Shava sadhana is conducted generally on a new moon day. The "Tantrasara" suggests or the eighth or fourteenth lunar day in a fortnight as well as Tuesdays are suitable for the ritual. The sadhaka is left alone with the corpse in the night. The "Tantrasara" recommends the following for the ritual: a shmashana (cremation ground) or cemetery, or an abandoned house, a riverbank, a mountain, a battlefield, near a bilva tree or any other lonely place. The ritual is generally done in a shmashana. Siddha pithas, sacred places reputed to grant siddhis may be preferred for the ritual. The sadhaka repeats a mantra while bringing the corpse to the designated site of the ceremony to purify it. In Shakta ritual as described in the "Tantrasara", the corpse is worshipped with flowers and invoked as a form of Bhairava (a form of Shiva) and the seat of the Goddess and requested to awaken to please the Goddess. The corpse is washed and placed on tiger or deer skin or a bed of kusha grass. The hair and feet of the corpse may be tied. The corpse is believed to be a vessel of power while the rite is performed and tying the hair ensures that the energy does not escape. Another interpretation states that the bondage reflects the practitioner's desire to control the spirit of the corpse. Then, the sadhaka will sit on the corpse for meditation. In Shakta narratives, betel nut is put into the corpse's mouth and it is turned on its back and smeared with sandalwood paste. Shakta sandhakas draw a yantra on the back of the corpse and sit on it. The 64 yoginis and the guardians of the directions are worshipped with vegetarian offerings. The corpse-seat is again worshipped and the practitioner mounts the corpse like one sits on a horse. Another tradition says that the practitioner is expected to sit in Virasana ("the heroic pose"). The "Tantrasara" narrates that the practitioner should get off the corpse to draw a triangle or protective circle around him and the corpse or again to scatter mustard or sesame seeds in all directions. While meditating, the practitioner (whose goal is detachment) should think on what makes the corpse (who was alive till a day after) different from him and other living beings and thus discover the knowledge of the living force within all living beings. He (or she) identifies with the corpse and contemplates on the ephemeral nature of the body, whose dissolution leads to the discovery of the living force within.