adding स्वाहा (svāhā) at the end of this mantra correct or acceptable, and if so, does it make the mantra more effective? (In that case, can ‘svaahaa’ also be included at the end of the above Chamunda mantra?) My second doubt on this Hanuman mantra is the bija syllable हुं (huṁ). Should this be हुं (huṁ)or हूं (hūṁ)?

Thirdly, while still on the topic of distinguishing between हुं (huṁ) or हूं (hūṁ), I came across the following Shakti mantra for the astrological graha Ketu: ‘om hum kem ketave namah’. I have been informed that while both हुं (huṁ)and हूं (hūṁ)are used in Vedic pujas, it is ॐ हूं कें केतवे नमः (om̐ hūṁ keṁ ketave namaḥ) that is the correct Shakti mantra for the node Ketu since हूं (hūṁ) has a more feminine and Shakti quality. Am I rightly informed on this Sir?

Fourthly, the Shakti mantra for Rahu has been given as ‘om dhum raam raahave namah’. One source clealy explains the word ‘dhum’ to denote Dhavana Shakti, which is the power of obscuring, hiding, protecting and preparing. I explored further and found out that ‘dhum’ is the bija syllable of Dhumavati, who is closely associated with smoke – hence the power of obscuring (as stated earlier). However, I have seen ‘dhum’ written as धुं (dhuṁ) in some texts and धूं (dhūṁ) in other ones. (Interestingly enough, the Sanskrit word for ‘smoke’ is धूम (dhrūm).) However for this Rahu mantra in particular, which of the 2 forms of ‘dhum’ should be used?

Finally, the next 2 doubts are based on another set of mantras for the Navagrahas. Is the Guru (Jupiter) mantra, ॐ ग्रां ग्रीं ग्रौं सः गुरवे नमः (om̐ grāṁ grīṁ grauṁ saḥ gurave namaḥ) correct? Also, should the Ketu mantra be ॐ स्रां स्रीं स्रौं सः केतवे नमः (om̐ srāṁ srīṁ srauṁ saḥ ketave namaḥ) or ॐ स्त्रां स्त्रीं स्त्रौं सः केतवे नमः (om̐ strāṁ strīṁ strauṁ saḥ ketave namaḥ)? In other words, ‘sraam sreem sroum’ or ‘straam streem stroum’?

I am very happy and grateful that I am discussing these doubts with you Sir. I look forward to your reply.

 

Namaste,
Śiṣya