Gist of Sri Rudram

Today is Shivaratri and it is an auspicious night for the worship of Lord Shiva. It is
not Shivas ratri but our ratri for us to worship Shiva throughout the night. Generally
Shivaratri is celebrated in the form of Shiva puja in the form of Rudra Abhisekam. As
Shiva is supposed to Abhisekam priyah while Vishnu is supposed to be Alakara
priyah and all those ornaments like pitambaram, gada, chakra etc. Therefore rudra
abhisekam is done on Shivaratri and it can done in different ways.
We did rudra abhiskem today chanting one time Rudram and one time
Chamakkam. This kind of worship is called namaka worship. Then you can chant
Rudram eleven times and after the end of each round of Rudram you chant one
chapter of Chamakkam and thus 11 times Rudram and once Chamakkam is called
Rudram. Then the next higher grade is chanting Rudram 121 times (multiple of 11)
you can do it any way like one person chanting 121 times or 11 people chanting 11
times or 121 people chanting once and chamakaam will be chanted 11 times. This
type of worship is called Rudra Eka dhashinih. The next higher grade is chanting
Rudram 121 times 11 which 1,321 times and this you can do in any manner (121
people chanting Rudram 11 times and if there are 1,321 people who know Rudram
they can chant it once) and this kind of worship is called Maha Rudram (1,321 times
rudram and 121 times chamakkam). And if you can manage still higher as we have
got one more. We must chant 1,321 times 11 which is 14, 541 times rudram. And
we chant chamakkam 1,321 times. This is called athi rudram. Thus namakam is one
time, 11 times is rudram, 121 times is rudram eka dhashini, 1,321 times is Maha
rudram and 14,541 is athi rudram. Therefore youll find that in India especially
South India they will chant Rudram or Rudram Eka Dhashini chanting rudram
throughout the night. But we have not able to go higher than namakam (laughs).
Since we have been chanting Sri Rudram each Shivaratri I thought I will briefly give
you the meaning. We may spend our lifetime chanting Rudram without knowing
what it contains. Ill not go to elaborate level except furnish the salient features in
this talk.
Rudram is a very sacred mantra or prayer occurring in the Krishna Yajur
Veda. It occurs almost in the middle of the yajurveda. It is considered not only most
sacred in yajurveda but whole Vedas. Among all the shastra, the Vedas are
supposed to be most sacred and among Vedas the Rudram is the most sacred and
revered. And in the Rudram itself the panchakshari which occurs almost in the
middle which is Namah Shivayya. And further the most auspicious part is in the
middle which is Shiva. Since the word Shiva occurs in the Rudram and it means
the most auspicious one, the most magala kalah this is considered to be most
auspicious and sacred.
And before chanting Rudram there are some preparatory mantra called
nyasa mantrah. This is invocation of the deity on our own body. This is because
when we worship we should also be as pure as the Lord at least at the time of puja!
We purify the body by invoking various deities at various parts of the body. In
Rudram we have two kinds of invocation. Before doing Rudram Eka Dhashini, Maha
Rudram and Athi Rudram we do a bigger invocation called Mahaanyasah. This is
one hour of chanting where we invoke the lord in different parts of the body. And we
cannot do Mahaanyasah then we need a shortcut which is the vogue of Kali yuga as
we are always short of time! We have a shorter invocation which is called
Laghunyasah. prajanane brahm tihatu | pdayor-viustihatu | hastayor-
harastihatu | bhvorindrastiatu | jahare agnistihatu | hdaye ivastihatu |
kahe vasavastihantu | vaktre sarasvat tihatu | nsikayor-vyustihatu |
nayanayo-candrdityau tietm | karayoravinau tietm | lale rudrstihantu
| mrthnyditystihantu | irasi mahdevastihatu | ikhy vmadevstihatu
| phe pink tihatu | purata l tihatu | pryayo ivakarau tihetm |
sarvato vyustihatu | tato bahi sarvato gnir-jvlml-parivtastihatu |
sarvevageu sarv devat yathsthna tihantu | mg rakantu |
So we invoke so many deities not only on our body but also in the surroundings also.
And again another invocation. agnirme vci rita | vgdhdaye | hdaya mayi |
ahamamte | amta brahmai And that is also invocation of the deity. So after
invocation I have also become a mini-Shiva as it were. And only this purification one
is supposed to do rudra abhiskem. The word Rudra itself has various different
names. Ruth means dukham, Dukha Hathuh means the cause of sorrow like
disease, death, famine etc. The Drah means One who drives away. Since Lord
Shiva removes all the sorrows and the causes for sorrows, therefore HE is called
Rudra. Therefore positively HE is called Shiva the most auspicious one. When
you say HE is the remover of sorrow you say Rudra and by removing the sorrow
what do you get? Mangalah and Anandah. You call HIM Shiva as the bestower of
Magalam and Anandah. Since Lord Rudra is glorified in this prayer, this is known as
SRI RUDRAM.
Otherwise they call it shatha rudriyam as in Kaivalya Upanishad and here
shatha means hundreds and rudriyam means aspects or glories of Lord Rudra.
Since this contains hundreds of glories or lilas of Lord it is called shatha rudriyam.
Another name is Rudra Upanishad which also means Rudram. Another name is
Sri Rudra Suktam and finally namakam all these are names of Sri Rudram
(Shatha Rudriyam, Rudra Upanishad, Rudra Suktam, Namakkam etc).
Before chanting Rudra we invoke the grace of Lord Shiva by meditating on him.
Here the prayer or meditation mantra is beautiful as two aspects of the Lord are
brought in. One aspect is Shiva as a personal God. That is what we get in the
beginning
uddhasphaika saka trinetra paca vaktrakam | gagdhara daabhuja
sarvbharaa bhitam as Shiva is described as a person with three eyes, carrying
Ganga, and jatta is there, and various ornaments are there, and Parvathi is also
seated. This is for a beginner and for an advanced seeker sarva vypina-mna
rudra vai vivarpiam | Lord Shiva is not seating at one place but he is
sarvathmatah in the form of virat swaroopam or vishwa rupah. In the later slokas
the vishwa rupa is beautifully described pta-nabhasthalnta-bhuvana-
brahma-mvisphurat- jyoti sphika-liga-maui-vilasat-prendu-vntmtai.
So the whole cosmos is taken as the cosmic Shiva lingah and the abshisekam is
done by the moons rays that contain water droplets. This is maha yagna. We take a
small lingam and meditate on it as a cosmic Viswa rupam before doing the
abhisekam. brahma vyptadeh bhasita himaruc bhsamn bhujagai ord
Shivas body pervades the whole brahmandam (the cosmos). In another prayer
we saw Jala Kala Kalasam Akasha Moorti, nakshatram pushpamalyam, graha kara
kusum the whole akasha is Shiva linga, the stars are the flowers, the sun and
moon are the eyes, the ocean the base, pathalam or the lower world are the steps
veda, vakram, shadagam and veda is the mouth of Lord Rudra. The difference
between Shiva and Vishnu is there as long as you consider them as a personal god.
Their forms, colour, abaranams, etc are different. The difference between Shiva and
Vishnu is only at a lower level. Once we expand our minds to see Vishnu as Vishwa
rupa and Shiva as Vishwa rupa then both Shiva and Vishnu are one and the
same. Therefore at the end of Rudram we have Om Namo Bhagavate Rudraya
Vishnavay Mruthyurme Paahi, they knew we would quarrel as whether Shiva is
greater or Vishnu. Likewise in Vishnu Sahashranama they added Sarva Sharva Shiva
to indicate that both are one and same. They are both nothing but Virat Swarupa.
This is laghunayasa or the dhyana sloka.
Now I will quickly go through the contents of Rudram. It consists of 11 chapters, we
call it eleven anuvakam (sections or chapers). In this the first anuvakam and the
last two anuvakam are prayers seeking the grace of the Lord. In these three
sections 1, 10, and 11- we are asking for Ishwara Kripa and Ishwara Anugraha. We
see them later. I shall take the middle portions first. From the second anuvakam to
the nineth anuvakam it is the glorification of the Lord Shiva. These are Shiva
Mahima Stotram or Shiva Shruthi or Ishwara Shruthi. In these sections Shivas
glories are seen from different angles. In Rudram we find three aspects beautifully
brought out.
One glory is Sarva Ishwarathpm, Lord Shiva is the Ishwara of all. The god for
all gods. Sarvasham pathihi and Sarvasham Ishwarah, in Vedantic jargon the
nimitta karanam is highlighted. The Lord has the intelligent creator and the lord
has the protector of the universe.
The second aspect that is highlighted Sarvathma Kathvam of Lord Shiva
which means HE alone is appearing as everything in creation. Previously we said
that HE is the Lord of all which means people are different and Lord is different.
There is bhedam. Now we say that the Lord does not protect the world standing
separately as the LORD HIMSELF is there in the form of the world. This is Viswarupa
we get in the Bhagavat Gita of the eleventh chapter, what we get in the Purusha
Suktam is conveyed in the Rudram as Sarvam Shiva mayam jagat. This I call
Sarvathmakatvam.
Then comes the final and the subtlest aspect and that is the sarva
antharyami thvam. The Lord is the inner essence or nirgunathvam, sarva
athisttanam of everything. So there are three stages: Sarvasham Ishwarah, Sarva
Rupah, Sarva Antharyami.
Now I will quote from the rudram just to show how these three aspects are
brought out. Sarvasharathvam we get in the second anuvakam Namo hiranya
bahave , senanye ,dhisaam cha pathaye nama, HE is the Lord of all quarters
pasunaam pathaye namo nama HE is the lord of all pasus, meaning all animals
including human beings and therefore HE is pushupathih. padheenaam pathaye
nama, HE is various margas Karma, Upasana, Jnana which are the sadhanas
prescribed in the scriptures. annanaam pathye nama , HE is the lord of annam
(food) and thereafter pushtanaam pathaye nama, HE is the lord of nourishment.
kshetranaam pathaye nama, HE is lord of lands (fields) of the fourteen worlds.
vrukshaanam pathaye, kakshanaam pathaye , oushadinaam pathaye, patheenam
pathaye, sathvanaam pathaye, HE is the lord of forests, oceans and all of them.
Then interestingly Rudram HE is not only the lord of good things, HE is the lord of so
called negative things also. When you say lord HE is absolute.
In the third section Rudram talks about varieties of thieves. Like leaders of
thieves, dacoits, cheats etc. The Lord is all of them! sthenaanam pathaye means
thief, thaskaraanam pathaye means another kind of thief, sthayoonam pathaye ,
aranyanam pathaye means the thief in the forest like Veerapan. Shiva is the lord
for all of themlaughs. Mushnathaam, prukrunthanaam, kulanchaanaam means
army people and all that. That HE is the lord of everything.
Then the next aspect is Sarvaatmakah we get in the next section.
Ganebhyo ganapathibyascha vo namo nama, Viroopebhyo Viswaroopebhyascha vo
namo nama, Mahadbhya kshullakebyascha vo namo nama, HE is in the form of all
ganams meaning groups of people. And if there is a leader for a group then HE is
also Shiva. Mahadbhya means bigger one while kshullakebyah means smaller one.
Radhibhyo aradhebhyascha, Radhebhya radha pathibhyscha means one who drives
the chariot or all the drivers. Kshathrabya sangraheethrubyacha, Sthakshabhyo
rathakarebhyascha , Kulalebhya kamaribhyascha, HE is carpenter also. Next time
you get angry with a carpenter, remember this. Carpenter is also Shiva, pot maker
is also Shiva, Ikshukrudbhyo, those who make arrows and also those who make
bows. Mrugayubhya swanibhyascha, HE is also the dog leader who drags the animal
after a kill. It is Shiva dragging Shiva.
Then it gets interesting: bhate ca varyase ca namo vddhya ca savdhvane
ca namo agriyya ca prathamya ca nama ave cjirya ca nama ghriyya
ca bhyya ca nama rmyya cvasvanyya ca nama strotasyya ca
dvpyya ca namo jyehya ca kanihya ca nama prvajyaelderly people,
younger people, standing people, sitting people, laying people, those with pains
..all are Shiva. All these are enumerated and it is said that Lord Shiva alone is
everything. So sarvathma bhavah.
Then comes the last sarva antharyami. namo dundubhyya chananyya ca ,
Dhndubi is a drum and Shiva is inside that! (laughs). You use a stick to make a
sound to the drum and who is inside the stick? Lord Shiva. srutyya ca pathyya
ca nama kyya ca, Shiva is pathi which means marga, inside the well also Shiva
is there, inside rivers also, inside sara (means lake), in the dry land also Lord Shiva,
in the wetlands also, in the grassy land Shiva is there, in the grass less land also he
is there, in the dust also HE is there, meghyaya cha HE is the clouds also,
vidyutyya ca nama dhriyya ctapyya ca namo vtyya ca remiyya ca
namo vstavyya ca vstupya ca, HE is the prithvi also, HE is the prarna also
which is leaf. Therefore Shiva is in everything possible, HE is all of them. In what
rupam? Satchitananda swarupam.
 Now I will conclude with the prayer part that I left out. We seek the blessings
of Lord Shiva in the first portion and the last two portions. The prayer is interesting
and it is like a childs prayer. Imagine the devotee is standing before Rudra and HE
has many aspects like Pancha vaktram, etc and one of the aspects is gora rupam.
HE is terrible to look, Shiva has got a bow and arrow (Pinakam), then there is a
quiver and there are arrows with the sharp tips coming out. And Lord Shiva is an
embodiment of manyayu (anger). Now when a devotee sees such an image, he is
extremely scared and afraid. namaste rudra manyava utota iave nama, first I
prostrate to your anger! Then he takes each aspect one by one. O, Lord! When I
see your bow I am terribly scared. When I see the arrows I am terribly frightened.
When I see your gora rupa I am frightened. So for my sake you have to change your
form. y te rudra iv tanraghor ppakin, you please show your agora rupa.
So please show me your Shiva rupa and please ensure you dont harm me in any
manner. I plead and you must imagine Shiva saying, okay, okay. Inspite of Shivas
acceptance the devotee is not satisfied. When I see your bow which is already
strung, I get scared because YOU may suddenly use it. Therefore I suggest YOU
please unstring it. pramuca dhanvanas-tvamubhayorrtni yorjym, Please keep
the bow and string in your hand but loosen the strings. Then imagine Shiva saying,
Sure, I will do that. By this time the devotee sees the sharp arrows. The tip of the
arrow is jutting out from the quiver. The devotee is scared of that as he says yca
te hasta iava par t bhagavo vapa. I suggest YOU keep the arrows upside down
so that I dont get to see the sharp side. Then Shiva says I WILL DO THAT. Then
vijya dhanu kapardino vialyo bavgm uta even if the arrows are upside
down it is so sharp that YOU may take it anytime and use it. I am afraid. Therefore I
suggest that YOU take the arrow and rub the tip of it and make it blunt. Lord, please
blunt the arrow and then YOU may keep it. Shiva says, Okay, I will do it.
By this time the devotee thinks that my request is not correct. Because
even though the Lord may remove them for my sake, I must request the Lord for my
protection from various dangers from outside. And Lord has to protect me from
these dangers then HE must have all HIS weapons. Now the devotee says, I am
taking back all my prior requests. Even here the devotee is weak minded and
unsure. He says, You keep the bow strung, let there be arrows and let them be
sharp. Now my prayer is Please do not use it against me. Lord, I have a list of
enemies and please finish all of them. anean-nasyeava bhurasya niagathi |
y te hetir-muama haste babhva te dhanu | tay smn, vivatas-
tvamayakmay paribbhuja | namaste astvyudhyntatya dhave |
ubhbhymuta te namo bhubhy tava dhanvane. Paribhuja means please save
me. I prostrate and salute your hands. I salute your arrows and kindly do not use
against me.
It has an important use and Ill tell you. pari te dhanvano hetirasmn-
vaktu vivata | atho ya iudhistavre asmannidhehi tam. I have a hit list of
enemies which is called aarah. Please use all your arrows to them, hurl your
arrows to my enemies (laughs). There is a similar prayer at the end also. m
nastoke tanaye m na yui m no gou m no aveu rria | vrnm no rudra
bhmito vadhr-havimanto namas vidhema te, O Lord, you protect us and all
the people belonging to the family and especially protect our servants with your
bow and arrows. Even the servants are mentioned to show the importance, they
knew it even then! Let them not fall sick, viran mano means servants. And if there
are pregnant women let them be protected. The child within the womb be
protected, the husband be protected. Let all those people be protected, O lord. Let
the animals be protected, like pets.
In the end it says namo rudhrebhyo ye pthivy ye ntarike ye divi
yemanna vto var-amiavas-tebhyo daa prcrdaa daki daa pratcr-
dao-dcr-daordhvs-tebhyo namaste no mayantu te ya dvimo yaca no
dvei ta vo jambhe dadhmi. I worship the Lord Rudra who is in infinite forms.
Who is in the northern direction with hundreds of forms, southern direction in
hundreds of forms. For all of them I offer my prayers and prostrations. And what do I
want? I want to destroy all my enemies. So finish off whoever I hate and whoever
hates me. This appears a terrible boon, we say our true enemies are not outside
but they are inside as in raga, dvesha, kama, kroda, mada, matsarya etc. O Lord
destroy all of them. Give me sadhana Chattustayai Sampathi. Once I have purity of
my, what is my next request? tryambaka yajmahe sugandhi puivardhanam
| urvrukamiva bandhann-mtyor-mukya m mtt. Then I can work for
moksha for how long will be caught in the snares of samsara.
And how should I be liberated? There is a beautiful example. Just like urvaruma, the
valeri pazham, say a type of cucumber. The fruit will be strongly connected to the
creeper. The fruit does not come away from the creeper. As the fruit grows the
original creeper breaks and goes away. O, Lord I am like the valeri pazham and
because I am not ripe I am strongly attached to the creeper like father, mother,
wife, child and all of them. Actually in the old age the attachment seems to be
stronger. O, Lord I should mature and I should not give up, let them give me up. This
is best way of sanyasa. O Lord give me such a situation that I will be naturally free
from all these bonds. And I will attain immortality. And oneness with you. With the
last prayer for moksha and chitta shudi the rudram is concluded.
Rudram is a very sacred mantra for all seekers especially Vedantic seekers. Thats
why in Kaivalya Upanishad it is said that even a sanyasi should chant rudram.
Therefore Rudram is one mantra that is good for brahmachari, ghrista, vanaprasta,
and sanyasis. There are five things we should chant daily: Asvashasa is whatever
veda he belongs to, some chanting of any Upanishad, Bhagavat Gita, Vishnu
Sahasranama, Rudram, and Purusha Suktam. Rudram is very sacred and on
Shivaratri it is very very sacred. And we have done that abhisekam today and let
Shiva bless us with all mangalams.

Sri Rudram is the glorification of Lord Shiva who is none other than Rudra, which
means one who removes all sorrows or pains from ones mind. Ruth means
dukham and dra means remover. So the very meaning of Rudram is remover
of sorrow and so we chant Rudram and do abhisekham today. The glory of Rudram
is mentioned in Kaivalya Upanishad: a person becomes free from pappas and sins
he has committed. Rudram not only sets us from our sins but also give us all the
four purusharthas. We chant some Dhyana slokas before chanting rudram and these
verses are used for the meditation on Lord Shiva. These prayer verses are beautiful
verses and with beautiful meaning. So I thought I will give you briefly the meaning
of the dhyana sloka today.
These Dhayana Slokas of Rudram is beautiful as Lord Shiva is described in
three different ways depending upon the stage of the seeker, depending upon the
maturity of the devotee the Lord HIMSELF is seen from three different perspectives.
All the three angles are given in the dhyana slokas and well discuss them.
The first way of looking upon the Lord as a human being, as a person. A
beginner looks upon the Lord as a person (as a personal god). Therefore the initial
description of the Lord is as a person with hands and legs, asanams and ornaments
etc. But once the devotee is evolved enough then he has to change his perspective.
The Lord should not be seen as one particular person but Lord must be seen as total
creation endowed with all the forms of creation. This is called viswa rupa ishwaraha.
Once we have evolved sufficiently then we have to go beyond the viswarupa also.
We have to learn to appreciate the same Lord as formless, attribute less, the
absolute nirgunam Brahman. In Sanskrit the first stage is eka rupa bhakti, the
Lord in one particular form. The second stage is anaka rupa bhakti, the Lord in
manifold form and ultimately the arupa bhakti where the Lord is formless. Every
devotee has to start as eka rupa bhakta and here the devotee has a lot of options.
You can choose your personal god as personal gods are many with different names
and forms. You can choose Shiva as your Ishta Devata, you can choose Vishnu as
your Ishta devata, you can choose Devi as Ishta Devata all of them you see as a
person in the beginning. But once I do sufficient puja then the very same Shiva or
any personal God I learn to look upon as the very creation. Viswa, prapanja, eka
rupah shariram as Viswarupah. Thus for a Shiva Bhakta, Shiva becomes the whole
creation or the whole creation is nothing but Shiva. Similarly for a Vishnu bhakta
starts with Vishnu rupam initially with Shankar, gada, chakra etc and he should also
evolve to see Vishnu as the very creation. Then all the bhaktas whether Shiva
bhakta or Vishnu bhakta must go to the final goal stage where he sees Vishnu or
Shiva or Devi as Sachithananda nirgunam Brahman which is the ultimate devotion.
The beauty is when we are in the beginning stage there will be differences
between Shiva and Vishnu and Devi because the forms are different, the weapons
are different, the vahanams are different. Therefore in the first stage every personal
god is different from the other. But once you go to the second stage where you see
the Lord as the very creation then there cannot be any difference between Vishnu
and Shiva because Vishnu represents the whole creation, Shiva also represents the
whole creation. How many viswarupams are possible? Viswarupam can only be one
and in this stage there is no difference between Shiva and Vishnu. Similarly when
you go to nirgunam Brahman stage there cannot be any difference between Shiva
or Vishnu or Devi. We start with difference but ultimately we end in non-differences.
So initially alone we have got quarrels Whether Shiva is bigger or Vishnu is bigger
or whether Shiva worships Vishnu or Vishnu worships Shiva do both of them
worship the devi. So all the quarrels are only when the devotee is in the first stage
of personal gods. Veda affirm that we should not grade Brahma or Shiva or Vishnu
and if we do so then it is a big sin. And if a person grades gods as superior or
inferior etc then he is doing a papam and the Lord will give that person a
punishment with stomach pain. So if you dont want stomach ache you should
desist from comparisons and grading! I am not saying but shastra: if you rank
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as uttama or madhyama (inferior superior etc) then
you will be condemned to pains in the stomach. Therefore remember all the three
are one and the same, one god seen in three different forms.
All the three levels of Bhakti is there in the dhyana sloka. We will briefly see
the meaning of the sloka.

uddhasphaika saka trinetra paca vaktrakam |

gagdhara daabhuja sarvbharaa bhitam

This is the first stage where we look upon Lord Shiva as a person. And what is HIS
complexion?
Suddhaspatika Sankasam, Shiva is very, very fair. Mrs. Shiva, Parvathi, is dark.
Maybe this is to show that there should not be any fights over black and white!
Shiva is as fair as a crystal.
Then trinetram, HE has three eyes represented by the sun, the moon and the fire.
The sun and moon represent the ordinary eyes. Agni the third eye represents
knowledge. In the mythology youll find that Lord Shiva with the third eye destroyed
everything including Manmatha (god of kama) and HE also destroy tripurantaka
asuras etc. Philosophically the third eye represents Janani Agnih. When we mean
Lord destroys Kama we mean HE destroys all our petty desires. IF we have the third
eye of wisdom like Shiva we can also burn Kama, kroda, loba, etc. Tripura rakshasas
represent the three sharirams, the three gunas, and the three avasthas. With the
help of the third eye a person destroys all the sharirams (sthula, sukha and karam).
In short, HE destroys samsara, thereby HE destroys all our problems.
Pancavaktrakam the Lord who has five faces or five heads. Four heads on four
sides and one head looking up (you should not ask where is the place!). The five
heads are enumerated in the Vedas in the well known mantra sandyo jatham
prapadh is the first one, vamadevayah is the second, agorabyo is the third one, tat
purushaya is the fourth one, eshanah is the fifth. The fifth head is very important for
those people who seek self-knowledge, all the apara vidya and also para vidya. It is
from the standpoint of eshanah that we look upon Lord Shiva as Dakshinamurthy.
Lord Shiva is the authority of Vedas.
Then Gangadaram means is one who has got Ganga devi or Ganga river on his
jatta. From Lord Shiva head only Ganga is blessing all people. Philosophically Ganga
represents brahma vidya or self-knowledge. There are a lot of similarities between
Ganga and self-knowledge. Both originate from the Lords head. Ganga is a
perennial river not like our local Madras river that dry up, similarly the tradition of
self-knowledge is also perennial. Ganga flows from higher plane to lower plane,
atma-vidya too flows from guru in the higher plane to sishya in the lower plane. If
you dip into Ganga it refreshes your body and mind, similarly if you dip in brahma
vidya (self-knowledge) you like refresh yourself. Ganga has got various ghats
(steps). You should approach only through the ghats otherwise youll be swept away.
Ganga is a powerful river. There are lot of rocks and it;s ice cold. Even a powerful
swimmer cannot swim in this river. So if you want to have a bath you must go to a
ghat. Likewise if you want self-knowledge you must follow a tradition of approaching
a guru. You insist on self-efforts like using translation it will only cause confusion.
There are so many common features and the Lord is called Gangadarah.
Dasabhujam the Lord who has ten hands which are stretched in all the ten
directions (four main quarters, four secondary quarters and then up and down).
Sarva bharana Bhushitam One who has many ornaments on HIS body. All the
ornaments of Shiva are made up of snakes!

nlagrva akka nga yaopa vtinam |

vyghra carmottarya ca vareyamabhaya pradam

Nilagrivam is the one who is blue necked and one who swallowed the poison to save
the whole world.
Sasankankam is one who has got moon on HIS head. Philosophically the moon
represents the time principle for we determine thiti and kala from its movement.
Therefore Shiva has Kala under HIS control.
nga yaopa vtinam HE has got the sacred thread which is another snake.
vyghra carmottarya ca is the tiger skin that HE is wearing as a dress.
Varenyam means that HE is the goal of all the people as HE is the nature of Ananda.
Abaya pradam is ONE who gives protection, refuge to all the devotees.

kamaal-vaka str dhria lapinam |

jvalanta pigaaja ikh muddyota dhriam

HE has got Kamandalu and aksha mala and thats why HE is the representative of
all sanyasis. Shivaratri is considered to be very sacred as many take sanyasa
deeksha on this auspicious day. Shiva represents tyaga and Vishnu represents
bhoga. Shiva has got jatta and HE does not even have a proper dress. Shiva
represents the sanyasi parampara.
HE has got sulapaninam to destroy all the asuras.
Jvalantam is ONE who is shining, one who is bright.
 Pingalajatta means jatta is golden yellow in colour as it is not washed (there is no
shampoo etc) and it has become brawny colour.
And sikha that is standing upward like a plane and one who is keeping Ganga jalam
in HIS matted hair.

va skandha samrham um dehrtha dhriam |

amtenpluta nta divyabhoga samanvitam
va skandha samrham He is riding the Bull And
um dehrtha dhriam | He is the one who has uma devi as the second half of his
body
amtenpluta nta He is bathed in amritum and is peaceful And
divyabhoga samanvitam He is who posses all the heavenly pleasures

HE is amrutham as abhisekam is indicated, HE is ananda and HE is one who has

Uma devi as the second half of HIS body. Even after sanyasa HE has got a peculiar
problem for he cannot leave his wife. Wherever HE goes Uma devi will also come.
And one who is seated on a divine simhasanam that is the Himalayas. And one who
has all the bhoga as Himalayas have all the gold, gems etc.

digdevat samyukta sursura namasktam |

nitya ca vata uddha dhruva-makara-mavyayam

digdevat samyukta One who is surrounded by dig devatas and

sursura namasktam | one who is worshipped by all suras and asuras.
Until now you got description of Shiva as a personal god. Now the sloka give a
different and higher angle of nirgunal brahma swarupam.
nitya ca vata uddha dhruva-makara-mavyayam and these are all
definitions of formless Brahman. It is nitya, (eternal), sasvatam (changeless),
suddham (pure), druvam (without any movement), aksharam (without any
distraction) and avyayam (without any taint).
According to the level and maturity of the seeker we can see Shiva as personal god
or we can see Shiva as nirgunam Brahman. Then having given these two aspect the
dhyana sloka gives the third aspect, that is anaka rupam or vishwa rupam.

sarva vypina-mna rudra vai vivarpiam |

eva dhytv dvija samyak tato yajanamrabhe
sarva vypina-mna He is all pervading Ishwara
rudra vai vivarpiam |He is the form of the whole cosmos
eva dhytv dvija samyak tato yajanamrabhe Thus meditate and submit this
twice born (Brahman)

The very same lord is not seated in Kailasa but HE is the form of whole vishwa or
cosmos and who is all pervading and who is the ultimate lord. Here we have to
reverse the order, first eka rupa then anaka rupa and finally arupa. Having
meditated on Shiva in one form or the other according to the maturity of the
devotee thereafter rudra abhisekham should be done. First we have to meditate and
only then do the rudram puja.

There are two more dhyana slokas and those two I will briefly discuss.

pta-nabhasthalnta-bhuvana-brahma-mvisphurat-
jyoti sphika-liga-maui-vilasat-prendu-vntmtai |
astokpluta-meka-ma-mania rudrnu-vkjapan
dhyye-dpsita-siddhaye dhruvapada viprobhiice-ccivam
pta-nabhasthalnta
-bhuvana-brahma
-mvisphurat-
jyoti sphika-liga
maui-vilasat
prendu-vntmtai |
astokpluta-meka-ma-mania
rudrnu-vkjapan
dhyye
dpsita-
-siddhaye
dhruvapada
viprobhiice-ccivam

This is a beautiful sloka whee Shiva is seen as a jyotih linga, a shining linga which is
pure like sphatikam. We have different kinds of linga. In fact the pancha bhootas are
seen as five lingas: prithvi linga, jala lingam, agni linga, vayu linga and akasha
lingam to show that everything is the Lord. In this sloka Lord Shiva is seen as
Akasha lingam. If you look at the sky it also looks like a linga with a curvature. An
akasha in which all the lokas, the entire brahmadam is there. From pathala to
nabhasthalanta upto brahma loka. The total cosmos (the 14 lokas) are located in
the aksaha and the akasha is the linga. If the akasha is the linga then who will do
the abhisekam? You cannot do it with the local 1 litre or 2 litre of milk! The sloka
says that the abhisekam is done by purnendu chandrah. According to mythology
when the moon emits rays it is also emitting some water also. Because of the water
content the moon rays are cool. That moon emits amruta jalam on a full moon day
that pervades the whole space. And that is coming from the moon partum for the
akasha lingam or cosmic linga. Therefore on every full moon day rudra abhisekam is
taking place.
And what kind of Lord is HE? He is ekam, misam, manisam. He is one
absolute ultimate God we should worship by constantly chanting the Sri Rudram
mantram. One should worship Shiva for dhyaya, dipsita, sidhaya dhruvapadam. For
attaining all the four purusharthas. The people are many and their desires are not
one but many. Suppose I say: choose one boon from the Lord not everyone will opt
for moksha. Some will ask for relief from water problem, another person will say
that his stomach pain should go or this and that. By chanting Rudram one can ask
for any purushartha from Shiva who is abhishekam. One should worship that Shiva
who is ever changeless. Dhruvapadam means nirguna swarupam (changless).

brahma vyptadeh bhasita himaruc bhsamn bhujagai

kahe kl kapard kalita-aikal-caa kodaa hast |
tryak rudrkaml prakaitavibhav mbhav mrtibhed
rudr rrudraskta-prakaitavibhav na prayaccantu saukhyam

brahmanda vyaptadeha, here one Lord Shiva is worshipped in eleven different

forms. They are all pervading in nature, they are snow white like vibhuti, they all
have serpa abaranam (snake as ornaments). All have necks dark in colour from
poison and all of them have got moons (shashikala) in their eleven heads. All of
them have got bows and arrows as their weapons (caa kodaa hast) to
destroy the asuras.
Tryaksa, all of them are three-eyed and all of them have rudraksha mala.
They all remove fear from the minds of the devotees. All the eleven are different
aspects of the one and the same Shambu. And if you want to know the glory of the
Lord Shiva rrudraskta-prakaitavibhav the source of knowledge is Sri Rudram.
Those whose glories are mentioned in the Sri Rudram of the eleven lingas, may all
these rudras bless us with happiness and all the four purushartas. That is why after
chanting rudram we chant chamakkam indicating all our desires. Remember
chamakkam includes not only material desires but also spiritual desires also. We are
asking vivekam, vairagyam, shashta sampathi, mumukshatvam, sadhana
chatustaya sampathi we are asking for self-knowledge, we are asking for moksha.
That is why chamakkam is required for all of us. Therefore chanting rudram and
chamakkam we can ask for any purushartha. On this auspicious day when we chant
we will be blessed in the path of moksha ultimately.
mantra

dadhikrAvNNo akAriShaM jiShNorashvasya vAjinaH |

surabhi no mukhAkaratpraNa Ayu~MShi tAriShat ||

BVK's translation

dadhikrAvnaH--of the God DadhikrAvan,

jiShNoH--victorious,
ashvasya--vyApakasya--pervading (all),
vAjinaH--vegarataH--of great speed (understand stutim--praise),
akAriSham--I make, naH--our,
mukhA--mukhAni--mouths i.e. the eyes and other senses,
surabhi--surabhini--fragrant,
karat--karotu--may he make,
naH--our,
AyumShi--life,
pratAriShat--may he lengthen.

I sing the praise of God DadhikrAvan, who is victorious, all-pervading, and who moves with
great speed. May he make our mouths (and the senses) fragrant, and may he prolong our
lives!

1. dadhikrAvan--This God is often mentioned in the Veda and is the subject of sUktas
38,39,40 of the fourth maNDala of the Rig Veda and the 44th sUkta of the 7th maNDala of
the same. He seems to be described in these places as a kind of divine horse. Sometimes he
is considered as a creation of heaven and earth, sometimes of Mitra and VaruNa, and is
invoked in the morning with Agni, UShas and the Ashvins. Sir Monier Williams would derive
the word from dadhi--curd (which he takes to represent dew) and kri--to scatter, in allusion
to the rising sun spreading dew and hoarfrost like milk.

SAyaNa regards DadhikrAvan as a form of Agni. He says in his commentary (on RV 4.39.2):
"Agni in the form of horse is called dadhikra; the equine form of Agni has been declared in
the brAhmaNa thus: Agni, becoming a horse, pursued them."

Haradatta says: "A certain deity who receives oblations or Agni as others have it." Narayana
Yatindra takes the term to denote "Him who pervades the Universe--the Supreme Being."

2. Whether it be Agni or SUrya (and both are regarded only as different forms of the same
Divine Energy) that is represented in this hymn as jiShnoH--victorious, in his fight with the
powers of darkness, as ashvasya--illuminating the universe with his bright rays, and as
vAjinaH--moving with great speed in his triumphant procession, he is an apt emblem of
heaven's perpetual King who dispels our ignorance, illuminates our heart with divine wisdom
and flies to our succour on the wings of grace.

KNS's translation
dadhikrAvNaH--dadhi--things like curd fit for the homas,
krAvNaH--one who gets them,
jiShNoH--one who has the winning nature (and is full of nobility),
ashvasya--all-pervading,
vAjinaH--one who has annam--food, or one who moves fast, who is agni,
akAriSham--I adore him.
saH--that agni,
naH--our,
mukhA--important senses such as janendriya and karmendriya,
surabhi--make them fragrant, that is, fit to absorb things meant for them,
karat--should make.
naH--our,
AyumShi--lifetime,
pratAriShat--should increase.

Commentary:
divAgnirAdityaM rAtrAvAdityastam--in daytime Agni reaches SUrya; in the night SUrya
reaches Agni: thus, may the deva called Agni who has received the energy of SUrya and is
favourably inclined towards night, be pleased with my adoration and make my karmendriyas
and jnAnendriyas absorb their things without being harmed in anyway, and give me long life
so I can experience the things for a long time.

AVT's translation

dadhikrAvNNa--deva who likes curd, or things to be done for Agnideva,

akAriSham--I have done the karma to him.
jiShno--one who is victorious,
ashvasya--and all-pervading,
vAjinaH--one who has annam--food,
(sa devaH)--'that deva' should be added.
naH--our
mukhA--face
surabhi karat--make fragrant (giving us things such as camphor).
naH--our
AyumShi--lifetime
pratAriShat--increase.

One who is victorious, all-pervading, has annam in him, to that deva called DadhikrAvA or
to Agni deva, I have done the karma meant for. May that deva by giving things such as
camphor make our face be fragrant. May he also increase our lifetime.

Explanation:
dadhi means curd, krAmati means 'he reaches'. So dadhikrAvA means 'one who likes curd'.
It is the name of a deva. Here for the term the meaning Agni is given. In the mantra naH
due to saMskRuta sandhi, in the place 'praNa' became 'Na'.

The 'vaiShNava spin' to consider the deity of this mantra as VAmana is commented upon
here:
Ramanuja List Archive: Of DadhikrAvan have I sung

Thus, whoever is the deity referred to in the mantra, it is clear that the deity also manifests
as SUrya and Agni, inasmuch as SUryadeva moves switfly across the sky on a chariot driven
by horses and VAmana is only him as referred to in the story narrated in shatapatha
brAhmaNa 1.2.5.1

y arv mdhya ut v purm vdam vidv m sam abhto vdati

rditym ev t pri vadati srve agm dvit yam trivrtam ca
ham sm 17 r
Meaig: They (the wise) say that the Oe with great kowledge (vidvasam) is ear to those who
are low (baddhas), i betwee (muktas) ad aciet (ityas). I cosequece of this,they all say
that srima ArAyaNa kow as Aditya ideed (is) furished with fire ad is also the three-
foldsu (hamsa).
vidvAmsam BhagavAn is omniscient and acutely intelligent in the sense that he knows our sufferings
very well and wishes to remove them. Hence, by virtue of his accessibility or sousIlyam/soulabhyam, he is
very near to all irrespective of whether they are baddhas, muktas or nityas and hence is capable of
protecting them.
Therefore, the wise say that he is indeed Aditya - "A" varNAt Atah ityah prApyah iti Adityah He who is
realised by the AkAra is Aditya according to srI parAshara bhattar in the sahasranAma. The AkAra is
the bIja mantra for SankarshaNa, who possesses the guNams of jnAnam and balam to remove the
distress of the jivAs and lead them out of samsAra.
agnim dvitIyam dvitIyam means furnished with or possessing. agni or fire refers to the quality of
accepting all offerings. Thus, this means he has the ability to be the means to liberation.
He is also the three-fold hamsa. Here, hamsa refers to the sun. The Upanishad declares that in the
flame in the Aditya Mandala are the three purushas of the form of the rk, yajus and saman. In the form of
these three, the vidya of the three vedas is shining out. The mandala of the three vedas in the sun is
witnessed by yOgIns as having a beautiful form and that is to be meditated upon.

y arv mdhya ut v purnm vdam vidv m sam abhto vdanti

rditym ev t pri vadanti srve agnm dvit yam trivrtam ca
ham sm 17 r

Those who in recent times, midmost, or ancient, on all sides.greet the sage
who knows the Veda,One and all, verily discuss Aditya, the second Agni,
and the threefold Hansa.
Verse 17: Atharva Veda (X:8:17)
y arv mdhya ut v purm vdam vidv m sam abhto vdati |
rditym ev t pri vadati srve agm dvit yam trivrtam ca ham sm
r
||17
Those who i recet times, midmost, or aciet, o all sides.greet the sage who
 kows the Veda, Oe ad all, verily discuss Aditya, the secod Agi, ad the
threefold Hasa.

Commetary:
The meaning of this verse is thus Those learned men in recent, middle, or
ancient times greet (or glorify) from all sides, the great sage who knows the
Veda (i.e., the Lord). All such learned men discourse about that God as
unbroken or partless (ditym), as the Agni, as the threefold hamsa (Pranas)!
It is Skambha who is the Brahman, which is non-dual, partless, and is
composed of fire of consciousness and this Atman manifests as the threefold
Pranas and travels through the three nerves one travels downwards (in Ida),
another travels upwards (in pingala) and the third one mtarivn rises
upwards (in Sushumna).

Shatarudriyam and Narasimha

THE IMPORTANCE OF NARASIMHA AND HIS DESCRIPTION IN THE
SATARUDRIYAM

(Kind contribution from our Sri Vaishnava bandhu, Shri Narayanan)

Swami Desikan mentions the pervasiveness of Narasimha BhagavAn in the vedA in the
first slokA his kAmAshikAshtakam as SrutInAm utharam bhagam. This simham can be
found the cave of the Upanishads. This statement by the acharyan is not for the sake of
anubhavam, but is a fact because:

1) Narasimha bhagavAn is the only bhagavAn to have his own Upanishad known famously
as the Narasimha tApanIya Upanishad (note: other Upanishads like Gopala Tapani,
RamOpanishad, etc are not recognised as entirely authentic unlike narasimha tApanIya,
which has even been quoted by Shankaracharya and Madhvacharya).

2) The Satarudriyam and MahAmrityunjaya Mantra portion of the Yajur Veda glorifies
Bhagavan Narasimha only.

3) He is the being in the Sun described by the Chandogya Upanishad. Since this Being is
described as possessing a moustache and lotus eyes, srI ranga rAmAnuja muni
interprets the moustache as the whiskers of a lion, therefore confirming the parama
purushan to be Yoga Narasimha!
4) The mahAnArAyaNopanishad describes Narasimha by the names of sadyOjAta,
vAmadeva, sarva and ishana.

5) The mantra rAja pada stOtram is dedicated to narasimha only by Ahirbudhnya.

Thus, it is established that Narasimha is the primary form of BhagavAn glorified by the
vedas. His names in the veda include (and not limited to) Narasimha, Manyu, Rudra,
Soma, Nilalohita, PinAkI, Sarva, Umapati/Ambikapati, HiranyabAhu, Shankara, Shiva,
Shambhu , Ishana, Tryambaka, Kapardin, Pashupati, Ugra and Bhima.

One might wonder that most of these are the names of pArvati pati. Such a doubt need
not be entertained. Because pArvati pati has a birth (eko ha vai nArAyaNa asIt, na
brahma, nEshana). And he is mentioned to be constantly meditating in the third stage of
bhakti yoga, presided by Sankarshana. Since Narasimha avatara is an amsam of
Sankarshana and Narasimha perumAl has the balam and jnAna gunams seen in this
vyUha mUrthy, it follows that Shiva is always meditating on Narasimha, as evidenced in
the case of Ahirbudhnya. And hence, Shiva, being a parama bhakta, bears some of the
names of Narasimha only and not vice versa. In the vedas, these names belong to
bhagavAn only.

Another doubt may arise that the Satarudriyam and some portions mentioned here can
be interpreted as describing srI rAman instead of srI narasimhan. While that is true,
these two avatAras are related. In the vAlmiki rAmAyaNam, SrI rAghavan mentions that
he can kill his enemies with his nails. Even Kambar saw fit to include Hiranya vadham in
his rAmAyaNa divya kAvyam. That being the case, it is quite proper for the veda to
invoke kalyAna gunams of srI rAman in relation to srI narasimha, as it does in Shri
Rudram!

Some more otes o Rudram + Narasimha AvatAra i the Satarudriyam

There are some unique names in the various anuvakas of the satarudriyam that warrant
our attention. I will simply list the names I remember here. Readers can look it up in the
rudram.

1) UccairghoshAH - One whose roar causes fear to the enemies. We remember the
Kauravas being frightened by the sound of his pAnchajanya, the asuras frightened by
his roar during tripura samharam (when he appeared as a bull to aid Shiva), his HUM
kAram which defeated Shiva as narrated by parashurAma, etc.

2) Sabapathi - The Lord of the Sabha Parva as it contains the incident of Bhishma
declaring the greatness of Krishna, the SisupAla vadham, etc. Sabha can also refer to
samsara, so he is the Lord of samsara.
2) IlagrIva - The black-throated narasimha. The narasimha tApanIya Upanishad calls
narasimha as Ilalohita, ie, he has a red body with a cavernous throat, black on the
inside. He is known as kAntirava. So, nIlagriva is also a name of nArAyaNa. That
means, an alternative interpretation for the mantra, amO astu IlagrivyAya
sahasrAkshAya midhushE in the first anuvAkam can mean I salute the black
throated narasimha, who is omniscient and a showerer of boons like a dark rain bearing
cloud, as well as his devotees like prahlAda.

But to interpret it as referring to vibhUtis is also correct. The veda can have more than
one meaning.

3) SitikaNta - The white-necked, ie, one who speaks only sattvik speech. White color
stands for sattva guna and it refers to bhagavAn who is known as sarvavAgIsvarEsvara
in the sahasranAmA, ie, white neck refers to sAttvic words and vedic speech emanating
from him. srI vedAnta desika states that the hala-hala neighing sound of hayagriva is
the very veda itself.

4) sUtAya ca, dUtAyaca - One who was a charioteer (for Arjuna) and one who was a
messenger (for Pandavas). Both acts describe his quality of sousIlyam, ie, descending
to lower levels for his devotees.

There are many such names which warrant closer attention and very unique ones.
Besides that, here is a description of srI narasimha avatAra from the 8th anuvAkam.

While the entirety of Satarudriyam is glorifying srI narasimha as per the tApanIya
Upanishad, it is pertinent to note that AuvAkam 8 contains some mantras that directly
allude to this avatAra, as opposed to other anuvAkas, that describe srI rAghavans
kalyAna gunams, or the vishwarUpa. It would be good to look at these mantras in the
context of Manyu Sukta.

These mantras are as follows:

Namas somAya ca rudrAya ca

Meaig: Salutations to the One who is sweet like nectar for bhaktas enjoyment
(Soma) and to the One who makes others shed tears of joy on experiencing his
kalyAna gunas (Rudra).

He is thus, Soma and Rudra to bhaktas like PrahlAda as per Bhattars sahasranAma
bhAshya for these nAmas.

Namas tAmrAya ca AruAya ca

Meaig: One who exhibits the qualities of paravAsudevan (tAmra) and the vyUha
sankarshana (aruna).
Please refer my previous write-up of Shri Rudram for the explanation of the
interpretation of tAmra and aruna.

Namas sagAya ca paShupatayE ca

Meaig: Salutation to the One who gives happiness (to PrahlAda) and to the Lord of
Animals (Pashupati).

Bhagavan is a simham. And a simham is known as MrgEndra, the King of Animals. In

this form, he gave ananda to prahlAda. Hence, it is appropriate to call him paShupati.
Nrusimha tApanIya also states paShupati to be a name of narasimha. The
mahAnArAyaNopanishad refers to BhagavAn as the Lord of Bipeds and Quadrupeds as
well.

Some commentators interpret paShu as jIva and bhagavan as Lord of jivAs. While this
is correct, this is not right for the context. The term paShupati occurs elsewhere in the
Rudram where this interpretation can fit in. Here, Lord of Animals seems to fit the
context.

Namah ugrAya ca bhImAya ca

Meaig: Salutations to the One whose lofty actions destroy enemies and make me
grow (Ugra) and to the One who is terrible to the adharmIs (like hiranyakasipu).

This meaning of Ugra is from Mantra rAja pada stotram ugram veeryam. The
meaning of BhIma is from Bhattars vyAkhyAnam on Vishnu sahasranAma.

NamO agrEvadhAya ca dUrEvadhAya ca

Meaig: One who kills his enemies in front (Agrevadha) and One who removes their
strength while staying at a distance (dUrEvadhA).

He destroyed Hiranyakasipu in direct combat. Prior to that, he, without even appearing,
ensured that all of Hiranyakasipus attempts to murder prahlAda was in vain.

NamO hatrE ca haIyasE ca

Meaig: One who dispenses punishments to those with ahamkAram (hantrE) and
One who punishes the bhagavad/bhagavata aparAdhIs (hanIyasE).

Hiranyakasipu was guilty of both of these.

NamO vrkshEbyo harikEshEbhyO

Meaig: Salutations to the One in the form of trees with green leaves.
The leaves refer to karma. The tree is samsArA. So, he is the One who keeps the jivAs
in samsArA. Or, the tree is the vedas and the leaves are the karmas prescribed by the
vedas. He is thus, the Lord of the Vedas. The nrusimha tApanIya describes him as
IshAas sarvavidyAAm.

amO tArAyacha
Meaig: Salutations to He who helped jivAs like prahlAda cross the ocean of samsArA
and bestowed the boon of moksha.

Namas shambhavE ca mayOpavE ca

Meaig: One who causes happiness by the beauty of his appearance as half-man,
half- lion (shambhu) and One who causes happiness by the beauty of his appearance
in sri vaikuntam (mayOpavE).

nArasimha vapuh srImAn he is very beautiful. The meaning for Shambhu is as per
Bhattar bhAshyam on sahasranAma.

Namas shakarAyaca mayaskarAya ca

Meaig: Salutations to He who destroys our difficulties (Shankara) and he who
provides pleasure of moksha (mayaskarA).

One of the meanings of Shankara is the destroyer of troubles. Having done so, he
provides moksha.

Namas sivAya ca sivatarAya ca

Meaig: Salutations to the One who confers auspiciousness (Shiva) and to the One
who is the greatest among those that confer auspiciousness (ShivatarA)

Thus, we have seen how the Satarudriyam eulogises Narasimha. The manyu sUktam
describes the means to attain him and the benefits he confers. Shiva is interpreted as
per bhagavad guna darpanam.
.

AmayAvI cinvIta Apo vai bheshajam

Bheshajame va asmai karoti
Sarvam Ayur eti

The unbalanced (amayAvi) thought wishes (cit vita) the Apa remedy (apo
Vai bhesajam) ,does make it the cure (bhesajam eva asmai karoti).
Everything (sarvam) gets (eti) Life.
The unbalanced thought-wishes Apa as remedy, makes it a cure.
Everything gets life because of Apa. Thats why Apa is the cure.

Yes, water can said to give life to everything in this world. But Aruna
Prasnam talks from the time of the beginning of Universe. From the
beginning of Universe to now, Science says, it is photons that give life to
everything.

Thus again, many people interpreted Apa as Celestial Waters (like

Aurobindo). Apa is translated as Waters. Since it is said to be Waters at the origin of Universe,

AmayAvI cinvIta May the man who is sick observe

this vratam!
Apo vai bheshajam Water is indeed his medicine
bheshajameva asmai karoti That (water) becomes
the sick mans medicine.
sarvam Ayu: eti He gains full measure of allotted
life. There is no akAla maraNam (untimely death).
The eleven names of Rudra correspond to eleven forces that are in nature and those that make up
the cosmic space as we perceive it.

There are correspondingly eleven Rudras. They are

1. Ishana Rudra - Force-field of Dark Energy
2. Tat Purusha Rudra- Force-field of Dark Matter
3. Vamadeva Rudra - Force-field of Gravity
4. Aghora Rudra - Force field of Higgs
5. Ahir Budhnya - Force-field of Strong force
6. NrRti - Force-field of Weak force
7. Adityatmaka sri Rudra - Force-field of Quantum force that
causes Pauli's exclusion
8. Pinaka - Static magnetic force field
9. MrgavyAdha - Changing magnetic force field/Induced Electric
field
10. Kapalin - Static Electric Force field
11. Virupaksha - Changing Electric force field/Induced Magnetism

Expanding force exerted by Dark Energy - Ishana

According to standard model, the force of dark Energy keeps

expanding the Universe. This expansion force caused by dark
energy is the first Rudra.

Shiva is called 'Bhavod Bhava' which means origin/source of

everything that exists. Ishana is the force field of Dark Energy that
expands this Universe.

The direction of source from which the Universe expands is

mentioned as North-Eastern in Puranas. Vastu Sastra associates
a great significance to North East and says some mystic (dark)
energy flows from it.

Force of Dark matter on Matter - Shambu, Tat Purusha

Vedas visualize Universe as a 'Bi-Valve Shell' (Shambu)

containing Purusha on one side (say Right) and Amba on another
side (say Left). Purusha does not change, but impacts Amba to
evolve by facilitating Agni in it. This is also a reason for the
depiction of Artha-nareeswara (Half-male, Half-female).
Standard Model says Universe is composed of a Dark Matter and
Matter spread across everywhere, pretty much like a bi-valve
shell.

According to standard model Dark matter does not impact matter,

but occupy roughly 75% of Universe.

According to Purusha Suktam, Purusha forms the 3/4th of

Unvierse This Purusha is said to be the bed of the Universe on
which Universe evolves like a sacrifice (Yajna), according to
Purusha Suktam.

According to Aiteraya Upanishad, Purusha came out along with

Amba, when Atma decided to expand. Purusha was created as a
platform and protector of Amba. This Purusha impacts Amba, but
never is influenced by Amba.

According to Science Dark Matter and Perceptible Matter evolved

in the early Universe. Dark Matter remains un-impacted by Matter,
most probably remains stagnant, but may or may not influence
Matter. Matter evolves in the Universe into different forms and
beings. Hence I map Purusha to Dark Matter and Amba to
Perceptible matter.

Vedas claim Purusha causes the 'Agni'. I had mapped Agni to

movement/transfer of energy or exchange interactions.
Conventionally, Agni is seen as the transfer of thermal energy.
According to my understanding dark matter could be somehow
impacting the transfer of energy in perceptible matter. Matter
evolves on the bed of Dark-Matter. Transfer of thermal energy or
heat becomes the driver for the evolution of matter. This transfer
of thermal energy or heat may be facilitated by the Dark Matter or
Purusha.

This Rudra is also called Aja-Eka-Pada Rudra. Aja-eka-pada

means the unborn one foot. Purusha Suktam says Purusha was
unborn single foot (ten foot) at the start.

This Rudra is also called Piggala. Piggala is the passage of food

(or energy) from one being to another (say umbilical chord). The
force of Dark matter on matter is the umbilical chord through the
matter is influenced and evolved.

Amba or Perceptible Matter is also called Shakti (Energy),

Dakshayani (Daughter of Daksha, the gluons/dovetailer) and other
names.

Purusha and Amba look like a bi-valve Shell or Shambu. They

remain separated, yet connected together. Dark Matter and Matter
also look the same. They are separate but still seem to be
together, with Dark Matter holding up the Matter. Hence this Rudra
is also called Shambu.

The force-field of Gravity - Vamadeva

Puranas say that Brahma created Vamadevas after he saw that
manasputras (the 10 sages), created by him were not focused on
creation. Standard Model says that at some point of time Gravity
should have emerged as the first force, probably from an Unified
force. Gravity sets the evolution of Universe in motion.
Vama means left. Vama deva is the force on the left side of the bi-
valve shell. It is the force that manifests in Amba, the matter.
Gravity is the force that manifests on matter.

Vamadeva Rudra is the force-field of Gravity. Brahma means very

large. Gravity has unlimited range.
vmadevya namo
jyehya nama (the first)
rehya namo (the best) rudrya nama (the forcefield)
klya nama (the time) kalavikaraya namo (the modifier of
time) balya namo (the strong one)
balavikaraya namo (the modifier of the strength)
balapramathanya nama (the tormentor of strength)
sarvabhtadamanya (subdues all matter and beings) namo
mana unmanya (exciter of the Hidden)namah

The first, best force-field, the time, modifier of time, strong one,
one that modifies the strength, tormentor of strength that subdues
all matter and beings, the one who excites hidden.

Science says force-field of Gravity modifies time (Kala

vikaranaya).
The Higgs force field - Zamkara, Aghora

According to standard Model, the Higgs force field provides the

mass to W and Z Bosons as well as quarks and leptons through
its 'coupling'. Stronger the coupling, stronger is the 'mass'
acquired by these particles.

'Zam' in Sanskrit means coming to rest. Zamkara means one who

makes it come to rest. Higgs force field is one that makes
particles to come to rest (or acquire mass and large-scale inertia).

Krishna, who is an avatar of Vishnu says he is the Zamkara of

Rudras. Since Vishnu is inertia, and Zamkara causes the inertia
in most particles, Krishna says so.
Aghora Mantra - Force field of Aghora binds into mass

Om hreem
sphura sphura prasphura prasphura (Bursts into view, very much
bursts into view)
ghora ghora (From without a form or shape) atara (carrying
beyond/surpassing into) anuroopa (To forming a shape)
Chada chada prachada prachada (covers, very much covers)
Kaha kaha vama vama (chant/say/speak/tell/declare Giver Giver)
Bandha bandha (binds binds) ghaTaya ghaTaya (into mass)
huum phutt
aghora astrAya Namaha (Salutations to the field of aghora)
Bursts into view, Bursts into view, from without a form moves to a
form, covers, very much covers, expresses, Gives, binding mass
(gives mass).
Rudras of Sadyojata

The Strong force field - Ahir Budhnya

Ahir Budhnya means that rules the Serpents of the Deep.

Ahir or serpents are Quarks and Anti-Quarks that make up the

fermionic matter. Force that rules them in the depths are Strong
Force. The Strong force or Soma binds the Quarks to form
Baryons and Mesons, thus forming the perceptible Universe.

The Weak force field - NirRti

According to Standard Model, the weak force decays the quarks,

leptons and meson. It produces electrons, positrons, neutrinos
and anti-neutrinos. This weak-force mediated by W and Z Bosons.

nirRti means dissolution or decay or destruction. Hence nirRti

Rudra is the weak force field that can decay or destroy any sub-
atomic particle.

Short range repulsive 'quantum' force - Adityamaka Sri Rudra

Fermions (Quarks and Leptons) obey pauli's exclusion principle.
This means that no two particles can occupy the same quantum
state at a time. This gives rise to property of matter.

The Nuclear force is also a repulsive force at a short distance. If

the repulsive force did not always win out against all attractive
forces, all matter would collapse into one huge glob!

Adityamaka means one who is in the 'Soul' of Adityas. But for the
repulsive force field, the 'soul' of Adityas (Composite particles like
Neutron, proton etc) will wither away.
Static Magnetic force field - Pinaka

A static magnetic force field arises from the continuous movement

of charges, in particular electrons. It causes re-alignment of static
charges in conducting objects.

The force-field acts like a 'bow' that deforms and launches

separation of charges on a target, without affecting the medium
in-between.

A name of Rudra Pinakin meaning who has the 'bow'. This Rudra
is the static magnetic force field that acts like a bow and causes
changes on conducting targets.

Static Electric force field - SthAnu

SthAnu means motionless. Siva is said to be motionless in the
trunk of tree of life and penancing. Electro static force fields are
those motionless chemical bonds which create elements,
compounds that sustain the tree of life.

When the charges remain static, they product electro-static force.

The electro-static force drives the bonds that evolve biological life.

There are three fundamental bonds that drive biological life. They
are covalent, hydrogen and ionic bonds. Covalent bonds result in
long peptide chains forming proteins. Hydrogen bonds result in
the formation of RNA and DNA. Hydrogen bonds also result in
formation of water ahnd acids. Ionic bonds result in the formation
of alkali or base.

Proteins Covalent bonds

Long chains of amino acids or proteins are formed by covalent
bonds. They are driven by the covalent bonding force.

DNA/RNA/Acid/Water Hydrogen bonds

The DNA and RNA structures that encode genetic information that
drive evolution of life. The DNA and RNA are driven by both
Covalent and Hydrogen bonding forces. In particular Hydrogen
bonding drives the formation of DNA and RNA.

Hydrogen bonding force also results in formation of water that

serves as a medium of life (the semen that carries the sperm)
Alkaline Ionic bonds

The alkaline compounds and medium are those that enables all
life processes. These are driven by ionic bonding forces.

All these bonds are caused by Electro-static force. This Rudra is

also called KapAli as this force is the Skull that makes the
elements and compounds of the Universe.

Force caused by changing Magnetic force field - MrgavyAdha,

ZarvA

A changing magnetic force induces currents in conductor.

Electrons are 'rovers' in an atom. The magnetic force opens up
the rovers from these atoms or separates them from atom and
creates a stream of flowing electrons or current. Science calls this
Electro-magnetic induction and this force as Electro-motive force.

Mrga means one that continuously 'ranges' or moves or 'roves'.

VyAdha means that separates. vyAdh means to open, bleed etc.
mrgaVyAdha means that opens or separates the rover.

A name of Rudra is mrgavyAdha. It is changing magnetic force

field that opens up or separates the rover electrons to form
current.
Conventionally this is interpreted as a 'Hunter' as a rover (deer) is
killed (opens or bled) by Hunter. And from there imagery of Shiva
as Hunter has been created.

Hence this Rudra is also called Zarva. Zarva means one who
possesses/releases arrows. Zaravana is a Skanda of Radiant
energy (EM energy).

Forces caused by changing Electric force field - VirupAkSa

Changing electric force fields in a magnetic field produces torque

and hence mechanical movement.

Another example of changing or transient electric force are Van-

der-waals forces that arise from continuously changing or
transient electric force fields between molecules due to movement
of electrons or affinity between atoms with higher and lower
number of electrons.

There are also other forces such as Debye forces, London

disperson forces etc which happen due to continuously changing
electric fields between molecules.

Virupa means one that has various forms. Aksa means axle or
wheel. Virupa-Aksa means various forces that result from a
changing/transient electric force field.

Eleven Rudras guide matter to beings

The eleven Rudras correspond to eleven force-fields that guide
the Universe in its evolution in the domain of Physics, Chemistry
and biology. These eleven force fields give us the matter, its
structure and properties, biological compounds on all which
consciousness rides.