Śivasaṃhitā 5.233

The three prerequisites of effective japa are synthesized here: tadgata (absorption in the mantra), eka-citta (unified mind) and śāstra-ukta-vidhi (correct method). The three are simultaneous and interdependent: the correct method facilitates mental unification, which in turn allows real absorption into the mantra’s object. Without all three together, practice remains superficial.

Tadgata = that has entered into it, absorbed (tad = that, gata = that has gone), eka-citta = unified mind, śāstra = authorized teaching text (śās = to teach, govern), ukta = said/declared, vidhi = method/procedure, sudhī = of good intelligence.

The śāstras referenced here are the tradition’s authorized tantras: the Kulārṇava Tantra, Abhinavagupta’s Tantrasāra, the Śaiva Āgamas and the Śākta śrīvidyā texts. The Śiva-saṃhitā positions itself as a text that organizes and transmits these sources’ methodology, making mantrasādhanā accessible without sacrificing its technical rigor.