"Recitation of texts" is the repetition of the syllable Om, the _gáyatrí_, &c. Now these _mantras_ are of two kinds, Vaidik and Tántrik. The Vaidik are also of two kinds, those chanted and those not chanted. Those chanted are the _sámans_; those not chanted are either in metre, _i.e._, the _ṛichas_, or in prose, _i.e._, the _yajúṃshi_, as has been said by Jaimini,[430] "Of these, that is a _ṛich_ in which by the force of the sense there is a definite division into _pádas_ [or portions of a verse]; the name _sáman_ is applied to chanted portions; the word _yajus_ is applied to the rest." Those _mantras_ are called Tántrik which are set forth in sacred books that are directed to topics of voluntary devotion;[431] and these are again threefold, as female, male, and neuter; as it has been said-- "The _mantras_ are of three kinds, as female, male, and neuter: "The female are those which end in the wife of fire (_i.e._, the exclamation _sváhá_); the neuter those which end in _namas_; "The rest are male, and considered the best. They are all-powerful in mesmerising another's will, &c." They are called "all-powerful" (_siddha_) because they counteract all defects in their performance, and produce their effect even when the ordinary consecrating ceremonies, as bathing, &c., have been omitted. Now the peculiar "consecrating ceremonies" (_saṃskára_) are ten, and they have been thus described in the _Śáradá-tilaka_-- "There are said to be ten preliminary ceremonies which give to _mantras_ efficacy: "These mantras are thus made complete; they are thoroughly consecrated. "The 'begetting,' the 'vivifying,' the 'smiting,' the 'awakening,' "The 'sprinkling,' the 'purifying,' the 'fattening,' "The 'satisfying,' the 'illumining,' the 'concealing,'--these are the ten consecrations of _mantras_. "The 'begetting' (_janana_) is the extracting of the _mantra_ from its vowels and consonants. "The wise man should mutter the several letters of the _mantra_, each united to Om, "According to the number of the letters. This they call the 'vivifying' (_jívana_). "Having written the letters of the _mantra_, let him smite each with sandal-water, "Uttering at each the mystic 'seed' of air.[432] This is called the 'smiting' (_táḍana_). "Having written the letters of the _mantra_, let him strike them with oleander flowers, "Each enumerated with a letter. This is called the 'awakening' (_bodhana_). "Let the adept, according to the ritual prescribed in his own special _tantra_, "Sprinkle the letters, according to their number, with leaves of the Ficus religiosa. This is the 'sprinkling' (_abhisheka_). "Having meditated on the _mantra_ in his mind, let him consume by the _jyotir-mantra_