`̍t܍ ̜`̍
z̘t: ɲt tt ͥ̏t
ẗ̲zF̘ʘOʏ̜t
ͥ̈u̘̲t̲t̜ *
+t̍t̥ͥZ̍
̥̍ٗ t̍ Ѳyt-
H t`̍Ft̲Ft:
sϥ̍ t **
(Aadi Sankara, Vivekachoodamani 2)
The meaning of the foregoing verse is: human birth is hard to get,
harder still to be born as a male
: Brahmanhood is still rarer and
rarer than this is the inclination
towards the path of Vedic religion;
higher than this is scholarsjip
in scriptures;
descrimination between the
Self and non-Self,, Realization,
continuously identifying oneself
with Brahman, all these follow in
this order. Only a hundred crores
of births, with well-earned merits
could get this kind of liberation.
t states t̘ <tُ̲t ̘̍t% F̘: , according to which if one propitiates
the Lord with a salutation,
all the desires become his slaves.
That is why in the case of Lord
Shiva when we want to worship Him
we start with ̘: first, followed
by the name, whereas in the case
of other deities we utter the name
first followed by ̘:* In the central portion
of
Krishnayajurveda Taittiriyasamhita the very frequently chanted
Mahamantra namely the Sri
Rudram
occurs
in the fourth of the seven
kaandas as the fifth and
seventh prapaathakas.. That
is, this mantra constitutes
the hrudayasthana of the
Krishnayajurveda which signifies
its importance as a prayaschitta
or atonement of all sins and
the conferment of all Purusharthas
by the +̨tͭ̍ Lord Shiva. Even here, the invocation ̘: ̥̙ͨ occurs in the central portion, in which the dvayakshara ̥ͨ occupies the central stage. That is why this mahaamantra is recited
in our daily poojas, japa and
homams. z ̥̙t <t : the Lord drives away all the sins which are the cause of all the
misery in the world, hence the name
Rudra. The Lingapuranam says
: z:L z:L-t
̥̙ͥ̇t
:* <tZt
t̲t ̥ͨ: ̜F̜s̘
** By watering the tree at the base of the trunk all parts of the tree
are strengthened. similarly by worshipping Lord Shiva, all
His related devas will
be pleased and a devotee will get
both the earthly and heavenly benefits
and finally liberation, says Sootha
Samhita.
K̲ ܡF
L: ٭эt y
̥ͨ `̏tt
t D̲ zt:
+t `̏z
HH Ͳt:
Every learned person should continuously repeat the following scriptural
texts as daily routine: ̨L͍̭t Ot ̭ͥsʘ̶̲F Z
H ͍t̘̥tʙ:*
ie. the Upanishad pertaining to
one's own shaakha of the
Veda, Bhagavadgeetha,Vishnusahasranaama,
Srirudram and Purushasooktam. It is said a man with prayer accomplishes more
in a few days than one without it
in all his life. As devotion
increases, life and its problems
become lighter.
The following are the requisites for our prayers to be effective and
fruitful: discipline, physical,
mental and moral ; unstinted faith
in God that He will definitely answer
our prayers ; one pointed devotion
with absolute concentration. Among
the various prayers Sri Rudram occupies
a pre-eminent position. When chanted
continuously with discipline and
faith referred above, our moral
fibre gets reinforced
and we get the necessary
strength to face life and its problems..
Shri Rudram has a perfect solution
for all these problems when chanted
with devotion after the proper initiation
by a Guru. Here again absolute humility
is the hallmark. Shri Rudram is
also known by the names ͍̭t or t̝ՙ the import being (i) this mahaamantra is equivalent to an
Upanishad in that it shows the way
by which one can cast away the bonds
of samsaara and obtain self
realisation and (ii) this is recited in the 101 shaakhas of the Yajurveda
as also in the other vedas
and in this, Lord Shri Rudra is
propitiated in hundreds of forms.
DFt `: L̲t̲
͍̭z̘̙t
t̨LOt KZ\t̝ՙ̘Zt
The lord is being worshipped as carpenters, makers of temple cars,
as potters, as blacksmiths, as hunters,
fishermen, as makers of arrows and
bows, even as dogs and protectors
of dogs as well as those sitting,sleeping,those
who are awake, as standing, as running, as those present in congregations,
and as chairmen of congregations.
and in fact practically
he acts as all beings as
a sport. In essence, the entire
universe is His form.
Kaivalyopanishat has this to say: : t̝ՙ̘̌t %Ot ̥t, ُ̙t
̥t, +t̏t ̥t,
ٜ̏̍t t ̥t,
꺷tt t ̥t
. Thus faithful chanting of sri
Rudram absolves one of any type
of sin. At the time of recitation,
Lord Shiva is to be contemplated
as follows :
+̏t̡̗̲y̡̍t̗٥̖̍sn̲ͥ-
at̲hF͡W̡ͥ͡tsz̍t̘t:
*
+tF̓t̘Fը̨̘͍
̍٥Fg̏̍
̙zяtͲ%t̏z ͥ̏%͗ͭfZ\̘ **
Enlightening the universe spread
from the netherworld to the skies
, the effulgent sphatikalinga
has the full moon on His head
and is being bathed with its nectarine
showers ; a vipra should
thus undertake dhyaana meditating
on Lord Shiva with Rudra japa
in order to achieve his desire.
sn̐z:
Ͳtͷ̝Z ̲̘̍ `W:
Fsl F̡: FzF͡t̨ͨF̩snFzsnt:
*
wK K̡̘;
st̷̗̙: ɗ̥ t̗z:
: ՝HFht̗̥ͥ
: Z\t L̘ **
His body is transcending the entire universe with effulgence like
that of snow due to smearing of
sacred ash, snakes as ornaments,
black neck, with tresses adorned
by crescent moon, fearful hands
holding the bow, three eyes and
garland of rudraaksha. Such
a form of the Lord will remove the
fear of those worshipping Him. Let
the various forms of the Lord propitiated
with Rudrasooktha bring all
happiness to us.
After the samkalpa, anganyasa, karanyasa , dhyanam etc.
it is customary to chant the shaantimantra
before commenciing the japa
proper. Sri Rudram has two parts
namely Namakam and Chamakam and
are chanted together. The salutation
namaha
occurs 183 times in the Namakam
and the wish cha me occurs
358 times in the Chamakam. Sri Rudram is a combination of several mantras
each with its own Aͭ, \z, zt, and d̘̍*
For
a sample let us look at a few statements:
=t O +̇z̙:, meaning that the Lord being +ztt , can be perceived by the ordinary cowherds and those women bringing
water. This signifies the of the Lord. Again a prayer
is there to leave the weapons on
top of a tree and to appear before
the devotee wearing a
tiger skin :' you may hold
only the bow called Pinaka as an
ornament : ̜ K +ٌ̙
͍̙̌ Fu ̲̍ +Z̜ ͏̍F
͖̗zOͷ * Another statement glorifies the hand that offers puja to the Lord
: + t O̥̙̍ + O̥u̜:*
+ ̫̗ͥ`%̘ ̨̥̘ͨ͗ʍ: the import being this hand is the Lord
Himself, nay better than the Lord,
as it is blessed enough to perform
the abhisheka, alamkaara, and
archana to Him, and thus becomes
the medicine for the world because
it is able to touch the Lord's moorthy.
Shiva's form is fearful which
is rendered auspicious by His consort,
Parvathi's form. It is this Goddess's
form which is medicine for Himself
by which alone He becomes Eu : * Rudram and Chamakam are exclusively
intended for three main classes
of persons:(1) to those who are
afflicted with troubles and miseries,
(2)seekers of knowledge (3) for
pleasures of earth and heaven and
for riches.
In the first anuvaaka of Sri Rudram, a devotee prays to the
Lord to forgive him for transgressing
His injunctions and be pleased ,in the 2nd to the 9th anuvaakas salutations
are offered to His numerous names
signifying His omnipresence, all
pervasive nature in all beings animate
and inanimate , and Supreme Lordship,
in the tenth, the prayer to the
Lord who is pleased with the chanting,
is for granting all the desires
and ward off all evils. In the final
anuvaaka salutations are
offered to the Rudra Ganaas.
The Chamaka contains an exhaustive
list of desires that any human could
think of for being granted by the
Lord. Towards the close of the Namakam
there is this prayer : we salute
the three-eyed Lord with a natural
aroma, who protects his devotees
out of abundant mercy;
O Lord!, with
your grace let us get released from
the clutches of Death just as a
ripe cucumber separates from its
stalk ; let us not move away from
the path of liberation.
wɖF `̷̘
Oҍ ͮ̌ʍ
=ʝF̥͘ ̍̍̍t-Kՙ
%tt
It is said there are five forms of reciting Sri Rudram. The most common
ones are (i) reciting the entire
Namakam once followed by one full
aavarthy of Chamakam is called
̘ * Reciting the Namakam with the first anuvaaka of Chamakam,
then the second aavarthy
of Namakam with the second anuvaaka
of Chamakam and so on to complete
the 11 renderings of Sri Rudram constitutes one Rudra Ekadasini. Eleven Rudra
Ekadasinis constitute one Laghu
Rudram,11 Laghu Rudrams one Maharudram
and 11 Maharudrams one Atirudram.In
the end of the Rudra Ekadasini, Vasordaraa homam is conducted with ghee
being offered to the agni uninterruptedly
in a thin stream through a gomukhee
chanting the Chamaka mantra
starting with +O̭ͥs for the fulfillment of of all desires not only of the yajamaana
but of the entire humanity. Repeatedly
chanted, especially in groups ,
this Mahamantra produces
vibrations in and around to bring
about, all -round happiness and
welfare. The foregoing is a humble
attempt to briefly describe the
importance of SRI RUDRAPRASNA, reciting
of which will bring Bliss in the
human life.
$ ̘: ̥̙ͨ
