gold again

[garzilli at HULAW1.HARVARD.EDU]

Ciao Howard! 
Abhinavagupta (TantrAloka XVI, 63-64) says 
that the animal which is superior to all is that which had six births 
namely that is offered in sacrifice and it has been reincarnated * again * 
for six times. The animal becomes pure like gold becomes pure by cooking it.
(Chapter XVI deals with initiation).

niveditaH punaHprAptadeho bhUyoniveditaH |
SaTkRtva itthaM yaH so'tra SaDjanmA paSurUttamaH ||
yatha yAkakramAcchuddhaM hema tadvatsa kIrtitaH |
.....

KSemarAja resorts to this example in his SpandasaMdoha (p. 22). He 
compares the paSu to the cattle which has 7 births.
Cooking is a way to purify gold and to separate it from impurities.

[According to Helene Brunner ("Un Tantra du Nord: le Netra Tantra", BEFEO, 
LXI, PAris 1974, p. 183 and fn. 2) Abhinavagupta used 
Chapter XX of the Netra Tantra for the TA passage on the animals' 
sacrifice. The Netra is later than the 2nd century AD (K. C. Pandey, 
Abhinavagupta, p. 573) See my translation of the SpandasaMdoha, 
Supplemento n. 59 agli Annali- vol. 4, (1989), fasc. 2, Naples 1989, p. 
33 and fn. 87].

Punar can refer to re-incarnation and offering.

Enrica Garzilli