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Mantra 1
सहस्राणि सहस्रशो ये रुद्रा अधिभूम्याम् ।
तेषाँ सहस्रयोजनेऽवधन्वानि तन्मसि ॥
Meaning:
सहस्राणि- Thousands of, ये रुद्राः- which Rudras, सहस्रशः- in
thousands, भूम्यां अधि- (are) lords of earth, तेषां- their,
धन्वानि- bows, सहस्रयोजने- at a long distance of a thousand yojanas,
अवतन्मसि- we leave the bow-strings loosened.
Explanation:
Sri Parameswara was beseeched in the tenth Anuvakam. In this eleventh
Anuvakam, Rudraganas, who are his parts, are worshipped. Thousands of
Rudraganas, in groups of thousands, have been detailed by Parameswara in
many parts of the world to either punish or reward creatures there in
accordance with their karmas. It has been stated in detail in Veda,
Mahabharata, Sivapurana and other texts that they are very great. This
Anuvakam has as its sole purpose praying to those Rudras.
There are totally 13 mantras here. In this first mantra Rudraganas, who
are the lords of the earth are mentioned. Their bows should be left at a
distance of a thousand yojanas from where we are. As there could still
be fear for us if those bows are strung, it is prayed here that the
strings in the bows should be left loose.
Mantra 1
द्रापे अन्धसस्पते दरिद्रन्नीललोहित ।
एषां पुरुषाणामेषां पशूनां माभेर्मारो मो एषां किञ्च नाममत् ।
Meaning:
द्रापे- O producer of disgusting condition, अन्धसः- of food,
पते- master (giver of food), दरिद्रत्- O poor one (possessing
nothing), Unattached, नीललोहित- Possessing body of half black and
half red, एषां- these (of mine), पुरुषाणां- to humans like son,
grandson etc., एषां- these (of mine), पशूनां- of animals like
cows, sheep etc., माभेः- do not cause fear. एषां- Of these,
किञ्चन- anyone, मारः- not be destroyed. मो आममत्- nor suffer
from disease.
Mantra 1
नम इरिण्याय च प्रपथ्याय च ।
Meaning:
इरिण्याय च- To one who is in salty land, प्रपथ्याय च- to Easwara,
who is in the path trodden by many and is worn-out, नमः- prostration.
Mantra 1
नमस्सोमाय च रुद्राय च ।
Meaning:
सोमाय च- To One with Uma, रुद्राय च- to Parameswara, who relieves one of the misery of samsara, नमः- prostration.
Explanation:
In this eighth Anuvakam, Sri Parameswara is adored through 17 internal
mantras, establishing that he is to be adored by all, bringing out some
of his qualities and stating that he is the indwelling soul of all
creation.
The term ‘Rudra’ shows that Parameswara
alone is capable of removing the misery of samsara. रुतं संसारदुःखं
द्रावयतीति रुद्रः- Further, Svetasvatara Upanishad states that relief
from the misery of samsara will result only from knowledge of Sri
Parameswara.
“यदा चर्मवदाकाशं वेष्टयिष्यन्ति मानवाः ।
तदा शिवमविज्ञाय दुःखस्यान्तो भविष्यति ॥“
“When men roll the sky like a piece of skin, it is only then that reief
from the misery of samsara will result without knowing Siva.” The
import is that just as sky can never be rolled, it is impossible to get
relief from the troubles of samsara without the knowledge of Siva.
In order to establish that Parameswara’s greatness in such removal of
the misery of samsara is only due to his being together wioth Uma, the
term ‘सोमाय’ has been used in conjunction. In the word ‘Uma’, the
letters of Pranava (Om) are interchanged. The meaning of the word ‘Uma’
is same as that of Pranava, viz. Parsasakti. The resident Devata of
Brahmavidya is the power of Sri Parameswara alone, called ‘Parasakti’
and ‘Chichchakti’. It is therefore clear that Parameswara, in
association with that Sakti, bestows Atmagnanam and relieves the devotee
from the misery of samsara. Passages of Svetasvatara Upanishad like ‘ते
ध्यानयोगानुगता अपश्यन् देवात्मशक्तिं स्वगुणैर्निगूढाम्’ make it clear
that Atmagnanam was attained by Maharishis only through the grace of
Uma. This has also been referred in detail in Talavakara Upanishad,
Sivapuranam, Kurmapuranam etc. That is why it is stated in the passage
of Kaivalyopanishad,
‘उमासहायं परमेश्वरं प्रभुं त्रिलोचनं नीलकण्ठं प्रशान्तम् ।
ध्यात्वा मुनिर्गच्छति भूतयोनिं समस्तसाक्षिं तमसः परस्तात् ॥‘ and in passages from Puranas like
‘पार्वती परमा देवी ब्रह्मविद्याप्रदायिनी ।
तस्मात्सह तया शक्त्या हृदि पश्यन्ति ये शिवम् ।
तेषां शाश्वतिकी सिद्धिर्नेतरेषामिति श्रुतिः ।‘ that Parameswara is able to grant Moksha only because he is with Uma.
Mantra 1
नमो दुन्दुभ्याय चाहनन्याय च ।
Meaning:
दुन्दुभ्याय च- To one who is present in kettle-drum, आहनन्याय च- to
one who is present in the stick used for beating the drum.
Explanation:
In this seventh Anuvakam also, Sri Parameswara is adored as One who is in the hearts of all beings and is indeed all.
(Meaning is being given only for new words. As in the previous
Anuvakam, add ‘Prostration to that Parameswara’ in the respective
mantras.)
Mantra 1
नमो ज्येष्ठाय च कनिष्ठाय च ।
Meaning:
ज्येष्ठाय च- Of the form of those who are superior in age, learning
etc., कनिष्ठाय च- to Parameswara in the form of those who do not
possess such merits, नमः- prostration.
Mantra 1
नमो भवाय च रुद्राय च ।
Meaning:
भवाय च- To Parameswara, cause of birth of the universe, नमः-
prostration. रुद्राय च- Prostration to Parameswara, the remover of
misery of samsara and bestower of moksha.
Explanation:
Now the Rishi starts contemplating on the various great qualities of
Sri Parameswara and praying to him. From here upto the mantra ‘Draape’,
all the mantras have ‘Nama:’ at the beginning only. These are hence
called ‘Anyato Namaskara mantras’. In these Anuvakams, from one ’Nama:’
upto the occurrence of the next ‘Nama:’, it should be treated as one
mantra; i.e. ‘नमो भवाय च रुद्राय च ।‘ is one mantra; the next mantra is
‘नमः शर्वाय च पशुपतये च‘. Similarly the following mantras must be
considered. In order to make it clear that ‘Nama:’ is treated as adjunct
of every descriptive term, ‘cha’ is added to every word.
Mantra 1
नम आव्याधिनीभ्यो विविध्यन्तीभ्यश्च वो नमः |
Meaning:
आव्याधिनीभ्यः- Of the form of women capable of attacking on all four
sides, विविध्यन्तीभ्यश्च- and women capable of attacking in different
ways, वः- to you, नमः- prostration.
In this Anuvakam, as in the previous Anuvakam, Bhagavan is worshipped as being in all forms (Sarvaatmaka:).
Mantra 1
नमस्सहमानाय निव्याधिन आव्याधिनीनां पतये नमः ।
Meaning:
सहमानाय- To one who subdues enemies, or bears devotees’ faults,
निव्याधिने- capable of striking enemies well, आव्याधिनीनां-
of armies, capable of facing and striking all, पतये- to
Parameswara, the lord of, नमः- prostration.
Explanation:
Like in the second Anuvakam, here in the third Anuvakam also,
Parameswara is worshipped as the Supreme Lord in the first eight
Yajurmnatras. For the term ‘Aavyaadhininam pataye’ meaning the lord of
valorous armies, the two adjectives ‘sahamanaya’ and ‘nivyadhine’
explain the reason. Is it not natural that Parameswara, who subdues and
rules over all and strikes the enemies, is the lord of valorous armies?
Though he is the head of valorous armies and strikes the enemies, when
it comes to his devotees, he ignores their faults and bestows his grace;
this is conveyed by the adjective ‘sahamanaya’.
Mantra 1
नमो हिरण्यबाहवे सेनान्ये दिशां च पतये नमः ।
Meaning:
हिरण्यबाहवे – with arms decorated with golden ornaments, or with golden
arms, सेनान्ये – being head of the army, दिशां – of directions,
पतये च - to Parameswara, lord also of, नमः – prostration.
Explanation:
Parameswara with weapons etc. was adored in the fifteen mantras of the
first Anuvaka. The Rishi pays obeisance to Parameswara in the eight
Anuvakas starting from the second, by describing his manifold glory.
Here he prays to Parameswara as Sarveswara (lord of all).
From
this mantra upto the mantra ‘श्वभ्यः श्वपतिभ्यश्च वो नमः’, the mantras
have ‘nama:’ at the beginning as well as at the end of each mantra;
hence these mantras are called ‘ubhayato namaskara mantras’. That is,
‘नमो हिरण्यबाहवे सेनान्ये दिशां च पतये नमः’ is one mantra; like this
many mantras are seen further.
Disam cha pataye nama:- If
obeisance is paid to Parameswara, who is the lord of directions, the
doubt arises as to how he becomes the lord, when Indra, Agni et al are
famous as the lords of different directions. To dispel this doubt, the
descriptive term ‘senanye’ has been given. This makes it clear that
Devas, Gandharvas, humans et al are all armies and that Parameswara is
their lord. Hence the lord of directions is also Parameswara. Under his
orders Indra et al are ruling the different directions.
In
order to clarify that Sri Parameswara alone is the lord of all moving
and non-moving objects like Indra and others, another descriptive term
‘Hiranyabahave’ has been used. This can be interpreted to mean ‘one with
arms decorated with golden ornaments’, or ‘one with golden arms’.
‘Golden arm’ is but an ‘upalakshanam’ (characteristic indicative of much
larger canvas). It means that from toe-nails to the hair on the head,
everything is golden. Vedic passages like ‘Aabhranakat sarva eva
suvarna:’; ‘Hiranyabahave hiranyavarnaya’; ‘yathapasy: pasyate
rukmavarnam’ etc. describe Parameswara as golden. There is a vidya
called ‘Antaraaditya vidya’ in Chandogya Upanishad. There the golden
Parameswara is said to be the lord to be worshipped. The term
‘hiranyabahave’ here also refers to the golden Parameswara mentioned in
that vidya. In that vidya, Parameswara is described as the lord of all
worlds. Hence the term ‘Hiranyabahave’ indicates that Parameswara is the
lord of all Devas including Devendra.
Mantra 1
नमस्ते रुद्र मन्यव उतोत इषवे नम:।
नमस्ते अस्तु धन्वने बाहुभ्यामुत ते नम:॥ १
Meaning: रुद्र- Parameswara! ते- your, मन्यवे- to anger, नमः-
prostration. उतो -Further, ते-your, इषवे- to the arrow, नमः
-prostration. ते- your, धन्वने- to the bow, नमः अस्तु- may my
prostration be. उत- Further, ते- your, बाहुभ्यां- to the two arms,
नमः- prostration.
Explanation: Three commentators- Sayana,
Bhattabhaskara and Abhinavasankara- have written commentaries for Sri
Rudram. This present explanation has been written in accordance with
these three commentaries.
There are a total of 11 Anuvakams
(sections) in Sri Rudram. In the first Anuvakam, the angry Sri Rudra is
pacified. From the second to the ninth Anuvakams, Sri Rudra is eulogised
in many ways and obeisance paid to him. In the last two Anuvakams,
prayers are offered to Sri Rudra and Rudraganas.
There are many
terrible and calm forms of Sri Rudra. In order to pacify the terrible
form of his, obeisance is paid to his anger, weapons etc. How can there
be anger in Sri Parameswara, the blemishless one with all good
attributes? The answer is that his anger in order to punish those, who
transgress his commands contained in Srutis, Smritis etc. and bring them
over to the right path, is only a good quality and not a fault.
Following the etymology रुदं+ द्रावयतीति = रुद्रः, as Sri Parameswara
drives away grief, or sin which causes grief, he is called 'Rudra'. As
he is prayed here for ridding his anger and being calm, it is but proper
that he is addressed as 'Rudra'. As anger is the basic cause of all
types of grief, anger is propitiated at the beginning itself. When
Parameswara gets angry, his arrow will come in front; he will then look
at his bow. Then his two arms will go on to hold them. Hence anger,
arrow, bow and arms are prayed to in that order.
Parameswara's
arrow etc. are to be worshipped like Devatas. Hence praying and paying
obeisance to them is but appropriate. Once Arjuna forgot the method of
using Paasupatastra. In order to learn it, Sri Krishna and Arjuna went
to Kailasa. Parameswara asked them to bring a certain weapon from the
adjacent divine lake. When they both went to the lake, they noticed that
the weapon looked very terrible, surrounded by poisonous flames. Sri
Krishna then chanted Sri Rudram in order to pacify it and make it come
to his hands. The weapon then reached his hands in a calm and peaceful
form. This has been mentioned in the Mahabharata. This shows that Sri
Parameswara's weapons like arrow etc. are full of dynamism and need to
be worshipped.
It is said that it is necessary to know the
Rishi, chandas and Devata of every mantra, Abhinasankara's commentary
describes these details. For this first mantra, Rishi is Aatreya,
chandas is Anushtup and Devata is Sri Rudra.
Dhyanam:
आकर्णकृष्टे धनुषि ज्वलन्तीं देवीमिषुं भास्वति सन्दधानम् ।
ध्यायेन्महेशं महनीयवेषं देव्या युतं योधतनुं युवानम् ॥
"One should meditate upon Maheswara, who yokes a brilliant arrow to his
shining bow, pulled to the ear; of handsome form, appearing like a
warrior, youthful and accompanied by Devi."
This mantra will be
fully efficacious to one who practises Praajaapatya krichchram and
chants the mantra 11000 times. By doing circumambulation and
prostration, while chanting this mantra, Parameswara's grace,
destruction of sins and leadership in society will result. The other
practices using this mantra are described in works like 'Rudra
Kalpaarnavam'.
