Mantra scriptures

Question

Which scripture contains list of various mantras to achieve various things in life? It should contain actual mantras not general guidelines about chanting mantras.

Answer 1

Tāntrika nibandha is the category of texts you are looking for.

You can consult the following texts that are available online for free

1. Prapañcasāra Tantra of Adi Shaṅkara with Vivaraṇa commentary by his disciple Padmapāda
2. Śāradātilaka Tantra of Lakṣmaṇa Desikendra with Padārthādarśa commentary by the polymath Rāghava Bhatta of Vārānasī
3. Mantramahodahi by Mahīdhara Bhatta of Vārānasī (author of the Vedadīpa commentary on the Mādhyandina recession of the Vājasaneyī Saṁhitā of Śuklayajurveda) alongside his own Naukā commentary.
4. Gautamiya Tantra (for mantras related to Kṛṣṇa)
5. Nāradapañcarātra - Jñānāmṛtasāra
6. Rāmārcanacandrikā of Ānanda Vana (for mantras related to Rāma)
7. Vṛhattantrasāra by Kṛṣṇānanda Āgamavāgiśa of Navadvīpa
8. Āgamatattvavilāsa by Raghunātha Tarkavāgiśa of Napāṛa(?) in eastern Bengal
9. Prāṇatoṣaṇī Tantra of Rāmatoṣaṇa Vidyālaṅkāra at the behest of Prāṇakṛṣṇa Viśvāsa of Khaṛadaha
10. Śrīvidyarṇava Tantra of Vidyāranya (not to be confused with the pontiff of Sṛṅgerī maṭha who was also the guru of Harihara & Bukkārāya. This Vidyāranya was an older contemporary of Rāmānuja & served a feudal lord of probably Rājamahedravaram)
11. Iśānaśivagurudevapaddhati of Iśānaśiva of Kerala (for Shaiva mantras)
12. Ākāśabhairavakalpa
13. Prapañcasārasaṁgraha of Gīrvānendra Sarasvatī
14. Chapters 63 - 91 of Nārada Purāṇa's pūrvārdha (N.B it has some inaccuracies).
15. Sanatkumārasaṁhitā - a Pañcarātra text
16. Tantrasārasaṁgraha of Madhva with Padyamālā exposition by Jayatirtha
17. Puraścaryārnava of unnamed paṇḍitas at the behest of Mahārāja Pratāpasiṁha Śāh of Nepāla
18. Mantramahārṇava of Mādhava Rāya Vaidya from Visāhunagara(?) of Rājasthana (for occult rites & black magic)

However, in order to utilise the mantras given in these texts, you must atleast receive mantradikṣā from a bona-fide guru who has a clear gurupaṅkti (i.e the guru must have received the mantra in question through an unbroken lineage consisting of his/her own guru, parama-guru i.e guru's guru, parāpara-guru i.e guru of parama-guru & parameṣṭhī-guru i.e guru of parāpara-guru, all of whom belong to a legitimate sampradāya) & be authorised to perform puraścaraṇa of the same.

Puraścaraṇa is a Tāntrika rite which involves the votary perform japa of the mantra a certain lakh number of times from sunrise to midday, following by homa of the same 1/10 times, tarpaṇa 1/100 times, abhiṣeka 1/1000 times & feeding brāhmaṇas numbering 1/10000th of the original number. (That is to say that if a Tāntrika mantra requires to be recited 1 lakh times & on the first day, the votary is able to perform japa of the same 20,000 times, then he must perform homa of the same mantra 2,000 times, tarpaṇa 200 times, abhiṣeka 20 times & feed 2 brahmaṇas on that day & repeat the same procedure continuously for the next 4 days) in order to achieve mantra-siddhi. It has some very strict rules like living off upon alms & ban on holding conversation in any language other than Sanskrit with anybody other than the brāhmaṇas employed in the rite, alongside the other usual restraints on behavior & diet. Although it requires a considerable amount of time, money & resource, puraścaraṇa is a far better alternative to the varieties of austerities performed by munis of the past as described in other texts (like standing on a single toe while completely avoiding food, sleep & sex for many years at a row with exposing the body to elements) to obtain boons.

As somebody has already pointed out, the Atharvaveda is also filled with mantras aimed at attaining various material & spiritual benefits but mere chanting of the same will not yield fruit. It requires performance of homa according the rules laid down in the kalpa-sūtras of Ātharvaṇas of that mantra in order to for it to be effective. Currently, the practice of Atharvaveda is restricted to a section of Nāgara brahmaṇas in Gujarat (Śaunakīya śākhā) & a section of Utkala brahmaṇas in Odisha (Paippalāda śākhā). In the Skandapurāṇa, it is said that Bhagavāna Śiva had performed an Ātharvaṇa homa of the Ātharvaṇa mantras aimed to repel & destroy enemy forces in which He offered His own blood into the fire, resulting in creation of a kṛtyā who laid waste to the Asura armies of Andhaka. [N.B - Kṛtyā can also be invoked in a Tāntrika manner for both beneficent & maleficent purposes & can be repelled by invoking Pratyaṅgirā, alongside the application of kṛtyā-repellent Ātharvaṇa mantras.]

So it is clear that mantra-śāstra is no child's play. It due to lack of awareness about its intricacies that common people get exploited by charlatans professing to be mantra-siddhas, resulting in the word tantra becoming synonymous with orgies, superstitions & black magic for a lay person.