There are various mantras of Guhyakālī, now mostly lost except in the hearts of the most deserving of the sādhakas, taught by Bhagavatī herself to Mahāsvacchanda Bhairava (in the form of Nr̥simha). The mantras are withheld for a valid reason and not indiscriminately published or imparted, as doing so would result in Kula, Dēśa, Dravyahāni. While the primary classification is based on the Upāsaka or Riṣi of the mantras, there is also a system followed in Nepāla and Orissa where the mantra is based on the number of lotus faces of the Great Queen of Uttarāmnāya.
1 Ekavaktrā (one face) – invoked by Brahmā to attain the power of creation
2 Dvivaktrā (two faces) – invoked by Kāmarāja to defeat Shiva and the worlds
3 Trivaktrā (three faces) – invoked by Varuṇa to shower the world to sustain life
4 Chaturvaktrā (four faces) – invoked by Agni to attain the power to burn everything but Mahākāla
5 Pañcavaktrā (five faces) – invoked by goddess Aditi to attain the power to produce life
6 Shaḍvaktrā (six faces) – invoked by Indrāṇī to grant Indra the lordship of the worlds
7 Aṣṭavaktrā (eight faces) – invoked by various asuras (demons) to invoke the Devatās in various yugas.
8 Navavaktrā (nine faces) – invoked by Mr̥tyu (lord of death) and Kāla (the lord of time) to attain their respective powers of samhāra
9 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by Bharata to attain the lordship of the entire bhūmaṇḍala
10 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by sage Chyavana to attain the great power of abhicāra and pratyabhicāra
11 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by sage Hārīta to attain the mastery in four kinds of Yoga
12 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by sage Jābāla to attain the liberating Brahmavidyā
13 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by Prajāpati to create the worlds
14 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by lord Rāmacandra to attain the power to kill Rāvaṇa
15 Shatavaktrā (hundred faces) – invoked by Hiraṇyakaśipu to attain the power to control the three worlds
16 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by Indra to maintain the lordship of the universe
17 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by sage Vasiṣṭha to attain mastery over senses and emotions
18 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by lord Mahāviṣṇu to attain the power to protect the fourteen realms of existence
19 Dvādaśavaktrā (twelve faces) – invoked by Kālī herself to attain the power to subjugate Shiva Mahākāla
20 Ekādaśavaktrā (eleven faces) – invoked by Rudra to attain the power to dissolve the worlds
21 Trayodaśavaktrā (thirteen faces) – invoked by Viśvēdēvā to attain the power to accept offerings
22 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by Rāvaṇa to get the grace of Shiva and attain his on-demand protection
23 Daśavaktrā (ten faces) – invoked by Rāvaṇa to win the three worlds
24 Shoḍaśavaktrā (sixteen faces) – invoked by the clan of Siddhas to attain aṇimā and other superhuman powers
25 Ekāśītivaktrā (eighty-one faces) – invoked by Saptarṣis to attain mastery of all forms of Yoga and Jñāna
26 Vimśativaktrā (twenty faces) – invoked by the clan of Kinnaras to attain mastery over all forms of art
27 Ayutavaktrā (ten-thousand faces) – invoked by Kālāgnirudras to destroy even the trinity during Mahāpralaya
28 Prayutavaktrā (million faces) – invoked by Mahāsvacchanda Bhairava as Nr̥simha himself, to attain the Lordship of everything that exists and not, by being the consort of Bhagavatī Guhyakālī Herself
When Guhyakālī is worshiped as a part of Srīkula, there is a peculiar vidhi of doing a sampuṭa of each letter of Kādi Mahāṣōḍaśī with one of these mantras for purposes of Japa. This is the fastest way to unlock the otherwise unattainable mantras of Guhyakālī in the age of Kaliyuga. This protects the sādhaka from various accidents, mishaps and miseries otherwise encountered during the upāsanā of Guhyakālī, if practiced without the agency of a tīvratīvra śaktipāta granting anyonyabhāva with Bhagavatī that can persist throughout the period of the Japa. Mantras of Guhyakālī are not for “pop-culture” practitioners who profess ‘bhakti’ and copy it from internet sources without making a commitment of a lifetime. Mere faith or devotion unaccompanied by the required view and skill is useless in Uttarāmnāya.