We were pointed to an article online which questioned the need for puraścaraṇa in the case of stōtra, nyāsa, etc. Such a view is not completely correct.
The most basic of nyāsas is the Matr̥ikā nyāsa. Shāradātilaka describes the procedure for puraścaraṇa for this nyāsa:
दीक्षितः प्रोक्तमार्गेण न्यसेल्लक्षं समाहितः |
जपेत् तत्संख्यया विद्वानयुतं मधुराप्लुतैः |
विदधीत तिलैर्होमं मातृकामन्वहं जपेत् ||
ūrdhvāmnāya Tantra also describes puraścaraṇa for ṣōdhānyāsa – which is of ten types, one pertaining to each Mahāvidyā. Alternately, in śrīkula Krama system, seven types are practiced one per day:
– Adharāmnāya Mahāṣōḍhā for Ugratārā
– Pūrvāmnāya Mahāṣōḍhā for Bhuvanēśvarī
– Dakṣiṇāmnāya Mahāṣōḍhā for Mahākālikā
– Paścimāmnāya Mahāṣōḍhā for Navaratna Kubjikā
– Uttarāmnāya Mahāṣōḍhā for Pañcakrama Guhyakālikā
– ūrdhvāmnāya Laghuṣōḍhā for Saubhāgyavidyā Tripurā
– Anuttarāmnāya Mahāṣōḍhā for Rājarājēśvarī Mahābhaṭṭārikā
देवीभावसमायुक्तः षोढान्यासपरो भवेत् |
दशविद्याविधौ सा च दशधा भिन्नभिन्नतः |
अयुतं च पुरश्चर्या न्यासस्तत्क्रमयोगतः ||
There are popular stotras such as Durgā Saptaśatī and Viṣṇu sahasranāma for which explicit details of puraścaraṇa are provided in the Tantras. Mahākāla Samhitā gives the below generic instruction in this regard:
सहस्रनामस्तोत्रेषु कवचेष्वपि पार्वति |
कवचादौ तु या प्रोक्ता सा वै कार्या पुरस्क्रिया ||
यत्रानुक्ता पुरश्चर्या तत्र किं वा विधीयते |
अयुतं तु पुरश्चर्या स्तोत्रमात्रे प्रकीर्तिता ||
सहस्रनामकवचे पुरश्चर्या त्वियं मता |
एवं पुरस्क्रियां कृत्वा दशांशं हवनादिकम् |
तर्पणं मार्जनं देवि कुत्रचित्परिकीर्तितम् |
महाकालमते प्रोक्तं तत्रस्थं चेत्समाचरेत् ||
The importance of kavacha, stotra and sahasranāma of the deity whose mūla mantra is undertaken for puraścaraṇa, is described thus:
सारूप्यं कवचाख्यं च सायुज्यं स्तोत्रमीरितम् |
सान्निध्यं नामसाहस्रं त्रितयं परिकीर्तितम् ||
It must however be remembered that puraścaraṇa of these three is secondary to the puraścaraṇa of the mūla mantra itself and executed in an accessorial fashion – unless the stotra itself is undertaken for puraścaraṇa like in the case of Karpūra stavarāja or Durgā Saptaśatī.
In the case of stotras like Karpūra Stava of Dakṣiṇā Kālikā, specific instructions are available for puraskriyā:
कृत्वा षोढादिकं देवि पठेत्स्तोत्रमनुत्तमम् |
अयुतैकप्रमाणेन तद्दशांशं हुनेत्सुधीः ||
तर्पणं चभिषेकं च ब्राह्मणान् भोजयेत् ततः |
पश्चात् स्वकार्यसिद्ध्यर्थं प्रयोगानाचरेत् तथा ||
We were also pointed to highly ignorant comments on Chaṇḍikā Homa by one Mr. Shangaranarayanan. The gentleman states thus: ‘I would even go to the extent of saying that doing chandi havan through the chandi parayana is not indicated anywhere’.
His assumption, which is grossly incorrect, seems to be that Chaṇḍikā Homa is performed only through Navārṇa mantra and not by offering āhuti to the verses of Durgā Saptaśatī from Mārkaṇḍēya Purāṇa. It is quite unnecessary to even quote pramāṇa for such verses are too many in number. Here are a few, however. We have explained elsewhere the aṅgāṅgi relation between Navārṇa mantra and Saptaśatī which is to be determined based on the context.
Marīcikalpa describes the following while explaining the rules for puraścaraṇa of Saptaśatī (not Navārṇa):
एवं देवि मया प्रोक्तः पौरश्चरणिकः क्रमः |
तदन्ते हवनं कुर्यात् प्रतिश्लोकेन पायसैः ||
Then we have the classic verse from Kātyāyanī Tantra which explicitly states that āhutis are to be offered per every verse of Saptaśatī and goes into great detail when dealing with ślōka-vibhāga krama. Again, Marīcikalpa, Kātyāyanī Tantra, Vārāhī Tantra, Meru Tantra, etc. deal with ślōka-vibhāga in great detail and this is primarily to facilitate Homa. There is no practical relevance of this with respect to japa of the hymn as a whole, as subtly hinted by Bhāskararāya Makhīndra.
The explicit instruction for Homa using the verses of Saptaśatī can be seen below:
दुर्गास्तवनमन्त्राणां सङ्ख्या सप्तशतं भवेत् |
कामनामन्त्रसङ्ख्या च शतं चैव चतुर्दश |
मध्ये मन्त्रान् सप्तशतं होमकाले तु योजयेत् ||
Another pramāṇa can be seen in the Uttarasamhitā of Hiṅgulādrikhaṇḍa of Skanda Purāṇa:
चण्डीपाठेन होतव्या कृत्वा तु कवचं पुरा |
ततश्चार्गलां चैव ततो वै कीलकं भवेत् ||
One can also refer to the following verses from the Vaikr̥tika Rahasya:
प्रतिश्लोकं च जुहुयात् पायसं तिलसर्पिषा |
जुहुयात् स्तोत्रमन्त्रैर्वा चण्डिकायै शुभं हविः ||
These days, most so-called upāsakas scoff at rituals – which constitute the core aspect of Tantra, and such upāsakas are nothing more than karma-bhraṣṭas. It is unnecessary to waste time trying to educate the uneducable.