The Shri Rudram Chamakam (Sanskrit श्रि रुद्रम् चमकम्) is a Vedic stotra dedicated to Rudra (an early epithet for the Hindu god Shiva).^[1][2] Shri Rudram is also known as Sri Rudraprasna, Śatarudrīya, and Rudradhyaya. The text is important in Vedantic religion describing Lord Shiva as the Universal Brahman. The hymn is an early example of enumerating the names of a deity,^[3] a tradition developed extensively in the sahasranama literature of Hinduism. By the first few centuries CE, the recitation of the Śatarudrīya is claimed, in the Jābala Upanishad, to lead to immortality.^[4] The hymn is referred to in the Shiva Purana.^[5] The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... This article discusses the historical religious practices in the Vedic time period; see Dharmic religions for details of contemporary religious practices. ... Stotras are Hindu prayers that praise aspects of God, such as Devi, Siva, or Vishnu. ... Rudra (Sanskrit: रुद्रः) (Howler) is a Rigvedic God of the storm, the hunt, death, Nature and the Wind. ... Shiva (IAST: , also spelled Siva; Hindi, Shiv) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Shiva (IAST: , also spelled Siva; Hindi, Shiv) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. ... Brahman (nominative ) is the concept of the supreme spirit found in Hinduism. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The word Sahasra-nāma in Sanskrit means 1000 names. Sahasra-nāma-stotra stands for a poem or a succession of verses (shlokas,) which contain thousand names of God. ... Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... The Shiva Purana has twenty-four thousand shlokas. ...

The text is also famous for its mention of the Shaivite Panchakshara ("five-syllable") mantra (Sanskrit: Namaḥ Śivāya), which appears in the text of the Śatarudrīya in the eighth anuvaka.^[6] The text also contains the mantra 'Aum Namo Bhagavathe Rudraya'. In Tibet, many Buddhists carve mantras into rocks as a form of devotion. ... Aum Namah Åšivāya (IAST transliteration, refer to Sanskrit for pronunciation, Devanagari: ॐ नमः शिवाय) is among the foremost Vedic mantras. ...

Text

It consists of two texts from book four of the Taittiriya Samhita (TS 4.5, 4.7), which is a part of the Krishna Yajurveda. The Yajur Veda यजुर्वेद is one of the four Hindu Vedas; it contains religious texts focussing on liturgy and ritual. ... The Yajurveda (Sanskrit , a tatpurusha compound of sacrifice + veda knowledge) is one of the four Hindu Vedas. ...

Shri Rudram or the Namakam (chapter five) describes the name or epithets of Rudra, which represent his aspects. Additionally, the devotee asks for the benevolent aspect of Shiva to be invoked rather than the terrible aspect and requests forgiveness of sins. The Chamakam (chapter seven) asks for the fulfilment of wishes. Each part consist of eleven anuvaka or hymns. For other uses, see Sin (disambiguation). ...

Shri Rudram

The anuvakas of Shri Rudram correspond to the eleven hymns of TS 4.5, with the final anuvaka extended by an additional eight verses, including the Tryambakam (literally, "the three-eyed One") mantra (TS 1.8.6.i). The central Shaivite mantra, Aum Namah Sivaya is also derived from the Shri Rudram, it appears (without the aum) in TS 4.5.8.l. The Yajur Veda यजुर्वेद is one of the four Hindu Vedas; it contains religious texts focussing on liturgy and ritual. ... The Shaivaite Tryambakam mantra is a verse of the Yajurveda (TS 1. ... Shaivism, also Saivism, is a branch of Hinduism that worships Siva as the Supreme God. ... Aum Namah Åšivāya (IAST transliteration, refer to Sanskrit for pronunciation, Devanagari: ॐ नमः शिवाय) is among the foremost Vedic mantras. ...

Chamakam

The second part of the text, corresponding to TS 4.7, asks God for fulfillment of wishes. The repeated phrase, ca me literally means, "and to me [be this granted]", accompanied by lists of desirables. The Yajur Veda यजुर्वेद is one of the four Hindu Vedas; it contains religious texts focussing on liturgy and ritual. ...

The original context of the Chamakam is the piling up of the fire-altar of Vedic religion.

Interpretation

The interpretations of the text commonly taught today are clearly Vedantic, while the Vedic texts at the time of their composition were probably intended for the context of ritual sacrifice. This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

The President of the Ramakrishna Mission, at Chennai, in commentating on the foreword to Swami Amritananda's translation of Sri Rudram and Purushasuktam, stated that "Rudra to whom these prayers are addressed is not a sectarian deity, but the Supreme Being who is omnipresent and manifests Himself in a myriad forms for the sake of the diverse spiritual aspirants." Sri Rudram occurs in the fourth Kanda of the Taittirya Samhita in the Yajur Veda. The Ramakrishna Mission Emblem The Ramakrishna Mission (Bengali: ) is an association founded by Sri Ramakrishnas chief disciple and religious leader, Swami Vivekananda on May 1, 1897. ... , “Madras” redirects here. ... The term Supreme Being is often defined simply as God,[1] and it is used with this meaning by theologians of many religious faiths, including, but not limited to, Christianity,[2] Islam,[3] Hinduism,[4] Deism[5] and Scientology. ...

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains in the lexicon section of his book, Dancing with Siva, that "Sri Rudram is a hymn to the wielder of awesome powers. It is a preeminent Vedic hymn to Lord Siva as the God of dissolution, chanted daily in Siva temples throughout India." This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Smarta interpretation

The prayer is commonly interpreted to show that Vishnu is another aspect of Shiva and to accordingly hold that Vishnu and Shiva are one and the same God from an Advaitan or Smarta viewpoint. Interestingly, the Vishnu sahasranama, in a similar manner, states Shiva is an aspect of Vishnu. The fifth anuvaka states (see Sanskrit for pronunciation details): Vishnu (IAST , Devanagari ), (honorific: Sri Vishnu) also known as Narayana is the Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality for Vaishnavas and a manifestation of Brahman in the Advaita or Smarta traditions. ... Shiva (IAST: , also spelled Siva; Hindi, Shiv) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. ... Advaita Vedanta is probably the best known of all Vedanta schools of Hinduism, the others being Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita. ... Smarta is a Hindu follower of Smartism. ... The Vishnu sahasranāma (literally: the thousand names of Vishnu) is a list of 1,000 names for Vishnu, one of the main forms of God in Hinduism and the Supreme Person for Vaishnavas (followers of Vishnu). ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ...

• Original text (TS iv.5.5)

namo bhavāya ca rudrāya ca namaḥ śarvāya ca paśupataye ca

namo nīlagrīvāya ca śitikaṇṭhāya ca

namaḥ kapardine ca vyuptakeshāya ca

namaḥ sahasrākṣāya cha śatadhanvane ca

namo giriśāya ca śipiviṣṭāya ca

• Translation (Arthur Berriedale Keith, 1914):

Homage to Bhava and to Rudra.

Homage to the Lord of all sentient-beings.

Homage to the blue-necked one, and to the white-throated.

Homage to the wearer of braids, and to him of shaven hair.

Homage to him of a thousand eyes, and to him of a hundred bows.

Homage to him who haunteth the mountains, and to Çipivista.

• Commentary of Swami Amritananda, book available at ([1], [2], and another translation at [3]):

"Salutations to Him who is the source of all things and to Him who is the destroyer of all ills. Salutations to the destroyer and to the protector of all beings in bondage. Salutations to Him whose throat is black and whose throat is also white. Salutations to Him of the matted locks, and to Him who is clean-shaven. Salutations to Him who has a Thousand eyes and a hundred bows. Salutations to Him who dwells on the mount and who is in the form of Vishnu."

Swami Amritananda, of the Ramakrishna Mission and many others suggest that Rudra is associated with Vishnu in the invocation namas [...] shipivishtaya. (shipivishta appears most frequently as an epithet of Vishnu in the Yajurveda.) The Yajur Veda यजुर्वेद is one of the four Hindu Vedas; it contains religious texts focussing on liturgy and ritual. ... Arthur Berriedale Keith (1879-1944) was Regius Professor of Sanskrit and Lecturer in Constitutional History at the University of Edinburgh (from 1914). ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... An epithet (Greek - επιθετον and Latin - epitheton; literally meaning imposed) is a descriptive word or phrase. ... Vishnu (IAST , Devanagari ), (honorific: Sri Vishnu) also known as Narayana is the Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality for Vaishnavas and a manifestation of Brahman in the Advaita or Smarta traditions. ...

However, Amritananda has also cited other ancient commentators who have stated that the line could mean:

• one who resides in the place abounding in devadaru trees.
• one who is in the form of the sun.
• one who has entered into the beings as inner controller.

(his translation of Sri Rudram and Purushasuktam, pgs. 66-67.) Amritananda has cited commentaries of Sayana and others in the writing of his work. His rendering "in the form of Vishnu" is a common Vedantic interpretation, since the literal meaning of shipi-vishta is an epithet meaning "pervaded by rays". Sayana (सायण) was the great 14th century commentator on the Vedas. ...

Organization of Rudram

Another interpretation which seeks out coherent meaning in the 11 chapters of sri Rudram is as follows. the first line of Sri Rudram- 'namaste Rudra manyava utota Ishave namaha. Namaste astu Dhanvane Bahubhyam utate namaha' contains all the definitions of Rudra, who signifies Brahman of Upanishads. 1. Rudra; Benign aspect of Rudra (Brahman) 2. Manyu; Passion or Deluder aspect of Rudra (Brahman) 3. Ishu; Various impulsions of benign and passion aspcts of Rudra on creation. 4. Dhanu : the forces of Rudra which create worlds of experience for the created beings. 5. Baahu  : Rudra's action initiators for creation, protection, destruction, ruling, and grace in the created worlds. Brahman (nominative ) is the concept of the supreme spirit found in Hinduism. ...

The format of the 11 chapters (anuvaka) in Sri Rudram is as follows;

Chapter 1: A summary of Sri Rudram. Chapter 2: Obeisance to rudra as the benign aspect of Brahman. Chapter 3: Obeisance to Rudra as the passion or deluder aspect of Brahman. Chapter 4: obeisance to Rudra as the creators of worlds. Chapter 5-9 refers to the hands of Rudra signifying different activities. Chapter 5: obeisance to the creative aspects of Rudra ,the benign. Chapter 6: obeisance to the protective aspects of Rudra, the benign. Chapter 7: obeisance to the destructive aspects of Rudra ,the benign. Chapter 8: obeisance to the ruling or coordinating Iswara aspects of Rudra, the benign. Chapter 9: obeisance to the grace aspects of Rudra, the benign. Chapter 10: Expansion of the prayers in chapter1, to Rudra and Manyu. Chapter 11: Prayers and exhortations to Manyu ,the deluder to go away from the worshipper

Notes

1. ^ For an overview of the Śatarudriya see: Kramrisch, pp. 71-74.
2. ^ For a full translation of the complete hymn see: Sivaramamurti (1976).
3. ^ For the Śatarudrīya as an early example of enumeration of divine names, see: Flood (1996), p. 152.
4. ^ Jab. U. 3.66 cited by: Flood (1996), p. 152.
5. ^ For mentions in the Shiva Purana see: Flood (1996), p. 152.
6. ^ For notability and text namaḥ śivāya see: Sivaramamurti, pp. 1, 24.

References

• Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0. 
• Kramrisch, Stella (1981). The Presence of Śiva. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01930-4. 
• Sivaramamurti, C. (1976). Śatarudrīya: Vibhūti of Śiva's Iconography. Delhi: Abhinav Publications. 

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Shri Rudram Chamakam

• Meanings and Commentaries on some of the anuvakas.