SRI RUDRAM - 5: 1 - 8
Anuvka 5
This anuvka consists of 15 mantras. Unlike previous anuvka-s, beginning from this
anuvka till anuvka 9, nama is placed only in the beginning of each mantra. Instead
ca () is used to connect different parts of mantra. This is also used to connect two
mantras to make a comprehensive one. It is used as a conjunct to connect two or more
words; similar to, and, in English. If this anuvka and the next anuvka (6th) are
chanted for 11 days properly, it gives victory in court cases and all sorts of
auspiciousness.
namo bhavya ca rudrya ca (5:1)
Meaning: Salutations to Bhava and Rudra (now different names of Rudra are being
revealed). Bhava means coming into existence and omnipresent; the one who exists
from the beginning of time. Rudra refers to the one who saves us from the pains of
sasra.
Notes: Lalit Sahasranma (880) says, Samsra-paka-nirmagna-samuddharaapait ---
-, which means that She is capable of rescuing
men who are entangled in sasra. Sasra means materialistic life. It is said that
those who always think about Her, do not get entangled in materialistic life; instead they
lead spiritual life. Sasra originates from the word sasrin which can be explained
as the transmigratory soul passing through various mundane states in the form of
various sentient beings. Sasra should not be confused with the life of householder
(grahasthya). A man cannot perform fire rituals without his wife and this is prohibited in
astra-s.
Ka says Arjuna! I speedily rescue from the ocean of birth and death, their mind
being fixed on me. (Bhagavad Gta XII.7)
nama arvya ca paupataye ca (5:2)
Meaning: Salutations to the one who destroys sins and protects all the ignorant beings.
Animals are also called ignorant as they do not have proper mind. Pau also means
unrealized souls as against Self-realized souls. He not only protects the realized ones,
but also the unrealized ones, as He is the Supreme and Absolute authority.
Notes: Lalit Sahasranma 354 Pau-pa-vimocan - - explains in detail
about pau. The concept of self-realization is best explained in Bhadrayaka
Upaniad ([Link].10). It says This self was indeed Brahman in the beginning. It knew
Itself as, I am Brahman. Therefore, It became all. And whoever among the gods knew
It, also became That; and the same with sages and men. When one realizes Brahman,
he becomes everything. Those who do not have the requisite knowledge to know the
Brahman are called pau-s. Pau generally means cattle; but in the present context it
can be explained as the individual soul as distinct from the divine Soul of the
universe. In other words, pau here means those who do not possess knowledge about
the Brahman. Pa means bondage arising out of ignorance. The cattle need just
food and beyond food they do not think about anything, because they are incapable of
thinking. That is why those who do not possess wisdom for knowing the Brahman are
called pau-s.
Liga Pura says pau-s are the individual souls and pa is the bondage and such
bondage of pau-s are destroyed by Paupat, the Lord of all pau-s (iva).
It is better to know a little more on pau as this word is more frequently used in many
Upaniads. iva Sutra I.2 says jnam bandha. Jnam means vitiated knowledge
and bandha means bondage. Limited knowledge is ignorance. Ignorance is the cause
for bondage that veils the true Brahman. This phenomenon is called ava mala. Mala
has been explained as ignorance that hampers the free expression of the
Brahman. ava mala means innate ignorance of the soul. ava is the word derived
from the root au which means the empirical individual. This ava mala is subdivided
into two. The first one is the ignorance innate in the very being of the individual Self and
other is ignorance inherent in the intellect or buddhi. The ava mala is the cause of
bondage. Those who are afflicted by such ava mala undergo birth and death and
they are known as pau-s.
namo nlagrvya ca itikahya ca (5:3)
Meaning: Salutations to the one who has blue throat and white neck.
Notes: iti not only means white, but also dark blue. Rudra is also known as Klakaha
because of blue colour of the poison in His throat. Kaha means throat. This poison is
called klaka or klahla the deadliest poison got out of churning ocean, which was
swallowed by Rudra. It is also said that when Rudra was consuming the poison, She
held His throat, preventing Him to swallow the poison. Klakah, a deity, is said to be
the creation of Rudra along with Kl for destroying demons. itikaha is explained as
aggregate of subtle bodies, which is also known as strtman, the consciousness which
is limited by the aggregate of subtle bodies.
namo kapardine ca vyuptakeya ca (5:4)
Meaning: Salutations to the One who has braided hair and tonsured head.
Notes: Look at the opposites, head with braided hair and the other one with tonsured
head. He exists as both, at the same time. Hence He is called omnipresent. Some yogis
have long plaited hair and some sages and saints have tonsured head. Sanysin-s
have tonsured heads. Rudra is not only Paupati, but He is also in the form of yogis,
sages, saints and sanysin-s. He prevails everywhere. iva Sahit (V.122) says,
One who meditates regularly is the learned lord of Yoga (Shiva).
nama sahasrkya ca atadhanvane ca (5:5)
Meaning: Salutations to the One, who has thousands of eyes and hundred arrows.
Notes: Thousand eyes refer to His omnipresence. This is also explained in
Puruaskta, which says, sahasrar purua which means the Purua (Brahman)
has thousand heads.
Ka also says in Bhagavad Gt (XIII.13),
sarvato'kiiromukham which means having eyes, heads and faces in all directions.
He has 100 arrows to destroy evil doers. This means that He has countless weaponries.
nama giriya ca ipiviya ca (5:6)
Meaning: Salutations to Him who lives in the mountain and the one who is pervaded by
knowledge.
Notes: Human body is considered as a mountain and He resides within, ever shining as
the Self. Mountain also refers to Puric Mountain, Mount Kaila, His Abode. ipi
refers to sacrificial cows also known as pau. This means that He, as the Lord of
sacrifices pervades in every sacrificial object. Secretively ipi refers to all the organs of
a person who offers them as sacrificial oblations in the inner fire. Sacrificing organs
mean disconnecting the sensory organs from the materialistic world. Evil thoughts enter
into the mind when sensory organs are allowed to stray into the material world. When
these organs are offered as oblations, they are burnt and cannot send information from
the external world. Yajur Veda (II.v.5.2) says, viave ipiviya and this means
offered to Viu and contextually this also means that there is no difference between
Rudra and Viu.
namo mhuamya ceumate ca (5:7)
Meaning: This mantra should be read as namo mhuamya ca iumate ca Ca and
iumate together form ceumate.
Salutations to the one who is bountiful (by causing rain). Iumat means possessor of
arrows. Arrows subtly convey actions; He has three actions, creation, sustenance and
destruction.
Notes: Mhuama also means hirayagarbha. He uses His bountiful energy to create
the universe Vednta Paribhs a 17th century scripture explains hirayagarbha. It
says Hirayagarbha is the first soul to be born and is different from Brahma, Viu and
iva. The subtle body consisting of the five vital forces, the mind, the intellect and the
ten organs is produced from the five basic elements. This paves the way for the soul to
experience the result of actions or in other words it causes karma-s. The subtle body is
of two kinds, superior and inferior. The superior one is the subtle body of hirayagarbha
and the inferior is the subtle body of living beings. The subtle body of hirayagarbha is
called as mahat or the cosmic intellect and the subtle body of living beings is called
ego.
Iukt means an arrow maker and contextually it refers to Creator. He not only creates
but also protect beings with the help of His arrows.
namo hrasvya ca vmanya ca (5:8)
Meaning: Both hrasva and vmana mean short. Salutations to the One who is short.
Notes: Hrasva also means young in age. Hrasva subtly conveys dahara vidy, as
explained inChndogya Upaniad (VIII.1). It says, This body is the city of Brahman.
Within it is an abode of a lotus (dhahara puarka) and within that, there is a small
space (dhahara antarka). One must search within this space.. This way,
hrasva means the Self within.
Vmana conveys the same meaning. Kaha Upaniad ([Link].3) explains this in a different
perspective. It says that Self is worshipped in the center of the heart, between pra
and apna and the object of worship is Vmanam, the Self. Brahman can be realised
only through affirmations and negations.
This mantra says that Rudra can be realized only within and through meditation.