Shivastotrams

Note : This is only a scribbling note. These are purely my understanding. These may or may not be the correct one. This is not to hurt anybody's feeling.

Shivastotram

Mahadevaya Namah (2)

Namastesu Bhagwan (3)

Vishweshvaraya, Mahadevaya, Trayambakaya, Tripurantakaya, (2)

Trikagni Kalaya Kalagnirudraya Neelkanthaya Mrityunjaya (2)

Sarveshwaraya, Sadashivaya (4)

Mahadevaya Namah (4)

Let my salutations be to that great God who is the Lord of the universe; the great God who has three eyes and who destroys Tripura, the three Asura cities. To that God who is the Dandhya time when the three sacred fires are lit; who is Rudra the fire that consumes the universe; whose throat is blue; who has conquered death; the Lord of all; the ever auspicious one; salutations to that glorious and great God. (This is 1st Anuvaka from Rudram)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Karpura Gauram

Karpur Gauram Karunaa Avataaram,
Sansaar Saaram Bhujgendra Haaram,
Sadaa Vasantam Hridayaarvinde,
Bhavam Bhavaani Sahitam Namaami

Meaning: I bow to that camphor-hued, white complexioned (Lord Shiva), who is Incarnation of compassion, who is the very essence of (consciousness; the knowing principle) of life (of the embodied soul); Who wears snakes as garlands, whose eternal abode is in the heart of the devotee, I bow to Him (Lord Shiva) and His consort Bhavani (Uma or Paarvati). Karpur (camphor-hued); Gauram (white); Karunaa (compassion); Avataaram (incarnation); Sansaar (life of the embodied soul); Saaram (essence, the knowing principle or consciousness); Bhujagendra (wearer of snakes or who wields theSerpent power of Kundalini Shakti); Haaram (garlands); Sadaa (eternal); Vasantam (resides); Hridayaarvinde (in the heart of the devotee);Bhavam (Lord Shiva); Bhavaani (Uma or Paarvati); Sahitam (together); Namaami (I bow).

O lord, the tasks of this day, who burden I placed on you this morning, are over. It was you who made me walk, talk, think and act. I therefore place at your feet all my thoughts, words and deeds. My task is done. Receive me; I am coming back to you. Please repair my body and prepare me nicely for my next days journey.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sankara's Dasa Sloki

By Adi Shankara Bhagawat Pada

These ten verses of philosophy is the essence of the thoughts of Sankara. There are two stories about its origin. One says that when Adi Sankara approached Sage Govinda Pada and requested him to make him his disciple, then it seems Govinda Pada asked the young boy, “Who are you?” and this is his reply. Another story tells that when Sankara said that he is about to leave this earth, his disciples wanted to tell them all his teachings in a summary form and this is the reply. Swami Madhusudhana Sarawathi has written a commentary called “Sidhantha Bindu” on these ten verses.

Na bhoomir na thoyam na thejo na vayu, Na Kham nendriyam vaa na thesham samooha, Anaikanthikathwath suspthyeka siddha, Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham.,	I am not earth, I am not water. I am not light, I am not wind, I am not ether, I am not sense organs, Nor am I a combination of these, Because they don’t always exist. I am simply Shiva the self, For this remains even in sleep, After everything is taken out.
Na varna, na varnasramachara dharma, Na me dharana dhyana yogadhayopi, Anathmasrayo aham mamadhya sahanath, Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham.,	I am not the caste, I am not the caste rules, I am not stages of life, I am not rules, I am not the just conduct, I am not meditation, I am not yogic practice, For the concept of I and me destroy all these. I am simply Shiva the self, For this remains even in sleep, After everything is taken out.
Na matha pitha vaa na deva na loka, Na veda na yagna na theertham bruvanthi, Sushupthou nirasthadhi soonyath makathwath, Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham.,	Neither the mother nor the father. Neither the celestial gods nor the earth, Neither the Vedas,nor the fire sacrifice, Nor the holy waters, they say, exist in sleep. But there is no void in sleep, either. So I am simply Shiva the self, For this remains even in sleep, After everything is taken out.
Na sankhyam na saivam na thath pancha rathram, Na jainam, na meemamskader matham vaa, Visishtanubhoothya vishudhath maka thwath, Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham	Neither the Sankhya principle, Nor the doctrine of Shaiva, Not the principle of pancha rathra, Nor the doctrine of Jainas, Nor the principle of Meemasa, Are Unique experiences, For the soul is the purest known truth., So I am simply Shiva the self, For this remains even in sleep, After everything is taken out
Na shuklam na krishnam na raktham na peetham, Na peenam na kubjam na hruswam na deergam, Na roopam thada jyothirakarakathwath, Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham.,	Neither white nor black, Neither red nor yellow, Neither large nor thin, Neither short, nor tall, And neither with a form is the soul, For this soul is the form of the light, So I am simply Shiva the self, For this remains even in sleep, After everything is taken out.
Na jagranna me swapnako vaa sushupthi, Ne viswo na vaa thaijasa pragnako vaa, Avidhyathmakathwath trayanam thureeyam, Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham	Neither the state of waking, Nor the state of dream, Nor the state of deep sleep is for me, Neither the earthy feelings, Nor the glorified feelings of dreams, Nor the feeling of wakefulness in sleep am I, For these are the souls of avidya, And I am the fourth, the thureeya, which is beyond these, So I am simply Shiva the self, For this remains even in sleep, After everything is taken out.
Na sastha na sasthram na sishyo na siksha, Na cha thwam, na cha aham na cha ayam prapancha, Swaroopavabadhadhi vikalapa sahishnu, Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham.,	Neither the origin of knowledge, Nor the books of knowledge, Neither he disciple nor the teacher, Neither you, nor me and nor this world am I, For this is not tolerated by innate realization, So I am simply Shiva the self, For this remains even in sleep, After everything is taken out
Na chordhwam na chadho na cha andhar na bahyam, Na madhyam na thiryang na poorva paraddik, Viyad vyapakathwath Akandaika roopa, Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham	Neither above, nor below, Neither inside nor outside, Neither the middle, nor the across, Neither the east nor the west am I, For like the all pervading ether, I am spread everywhere, So I am simply Shiva the self, For this remains even in sleep, After everything is taken out
Api vyapakathwadhi Thathwa prayogath, Swatha sidha bhavananya asrayathwath, Jagat thuchamethath samastham thadanya, Thadekovasishta Shiva kevaloham	Being all pervasive and goal oriented, Being dependent on its own nature, Than depending on any out side thing, This world is trivial as it is different from self. So I am simply Shiva the self, For this remains even in sleep, After everything is taken out.
Na chaikam thadanyath dweetheeyam kutha syath, Na chaa kevalathwam na vaa kevalathwam, Na soonyam na chaa soonyamadvaidhakathwath, Kadam sarva vedhatham sidham braveemi	It is not even one and how can it be two, Neither is it unique and nor not unique, Neither is it a vacuum nor something different from it, For it is the essence of non dual reality So how can I tell about what is established by all philosophy?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nirvana shatakam also known as Atma shatakam
composed by Adi Shankaracharya, captures the essence of ( non-dualism ) advaita.

Lyrics of Nirvana shatakam with translation.....         Shivoham !       Shivoham !
1. Mano BuddhyA-hankara ChittaNi naaham Nacha Shrotra Jihve Na Cha Ghrana Netre Nacha Vyoma Bhoomir Na Tejo Na Vayuh Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham	I am not mind, intellect, ego and the memory. I am not the sense of organs(ears, tongue, nose, eyes and skin). I am not the five elements ( sky or ether, earth, light or fire, the wind and the water). I am supreme bliss and pure consciousness, I am Shiva, I am all auspiciousness, I am Shiva.
2. Na Cha Prana Sangyo Na Vai Pancha Vayu Na Vaa Sapta dhatur Na Vaa Pancha Koshah Na Vak Pani Padam Na Chopastha Payu Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham	I am not Prana ( energy) nor five vital airs (PanchVayu), nor the seven essential material( sapta dhatu ) , nor the five sheaths of the body ( pancha kosha ). I am not the organ of speech, nor hand nor the leg, nor the organs of procreation or the elimination ( anus). I am supreme bliss and pure consciousness, I am Shiva, I am all auspiciousness, I am Shiva.
3. Na Me Dvesha Ragau Na Me Lobha Mohau Mado Naiva Me Naiva Maatsarya Bhavah Na Dharmo Na Chartho Na Kamo Na Mokshah Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham	I have no hatred or dislike, neither greed nor liking, no delusion, I have no pride or haughtiness, nor jealousy. I have no duty to perform(dharma), no desire for any wealth or pleasure(kama) , I have no liberation ( moksha) either. I am supreme bliss and pure consciousness, I am Shiva, I am all auspiciousness, I am Shiva.
4. Na Punyam Na Papam Na Saukhyam Na Dukham Na Mantro Na Teertham Na Veda Na Yajnaha Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhokta Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham	I have neither virtue, nor vice. nor pleasure or pain, I do not need mantras(sacred chants), nor pilgrimages. nor scriptures (Vedas), rituals or sacrifices (yajnas). I am neither the enjoyed nor the enjoyer, nor enjoyment. I am the supreme auspiciousness of the form of consciousness-bliss(chidananda Rupah). I am the auspiciousness I am supreme bliss and pure consciousness, I am Shiva, I am all auspiciousness, I am Shiva.
5. Na Me Mrityu Shanka Na Me Jati Bhedah Pita Naiva Me Naiva Mata Na Janma Na Bandhur Na Mitram Gurur Naiva Shishyah Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham	I have no fear of death, nor do I have death. No doubt about my existence, nor distinction of caste. I have no father or mother, I have no birth. I have no relatives, nor friend, nor the guru, nor the disciple. I am pure knowledge and supreme bliss, I am Shiva, I am all auspiciousness, I am Shiva.
6. Aham Nirvikalpo Nirakaara Roopah Vibhur Vyapya Sarvatra Sarvendriyanaam Sada Me Samatvam Na Mukthir Na Bandhah Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham	I am formless and devoid of all dualities I exist everywhere and pervade all senses Always I am the same, I am neither free nor bonded I am pure knowledge and supreme bliss, I am Shiva, I am all auspiciousness, I am Shiva.

Bhaja Govindam Lyrics & Meaning

Adi Shankarar

bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM govindaM bhajamuuDhamate . saMpraapte sannihite kaale nahi nahi rakshati DukR^iJNkaraNe	Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda. Oh fool ! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death.
mUDha jahiihi dhanaagamatR^ishhNaaM kuru sadbuddhiM manasi vitR^ishhNaam.h . yallabhase nijakarmopaattaM vittaM tena vinodaya chittam.h	Oh fool ! Give up your thrist to amass wealth, devote your mind to thoughts to the Real. Be content with what comes through actions already performed in the past.
yaavadvittopaarjana saktaH staavannija parivaaro raktaH . pashchaajjiivati jarjara dehe vaartaaM ko.api na pR^ichchhati gehe	So long as a man is fit and able to support his family, see the affection all those around him show. But no one at home cares to even have a word with him when his body totters due to old age.
maa kuru dhana jana yauvana garvaM harati nimeshhaatkaalaH sarvam.h . maayaamayamidamakhilaM hitvaa brahmapadaM tvaM pravisha viditvaa	Do not boast of wealth, friends, and youth. Each one of these are destroyed within a minute. Free yourself from the illusion of the world of Maya and attain the timeless Truth.
sura ma.ndira taru muula nivaasaH shayyaa bhuutala majinaM vaasaH . sarva parigraha bhoga tyaagaH kasya sukhaM na karoti viraagaH	Take your residence in a temple or below a tree, wear the deerskin for the dress, and sleep with mother earth as your bed. Give up all attachments and renounce all comforts. Blessed with such vairagya, could any fail to be content ? (Stanza attributed to Nityananda.)
bhagavad.h giitaa kiJNchidadhiitaa gaNgaa jalalava kaNikaapiitaa . sakRidapi yena muraari samarchaa kriyate tasya yamena na charchaa	Let a man read but a little from giitaa, drink just a drop of water from the ganges, worship murari (govinda) just once. He then will have no altercation with Yama. (Stanza attributed to dR^iDhabhakta.)
punarapi jananaM punarapi maraNaM punarapi jananii jaThare shayanam.h . iha saMsaare bahudustaare kRipayaa.apaare paahi muraare	Born again, death again, birth again to stay in the mother's womb ! It is indeed hard to cross this boundless ocean of samsara. Oh Murari ! Redeem me through Thy mercy. (Stanza attributed to Nityanatha.)
geyaM giitaa naama sahasraM dhyeyaM shriipati ruupamajasram.h . neyaM sajjana saNge chittaM deyaM diinajanaaya cha vittam.h	Regularly recite from the Gita, meditate on Vishnu [thro' Vishnu sahasranama] in your heart, and chant His thousand glories. Take delight to be with the noble and the holy. Distribute your wealth in charity to the poor and the needy. (Stanza attributed to Sumatira.)
arthamanarthaM bhaavaya nityaM naastitataH sukhaleshaH satyam.h . putraadapi dhana bhaajaaM bhiitiH sarvatraishhaa vihiaa riitiH	Wealth is not welfare, truly there is no joy in it. Reflect thus at all times. A rich man fears even his own son. This is the way of wealth everywhere.
gurucharaNaambuja nirbhara bhakataH saMsaaraadachiraadbhava muktaH . sendriyamaanasa niyamaadevaM drakshyasi nija hRidayasthaM devam.h	Oh devotee of the lotus feet of the Guru ! May thou be soon free from Samsara. Through disciplined senses and controlled mind, thou shalt come to experience the Indwelling Lord of your heart !
yogaratova bhogaratova sangaratova sangha vihiinaH| yasyH brahmani ramate chittam nandati nandati nadatyeva||	One may be a yogi or one may be bhogi, a man in downtown, one may be associated with people or one may be in the caves of Himalayas all by himself. It is not where he is what he does where his mind is reveling. He mind is always tuned to aham brahmaasmi and reveling in that understanding in whatever he does or does not do.
Satsangatve Nissangatvam  Nissangatve Nirmohatvam Nirmoatvam Nishchalattvam Nishcalattvam Jiivanmuktih	From Satsangha, comes non-attachment; from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion, which leads to self-settlement. From self-settlement comes Jivan Mukti (liberation).

   

Jananam Sukhadam

Jananam Sukhadam Maranam Karunam  Milanam Madhuram Smaranam Karunam  Kalavashadiha Sakalam Karunam  Samyadhipateh Akhilam Karunam"

Birth is joyful, death a merciful To consort is joyful, to be left with memories is sorrowful   In the inevitable flow of time, everything turns sorrowful, (for the individual, not for the cosmic order) In the kingdom of the Lord of time, the end is appropriately sorrowful.

Bho Sambho

bhO shambhO shiva shambhO svayambhO gangAdhara shankara karuNAkara mAmava bhavasAgara tAraka nirguNa parabrahma svarUpa gamAgama bhUta prapanca rahita nija guhanihita nitAnta ananta Ananda atishaya akSayalinga dhimita dhimita dhimi dhimikiTa kiTatOm tOm tOm tarikiTa tarikiTakiTa tOm matanga munivara vandita Isha sarva digambara vESTita vESa Isha sabEsha sarvEsha

oh Lord Shambhu, one who "self appeared"  Source of Ganges, Shankara, oh merciful lord who redeems me from this ocean of sorrow, samsAra  without gunas, one who is beyond time, past, present and future truth beyond gunas(?), beyond all things finite, oh infinite, blissful, wondrous, ever the same lingA  This is just the rhythm of the dance of creation and destruction

Pichaipaathiram Yenthi Vanthaen Lyrics

Singer(s): Madhu Balakrishnan

Pichai Paathiram Yenthi Vanthen, Aiyane En Aiyane Yaam Oru, Pichai Paathiram Yenthi Vanthen, Aiyane En Aiyane Pindam Ennum, Elumbodu Sadhai Narambu Udhiramum Adangiya Udambu Enum Pichai Paathiram Yenthi Vanthen, Aiyane En Aiyane Pindam Ennum, Elumbodu Sadhai Narambu Udhiramum Adangiya Udambu Enum Pichai Paathiram Yenthi Vanthen, Aiyane En Aiyane (Ammaiyum Appanum Thanthatha.. Illai Aadhiyin Val Vinai Soozhnthatha) - 2 (Immaiyai Naan Ariyathatha..) - 2 Siru Bommaiyin Nilayinil Unmaiyai Unarnthida (Pichai Paathiram Yenthi Vanthen, Aiyane En Aiyane) - 2 (Athanai Selvamum Un Idathil Naan Pichaikku Selvathu Evv Vidathil) - 2 Verum Paathiram Ullathu En Idathil Athan Soothiramo Athu Un Idathil Oru Muraiya Iru Muraiya Pala Murai Pala Pirappu Edukka Vaithai Puthu Vinaya Pazha Vinaya Kanam Kanam Dinam Enai Thudikka Vaithai Porullukku Alainthidum Porullattra Vazhkaiyum Thurathuthe Un Arul Arul Arul Endru Alaikindra Manam Indru Pithatruthe Arul Vizhiyal Nokkuvai, Malar Pathathal Thaanguvai Un Thiru Karam Enai Aravanaithu Unatharul Pera Pichai Paathiram Yenthi Vanthen, Aiyane En Aiyane Pindam Ennum, Elumbodu Sadhai Narambu Udhiramum Adangiya Udambu Enum Pichai Paathiram Yenthi Vanthen, Aiyane En Aiyane

Om Sivoham

Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Mahadev
Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Mahadev

Om Sivoham
Om Sivoham
Rudra Naamam Bajeham

Om Sivoham
Om Sivoham
Rudra Naamam Bajeham

Veerabadraya Agni Nethraya Gora Samhaaraka
Sakala Lokaaya Sarva Boothaya Sathya Saakshatkara

Shambo Shambo Shankara

Om Sivoham Om Sivoham Rudra Naamam Bajeham

Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Hara Mahadev

Namah Somaya cha Rudraya cha
Namastamraya Charunaya cha
Nama Shangaya cha Pashupataye cha
Nama Ugraya cha Bhimaya cha
Namo Agrevadhaya cha Dure Vadhaya cha
Namo Hantre cha Haniyase cha
Namo Vrukshebhyo Harikeshebhyo
Nama Staraya Namash Shambhave cha
Mayo Bhave cha Namah Shankaraya cha
Mayaskaraya cha Namah Shivaya cha Shivataraya cha

Anda Brammanda Koti Akhila Paripaalana
Poorana Jagat Kaarana Sathya Deva Deva Priya
Vedha Vedhartha Saara Yagna Yagnomaya
Nishchala Dushta Nigragha Sapta Loga Samrakshana

Soma Soorya Agni Lochana Swetha rishaba vaaghana
Soola Pani Bujanga Booshana Tripura Naasha Nardhana
Yomakesa Mahaasena Janaka Pancha Vakra Parasu Hastha Namaha

Om Sivoham
Om Sivoham
Rudra Naamam Bajeham

Om Sivoham
Om Sivoham
Rudra Naamam Bajeham

Kaala Trikaala Nethra Trinethra Soola Trisoola Dhaatram

Sathya Prabaava Divya Prakaasa Manthra Swaroopa Mathram

Nishprapanchaadhi Nishkalankoham Nija Poorna Bodhaham Ham

Gadhya Gadhmaagam Nithya Bramhogam Swapna Kasogamham Ham

Sachit Pramanam Om Om Moola Pramegyam Om Om
Ayam Bramhasmi Om Om Aham Bramhasmi Om Om

Gana Gana Gana Gana Gana Gana Gana Gana Sahasra Kanta Sapta Viharaki
Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Dama Shiva Damarugha Nadha Viharaki

Om Sivoham
Om Sivoham
Rudra Naamam Bajeham

Veera Badraya Agni Nethraya Gora Samhaaraka
Sakala Lokaaya Sarva Boothaya Sathya Saakshatkara

Shambo Shambo Shankara

Om Sivoham
Om Sivoham
Rudra Naamam Bajeham.. Bajeham..

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra (maha-mrityun-jaya) is one of the more potent of the ancient Sanskrit mantras. Maha mrityunjaya is a call for enlightenment and is a practice of purifying the karmas of the soul at a deep level. It is also said to be quite beneficial for mental, emotional, and physical health.

Om Tryambakam Yajamahe Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam Urvarukamiva Bandhanan Mrityor Mukshiya Maamritat

We Meditate on the Three-eyed reality Which permeates and nourishes all like a fragrance. May we be liberated from death for the sake of immortality, Even as the cucumber is severed from bondage to the creeper.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SRI RUDRAM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3RD ANUVAKAM

NAMAHA SAHAMANAYA NIVYAADINE AVYADINEENAM PATAYE NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

SAHAMANAYA the one who forgives

NIVYADINE one who causes affliction

AVYADINEENAM PATAYE the lord of all deities who cause affliction

NAMAHA salutations

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord of the deities that cause affliction and who causes affliction and who condones and forgives.

The cause for our suffering is not God or any other force. It is only because of our bad karma done in the past do we suffer. Affliction comes in the form of diseases of the body, sorrow because of bereavement and loss of things which we possess dearly and sufferings in the mind. We are wont to blame others including God for our predicament. The truth is that God is only a witness and karma pala dhata that is He ia the dispenser of the fruits of karma.

His dharma is enforced by various deities like Yama dharma raja and Saneeswara who ensure that we pay for our deeds.

However the Lord can and will mitigate our sufferings in two ways. The first is by giving us the strength of mind to bear our afflictions and the second is by reducing the severity of the punishment. That is the reason why we pray.

In other religions there is no redemption for the sinners. There is only permanent heaven or hell after the judgement day. Yet these religions also provide means for atonement through confession of the sins and contributing for some welfare schemes of the church.

Our sanatana dharma always maintains that what one sows one has to reap if not in this birth, then in some other. The atonement prescribed in the sastras is only gor reducing the severity of the effect through expiatory rituals.

However when we become matured in our outlook to take whatever comes our way as the prasadam of Ishwara as stated by the Isavasya upanishad, we find that all our afflictions vanish as then we have made God our patner in our happiness and sorrow.

NAMAHA KHAKUBHAYA NISHINGINE STENANAM PATAYE NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

KHAKUBAYA the great lord

NISHANGINE the weilder.of the sword

STENANAM PATAYE chief of those who steal under cover of the night

NAMAHA salutations

Salutations to the great and mighty Lord who weilds a sword and is the chief of the thieves who steal under cover of night.

In this and the coming verses the Lord is praised as the leader of thieves, robbers, bandits and so on. The thief gains entry into the house stealthily without being noticed and when challenged draws out his sword to fight. He is mighty and fearsome.

The Lord is Deva Deva and Maha Deva. All the divine beings starting from Indira are denoted by the word kha. Khakubhaya means the mightiest of the celestials, the supreme Being.

Khadgam means sword. It also means to protect. The lord weilds His sword to protect His devotee from the onslaught of the dark forces within and without. He cits asunder their bondage to samsaram. Saint Manickavachagar says that the Lord is adept in cutting off the roots of the tree of samsara without felling it. When the roots are cut, the tree stops growing and withers off on its own freeing the devotee.

The Lord stealthily enters the mind of the devotee and entrenches Him there hiding from view and enjoying the sport. He is ULLAM KAVAR KALVAN or CHITTA CHORA as saints have praised Him. He is difficult to find by searching for Him outside. BAHIR MUKHASCHA DURLABA. He reveals Himself when we search for Him within the deep recesses of our mind ANTARMUKHA SAMARADYA. When we do so, He suddenly reveals Himself as a mighty being of light illuminating our Self and cuts off our bondage to the body and mind which is the source of samsara.

NAMO NISHANHINE ISHUDIMATE TASKARANAM PATAYE NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to

NISHANGINE the Archer

ISUDIMATE who has a quiver full of arrows

TASKARANAM PATAYE lord of robbers, decoits

NAMAHA salutations

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord of decoits who is ready to strike with His bow fitted with an arrow and who has a quiver full of arrows.

In the previous verse the Lord was described as a stealthy thief who come without anyone knowing. Here He is a decoit who openly challenges the wayfarers with His bow and arrow to rob them of their belongings - the Robin hood type who hide in the trees and pounce on the unwary traveller and take away his goodies and money. The robber does his work more by threat and does not harm unless challenged. Such robbers are also used by the kings to spy and warn them about the approach of enemies and also act as the first point of defence of the country.

There is a saying in Tamil that you have to be afraid of being waylaid only when your pockets are full. We keep filling our pockets and homes with many unwanted goodies. We tend to accumulate more than what we need. We keep on accumulating wealth and towards this end keep exploiting mother nature and even rob othera of their possession. The Lord appears as Taskara and takes our possessions away. When we fall sick or die none of our possessions or people around will come to our aid. When we surrender our possessions and the tendency to posses to the Lord we will feel releived of our burden and feel light and hearty.

The fear of retribution makes us stick to the path of dharma. When we pray to the Lord to aim His sharp arrows at our own shortcomings like lust, greed and anger we are shorn of these despicable qualities and are granted freedom.

OM TAT SAT

[10:14, 20/03/2015] Kannan sir: He returns to us His prasadam which frees us from bondage.

The lives of all the saints is filled with stories of the Lord's play and leela. Sundaramoorti nayanar was forcibly drawn away from his marriage by the Lord in the guise of an old brahmin who claimed that Sundarar was his slave and bonded to Him. The same Lord went out His way to get Sundarar married to the woman of his choise, not one but two and yet when Sundarar breached his vow to one of the ladies the Lord made him lose his eyesight which He restored when the faithful Sundarar prayed to Him.

We all know how the Lord deceived the Asuras assuming the form of Mohini and made them go without the fruits of their hard labour.

Though the Lord appears to cheat us it is in fact His play to rid us of our ego. He steals out heart and makes us pine for Him and when our karma is dissolved with His grace, He takes us into His fold never to be separated from Him.

NAMO VANCHATE PARIVANCHATE STAYUNAM PATAYE NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to

VANCHATE one who cheats

PARIVANCHATE a master cheat

STAYUNAM PATAYE chief of those who steal by cheating

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord who steals by cheating and who is a master cheat.

Why all these negative connotations to the supreme which is considered to be most auspicious and KALYANA GUNA SAMPANAM the epitome of virtues. It is so because both good and evil, positive and negative and brightness and darkness co exist in the universe. Thr entire creation is characterised by these opposite forces. If there are blazing stars there are gaping blackholes that gobnle up the stars. As nothing exists beyond God, the opposites also exist in Him.

You do not get cheatex by a rank outsider. One who is near you and who has gained your confidence when he goes against your expectation you feel cheated. How does God cheat you anf why should He?

With a devotee who holds God dear to him, the Lord plays the game of hide and seek. He shows Himself the withdraws and then goes into hiding and when the devotee feels that all is lost, He reappears. The Rasa leela that Lord Krishna played with the gopis is the best example. The gopis pined away for the company of Krishna who eludes them then comes and plays with them then moves on to another to create jelousy and when they surrender appears by their side to comfort them. This play is repeated umpteen times till the mind matures.

Bharatiyar has beautifully captured this in his song THEERATHA VILAYATTU PILLAI. Krishna first gives a fruit, the fruit of karma, and when we are half way through plucks it from our hands. When we beg Him He takes a bite and returns the fruit to us. What does this mean?

The Lord as karma phala data gives us this janma to enjoy the fruit. Midway He snatches it either by giving us our papa karma or by ending our birth. When we surrender to His will and take things as they come to us, the Lord takes on Himself our Karma by biting into it and thus dissolving our left out karma. He returns to us

NAMO NICHERAVE PARICHARAYA ARANYANAM PATAYE NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to

NICHERAVE the wanderer, one who wanders about in the night

PARICHARAYA one who wanders among known persons, one who serves another

ARANYANAM PATAYE lord of the forests

NAMAHA prostrations

Prostrations and salutations to the Lord of the forests who wanders in the night and waylays the wayfarers and wanders among known persons and robs them of their possessions.

Nicerava means one who is constantly on the move or one who wanders about. It also means wandering in the night. What is the purpose of this wandering? It is to rob the unwary traveller who comes in the way. The Lord is the chief of such wandering robbers.

The Lord practices His dance in the middle of night NALLIRULIL NATYAM PAYINDRADU NATHANE. He is accompanied by goblins and demons and the place is the cremation ground. Further the word Ni signifies fullness or heaped up. Scientists say that the entire universe is filled up with dark matter. God energises the dark matter with conciousness to manifest as creation.

Parichara means servant. In this context it means a stealing servant. A pilferer. God is both a way layer and a pilferer. He confronts us and robs us of our bad qualities. He also slowly takes them out without our knowledge as we keep performing austerities.

The Lord is the lord of all forests. Our samsara is the greatest of all deep and dangerous forests where lurks all bad qualities and vices as wild and untamed animals. These animals become docile in the presence of the Lord and do not harm us. So when we wander in the forest of samsara if we make God our partner the great Vana chari will help us avoid the snares and pitfalls and make the wild animals docile and harmless to make our journey easy.

Arani means the sacred wood used to make fire. It is another name for Agni. In the dark wilderness of samsara the Lord is like Agni burning away our karma and reducing the same to ashes.

NAMAHA SRIKAVIBHYO JIGAGUMSADBYO MUSHNATAM PATAYE NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

SRIKAVIBHYO one who has armed himself for protection, who weilds the Vajrayudam, one who uses the laddle in sacrifice

JIGAGUMSADBYO one who kills with weapon, one who causes injury with weapons

MUSHNATAM PATAYE lord of those who steal grains and other things from the feilds

NAMAHA prostrations.

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord of those who steal grains from the feilds, who bears weapons in self defence and who uses them to kill and maim enemies.

One uses weapons in self defence as well as in offence against enemies. The Lord is propitiated as the war god who presides over a battle against enemies who are both external and internal. The enemy camp or city is plundered and the spoils of the war are carried away by the victorious.

The average farmer who tills the land for money has the propensity to steal the produce before declaring the same to the land lord. In this verse, the farming and its after effects is described. The farmer uses sharp weapons to till thr land and harvest the grains. He protects the land and the plantation against the onslought of pests and other theives while himself stealing the final produce from the land lord.

Srik means Vajrayudam, the principal weapon of Lord Indira. Thunder and Lightning are considered to be the manifestation of Indira's anger. It brings in its wake torrents of rain which are like multitudinous weapons that hit the earth and wash away the crops robbing the planter of his produce.

Srik also means the laddle used in sacrifice. The large laddle is called srik and thr smaller one Sruva. The head priest who conducts the sacrifice on behalf of the Yajamana uses the Srik for making offerings. At the end of each ablation or ahuti in the fire the word NA MAMA meaning Not Mine is chanted by the yajamanan. This signifies the killing of the ego. The final result of the yagnya belongs to the yajamana. If the yagnya is to be performed as a nishkamya yagnya then the yajamanan offers the fruits to the Lord as Isvara arpanam and hence is not tainted by the merit that accrues. This is described as the Lord robbing the owner of the fruits if his labour.

The story of Indira the king of gods is to be temembered here. Indira the holder of Vajrayudham once did not pay respect to his guru Lord Brahaspati who angrily left his court. As Indira required the help of a purohita to help him fulfill his obligations, he appointed Vrutkrutra the son of Thvashta as his purohita. Vrutra was not straight forward. He performed all the yagnyas for the devas but gave their resultant benefits to the asuras. Indira saw this and with one swipe of his Vajra beheaded Vrutra. Consequently he was afflicted by Brahmahatti dohsa of killing a brahmin. He had to go into hiding inside a lotus stalk where he spent his time in repentence. The gods brought back lord Brahaspati who pardoned Indira and gave him the solution to get rid of brahmahatti dosham. Indira went to Sri Halasyapuri Madurai and propitiated Lord Soma Sundareswarar and got cured of his affliction.

NAMO ASIMADBYO NAKTAM CHARADBYA PRAKRUNTANAM PATAYE NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to

ASIMADBYO the one who carries the sword

NAKTAM CHARADBYO who wanders about in the night

PRAKRUNTANAM PATAYE lord of those who kill and rob people

NAMAHA prostrations

Prostrations and salutations to the lord of decoits who kill to rob and who wander about in the night carrying a sword on their person.

The Lord's association with robbers and bandits continues. Here He is depicted as the chief of the decoits who way lay people, kill them and rob them of their possession. In the olden days it was considered unsafe to travel in the night for fear of robbers and if travel in the night was unavoidable the wealthy merchants engaged the services of armed men to escort them.

The Tantric way of worship is called Vamachara and is practiced in the night. Trantric worship is like walking on the edge of a sword and could either earn the grace of the deity or kill the sadhaka. This is refered to in this verse.

The mumukshu or aspirant of freedom uses the sword of discrimination or VICHARA to cut to pieces the bonds that bind him to the dark and deep samsara vruksha and gains liberation.

Invoking the Lord to guide us in the darkness caused by our ignorance or agnanam to cross the forests of samsara makes Him come to our rescue carrying a sword as ASITANGA BHAIRAVA the terrible one who devouvers all our enemies and ensures our safe passage through the forests.

 NAMA USHNISHNE GIRICHARAYA KULUNCHANAM PATAYE NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

USHNISHINE one who wears a turban or head gear

GIRICHARAYA who wanders about in the hilly regions

KULUNCHANAM PATAYE lord of those who steal land by occupying lands of others

NAMAHA salutations

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord who wears a Turban or head dress and wanders in the mountains and is the chief of those who illegally grab the lands of others by occupying them.

Of the different forms of theft, robbery and stealing so far described, land grabbing is done by the sophisticated and educated people who live in cities. A turban is a status symbol for the city dweller who goes out into the hills and othet adjoining areas to occupy the lands of the poor or the government and make them his own claiming occupancy rights. Sounds very much like what is happening in the present times does it not?

A turban protects the head from Ushnam that is heat and cold. As such Ushnisee is a person who is not affected by heat or cold and maintains balance - A Samadarsi who Bhaghavan regards as an evolved person in the Gita. To such a person it does not matter where he is. For all the world is his. He is not a kuluncha but stays wherever his legs take him considering the place to be his own. He is deemed to have reached great heights in spiritual attainment and is always dear and near to the Lord GIRISANTA. He therefore is a Girivasi or Girichara.

In the Kundalini yoga the sleeping serpent awakens and uses the nadis of Ida (sun) Pingala (moon) and Sushumna ( agni) located in the Meru Danda (mount Meru) or spinal column to climb up to thr dwelling place of Her lover and Pati Shiva in the sahasrara or crown chakra (the turban). The Ida and Pingala are hot and cold while Shusumna is neutral. So if Devi is kindled through the Sushumna her journey will be quick and comfortable. The Devi crosses the six chakras in her journey making them Her place of rest (occupying them) and when she reaches the peak of the mountain sahasrara she unites with Shiva and brings the nectar of immortality with Her as prasadam. As She travels up and down the Meru danda She is called Giri chara or Girija.

 NAMA ISHUMADBHYO DHANVAVIDBYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMA salutations to

ISHUMADBHYA those holding the arrows in their hand

DHANVAVIDBYASCHA also to those holding the bow

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA prostrations.

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord in His innumerable forms such as the weilder of bow and arrows.

Starting from this hymn the Pasutvam of the Lord that is His manifestation as the Jhiva with limited power is praised by the Veda. In the earlier hymns the Lord was propitiated as PATI or the one who is the supreme Ishwara.

Amongst the various creations on this planet, the human being alone is endowed with the power of reasoning and rational thinking. This is why the birth as a human being is lauded even by the celestials as humans can easily realise their identity with the supreme conciousness and merge them with the same which is not given to the devas.

The verse starts with the humans in the lowest rung of the social order, the tribesman hunter who uses a primitive weapon of bow amd arrows to protect and also to provide for himself. He is illiterate but industrious. He lives a simple life in the deep woods away from the hustle bustle of life. His mode of worship, if at all, is a simple prayer to protect him and provide for him. The Lord is described as the indweller of such primitive men thus elevating them to a status of being worshipped by even the most sophisticated pundit who has mastered the vedas. What more can be fitting reply to those so called rationalists who criticise Hinduism as being oppressive to the down trodden and as the cause for dividing the society on the lines of caste and creed.

A bow and arrow is the forerunner of the present missile technology which can boast of long range precesion missiles that can hit a target thousands of miles away. The Lord's bow is held sacred and so are His arrows. They are a means of protection to the devotee even though they are just held without the bow being strung or the arrow fitted therein. Their mere sight is comforting to the devotee while freezing the enemies in fear.

NAMA ATANVANEBHYA PRATIDADANEBYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMA salutations to

ATANVANEBHYA the one who is stringing the bow

PRATIDADANEBYASCHA also to the one who keeps the arrow ready

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and prostrations to the various manifestations of the lord as the bowman who takes the bow in his hands and strings the same and also keeps the arrow ready to be fitted therein.

The unstrung bow is only an ornament. It has to be strung and when strung it becomes a deadly weapon. The prowess of a bowman is manifested by his ability to string the bow. Lord Sri Ramachandra strung and broke the Shiva dhanus and strung the Vishnu dhanus and vanquished Lord Parasurama.

The arrow is the missle and the bow is the launching pad. In spiritual parlance the body is the bow and mind is the string. The arrow is sadhana through which the target is attained. The sadaka is ever alert like the bowman and keeps his body and mind in readiness to launch his sadhana.

This is the first stage called sravanam where the aspirant is on the learning curve and is with his Guru listening and absorbing like a sponge what ever is taught by the Guru.

NAMA.AYASCHADBYO VISUJADBYAS CHA VO NAMAHA NAMA salutations to

AYASCHADBYO those who having fitted the arrow in the bow are ready to.release. the same.

VISRUDBYASCHA also to those who have released the arrow.

VO to all such manifestations of the Lord.

NAMAHA prostrations.

Salutations and. Prostrations to the Lord who in the form of the bowman, having fitted the arrow to the bow draws the string to his ear releases the arrow towards the target.

When the bowman is ready he fits the arrow to the bow and then takes careful concentrating on the target and then releases the arrow.

Two things happen here. Taking aim and releasing the arrow. The spiritual aspirant likewise needs to have focus on the ultimate objective and keep practicing. An archer's success depends on the long hours of practice he puts in.

After SRAVANAM comes. MANANAM which is nothing but recalling whatever is learnt thatis, constantly practicing the lessons so that he becomes a real master of the techniques so that when he launches into the endeavor of self realization he is totally focused and does not stray or is drawn away from his goal by any external or internal force. This state is called NITITYASANAM or focus on the ultimate goal.

NAMA  SYADBHYO VIDHYADBHYASCA VO NAMAH

NAMAHA salutations to

ASYADBHYO those who are sending the arrow that reaches the target 

VIDHYADBHYA to those who are piercing the target

CA and

VAH to you 

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations to you in the form of those who are sending the arrow that reaches the target and who are piercing the target. 

The arrow that is released and its travel to the target is frightening. It then pierces the target. The release covers the travel of arrow upto reaching the target. The arrow piercing the target is indicated by Vedhana, striking. Those who do these two acts are Rudra and unto him, my salutation. O Lord, you are in all these forms and therefore they are no more frightening to me.

NAMA ASINEBHYAH SAYANEBHYASCA VO NAMAH

NAMAHA salutations to

ASINEBHYA  to those who are seated

SAYANEBHYAH to those who are in a reclining posture 

CA and

VAH to you 

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutation to you in the form of those who are seated and who are in a reclining posture.

Saluation to you  in the form of those who are sitting. The king sitting on his throne is frightening because he has power. When you go for an interview, those who are sitting to ask questions are asanas. You cover everything in the creation. And thus fear goes away. That is why abhaya-hasta, the hand that signifies Isvara buddhi, you cover everything in the creation. And thus fear goes away. That is why abhaya-hasta, the hand that signifies Isvara's offer of refuge, is shown. Dakshinamurti, Sarasvati, and Lakshmi are all saumya murtis, pleasing forms and they carry no weapon. In Dakshinamurti, the form indicates fearlesness as apasmara, the demon is under his feet. Here Isvara is in your life and therefore, there is no fear. And finally when it is known that there is no second thing, there is no fear at all. You are one who is asina king interviewer, judge, tiger and so on. Sayanebhyah - salutation to the one who is in the form of those lying down such as snake and so on,  which cause fear. Dead ones also cause problems. If somebody does not get up from sleep, and the body is stiff, there is fear.

NAMAHA.SVAPADBHYO JAGRADBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

SVAPADBHYO those who are sleeping or dreaming

JAGRADBHYASCHA also to those who are awake

VO To all such manifestations of the Lord

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord who manifests as those in the state of sleep and who are wide awake.

The tired Bowman who had stretched out after his strenous exercise now starts snoring and falls into a deep sleep. He loses awareness of time and continues his reverie till he is awakened by a gust of wind that showers him with leaves and buds from the tree under which he is resting. He then gets back to his unfinished work.

The gnani who has attained the stage of sahaja samadhi revels in the experience and wakes up to a totally different world. What he considered earlier as the material world now becomes Shiva. He sees himself in the world and the world in himself. There is nothing outside his experience and he continues to live in the world till his karma is dissolved.

Every night we experience the stage akin to samadhi when we fall asleep. The body rests and the mind is active for some time during the dream state and then dissolves into the Atma in the deep sleep. This is called dina pralayam or daily dissolution. However there is no awareness in this state. Samadhi on the other hand is a state where there is full awareness but no mind. It is a state of sleeping whilst fully awake.

NAMAHA.THISHTADBHYO DAVADBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

THISHTADBHYO those who are standing

DAVADBHYASCHA also to those who are running

VO all such manifestations of.the. Lord.

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and prostrations to the various forms of the Lord who appear to be standing still or running about.

The entire creation appears to be either still or moving. Even those objects that appear to be still when viewed from afar like the Sun or moon in fact are ever in motion. Even a stone which apparently has no outward movement is made up of molecules and atoms which move incessantly. So everything in this universe is characterised by ceaseless movement. This is the play of energy on matter.

Another distinction in creation is chetana and achetana, that is, that endowed with capacity to think and that which is not so endowed. Non sentient objects are considered to be fixed in thought and the sentient ones are

treated as moving.

Thus the Lord manifests as the sentient and insentient as well as still and moving in all being of  the universe.

NAMAH SABHABYO SABAPATIBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMAHA Salutations to

SABABHYA those who are part of assemblies

SABAPATIBHYASCHA also those who are heads of.assemblies

VO all such manifestations of the Lord

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and prostrations to the assemblies of people and those who head those assemblies and are manifestations of the Lord.

An assembly of persons could be for many purposes. It could be a theater where people assemble to witness some event or performance. It may be an assembly of elders to frame laws like panchayats or Parliaments or where justice is dispensed like courtrooms or even a battle field where two armies meet.

In all such assemblies people present varied skills and views each different from another requing help of an arbitrator or judge. Such a person presides over the assembly and his or her views are respected by all who agree to abide by their decision.

The Lord of dance Nataraja is called SABAPATHI as He is the Lord of all assemblies of gods, demons, humans, goblins, planets, universes and so on. He makes everything in this universe dance along with Him.

He dances in the CHIT AMBARAM or the vast expanse of the consciousness of every sentient being.

NAMO ASVEBHYO ASVAPATIBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to

ASVEBHYO the horses and mules

ASVAPATIBHYASCHA also to the horsemen and one who owns a cavalry

VO to all such manifestations of the Lord.

NAMAHAA prostrations

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord who manifests as the horses and as horsemen.

A horse is fleet footed, strong and can be domesticated to become a good. Companion to man assisting him in moving from place to place transport goods and to win wars against enemies. There is always. A close relationship between a horseman and his horse. The horse understands even the moods of his rider and his body language.

Horses are likened to the faculties or senses (indiriyas) by the Upanishads. The horseman uses the two reins of viveka or intellect and vairaghya dispassion to control the senses.

The vedas called SRUTIES are also compared to horses as they are the medium to carry the supreme 's message to mankind. The ASVINI devas are so called as they carry the vedic knowledge with them.

Lord HAYAGREEVAR has the face of a horse as He is the embodiment of the Vedas and is considered the foremot of all preceptors in the Vaishanva sampradaya. The Lord 's breath itself propounds the Vedas.and He is the Foundation on which all learning is based.

The Lord came as a horseman with a huge number of high breed horses to save His devotee saint Manickavachagar from the punishment meted out to him by the. Pandiyan king for failing to buy horses and instead using the money given for the purpose for renovating a temple.

NAMA AVYADINEEBHYO VIVIDYANTEEBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

AVYADINEEBHYA One who is in the form of female.power that strikes all round

VIVIDYANTEEBHYASCHA also to the one who as female power appears in diferent forms to strike at enemies surrounding.

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA propitiations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord as feminine power in this world which manifests in various forms and strikes at enemies in all quarters and all around.

The entire creation is manifested as Male and Female. The Lord manifested as Ardanareeswara to.Lord Brahma to show. Him how the creation should be. The holder of power is Shiva and His power or Energy is Shakti.

Shakti is both compassionate as well as terrible. In Her beneficial or sowmya form as Durga, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Rajarajeswari She grants the means for a peaceful and prosperous living. She also takes the form of Kali or Chamundi which is terrible to behold. As Mahishasura Mardini She single handedly annihilated the innumerable asuras who surrounded Her. She also takes the form of Sheetala or Maha Mari and makes people suffer by unleashing on them diseases and pestilence.

To all such aspects of the Lord as woman power we offer our salutations.

SYNOPSIS OF THIRD. ANUVAKAM

In the third. Anuvaka which starts with SAHAMANYA meaning one who condones and pardons the sins committed and proceeds to describe the. Lord as the manifestation of those who commit serious sins ranging from petty theft to killing to rob a person and then as a hunter hunting his prey and then as those who wander, take rest, in deep sleep and wakeful. On a superfluous level this appears to describe that God is in all His creation high or low, noble or ignoble, the pure or impure yet all these manifestations also indicate the inner struggle of an eager spiritual aspirant and marks the stages of his progress. The Lord's PATITVAM or lordhip as well as His PASUTVAM or the appearance as bound soulis brought out. In the ensuing fourth. Anuvakam also the descriptions continue with the prefix and suffix of Namaha.

NAMA UGANABHYA TRIGUMHATEEBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMA salutations to

UGANABHYAHA the seven auspicious mother Goddess

TRIGUMHATEEBHYASCHA those Goddesses who trouble the people

VO such other manifestations of the Lord

NAMAHA propitiations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord who manifests as the seven Mother Goddesses and also as the various forms of Goddesses who cause trouble to mankind and such other forms.

In the previous and the present verse the Shakti aspect is described. Creation is made of both male and female principles. One cannot exist without the other. Brahman which is pure consciousness has two aspects. Samarasyam or static and Vimarsam the dynamic part. Shakti flows as energy and infuses static matter to create the world. She assumes forms and names coloured by the three gunas which is Her prabhavam. As she plays between the three gunas she introduces positive and negative traits in the creation.

She becomes the seven divine mothers BRAHMI MAHESWARI KAUMARI VAISHNAVI VARAHI AINDRANI and CHAMUNDA who represent the prowess of the respective male deities in the war against the demon Raktabeeja. They are benefactors of mankind.

At the other end of the spectrum are the saktis who power negative thoughts and proclivities in the asuras manifesting as demonic qualities and who are constantly at war with the good.

Both good and evil are part of the same God and there is nothing beyond.

NAMO GRUTHSEBHYO GRUTHSA PATIBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to 

GRUTHSEBHYO one who is greedy

GRUTHSA PATIBHYASCHA  also to one who is the leader of all greedy persons

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA  Propitiations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord who manifests as the greedy and lords over them and such manifestations

A person of greed is also a miser. He amasses wealth but hoards the wealth. He neither shares it with others nor enjoys it himself. such persons indulge in cheating and hoarding and are ever in need. They are worse than those who beg for their living and are ever in a state Dharidryam. there is a beautiful sloka rendered by Sri Adi Sankara called Daridrya dukha dahana stotram where he prays to the Lord to remove the feeling of wanting which is the real poverty. 

One should be greedy when it comes to learning, one should yearn to learn and learn as much as one can. similarly God is an ocean of love and compassion. If we take a small cup we only get a little. We should be greedy to take more from God. However, we cannot take more if our mind is already filled up with other thoughts. We need to discard all the useless knowledge and thoughts accumulated in our mind and then start filling it up with love for God which will be reciprocated in a great measure.

NAMO VRATEBHYO VRATA PATI BHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMO  Salutations to 

VRATEBHYO VO all manifestations as divisins in creation

VRATA PATI BHYASCHA  also as leaders of such divisions 

NAMAHA  prostrations

Salutations and propitations to the Lord who manifests as different divisions and as diversity in creation and as the heads of such divisions

Imagine a world where everything is similar and uniform. The mountains having the same height, the plains flat, the rivers any contours, the trees all look alike, the flowers having the same fragrence, the fruits having the same taste and all men having the same traits. It will be a big bore. The Lord made each of his creation differently so He can enjoy them as sentient beings, diversity is the essence of creation

The divisions are not only in form and name, but are there in the innate qualities and nature. It is therefore unfortunate that our Sanatana Dharma is accused of dividing people on the lines of castes and creed. The sastras have only codified the duties and responsibilities of those falling into various varnas. One should understand that varna is different from jati. Varna is division of labour amongst  various classes of people. Though based n birth it was not uncommon in the earlier days for people to migrate from one varna to another as the division is based on vocation. Jati is something which follows the race and lineage of a person and is common to all species whether plant or animal or human.

Yet another division is based on the stages of life called Ashrama Bramacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. Within the Vedas are four divisions, the Upa Vedas, Vedangaas, Upanishads and Dharma Sastras are other divisions.

The Lord is like a thread that binds the flowers of various hues or like electricity which turns on and powers different gadgets. The cause of the division is God and unifying factor is also God

NAMO GANEBHYO GANAPATIBHYASCH VO NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to

GANEBHYO all attendants of the Lord

GANAPATIBHYASCHA also to those who lord over the attendants

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord in His form as attendants and their heads in preserving and maintaining the cosmic order.

If God is all pervasive then why does He require the help of attendants and demi gods to maintain the cosmic order?

The answer is that it is only the supreme that dons the mantle of both the executive and their supervisor. It is His leela vibhuti that the cosmic order created by Him be preserved by His own manifestations as the 33 main god heads each charged with the responsibility to maintain balance. These 33 divinities are Ganapatis who expand to form the 33 crore demi gods who are their Ganas.

There is one who is the Pati of all the Ganapatis. He is the Lord Himself manifesting as Maha Ganapati - GANANAM GANAPATIM.

He is Jyeshta the first among all divinities and is the pati of all those who are endowed with Brahmagnanam or knowledge of the supreme. On the one hand He oversees the Prvrutti or functioning of the universe and on the other hand He also liberates those who yearn for knowledge of the supreme. That is why He is called the Vigna Karta one who causes obstacles or bondage and is also the Vigna Harta the remover of the obstacles.

He is the absolute, primordial,supreme manifestation of the Lord.

NAMO VIRUPEBHYO VISWARUPEBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to the Lord who manifests as

VIRUPEBHYO the various ugly and despicable forms

VISWARUPEBHYASCHA also as the very many forms in the universe

VO and similar manifeststions

NAMAHA propitiations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord who takes many names and forms as His creations which are beautiful as well as ugly and despicable to behold.

The entire universe is a wonder. We are but a mere speck in the spectrum trying to visualise the whole like a small cell in our body trying to measure the body in totality. When Arjuna wanted to see the Lord's cosmic form, the Lord provided him with a divya chakshush or divine eyes to perceive. Sanjaya was also similarly blessed and so was the blind king Dridrashtra who was able to hear and imagine the vivid description given by Sanjayan.

The Lord's Viswaroopam was awesome and terrifying to Arjuna. There were both positive and negative entities that were revealed. If he saw the devas and apsaras he also saw demons and goblins.

Sage Valmiki describes how Devi Sita was surrounded by many ugly and fierce looking demonnesses who were asked by Ravana to frighten the noble lady into submission. Those creatures who create an aversion in the mind are also manifestation of the Lord. Like a mother of a child which is born with defects and hence is not appealing to look at will show the same love and affection towards it as she does to her other children, if we understand that in God's creation each and every individual has a purpose, we will automatically sympathise with the under privileged and learn to love them.

Loving and Serving persons who are physically challenged is the greatest of all yagnyas. Nothing in the creation of the Lord is unworthy. 

A thing of beauty is a joy gor ever. The beauty of a thing, it is said, lies in the eyes of the beholder. We should pray to the Lord to give us a pair of eyes whereby we can see all creation as only His own manifestations which can then only be beautiful.

NAMO MAHADBHYA KSHULLAKEBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to 

MAHADBHYAHA those who are saints and noble

KSHULLAKEBHYASCHA those who manifest their trivial powers

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA propitiations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord who manifests as true yogis and saints as well as those exhibiting their trivial powers.

The term Mahan refers to one who is noble in his outlook and pursuits, the one who is an evolved soul, who has realised the purposenof his life and having done so is ever ready to help others in their pursuit of truth. Such saints draw the people to them by their radiance and their mere glance or vicinity brings peace to the tortured mind. 

There is yet another category of persons who have acquired some siddhis and riddhis and rush to manifest their powers to the others in their desire to attract people. Many self styled godmen and women belong to this category. They perform miracles like magicians and people fall for that seeking remedy for their owes by becoming disciples of such persons and thereby bring their own spiritual upliftment to nought.

Saints caution humanity against falling for such people or going after such siddhies which inevitably come when a person progresses spiritually. Only one who eschews such attainments and concentrates on his ultimate goal becomes a true gnani.

Siddhies are pitfalls in ones spiritual journey. They will vanish once the punya earned through spiritual practice fades out. Saint Vallalar says ONE CAN PLAY WITH SNAKES OR WALK ON WATER OR TRAVERSE THROUGH SPACE BUT TO REMAIN STILL WITH THE MIND STILLED IS MOST DIFFICULT.

We should pray to the Lord to bless us with the company of true saints and avoid the company of pseudo saints SATSANGATVE NISSANGATVAM to help us free ourselves of the delusion and get clarity in mind and attain Jeevan Mukti.

NAMO RATIBHYO ARATEBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to

RAYIBHYO those who travel in chariots

ARSTEBHYASCHA also to those who do not travel in chariots

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord in His manifestations as those who travel in chariots and those who do not and similar such forms.

One who travels in a chariot or present day car is considered more fortunate than the rest as they enjoy the pleasure of travelling in comfort without much physical effort. Owning a car is a status symbol  in society.Nevertheless they too have a price to pay as they have to maintain the horses and chariots (car) and will have to depend on them and the charioteer to take them to their destination.

Further, though they travel fast and reach their destination quickly, they hardly find time to enjoy their travel and spend time on the way. 

The same happens to us when we keep running after material comforts and in the process sacrifice our present happiness. We are more keen to reach our destination without even knowing what or where it is. We keep ourselves cocooned to our limited aspirations and keep away from the world hardly pausing to listen the message the world likes to convey to us. 

On the other hand, those who take life as it comes to them, travelling by foot or by punlic transport find more time to interact with the outer world and are in fact more fortunate as they enjoy life and live their lives tuned to the world.

A chariot is also considered to be this body, the horses the senses and the charioteer being destiny. Those who do not have a chariot is a disembodied soul which dwells in different planes exhausting its karma and awaiting birth in this world.

The Lord manifests as all such transmigratory soul as also as those who enjoy their karma phalam in different worlds with or without material comforts.

NAMO RATEBHYO RATAPATIBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to

RATEBHYO the chariots

RATAPATIBHYASCHA also to the charioteers

VO and similar manifestations of the Lord

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord who manifests as the chariot and the charioteer and takes similar forms.

A chariot is a vehicle. Itnis inanimate and is driven by the charioteer, a concious being, who uses the chariot to go places. The chariot is powered by horses which are also concious beings but controlled by the charioteer.

The Lord manifests as both animate and inanimate objects in this universe. He is the indweller in all objects and energises them impelling them to act.

This body is called as KSHETRAM or place of dwelling. The soul is the indweller called KSHETRAGNYA. The body is also known as the chariot as it moves hither and thither. It is propelled by the mind and driven by the Atma. All the three have to be properly aligned to function effectively to discharge its functions.

Without the soul both the body and mind become empty shells. As one moves across time, one keeps moving from frame to frame leaving one frame to enter another and so on. Each frame left behind is a shell, a chariot used, and we find the shells floating as memories, impressions and thoughts. We travel to many places, meet and interact with many persons and keep moving on leaving behind empty shells of memories.

The chariots in which the temple deities are taken out in procession during festivals are built in the form of the diety itself and the very sight of the temple chariot gives the same benefitnof worshipping the deity in the temple. The Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannatha at Puri is a fitting example.

NAMA SENABHYA SENANIBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

SENABHYAHA the vast armies

SENANIBHYASCHA and their heads

VO and similar manifestations

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord who manifests as the vast armies and as their commanders and assumes similar forms.

An army is not only used to fight a battle, it helps maintain orderliness. When we think about army what comes to our mind is discipline, courage and execution of the order without reasoning or debating over its efficacy.

In this universe there is a place for everything and as long as the universal order is not  breached, and one does not interfere with nature everyone can live happily. Only when we interfere with the natural laws do we invite the wrath of the forces of nature which descend upon us as calamities.

The universal order is maintained by the messengers of God who are devas commanding vast armies and their divisions. Like we have army, air force and navy so do these Senapatis have their own divisions as forces of nature that operate on the earthern plane, BHU, on the intermediate plane ANTARIKSHAM and the astral plane SUVARGAM. 

The Lord rules all these planes as the commander in chief, as SKANDA or indweller GUHA. The chief plays the role of a strategist in planning the war, as a motivator to his armies and leads from the front in the battle field. He has to take the responsibility of not only winning the war outwitting the enemy, but also to ensure the safety and security of his soldiers, not exposing them to undue risks and getting the best out of them.

Our every day life is a war, every action a conflict between do and dont shedding away energy witnessed by the self like Bhagavan Sri Krishna. 

A new dimension to the story of Mahabharata, the epic narrating a battle between cousins. At the core is Panchali the Jhivatma wedded to the five senses which draw her into slavery in a life of game of dice and stripped by the action, the Kuru putras (kuru means to act), abetted by the blind mind Dridrashtra and watched by the helpless higher mind Bhishma the past experience, Gandari the concience which had blindfolded itself and intellect Vidhura who breaks his bow and washes his hands. The battlefield is the dharmakshetram where good and bad propensities meet each other in a fierce battle with the ultimate result being annihilation of all actions (Kauravas) and vasanas (the vast armies) with the soul DRAUPATI remaining with the powerless mind subdued and senses oriented towards KRISHANA, the PARAMATMA, the sole witness to the turmoil of the soul and its ultimate resting place.

NAMAHA KSHATRUBHYA SAMGRAHEETRUBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

KSHATRUBHYAHA the master charioteer who trains

SAMGRAHEETRUBHYASCHA the charioteer who deft-fully wields the reins

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord who trains the horses and others as a master charioteer and who handles the reins of the horses and manifests similarly.

A charioteer carefully selects the horses and breaks them in before training them and only then uses them. The breed, pedigree and other characteristics of the horses are all taken into account while selecting them. The charioteer also trains others in the vocation and the person is trained to understand the behavior of the horses besides learning the art of handling the chariot.

A rider of a horse can communicate with the horse he rides in several ways. He uses the reins, his own body and touch to convey his commands to the animal. Not so the charioteer who has to depend exclusively on the pair of reins to communicate his intentions to not only one, but several horses. So handling the reins becomes very important in driving a chariot.

A charioteer therefore is a master craftsman, verily the one who creates a congenial atmosphere where man and beast work together. No wonder that the term Kshatru denotes the Creator God Lord BRAHMA and that is why we find Lord Brahma to be the celestial charioteer steering the huge Rathas or temple cars.

Communication is a great art. It requires two qualities - listening with empathy or understanding and conveying the message. These are the two reins used by a Guru to train his pupil. Teaching is not a one way traffic. The teacher understands the requirements of the student, imparts knowledge and takes a feedback from the student which completes the cycle.

The propensity to learn and absorb what is taught depends upon the student who also has to prepare himself to receive knowledge. This is called Grahyam or ability to grasp. There are three types of students, those who are like camphor who are quick to latch on to what is taught, those who are like firewood which takes some time to catch up but when they do so, they keep burning.  The third category are like charcoal who are late to pick up and also absorb slowly. The Lord is thus in the form of teachers and learners.

Allegorically, a ratha is the body mind complex and the horses are the senses, the reins are discrimination Vivekam and dispassion Vairaghyam, the Lord is the charioteer and Guru and the Jivatma the rider and learner who sits in awe inside the chariot and wonders at the deft manuovers of the chariot by the master charioteer Krishna.

NAMAHA THAKSHABHYO RATHAKAREBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

THAKSHABHYO to the carpenters and other master craftsmen

RATHAKARENHYASCHA and also those who make the chariots

VO and similar manifestations

NAMAHA propitiations

Salutations and propitiation to the Lord who manifests as carpenters and other master craftsmen.

A carpenter is one who combines beauty with utility. He chisels away wood to make an array of articles and artifacts. He always invents and innovates. He is the master who invented and created the wheel, the mother of all inventions.

God is the super carpenter who has and keeps creating. The creations are a source of beauty and are endowed with a purpose. Nothing in creation lacks purpose or utility.

The epithet Thaksha extends to all similar vocations like gold smiths, black smiths, ,masons, engineers, and so on.

One who carves and builds a chariot combines aesthetics with utility. The chariot should serve its purpose of mobility and should also be a work of art.

It has been repeatedly stated that our Upanishads refer to the body mind complex as a ratha. So those who create the body for the soul to live are rathakarebhyaha. Right from Lord Brahma down to the microcosm which is capable of procreating and creating another life fall under this definition. The Lord is both the master creator and also dwells in His creations.

Like a master sculptor who chisels away at wood or stone and removes the unwanted portion from the block of wood or stone to bring out a beautiful sculpture or work of art, God sculpts at our mind and removes the unwanted portions that cloud our real self to reveal the true self residing within. Like the block of wood or stone which yields itself to the will of the sculptor we should also yield ourselves to the will of God and when we surrender to His will, He will chisel away our destiny and reveal Himself in us.

NAMAHA KULALEBHYA KARMAEBHYASCHA VO NAMAHANAMAHA salutations to

KULALEBHYA the potters

KARMAREBHYASCHA and those who are metalurgists

VO and similar manifestations

NAMAHA propitiations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord who manifests as the potters and those who work on metals and similar manifestations.

A potter is, again a creator. He creates pots, vessels and artefacts using mud and a wheel. Different shapes and sizes come out of his wheel like the Creator of the universe, the greatest potter.

A metalurgist works on metals similarly creating objects from metals and alloys. A black smith or gold smith or a person who works with metals making idols or similar objects also uses mud and clay. 

Marut or earth gives the basic raw material for both the potter and the metalurgist. The grossest of all elements is the earth which contains all the 36 tatvas which make up this universe. One who masters the prithvi masters all the preceding tatvas. Know yourself and you know the world.

Lord Viswakarma is the Lord of all artisans. He is known thus as He is the creator each and every object in the universe. His form is that of Sadashiva with five faces who is the source of the ideation of the universe, the second spanda or vibration and the third tatva after Shiva and Shakti tatvas.

NAMAHA PUNJISHTEBHYO NISHADEBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMAHA salutations to

PUNJISHTEBHYO those who catch birds in nets

NISHADEBHYASCHA also to those who catch fish in nets

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord who manifests as hunters who ensnare birds in nets and as fishermen who catch fish in fishing nets.

In both cases the hunters and fishermen use nets to catch their prey. A spider also does so, weaving a web and catching its prey which gets ensnared. The whole universe is a huge web Universe Wide Web! The Lord ensnares the soul in this web called Jagat. Though Jagat is stated to be mitya the correct meaning of which is not unreal, but appearing to be real. We sometimes are able to perceive the higher Suddha Tatvas which are beyond the web of Maya like we are able to perceive the sun through a thick layer of clouds when they move in the sky.

The soul is not different from Shiva who is beyond Maya, but is ensnared in the web of Maya which causes an illusion in him that he is limited in knowledge, action, desire, time and space. He is like a caged bird PANCHARA SUKAM desperately flapping his wings to free himself, but unable to get out of the cage. Only the hunter can free him.

So is the case of the fish caugt in the fishing net. It struggles to breathe and gives up its life when pulled ashore. NISHADA also means hunter. Sage Valmiki cursed the great hunter MA NISHADA (husband of Ma, Lakshmi) to suffer pangs of suffering for having felled with arrow the male bird which was sporting with its consort causing the female bird to cry out in despair. Thus was born the great epic Ramyana. This curse can be taken as a ninda stuti on the Lord to have foresaken us after ensnaring us in the web of Maya.

Pumja also means making a heap. The whole universe is a heap of our own Karma accumulated over innumerable births of which we bring a small portion called Prarabda karma to be enjoyed in this birth.  Let us pray to destroy this heap of Praranda, Samchita and Agamika karmas like He destroyed the Tripuras with a glance and a derisive laugh.

NAMA ISHUKRUDBHYO DHANVAKRUDBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMA salutations to

ISHUKRUDBHYO those who make arrows

DHANVAKRUDBYASCHA also to those who make bows

VO to all such manifestations

NAMAHA prostrations

Salutations and propitiations to the Lord who manifests as arrow and bow makers and similar forms.

In the previous anuvaka we saw the significence of the bow and arrow. To recapitulate they represent both the destructive and redeeming powers of the Lord.

Unless we give up something we cannot gaim another. It is the law of physics that matter can neither be created or destroyed. It is only the change in matter from one form to another. The sum total of matter and energy in the universe remains constant and lies in the supreme conciousness.

When an arrow is shot at a target, it is launched from its resting place, the bow and when it finds its target it splits and destroys it. The three basic differentiating concepts of doer, the act of doing and the result of action is explained by the hunter shooting an arrow. We saw that this triputi or three fold concept is the cause for ignorance and when the target is no longer there all three merge together.

A bow is required to launch an arrow. So it represents Iccha (desire) and gnana (knowledge) saktis while the arrow represents kriya (action).  The constituent of the bow is therefore the material world comprising of the 20 tatvas  from the grossest elements, tanmatras, karmendriyas and gnanendriyas. The arrow represents the four tatvas of the antakaranas, namely the mind and its constituents of intellect, ego and thought. The Purusha weilds the bow to send the arrow piercing the five fold veils of Maya to reach the last five Shudda Tatvas and merge with Sad Chit Ananda, the ultimate Shiva-Shakti tatva.

The Lord is the maker of the bow and arrow and embeds the same as the body and mind in His creation and thereby provides the Jhiva an opportunity to pierce the veil of Maya and redeem himself to attain Shivatvam.

NAMO MRUGAYUBHYA SVANIBHYASCHA CO NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to 

MRUGAYUBHYAHA those in the  former of deer and such animals 

SVANIBHYASCHA also those who manifest as dogs and 

VO similar such forms

NAMAHA prostrations 

Salutations and prostrations to the Lord in His manifestations as deer and dogs and similar forms

A dog is an invaluable companion of a hunter.  It helps him to corner the prey so the Hunter can kill it and also helps in retrieving the prey from where it had fallen .

What is common between a deer and a dog? The deer is the hunted and the dog the Hunter.  The deer flees the hunter but the Hunter with the aid of the dog is able to drive it back into his line of view so that he can shoot it down. 

It is difficult to catch and domesticate the deer while the dog can be trained and becomes the best companion of the Hunter. 

The deer is a figurative representation of the mind. It always tends to run hither and thither and leads the Hunter astray. Here the Hunter refers to the soul or Alma. The dog on the other hand is the intellect or bhuddhi which the Hunter uses to discriminate and discard the useless inputs to stay focused on the ultimate goal of hunting down the propensities of the mind. The dog (intellect) brings the deer (mind ) back into focus of the Hunter (soul) so that it can be annihilated.

The story of Devi Site getting enamoured with the golden deer which succeeded in drawing Lord Sri Rama away into the deep woods so Ravens could take Site captive explains the conflict of the mind and the soul.

If you closely watch the icon of Lord Bhikshadanar, you will observe that he is followed by a deer whom the Lord feeds with a blade of grass to make it follow Him. There are four dogs which follow the Lord to ensure that the deer does not escape. The deer is the mind which is kept in check by the Lord with a blade of grass which is His grace attained through bhakti. The four dogs are the intellect which functions in a four fold way being knowledge, memory, experience and discrimination. 

Lord Shiva carries in His hands the deer and the axe (Manum Mazhuvum end hiya thiru karathan ). The deer is the wavering mind and the Axe Parasu is discrimination. 

While the mind deer runs away, the dog remains in a place close to its master. Ultimately when the dog turns inwards it becomes GOD.

NAMO SVABHYA SVAPATIBHYASCHA VO NAMAHA

NAMO salutations to 

SVABHYAHA those who are in the form of dogs

SVAPATIBHYASCHA and their masters

VO and similar manifestations 

NAMAHA propitiations 

Salutations and propitiations to the  Lord in His manifestations as dogs and their keepers and similar forms

A dog has certain unique characteristics which  makes it an unique animal. It is loyal and devoted to its master,  intelligent, has keen instincts, carries out the tasks faithfully and shows a high degree of consistency. 

In more than way a dog represents our mind which also is faithful, intelligent,  consistent,  etc. There are four levels in which our mind operates - the lower mind called MANAS is the doorway to  the outer world, taking inputs from the world through the sensory organs and passing them on for processing by the higher forms of mind like intellect BUDDHI and AHAMKARA or Ego. The processed information is passed on by the Manas to the sense organs for further action. 

The dog as a house guard guards the house from those who come in and go out. Similarly the Mind as the door keeper of the soul allows the inputs and outputs to flow through it. It follows the soul wherever it goes from birth to birth being its sole companion in its long and arduous journey.

The Lord as BHAIRAVA has the dog as His vahana or vehicle. BHAIRAVA is the terrifying aspect of Rudra Shiva.  He guards the Shakti in Her various forms. He also guards the eight quarters of the universe. 

Shakti who in Her form as PARA BHATTARIKA or the supreme queen of the universe descends from Her primordial form of SHIVA ABINNA SHAKTI or one who is inextricably one with Shiva, to the lower levels of veiling Herself with Avaranas.  There are eight such Avaranas which cloke Her descent.  BHAIRAVA too takes eight forms to guard Her Avaranas. 

The four vedas that are the supreme texts of Sanatana dharma follow the Lord as faithful dogs.  Lord Dattratreya who is a combination of the energies of the supreme trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara is the first in the lineage of gurus. He has for company the four vedas as four dogs that follow  Him. 

The master understands the propensities of the dog  and by giving it sufficient practice trains it to do his bidding. Similarly the Mind has to be given suitable exercises and training training make it follow the path of the soul. 

OM TAT SAT

SYNOPSIS OF THE FOURTH ANUVAKAM 

In this Anuvakam the Lord's manifestations as the various deities and  action oriented people is beautifully brought out. 

Starting with Shakti as benign and malevolent forces of nature UGANABHYA THRIGUMHATEEBHYA,  it moves on to GANAPATI the Lord with the elephant face who Lords over all the hands.  Then there is a reference to Lord Skanda SENANIBHYA. Lord Brahma is invoked as THAKSHABHYA. Lord Bhairava is invoked as SVAPATIBHYA. All the deities who are guardian deities are also referred to by the above epithet.  The Lord with the face of a horse Lord Hayagreeva is worshipped as ASVAPATIBHYA. 

The divisions among people on the basis of their Varna and Asrama is also mentioned. The manifestations of the Lord as potter, carpenter, hunter, fisherman, and so on are also brought out. 

When we understand that it is only the Lord who manifests as different deities and people pursuing different vocations we will not have any animosities resulting from a superiority or inferiority complex. There will be only a state of Godliness in our thoughts words and action and there will be universal love and brotherhood. The concept of VASUDEVA KUTUMBAM will become a practical reality.

5th Anuvaka

NAMO BHAVAYA CHA RUDRAYA CHA

Salutations to the one who is eternal and the source of all creation and the one who wipes away the tears of His devotees.

Bhava means being,  the  state of being, creating, ever new and rejuvenating. The Lord permeates His creation in all forms and beings. He is at once the supreme Brahman, the abhinna Parama  Shiva who moves down and forms the  basis of   the 36 tatvas upto the grossest Prithvi tatva. Only  the Lord can be in a state of being as only He is eternally in the state of being. He is Aja or ancient yet He is ever changing but without any decay.

Rudra is His most terrible form gobbling up  the universe paving way for new creation to happen. He is like the Black Hole which shallows up galaxies only to transform them into new stars of a new galaxy. 

Rudra makes every one to cry out. The beings cry because they have  undergo the grind of their karma.  He also removes their tears if they supplicate to Him. He dissolves their three fold karma if they surrender to Him.

If as Bhava the Lord creates the universe as Rudra He sustains and also transforms  them for further creation to progress .

NAMA SARVAYA CHA PASUPATAYE CHA

Salutations to the  Lord who is the greatest of all archers and is everything in this universe, who also is  the  Lord of all beings.

SARVA means Archer. The  greatness of the Lord's bow and arrow as well His being an archer has been brought out in the first Anuvakam. 

SARVA also means  to move or kill. The Lord as Kalagni Rudra destroys the universe. It is not killing in the normal sense of the word. He dissolves the universe into His own being to let it out again at the time of the next creation. 

He annihilates all our karmic tendencies with a smile like He burnt the Tripura Asuras. 

The Lord is PASUPATI as all beings belong to Him and He determines their destiny His Maya binds the creatures and only He can free them from bondage. 

Pasu also means the cow, considered to be the  embodiment of all the divine beings. The Lord is the God   of all gods. In His avatara as Lord Krishna He play the role of a cow herd in Brindavanam. The cows were mesmerised by the melodious music flowing from the flute of the Lord and so were all other creatures and the gopas and gopikas. The entire creation dances to the tune of the  Lord.

While the first two padas of BHAVA and RUDRA represent  the creative and sustaining activities of the Supreme Being,  SARVA and PASUPATI  denote the Lord's withdrawing and veiling  Kartruvyas.

NAMO NEELAGREEVAYA CHA SITHIKANTAYA CHA 

NAMO Salutations to 

NEELAGREEVAYA CHA the Lord with a blue neck

SITHIKANTAYA CHA and white throat. 

All of us know about the puranic story of how the Lord saved the universe by taking the dreaded ALAHALA poison that came up when the milky ocean was churned and how Devi Parvati stopped the poison in the throat of Mahadeva to save the universes within the Lord 's being. The poison remained in the  Lord's throat leaving a blue stain.  The vibuti smear against this  backdrop is what is described here. 

In the virat swaroopa of the Lord the backdrop of the blue skies looks like the stained neck of the Lord and the blazing Sun resembles the white patch of holy ash smeared across the throat region. 

The neck is an important part of the body which connects the head with the torso. The head carries all the five Gnana Indriyas or organs of knowledge. The rest of   the body holds the five Karma Indriyas or organs of action. The face is unique to each individual and so is the brain which holds all information about and pertaining to the individual. 

The brain issues the command and the sense and other organs act accordingly. The most important part of the brain the Medulla which controls the functioning of  the organs is situated in the neck region.

On the other hand the throat controls speech as the vocal chords are located there.  Speech is the expression of thought. There are four stages in  the process of thought become speech. 

The first is Para where the urge or Iccha to express arises. Then there is Pasyanti where the thought takes form. The third stage is Madyama where the thought gets expression and finally as Vaikari the Vak or speech issues forth. Sri Thyagaraja  swamigal calls this as Nabhi Hrud Kanta  Rasana.

The throat or Kanta is where the thought gets expression.  When it crosses the Kanta in will be impossible to recall the speech.  That is why it is said Think before you speak and you  are the  master of the unspoken word while the spoken word becomes your master.  

In the throat region is situated the Vishuddi chakra which,  as the name suggests purifies the  thought before it emerges as the spoken word. 

One who has mastered the functioning of his  sense organs as also who practices purity in speech indeed becomes  Shiva himself.

NAMAHA KAPARDINE CHA VYUPTAKESAYA CHA

NAMAHA  Salutations to 

KAPARDINE one with matted locks

CHA and

VYUPTAKESAYA  one who is clean shaven

CHA too

The Lord us called Kapardhi as He wears His hair in matted locks atop His head. One finds that this head dress is quite common amongst  ascetics practising austerities.  The reason is that when the Kundalini Shakti is fully  awakened She travels along the Shushumna Nadi and pierces all the six chakra and meets Her Lord in the seventh chakra called Sahasrara.  When Shakti joins Shiva their force pierces the Sahasrara and shines as a flame equal to twelve digits above the crown chakra. This is  called Dwadasantham. The ascetics who are adept in Kundalini yoga wear their hair in locks above their head so that it covers the  Dwadasantham. 

There are other type of ascetics who shave off all hair. They belong to the order of Sanyasis who have renounced the world and since ones hair is considered to represent ones ego or AHAMKARA as hair is associated with the beauty of the face,  they remove their hair.  The jina munis and also buddist monks also shave off their hair.  

The Lord is the greatest ascetic and supreme yogi. This is recalled here.

Swami  Adi Shankara cautions people from falling for appearances and choosing the  wrong guru in their spiritual pursuit.  He calls the so called mystic and godly person as Jatila  and Mundi - the hairy and hairless who wear such marks and ochre robes to  feed their stomach.

In God's creation the creatures are classified as those with hair on their body and those without any hair. The creatures that live underground like reptiles and birds do not have hair while the other creatures are endowed with hair according to the terrain they occupy. The creatures in colder regions are blessed with more hair than those living in hotter regions. 

In humans the female is blessed with a long hair which is a source of beauty. The Lord is in all beings living in different regions and manifests as  both the male and female in species. He also manifests as half male and half female Kapardhi-Vyuptakesa  or Ardhanareeswara.

NAMAHA SAHASRAKSHAYA CHA SATHADANVANE CHA 

NAMAHA  Salutations to 
SAHASRAKSHAYA CHA the one with a thousand eyes
SATHADANVANE CHA and the one with a thousand weapons. 
The supreme being perceives each and every thing that happens in the Universe. It functions through each and  every one of its creation and hence has a thousand limbs. This is aptly described in the Purusha Suktam as SAHASRASEERSHA PURUSHA SAHASRAKSHA SAHASRAPAAT 

Lord Indira is the king of gods.  He is the Lord of the indiriyas or faculties.  In the human body he represents the brain with a trillion neurons which receive inputs from the faculties,  process the information and impel the faculties into action. The Lord is Deva Deva that is God of all Gods.

While the Purusha Suktam talks about SAHASRAPAAT or the thousands of limbs Sri Rudram talks about the weapons carried by the Lord. 

Dhanva means bow. It also figuratively represents other weapons.  I have always wondered why the deities worshipped by Sanatana dharmis should carry so many ayudhas or weapons. 

Our dharma does not cast any limitations on the concept of God. It encourages the concept of a personal God where the name and form of the supreme is left to the individual aspirant's liking.  Nevertheless the later Puranas gave a description to the forms and names and iconography followed. This gave rise to Kalpa sutras which further defined the process of worship and evolution of Silpa sastram paving way for construction of places of worship. 

The deities were depicted with many hands to show their prowess and as carrying multitude of  weapons in their hands  to bring out the innate qualities foisted on the deities. 

Suffice to know that the above verse brings out the omnipotence and omniscience of the Lord. 


NAMO GIRISAYA CHA SIPIVISHTAYA CHA

NAMO salutations to 
GIRISAYA CHA the Lord who abides in mountains and
SIPIVISHTAYA CHA also who is the source of light and spreads His rays everywhere. 
The Lord abides in mountains. He Himself appears in the form of mountains.  He is therefore called Achala or Sthanu. 

Giri also means the body or Thanu.  He abides in the bodies of both chara (moving and Achara (fixed) of His creation. 

Giri is also t name of Devi Parvati who in one of Her manifestations appeared as the daughter of Himavan the mighty  Himalayas. She  is called Girija. The Lord is therefore Giri Isa - Girisa. 

It is awesome and inspiring to  climb mountains. Almost every one has the urge to climb a mountain and reach its summit. When we start climbing we have as our goal that peak which is visible from the ground but when we reach the peak we find that there is yet another and still further on the peak is different. This goes on till we reach the final summit. What do we achieve when we do ultimately reach the summit? We find the entire world spread out at our feet. We are able to see the skies too with no obstruction.  Our vision opens out and we have a totally different experience of the world. 

So is it in our life. We create goals for ourselves and start climbing.  When we reach the goal we find that that is not the peak and keep climbing till we ultimately reach the peak when our vision opens up and we are able to realise the beauty of life and living. 

The dark night sky slowly brightens up with the rising Sun as its rays start piercing the thick veil of darkness and ushers in the day.

The rays of the Sun soon permeates the sky and reflects from the top of the snow clad mountains and makes them glisten like gold and silver.  It reflects from the waters of the springs,  rivers and seas magnifying the brightness and opening up new visas. 

Sipi means rays and Vishta is opening up visas.  Thus the Lord is the Sun who dispels the darkness of ignorance and shines forth in our intellect to open up new vistas for our mind to explore and ultimately rest in Him.

NAMO MEEDUSHTAMA CHA ISHUMATE  CHA 

NAMO salutations to 
MEEDUSHTAMA CHA the Lord who flows with compassion and
ISHUMATE  CHA protects the devotees with His Bow and Arrow. 

MEEDUSHTAMA means rain bearing clouds that are ready to shower the parched lands with rain. Only when something that is  desired and longed for happens will the import of the happening can be appreciated.  We have to only  pray to the  Almighty for the fulfilment of our desires and leave the rest to Him and accept whatever comes as His blessings. 

MEEDUSHTAMA also means the seed. The Lord as Hiranyagarbha holds the seed of creation in Him and at the appropriate time makes the creation flow out through Lord Brahma the creator. 

Ishu means both the bow as well the arrow.  In the first Anuvakam we prayed to the bow and arrow to be benign and compassionate to us. Here it is clearly stated that the Lord's bow and arrow protect the devotees from any harm and also grant boons to fulfill  their wishes. 
ISHU also denotes the number 5. Devi as PANCHA  KRITYA PARAYANA holds  arrows made of five flowers. She is Kamakshi the granter of all desires.  She is the seed or bhijam in every thought word or action. She is the cause and effect in creation. 

Surrendering to Kamakshi invokes the blessings of Her Lord Kameswara who is EKAMRA the mango tree which gives four different fruits which are the Chatur  Purushartas. 


NAMAHA HRASVAYA CHA VAMANAYA CHA 

NAMAHA  Salutations to 
HRASVAYA miniature forms
CHA and
VAMANAYA stunted forms
CHA of the Lord. 

It is said that whatever is there in the whole is available in its part. The absolute Supreme being is limitless in every aspect.  Nevertheless when it decides to take the form of its creation it limits itself through its power of Maya. The difference is only in the limited capabilities while the substance and properties remain the same. 
When we keep expanding our perception it stops somewhere on account of the limitations of our perception and knowledge.  Similarly when we keep contracting we experience the same limitation. But we realise that the sum and bonum of the creation remains the same. 

A seed holds the tree within itself in an unmanifested state which when germinates and grows holds within itself the propensity to bloom and bring forth a fruit which again holds a tree within. This propensity to manifest is HRASVA.

VAMAMANA means a dwarf or one with stunted growth.  A huge tree when grown indoors with the technique of Bonsai becomes stunted while it's properties are not compromised . Similarly when the supreme decides to take an avatar that is decides to come down to  this earth  it limits itself and assumes the qualities of the entity whose form it assumes. 

In the Vamana Avataram the Lord  assumed the form of a child with a stunted growth.  With this form He deceived those assembled in the sacrifice of King Mahabali who was himself deceived  so much so that he urged the child Vamana not to limit his request and  ask for something great.  

In all such descents the Lord curtails His potential and manifests only what is required. 

NAMO BRAHATE CHA VARSHEEYASE CHA 

NAMO salutations to 
BRAHATE CHA the one who is huge and
VARSHEEYASE CHA advanced in age, strength and valour. 

In the previous hymn the Lord was a miniscule particle. In this hymn He is huge.  He is ANOR ANIYAN that is smaller than the tiniest atom. He is also MAHATO  MAHIYAN greater than the huge universe. 

He is ancient. He is timeless.  He is strongee than the mightiest creature. Any thing created is within the power of the Lord. 

The big bang started with the collision of a tiny particle and threw asunder trillions of particles that raced out of the core with tremendous velocity giving birth to billions of galaxies wit trillions of stars and other heavenly bodies to form this huge universe with the expansion still happening. 

Yet the birth and growth of the universe can never go out of the power of God as they are sustained by His grace. 

Varsha also means to shower.  The galaxies were born out of the cosmic shower caused by the big  bang. The Lord  is a shower of compassion.  It is His abundant grace that  creates,  sustains and withdraws the creation. Even the act of Samhara wrongly called destruction is on account of the absolute compassion of the Lord. 

NAMO VRUDHAYA CHA SAMVRIDVANE CHA 

NAMO salutations to 
VRUDHAYA CHA the one who is very old
SAMVRIDVANE CHA and is the repository of all good qualities. 

A VRUDHA is an old man. Age transforms a person in many ways. First there is a decay of the body. Then the faculties fail. Memory too is eroded. But does aging affect the Lord in any of the above ways? The answer is no.  In fact the Lord is ageless.  He is Aja the ancient but also Ajara without decay. Then in what sense can He be called VRUDHA?  Age brings wisdom and experience as an old person has seen it all and holds all in his  memory. The words of an aged person have immense value as they represent the wisdom gathered through a lifetime.  God has been the only witness to all that have happened since creation began. This knowledge is automatically  available to one who seeks the Lord. The ageless Lord is not affected by any of the effects of age.  He remains a youth for ever. 

The Lord donned the  form of an old man to dissuade Parvati devi  from marrying Lord Shiva.  The enraged Parvati realised that the old man was none other than her Lord and gained the fruit of Her tapas.

The Lord is Anantha Kalyana guna sampanna.  All virtues reside in Him.  The vices also are triggered by Him through His MAYA. There is some vice in a virtuous person and some virtue in a person with asuric tendencies. All the gunas have their origin in the Trigunas and their combination triggers the personality and traits in a person.  If we pray to  the Almighty He will reduce the impact of the Trigunas and make us Guna Rahita.

NAMO AGRIYAYA CHA  PRATAMAYA CHA

NAMO salutations to 
AGRIYAYA CHA the one who is in the front and 
PRATAMAYA CHA who is foremost in everything. 

The Lord is always in our front. We are able to see the outside world when our sense organs come face to face with the external objects.  We are able to see what is in front of us,  hear what hits our ears smell what is in front of our nose an so on. The Lord only manifests as the objects in the world. 

The word Agriya also means one who appeared first.  The Lord is Hiranyagarbha or the cosmic egg from which the universe sprang up. 

The Lord is Pratama Deva that is He is the foremost among the divine beings. There is none above Him. He is the Parama Purusha. For the vaishnavites the Lord is Sriman  Narayanan the Aadhi Purusha. For the Saivites He is Shiva the most auspicious and  the wholesome primordial God  (muzhu  muthal Kadavul ). The difference is only in the name and form but God is one and only one.

NAMA SEEGRIYAYA CHA SHEEBYAYA CHA 

NAMAHA Salutations to 
SEEGRIYAYA CHA the one who is swift and
SHEEBYAYA CHA swift flowing

When we talk of swiftness we talk about speed. Speed is all about covering a certain distance within a certain time.  Science takes light as the measure of speed. Particle science says that it is thel particle that is the fastest. But there is nothing to beat the mind. The mind can cover immeasurable distances in no time. Thel Lord is the mind of the cosmos.

He being beyond space and time is again in all places at the same time.  He is Vishnu the all pervasive  Supreme Being.  

The Lord is also fast flowing in His compassion.  He melts like ice in the warmth of His devotee's heart. He is like the swift flowing river having its origin in the top of a mountain peak flowing down as waterfalls and rapids and winding its way in the plains to join the ocean. 

Though the Lord as Ishwara sits in the Heavens above He comes down as an Avatar  (AVATARA meaning to get down) to be with His devotee in the times of his need.

The rivers are considered to be the manifestation of the divine in the Hindu pantheon. Each river which provides the elixir of life is held sacred.  It is believed that taking a dip in the rivers will wash away all the sins and purify one in the journey of spiritual life. 

NAMA OORMYAYA CHA AVASVANYAYA CHA 

NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as 
OORMYAYA CHA waves and
AVASVANYAYA CHA as placid waters

Any large water body has a lot of waves on its surface. The waves are caused by the movement of air on the surface. The waves travel towards land and when they hit the land they break and go back. The life of a single wave is momentary.  However when a wave falls back it gives rise to another and yet another and the chain continues till they reach the shore.

The water beneath is always calm and placid. In the bottom of the ocean there is hardly any movement of the waters and the movement is only at the surface caused by the external forces of air and air currents which disturb the placidity of the water below.

The waves are like thoughts that are created by inputs received from external forces of nature captured by  the sense organs.  The mind works in four layers. The basic mind holds the  supra consciousness. Here there are no thoughts or feelings. It is pure awareness that is reflected in this layer. The next layer is the conscious mind which is driven by ego or AHAMKARA which drives the intellect or BHUDDHI which classifies the information received through the sense organs on the basis of the stored information or memory and disseminates the same as thoughts words and action. Thus the entire action is only in the three layers of AHAMKARA BHUDDHI and CHITTAM while the basic mind is calm and placid reflecting the core called ATMA. 

The Lord is present in all layers of the mind from the pure supra consciousness to the wavering and oscillating outer mind of thoughts.

The Upanishads compare the supreme Lord to the bottom of the ocean and the individual souls to the waves on the surface.  Like the waves having no separate existence other than the ocean, the individual souls do not have any separate existence apart from the supreme ATMA.  However they do have an ephemeral existence as waves on the  surface of the ocean. The waves collasce and form multiple waves like a soul taking multiple births. However when the waves break on the shores of the ocean they cease to exist as waves and merge into the waters of the ocean. 

NAMA SROTASYAYA CHA DWEEPYAYA CHA 
NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as 
SROTASYAYA CHA land locked waters and 
DWEEPYAYA CHA land enclosed by waters.

The landlocked water bodies vary from a small well in the backyard of our house to lakes and even seas. They are mostly fresh water bodies barring some of the seas which are salty. The water in a land locked lake takes the shape of the land which enforces limitations. The waters contained therein also takes on some of the properties of the land in as much as if the land is salty the water is also salty.  

Likewise the Lord who is bereft of any Gunas takes on Himself the anantha Kalyana gunas of whichever Avatar He chooses to take.

Vedas are limitless. They emanated from the Supreme. However considering the limitations of the human mind sage SRI Veda Vyasa bhargav an classified the vedas as four with branches and sub branches. The vedas are to be chanted with proper intonation and in a specific metre. There are again several ways of chanting. There are also very many ways in which the vedic mantras are used. All these can be taken to be the limitations assumed by the limitless Vedas.

On the other hand a dweepa is an island which is surrounded by the waters.  Here the properties of the land are influenced by the waters. The land near the sea retains the salinity of the sea. Land nourishes life and is the fifth among the five major elements which contains some portion of the other elements. Humans are the most evolved of all species on earth. 

Each individual is an island. He is driven by his own karma but is influenced by his surroundings like the sea limiting the life in an island.

The term Srotriya denotes one who follows the vedic dharma.  Srotasya can be interpreted as Srotriyasya Asya. That is the propensities of the one who has learned the vedas and follows the vedic path of dharma. The Lord indeed resides in such an individual.  Though such a person will not have any Kama or desire, his desires will be fulfilled as the same will be bounded by the vedic tenets. When his desires are fulfilled he goes on to the next stage and yet another till he ultimately reaches the level of Lord Brahma. This is beautifully described in the Taitireeya Anandavalli portion.

6th Anuvaka
NAMO JYESHTAYA CHA KANISHTAYA CHA 
NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as
JYESHTAYA CHA the first born and
KANISHTAYA CHA also as the last born. 

In a world conditioned by time there has to be a first and a last. The first manifestation of life as we know it is the unicellular Amoeba. The process of evolution involves division of the cells in a particular pattern which gives a definite form to the various species that sprung from the unicellular Amoeba. The final stage is not reached in the evolution process where  Man who is very much more advanced than most of the other species reaches the stage of perfection and becomes one with God.

Lord Brahma came out of the cosmic egg and is the Aadhi Purusha. He is the creator of the universe and the countless forms of life that permeate the universe. The Lord comes again as Kalagni Rudra to consume the universe at the time of the Mahapralaya.

Lord Ganapati is Jyeshta raja as He is the first son of the parents of the universe.  Lord Karthikeya is the Adi dampati's last child and hence Kanishta. 

In the Kundalini yoga Lord Ganapati sits in the Mooladhara chakra where the Shakti remains dormant. When awakened she travels along the Shushumna piercing four more chakras before she reaches the Aagnya chakra which is the power centre controlling all activities of the mind and the body.  The sixth sense that is unique to humans is seated here as the Lord Subramania who is the Kanishta. 

The Jyeshta is unsophisticated and simple like the unicellular Amoeba.  As the evolution progresses life becomes complicated and more and more sophisticated. Thus we call the first Shakti to emerge as Jyeshta who we incorrectly consider to be inauspicious while Her younger sister Lakshmi devi is venerated as the epitome of sophistication and auspiciousness. The entire life and living lies between these two entities.

NAMA POORVAJAYA CHA APARAJAAYA CHA 
NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as 
POORVAJAYA CHA that which comes before and 
APARAJAAYA  CHA also that which comes later.

Which comes first? The egg or the chicken?  This question underscores the fact that in the world as we know for any action there should be a cause leading to an effect. Irrespective of whether the egg came first or the chicken we strongly believe that there is no effect without a cause. 

The Lord is the cause of the universe as well as the effect which has manifested as the perceptible universe. Here lies the truth that there is nothing apart from God. His desire  ( Iccha) to create develops (Kriya) as the creation fuelled by knowledge (Gnana). If the Lord's Iccha is the cause, the effect is Gnana or wisdom to make the creation.  Gnana becomes the cause for the Kriya Shakti to flow as it's effect which in turn becomes the cause for the manifestation of the universe.  So continues the chain.

The Vedas have two portions. The karma kandam comes first and is called the Poorva. The Gnana kandam comprising the Upanishads is called the Veda Anta or Vedanta. This is called the Uttara bagham or later portion. The Lord manifests as both. 

Within the Karma kandam there is a two fold division. The portion dealing with the samskaras pertaining to life and living starting from Garbha Adanam and other religious rites that are to be performed during ones lifetime is the Poorva Prayogam. All the rites that are performed after the death of a person starting from Andya eshti or funeral rites form the Apara Prayogam. 

The east is called Poorva. The Sun God starts His journey in the East and ends the journey in the West. The activities of creatures on the earth begin with sunrise and ends with sunset barring exceptions of nocturnal creatures. That humans also are becoming nocturnal is another sad story.

The Lord was there before the start of creation as Sriman Narayanan reclining on Adiseshan in the milky ocean. He takes the form of Kalagni Rudra and devouvers the universe. 

NAMO MADHYAMAYA  CHA APAGALBAYA CHA 
NAMO Salutations to the Lord who 
MADHYAMAYA CHA sustains and is in the middle 
APAGALBAYA CHA and also is the infant not yet fully grown.

The Veda stated that the Lord is the beginning and the end and then He is in the front as well as in the back. Now it states that He is in the middle also.

Between birth and death is life. Between cause and effect lies action. Between creation and withdrawal is sustenance. 

Aadhi is the beginning and Antham is the end. The entire action happens in between. This is called Stithi. The world around us appears to be static.  The trees, mountains, houses and even people appear to be a permanent fixture though in course of time they do change and also reflect the change. However the fact is that every thing in this universe from the greatest heavenly body to the tiniest atom constantly undergo changes. Our own earth revolves at a tremendous speed while we who are in the earth are blissfully unaware of any movement.  This inertia in dynamism is Stithi.  Our belief that the world does not change impels us into action as it creates a feeling of continuity. We sleep with the belief that we will wake up. Without this belief there is no life. 

In spirituality we find that there are two extremities. One is observance of austerities eschewing all materiak comforts while the other extremity is the Tantric path of indulgence in the form of the pancha  Makaras.  Both the extremes are fraught with dangers and can be followed only by the Viras or the brave hearted. For the commoner Lord Buddha advocates the Middle path where austerities are carried out with restraint and indulgence in worldly activities are also done with control. 

The expression of thought as word goes through the stages of PARA PASYANTI MADHYAMAYA and VAIKARI. In the Madyama stage the thought gets articulated as a word which is manifested as speech. 

The universe is still evolving and so is life. God is in one end as a wholesome being. The rest of the world is ever growing. According to science the universe is still young and is in its infancy. 

An infant has all the features of an adult though it has limited capabilities to perform the tasks an adult performs with ease. It keeps on getting nourishment to grow up.  Likewise the Lord who is manifest in all beings has limited His prowess and waits to grow up to break the barriers and become free and wholesome. 

NAMO JAGANYAYA CHA BHUDNIYAYA CHA 

NAMO Salutations to the Lord who 
JAGANYAYA CHA is born from the hind portion of life forms 
BHUDNIYAYA CHA as also grows from the roots of plants

Life forms procreate and evolve.  The mutation from one from to another happens over a very long period of time and is part of the process of evolution. 

Life forms can be broadly classified as Plants, 
Reptiles, Animals and Birds.  While plants are fixed to the ground the other species are mobile. Plants are born from seeds or saplings and get their nourishment from the soil and hence are attached to earth. Their roots provide them with stability and also is the means of nourishment. 

The other species give birth to their young ones as eggs which then are incubated and hatched or as their own miniature which are nourished by milk secreted from the mother. 

A living being gets its properties or characteristics from its lineage. The seed contains in miniature form the tree. The interplay of the chromosomes of  the parents determines the characteristics of the offspring. Thus the roots of a family continue through ages gradually evolving through the process of mutation. 

The hind part of a human or animal is considered to be unclean, lowly and inauspicious as it houses the excretory and procreatory parts.  However the cow is an exception.  The Lord is present in the noblest as well as the lowliest without exception. Hence it is a sin to discriminate between people based on their status, accomplishment or otherwise. 

NAMA SHOBHYAYA CHA PRATISARYAYA CHA 

NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as 
SHOBHYAYA CHA human beings who take birth to experience papa and punya 
PRATISARYAYA CHA also as moving creatures. 

The law of karma states that a soul takes birth to experience the results of the punya and papa accumulated over many births. The Lord is the Karma phala data who gives the fruits of karma. He can reduce the effect of karma for his devotees who have totally surrendered to Him. It is said that to take birth as a human being is rare. Even the Devas take birth as humans to get rid of their karma. The Lord is in the form of humans experiencing their papa and punya. One will not complain about their sufferings if they remember that the Lord is their constant companion in their pain and gain.

Shoba also means luminance.  The Lord shines as a resplendent Sun in the sky providing light and heat to the living beings.  

Shobanam means auspiciousness.  SHIVA also means auspiciousness.  He is sarva Mangala swaroopi and is also sarva Mangala kamala. His form is auspicious and He bestows auspiciousness on His devotees. 

The living beings are classified as Chara - moving and Achara - unmoving.  The trees and plants fall under the second category while humans and animals fall under the first. Creatures move about to get food, procreate and find shelter to protect themselves.  Over and above the above basic activities a lot of activities are added up in pursuit of happiness which complicates life per se. The Lord as the Atma watches all the fun and extends His helping hand whenever sought to pull the anguished soul from the mire of samsara. 


NAMO YAMYAYA CHA KSHEMYAYA CHA 

NAMO Salutations to the Lord who
YAMYAYA CHA appears as Yama the Lord of death 
KSHEMYAYA CHA and also gives the fruits of punya. 

The previous verses talked about life and living.  This verse talks about death and what happens when one dies.

The Atma or self is indestructible and eternal. The supreme Shiva limits himself to become an ANU or Jeeva to experience His own prabhavam. He takes on the veil of the mind which grows up and acquires a body for experiencing the prabhavam which flows out as Prakriti. 

When the soul decides to leave the body for whatever reason it takes with it the mind with all impressions of the present life which combines with the memories of all previous births to form it's Sanchita karma. When it comes back to take birth again it brings some portion of this Sanchita karma for experience which is called prarabda. 

The vedas say that upon departing from the body the Jheeva which is soul - mind combined takes either the dark path or the part of light according to its punya or papa. 

The path of light is the path illumined by Savitru the Sun God and comprises of punya load where the Jheeva undergoes pleasant experiences and remains in a happy state till its punya is exhausted. 

Where the papa overweighs punya the Jeeva travels through the path of darkness of lorded over by Yama the son of the Sun God.  In these lokas the Jeeva experiences hardships and it's experience is one of sorrow and misery. These lokas are also called the Narakas or Hell.  

Unlike the philosophy of semitic religions of a permanent heaven or hell our Sanatana Dharma proclaims that the experience of heaven or hell is transitory depending on the punya or papa and the Jheeva  returns to redeem its karma once again.

On the question whether such lokas like swarga and Narakas do exist the  answer is that it is a matter of belief.  Our earth is a non entity when we see the universe. It is left to the comprehension of each whether life could exist outside our planet. The point to be noted is that any experience is the play of mind and as long as the mind is alive experience of happiness or sorrow has to be there.

Yama also means continence. Sage Patanjali in his eight fold limbs of yoga talks about Yama  and Niyama as the two pillars on which the aspirant builds his spiritual castle.  

Yama is basically eschewing certain propensities that are not good for spiritual practice.  These include untruth, stealing, violence, greed, lust and so on. If one brings these practices into ones life, he can progress to the next stage of Niyama or good practices like purity, contentment , mortification,  learning and devotion to God. 

When Yama and Niyama are practiced then the other limbs of yoga namely Asanam,  Pranayamam, Pratyaharam, Dhyanam,  Dharana and Samadhi will automatically follow.  These are collectively called Kshemas or benefits. 

NAMA URVARYAYA CHA  KALYAYA CHA  NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  URVARYAYA CHA land and all that is obtained from land KALYAYA CHA cultivated land and products obtained from it. Economists say that out of the four factors of production land is foremost.  It is only by the use of land that economic activities originate. Thus land is the core of our life. We sprung from land, are sustained by land and are confined to its bosom when we pass over. Among the five Maha Bhutas it is Prithvi or land that contains all the five Tanmatras or sense perceptions namely hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell and as such is wholesome. Land when cultivated can give food or Annam which sustains life. It also contains many minerals and metals that help enhance life and boosts technology and science.  From cultivation sprung culture and it's attendant manifestations of fine arts. Sophistication of life and advancement of living are the blessings of land. Land is therefore worshipped as Bhu Devi. Bhu and Go the cow are synonymous. The role played by the cow in performance of vedic rituals and sacrifices is well known. This verse covers not only land per se but all organisms therein which aid good life and living. The Lord is in all beings that are present in earth and sustains life and helps humans in carrying on a life as ordained by the Dharma Sastras.  NAMA SHLOKYAYA CHA AVASANYAYA CHA  NAMA  Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  SHLOKYAYA CHA verses of praise and AVASVANYAYA CHA also as its end Who does not want to hear him/her being praised? It stems from the primordial urge to manifest as the universe and once manifested to enjoy the world as the creator and enjoyer.  When you create something you first derive satisfaction and give yourself a pat in the back and then look for acclamation from others. The supreme has similar propensity it seems. STORAPRIYA STUTIMATI is how Sri Lalitha Sahasranama describes it. Now is the shloka different from the one who is praised? All hymns of praise spring from the Vedas which are no different from God. The Vedic hymns are more generic in addressing the Supreme than the later hymns or Stotras on particular deities.  While the vedic hymns give the  attributes of the divine drawn from its manifestation as nature and perceivable universe, the later hymns are drawn from the manifestations of the divine in the form of deities as described in the Puranas. Either way the Lord is the ultimate recipient of all the words of praise as He is the Sarva Antaryamin. Like the droplets of water that fall on the earth from the Heavens flow and reach the oceans, so do all the verses of prayers reach the lotus feet of Kesava. The end of prayers or the hymns are the Lord.  He is the destination as well as the path. He is the ultimate objective  of prayers and the object of the hymns  Upanishads are called Vedanta as they come at the en of the Vedas. While the Karma kandam of the Vedas deal with attainment of matters material the Upanishads deal with matters spiritual and lead the seeker to the ultimate reality which is the end in itself. Thus the means to  realise the ultimate is the end by itself and there is no difference between the means and the end. When Saint Manickavachagar was asked by the Thillai moovayirathar to explain the meaning of his Thiruvachagam which was penned by the Lord Himself,  he smiled and said pointing to the Lord that He was the meaning and entering the sanctum sanctorum he merged with the Lord.  NAMO VANYAYA CHA KAKSHYAYA CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  VANYAYA CHA forests and also KAKSHYAYA CHA as hiding places in the forests KALI KALMASHA GAGANA KUTARAM says Saint Sri Sadasiva Brahmendral. The kali yuga is a forest thickly wooded with no pathways infested with dangerous creatures . Only a Guru can guide you through.  The Lord appears as the Kali Purusha and also redeems the aspirant coming as a Guru. The forest is both bewitching in its beauty and dangerous for the uninitiated who does not know the ways and the behaviour of the creatures living there. Danger may be lurking and hiding in the most unexpected places. But once a person becomes familiar with the forest he will be able to enjoy the beauty and the bounty. Likewise the path to spiritual attainment is full of lurking danger. The Lord comes as a Guru to the true seeker and leads him along the path safely.  Vanya also means to worship or to honour. The Lord is to be always worshipped and held on honour. He has to be remembered always and made a partner in our lives.  When we do so the Lord takes over our worries and woes and we are releived of our burden.  A Kaksha is a place to stay safe. It could also be a hiding place. An aspirant needs to have privacy in the practice of his sadhana. He should never advertise his attainments lest it pulls him down. He should not fall a prey to the wiles of the enchanting world which keeps beckoning to him with enticements.  As one cannot fend for oneself on his own,  the best way is to surrender to the Lord.  The surrender should be absolute.  When it is so the Lord takes over. NAMA SRAVAYA CHA PRATISRAVAYA CHA  NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  SRAVAYA CHA that which is heard PRATISRAVAYA CHA and also as that which is heard as as a reflection  The verse talks about sound and echo.  What is heard by the faculty of hearing namely the ears is Sravanam.  It is stated in the Vedas that the entire universe sprung from the primordial sound. This is also stated in the Bible as First there was the sound and from the sound came the world. We believe that the first sound is the OMKARA. This is called the primordial sound. This expanded into A U and Ma representing the trinity of Brahma Vishnu and Rudra. The other vowels and consonants came from the Lord's drum or Damaru.  These 14 syllables called Maheswara sutras are the basis of the 51 Matruka Aksharas from which flowed words, sentences and language. These are called Aksharas ad they are indestructible. The words and language are the fundamentals of communication which developed and got refined over eons.  Vedas are believed to have sprung from the mouth of the Lord and are therefore are considered pure and the basis of the other literature that followed.  The echo is a true reflection of the spoken words. The words spoken in an empty room or Space get reflected when they fall on a medium which does not absorb them and comes back to the speaker. However there are some conditions to be fulfilled for an echo to happen. There should be a medium like air to carry the words, there should not be any medium that absorbs the sound. There should be some medium capable of reflecting the sound back and so on.  In the case of the vedas which came from the Lord's mouth,  they are reflected from the mouths of saints and Rishis as Sastras and Puranas and Stotras.  These contain the essence of the  Vedas and is a true reflection of the  same. Sravanam means hearing and learning.  The Vedas are called Sruti as they have to be propagated by word of mouth.  In the initial stages of learning the Vedas the student has to concentrate only on the pronunciation of the verses and keep repeating the same over and over again till the verses are committed to memory.  Only in the later stages of his life does he find time to contemplate on the meaning of the verses. After Sravanam comes Mananam or committing to memory and then comes Nithityasanam or contemplation on the  meaning.  Once the  meaning is realised comes Dharana or remaining steadfast in the contemplation.  The final stage is Samadhi or becoming one with the Vedas or merging with its core. This is Pratisrava.  NAMA ASUSENAYA CHA ASURATHYA CHA  NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  ASUSENAYA the fast moving army  CHA and as ASURATHYA fast moving chariot CHA also What has the supreme Lord to do with army? What battles does He fight?  Against whom? These questions come to our mind whenever we see the Lord's image fully decked with weapons of all kind. If it is a fight between the good and evil then is it not true that both the good and evil are part of the same Supreme being. Devi says in the Saptasathi addressing the demon Shumbha when he taunts Her that She takes pride in the valour of Her army "EKAIVAHAM VIBHOOTI YATRA DVITIYA KA MAMAPARA" All are my Vibhuti  (manifestations ) what remains beyond me? She tells Sumbhasura that he is also a part of Her vibuthi but Sumbha does not understand and takes his weapon to fight. The Puranas have led us to believe that the Devas and Asuras are at constant war with each other and the Lord takes the side of the Devas and annihilates the Asuras. If you closely examine the Puranas, the Trinity of Brahma Vishnu and Rudra have played no part in the wars between the Devas and Asuras and have in fact given boons to the  Asuras. True that they have helped the devas in their battle in many subtle ways and given them the remedy to get rid of the malady. The virat swaroopa of the Lord contains all, both good and bad. When the disease of evil strikes, the good is set to prevail as otherwise the balance will be lost.  The same happens within us also. There is always a struggle between good and evil. We alternate between the Jekyl and Hide within and are torn asunder by the split personality. The cure for the malady is to embrace spiritualism.  This is the battle field the Dharmakshetra. The sena or army of the Lord will assist us in decimating the evil propensities that torment us If we appeal to Him. The army has four divisions Ratha Gaja Thuraka and Patati namely the Chariot, Elephant,  Cavalry and Foot soldiers.  In spiritual parlance this is called SADHANA CHATUSHTAYAM or the four fold means of spiritual practice.  The sadhanas are Chitta sudhi or purity of mind, Viveka or discrimination,  Vairaghya or dispassionate and Samadhi shatgam or the  six fold means of attaining the final objective of Mumukshutvam or ultimate freedom. This can be  correlated to the four divisions mentioned earlier.  The army has to be swift to surprise the enemy.  The commander has to be very alert and should take quick action in deploying the divisions of his army according to the need to win the battle. The body is compared to the Chariot in the Upanishads.  The horses are the senses that draw the mind hither and thither. The reins are Viveka and Vairaghya.  The charioteer is the Lord who comes as the GURU the dispeller of darkness. The Jiva is the Rathi who having handed over himself to the care of the Guru is free of worries about his progress.  The Chariot moves swiftly drawn by the  Indriyas or senses but the Lord takes control and steers it on the path of dharma. NAMA SOORAYA CHA AVABINDATE CHA  NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  SOORAYA CHA the brave warrior and AVABINDATE CHA as one who pierces the fortress of the enemy A Soora means a brave person who has seen many a victory in the wars. It is synonymous with the words Veera and Dheera.  When we speak about the inner war between good and evil tendencies we start with being a Veera, the determined aspirant. When he starts practicing spiritualism he becomes a Dheera. When he becomes an adept in his practice he is called a Soora.  The path of spiritual progress is strewn with obstacles. The  enemies lurk around the corners all ready to strike.  The aspirant has to be wary of the wiles and guiles of the material world which constantly keeps plucking at him to bring him down from his journey. Which ever way he chooses, karma Bakti or gnana he has to be steadfast and carry on bravely till the objective is achieved.  AVABINDA means to pierce or destroy.  The Soora pierces the veils of Maya with his intense practice and is able to reach his goal.   In Kundalini yoga there are three knots to be cut before reaching the Sahasrara.  They are the Brahma granti which ties the aspirant to the physical plane, the Vishnu granti which is the metaphysical plane and the Rudra granti which is the spiritual plane. All these planes are to be crossed before he can become one with the supreme.   In the Bakti marga the difference between the worshipper, the process and the object of worship is to be demolished before one can gain Sayujyam. In the path of Gnana the aspirant has to discriminate between the permanent and effervescent and cross over the objective world of Mitya to realise the self.  Devi is called Durga the impregnable fortress. One has to become Shiva to go beyond Her.  She is Vishnu Maya who forcefully draws even the realised person into the mire of delusion called samsara. (GNANINAM API CHETAMSI DEVI BAGHAVATI HI SA BALADAGRUHYA MOHAYA MAHA MAYA PRAYASCHATI) An aspirant therefore has to reach Sivatvam through Sivoham bhavana to pierce the veil of Maya of Durga devi. Surrendering to Her will make him Shiva.  NAMO VARMINE CHA VARUTINE CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  VARMINE CHA one protected by armour and VARUTINE CHA the protective place in a chariot also  While going to a battle the soldier wears a protective armour covering his vital parts. Similarly while driving a chariot in a war the charioteer is exposed to the attack of the enemy. A barricade in front protects him from attack from the enemy as well as accidental injuries.  While the armour or shield protects the  warrior in battle the spiritual aspirant too needs protection from the attack from evil forces within triggered by bad karmic tendencies as well as from the distractions from outside. What else than the Lord's name can protect the sadhaka?  We have seen that the Guru is like the charioteer guiding the aspirant in his spiritual journey. The Guru takes upon himself the task of annihilating the karmic influence of his disciples.  If the bad karmas are very strong they would affect the Guru. The Lord comes to the rescue of the Guru and protects him against such bad karma of his disciple from affecting him. Those who do service to the public are also protected by the grace of God. Similarly all the demigods who are responsible for maintaining the universal order are also protected by the Lord.  Even the manifestations of God as avataras or the archa murtis in the temples require to be protected.  Sage Agastya's upadesa of Aditya Hrudayam to Lord Sri Rama is an example. There are three types of invoking the deities on images. They are Laukika, vaideeka and Tantra or Agama pratishta.  Each mode has rituals attached to them which not only brings to life the Murti but also protects it from other forces. That is why we perform prana pratishta to the idol in the house before worship every day and rituals like Kumbabishekam and Pavitrotsavam are performed in the temples. NAMO BILMINE CHA KAVACHINE CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  BILMINE CHA those wearing protective head gear and  KAVACHINE CHA protective armour covering the body too. The head is the most important part of the body as it houses the Gnana Indriyas or sense organs that are vital for the body to function properly. Further it also houses the brain which controls the functioning of the entire body from the minutest cell upwards. That is why much importance is given to keep the head protected. In a war or in performing any activity which exposes the head one wears a protective helmet.  It is through the help of the gnanendriyas that one performs spiritual sadhanas. It is the gnanendriyas which carries the impulse from other parts of the body to the seat of mind, the brain. The four fold action of the mind happen in the brain.  The Lord is the protector of the body comprising the gnanendriyas and karmemendriyas. He manifests as various deities that rule the different parts of the body.  Invoking the deities in the different parts of the body is called NYASAM. This invocation is done by an aspirant before commencing any spiritual activity like Japam or Dhyanam. When invoked the  Lord ensures that the activity is carried out without any hindrance. It is the head which gives us our identity.  We are able to distinguish between persons by their face, voice, speech and mannerisms. The paradox is that we are not able to see our own face. We require a mirror or the aid of some one to know how we appear. The Lord hides our identity from our view because without the head we are no different from the others which is the  truth from the stand point of the self. Thus the protective gear covering our head also covers our identity. This explains the supreme truth that all the creation is the same in the eyes of the Lord. When the external body and  mind are covered and become inactive the glory of the  inner self will be revealed. It is a great spiritual sadhana where we cover both and focus our attention on the subject within. NAMA SRUTAYA CHA SRUTASENAYA CHA  NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  SRUTAYA CHA the source of Vedas SRUTASENAYA CHA and also has the Vedas as His army. Every religion has a text which is considered to be the truth emanating from God. It is believed that the words of the Lord were revealed to one or more persons who were provided the vision to perceive and understand the same and the capability to reveal them for the benefit of their fellow beings and for posterity.  The  Sanatana Dharmis believe that the Vedas came from God and were  revealed to the  Rishis who gave them as Mantras. Unlike one or a few of the visionaries of other religions the Mantra Trashtas were many in our Dharma. Also unlike the other religious texts the Vedas were never written down as the sound and intonation rather than the language and meaning were considered important and hence the Vedas were propagated by word of mouth for eons thereby preserving their pristine glory. When they became scattered and the  vedic culture started declining, the immortal sage Veda Vyasa did the yeoman task of collecting and collating the vedic mantras and arranged them into four main divisions with a multitude of sub divisions for ease of propagation and practice.  There is no doubt that the Lord is the embodiment of all the vedic mantras. He is the supreme Brahmana Subrahmanya who is the embodiment and protector of the  Vedas. The Lord Karthikeya is the quintessence of the Vedas as Pranavaswaroopa. So when the creator fumbled with the meaning of the Pranava, He removed him from his post and imprisoned him till His father Lord Shiva intervened. Karthikeya is called the  Senani or Deva Senapati,  the commander of the armies of the Devas.  The Vedas manifests as many deities who are charged with maintaining the cosmic order like Indira, Varuna, Vayu,  Yama, Agni and so on. These are the armies talked about here. Each primary Deva has his own attendants and the total is believed to be 33 crores.  The Vedas do not talk explicitly about God or how to attain him. They also do not speak about the dos and don't s that will give one eternal heaven or hell. Most of the  verses appear to be unconnected and disoriented at first look. To the curious onlooker it appears to be a collection of ballads by nomads in praise of nature. Vedas lie hidden from such examinations and their true import will get revealed only to a true seeker who is willing to devote his time and energies of a lifetime to learn and study them. Shradda or dedication and Sabooti or perseverance is required for this endeavour.  Seventh Anuvakam NAMO DUNDUBHYAYA CHA AHANANYAYA CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  DUNDUBHYAYA CHA the kettle drum and  AHANANYAYA CHA also as the stick that is used to beat the drum.  Drums have been used for various purposes.  In the olden times they were a means of communication to the masses about the happenings. It was also used in the battlefield to provide the tempo to the soldiers very much similar to playing the band or drums in tournaments or matches to encourage the players and participants.  It was also used to herald victory in the war. People in the city will hear the drum beat and know in advance about the happenings in the battlefield.  The drum has to be beat with a stick to make sound. The drum remains inert without the stick to beat it to make it give off sound. The universe is filled with matter and energy. Only when the vibration happens can energy play with matter and create the perceivable universe filled with objects for the enjoyment of the Purusha as Jivatma. It is the consciousness that creates this interplay between matter and energy. When consciousness is static there is equilibrium and no activity.  When the Lord wills to start His dance the cosmos wakes up and dances from the tiniest particle to the largest heavenly body to the beat of His kettle drum the Damaru. The disciple is like the drum with capability to make sound. The Guru has the stick called knowledge to raise the resonance in the disciple. When the Guru strikes a chord with the disciple  there is resonance and the desciple reverberates with the knowledge transfered to him by his Guru. The Triputi of knower knowledge and the act of knowing or action the means of action and the result of action, etc. Are revealed here. The drum and the stick are relevant only till the drum is struck. Then they fade away as the sound takes over. NAMO DRISHNAVE CHA PRAMRUSAYA CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  DRISHNAVE CHA the braveheart and PRAMRUSAYA CHA also as the strategist The soldier who goes to war enters the battlefield with a clear knowledge that he might not return home alive. It therefore requires a great amount of courage and bravery to go into the battlefield.  While the soldier in the war front has immense courage he is directed by the commander who plans the strategy for attack and defence.  The commander plans the action in such a way that the soldier fighting the battle is not  exposed to unnecessary risk as it is his inherent duty take care of his army men.  This strategising and execution happens in all phases of our activities be it attending to our official work or personal duties. A planned activity always has a better success rate. We analyse the situation in various angles and take action to address the problems and carry out our tasks smoothly and effectively.  So is it in the spiritual plane. People may think that practicing spiritualism is easy and does not require much exertion either physical or mental as it is always said that surrender to God and He will guide you. But to surrender is an arduous task as surrender means to give up.  What is the big deal in giving up? One may ask. Only a person  who starts walking the path knows the difficulties. Starting with giving up our habits,  conditions,  attachments, etc., it proceeds till we give up the notion of me and mine. All this requires a lot of determination and will and is not easy. Only a brave person, a Dheera can do this and succeed. The propensities of the mind is the wickedest enemy to spiritual progress and to tackle them a clear strategy is required.  It starts with Yama or control over senses,  Niyama or inculcating good habits and so on. The Lord when appealed to,  sends a Guru to guide the aspirant. The Guru knows what is good for the aspirant and strategises on how to take him in the path. NAMO DOOTAYA CHA PRAHITAYA  CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  DOOTAYA CHA the emissary and PRAHITAYA CHA as the messenger An emissary or an ambassador represents the king and the state in a foreign land. He carries the goodwill of his king and people and earns the good will of the king and people of the other country. Though he holds brief of his king or president he has to invent and innovate as he discharges his functions.  A messenger on the other hand only conveys the message without any distortion. His duty stops there and he need not walk the extra step to convince the other or to extend his jurisdiction.  However another meaning of Prahita suggests extension or assuming a larger role of becoming an advisor. This role suits a minister. The minister has a dual function.  He is responsible to both the people of the land as well as the sovereign. Whenever the king goes astray from the welfare of the people it is the minister who steps in and counsels the king tactfully and brings him back on track. There are instances when the minister  has to go against the king and in such a case he has no option than to quit and remove himself from the scene. The Lord has played the role of the DOOTA or Ambassador many times according to our Puranas but has hardly been successful. .  In the Devi Bagavatam He is asked by Devi Chandika to go to the demons Shumbha and Nishumba as Her emissary and persuade them to release the Devas from oppression and go and live in the nether worlds. The demons do not pay heed and lose their lives in the battle that ensued. The Lord went as the emissary of the Pandavas of His own volition to Duryodhana but the kaurava refuses to part with even a pinpoint of land. The third instance is when Lord Hanuman tells Ravana about his flaw and asks him to release Sita. He is rewarded with his tail being set on fire. In all these instances the recipient suffers as he does not pay heed to the saner counsel of the ambassador of truth.  Vibhishana was ordered out of the kingdom by Ravana because he did not like his advice to release Sita and the other women kept in captivity by the demon.  The Lord speaks as our inner voice of conscience whenever we are confronted with truth. If we pay heed to Him even though the advice might not be appealing to our mind, we will be saved or else we will be an easy prey for destiny.  NAMO NISHANGINE CHA ISHUDIMATE CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  NISHANGINE CHA the skilled swordsman and ISHUDIMATE CHA whose quiver is always full of sharp arrows  One may wonder the previous hymn was talking about the skills of running the government and why are we back again to weapons and war fare.  It is not so. The ambassador or the minister have to a Prahita and be soft spoken and pleasing when they advice their own sovereign or speak to another king as an emissary. This does not mean that they  can take things lying low whenever the subjects are under threat or there is a danger facing the country. They have to be incisive in putting across their views. Lord Hanuman tells  Ravana about the sin he is committing but when the demon was unmoved under the false notion that he is all too powerful that he can get away with whatever he does, Maruti points out to him the valour and power of Lord Rama and warns him of the consequences. In order to instill fear in his heart Anjaneya also destroys Lanka. The minister and the ambassador should be well equipped to deal with any situation and their quiver should always be full. The should do their homework and be prepared for any eventualities at all times. The Guru or Lord deftly strikes at the very root of the cause of sorrow instead of cutting off the branches. The tree of samsara has its roots on the top and branches on the bottom. Our roots are in our karma. From the Sanchita karma we bring a little about as prarabda karma for enjoyment in this birth. The fruits of karma are eaten and from the seeds spring fresh karma - akamika karma. The Lord cuts off the roots in one swift blow and the tree is left to wither away. Manickavachagar prays to the Lord to cut off the roots of the samsara tree which yields the fruits of punya and papa. In the sadhana the aspirant is bombarded by the external world, his own relatives and friends and even the gods yo make him waver from his goal. The Lord appears as Sarva the archer with His quiver full of sharp arrows and a hoots down the enemies as they rear their heads and protects the aspirant.  This can happen only when we have earned the grace of the Lord through unwavering devotion to Him. NAMAHA TEEKSHNESHAVE CHA AYUDINE CHA  NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  TEEKSHNESHAVE CHA one possessing sharp arrows and AYUDINE CHA also who has a repertoire of weapons In the previous hymn the Lord's quiver was talked about as being ever filled with arrows.  What  use will the arrows be if they are blunt and useless. Had we not prayed earlier in tge first anuvaka to the Lord to blunt His arrows and sheath His Sword? This hymn answers the doubt. The Lord's quiver contains sharp arrows and He Has all weapons in His armoury. The arrows and weapons are sharp when they are trained against our enemies. When like babies fiddling with their father's weapons we also try to fiddle with the  weapons of the Lord they are blunt to us and do not hurt us.  A minister or Ambassador or for that matter anyone who is responsible for governance should be versatile and should be capable of accessing and using information from multiple sources and should be assisted by able and capable persons well trained in their job.  In our daily life also we should pray for being endowed with not only the means and knowledge of the things around us but also easy accessibility to both in times of need. Each arrow of the Lord is a Mantra which when properly harnessed to the bow of wisdom is capable of destroying our delusion and opening up myriad vistas for us to build upon. Each Mantra has a presiding deity who when invoked help in the realisation of our goals and desires.  All the weapons and arrows of the Lord are therefore the Devas who manifest themselves when invoked by the appropriate mantra and come to our aid and help us in our endeavours.  NAMA SVAYUDAYA CHA SUDANVANE CHA NAMA Salutations to the Lord who is the weilder of SVAYUDAYA CHA auspicious weapons and SUDANVANE  CHA holds a magnificent bow in His hand. The weapons of the Lord are highly auspicious and are embodiment of the various devata swaroopa. When we come face to face with someone who is a stranger or with something that is totally new we are apprehensive and try to brace ourselves against the  possibility of meeting an adverse situation.  But when we become familiar we evaluate the person or thing and accept them within our fold. Similarly in the first anuvaka we were wary of the weapons in the hands of the Lord and asked for them to be hidden from our view. Now having known about the Sarva anytaryama all pervading form of the Lord we are comfortable with His weapons and see that they are highly auspicious and are our benefactors. Sva-Ayuda also means one whose form is the weapons. All divine beings are nothing but the Lord's own form. It the devas who have become weapons in tge hands of the Lord. The weapons of the Lord are beautiful to behold and are worshipful. The bow of the Lord called Pinaka decorates His hands and is full of grace. It is prayed in a later anuvaka that the Lord should come bereft of other weapons which He should leave in a tall tree outside the village and carry only His Pinaka as a decorative piece.  NAMA SRUTYAYA CHA PATYAYA CHA  NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as SRUTAYA CHA the trail and PATYAYA CHA as a well laid pathway. In a forest there are trails which are pathways made by streams, Animals and humans. The trails are formed by people or animals walking along the path for a long period of time. When we are alone in the forest we get confused as to which trail to follow and we have a companion the confusion  gets compounded with each insisting on following the path of his choice. When we get a guide to either instruct us or lead us on the right path we can easily cross the forest. The guide is able to guide us as he is a srutya or one who has already traversed the path and knows which trail will lead to the destination.  He is the Guru. On the other hand the pathya is a well laid out pathway like a highway with proper sign boards and directions which help us to choose the right path and makes our journey comfortable and pleasant. Her we do not require a guide to lead us as the pathway is traversed by many and there are signboards to guide us. Sruti also means the Vedas. A srutya is a person who is well versed in Vedas. Vedas are mystic verses whose meanings are not apparent to the casual onlooker. It requires a lot of effort to master them and understand the meaning of the cryptic verses. Thus only a person who is an adept  in his knowledge of the vedas can guide us. On the other hand Dharma Sastras and Puranas are like well laid out highways structured by our Rishis and seers who having traversed the path and having guided many through the paths thought fit to make them as regular pathways for the benefit of mankind.  The Lord manifests as the Srutis  and Smrities.  NAMA KAATYAYA CHA NEEPYAYA CHA NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as KAATYAYA CHA the stream meandering through rocks and NEEPYAYA CHA as waterfalls Now Sri Rudram turns to the beauties of nature to describe the Lord.  In fact this started from the previous verse itself.  SRUTYA means a trickle. The source of mighty rivers is in the rocks from where they ooze out as a small trickle and meander through the rocks sometimes hiding inside and then flowing out through the gaps. The momentum picks up as the stream is joined by others and flows as a cascade down the slopes of the mountains, sometimes falling down from a great height as a mighty water fall  and in this journey through the mountains is very eventful as the waters swell to become a rivulet and then a river representing various stages of growth from a baby to a youthful person full of energy and spirit. The Lord manifests as various stages of growth of living entities as well as nature. The Lord is Sthanu or a motionless rock holding everything within Himself as a Nirguna Prabrahman. His energy flows as the streams and rivers that bring life to nature. She is Uma the mutation of the Pranava OM. NEEPYAYA also means the Kadamba tree and it's flowers. Devi Lalitha Tripurasundari resides in the Manidwipa in the Chinatamani griha located in the Grove of Kadamba trees. The Kadamba flowers are rich in honey called Kadambari.  The honey is collected by honey bees which store it amidst the rocks on the top of the mountains. The excess honey oozes out  and falls as a trickle on the rocks. Verily an abishekam to the Lord who has taken the form of rocks. NAMA SOODYAYA CHA SARASYAYA  CHA NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as SOODYAYA CHA the marshy lands and SARASYAYA CHA also as beautiful  waterbodies After travelling through the hills the river reaches the foothills and mixing with the  sand becomes soggy and marshy. It also stagnates into pools of crystal clear water harbouring plants, herbs and trees on its banks, a haven for flora and fauna. In spiritual progress, after the initial euphoria where one starts with great enthusiasm there is a period of lull when one is mired in doubts on whether the path he has chosen is correct or whether his practices are right or whether he is in the right track. This stalls his progress and sometimes he abandons hos practices or gets mired in the dogmas and practices without making any effort to progress further. The Lord comes as a Guru at this time and pulls the sadhaka out of the quagmire where he is stuck. Saras is a pond or a lake or large pool of water of exquisite beauty  teeming with life. In Tamil we call it as a Poigai. It's cool and crystal clear waters is house for swans and all sorts of birds. Its shores are home to flowering plants and fruit bearing trees. Many animals come and quench their thirst in its cool waters. Hermits build their hermitage near it. In contrast to the marshy land the Saras is clear and transparent and is the abode of the Goddess of knowledge and learning SARAS WATI.  All the doubts of the aspirant are cleared and his mind has become purged of all useless thoughts and is surrounded by positive things and people who like him have traversed the marshy land and as like minded people they all get together as a great Satsangam and progress together in their journey. The group gets the benefit of saner counsel from the sages and blessings of the Goddess of knowledge Herself. NAMO NADYAYA CHA VAISHANTAYA CHA NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as NADYAYA CHA the river in flow as well as in VAISHANTAYA CHA ponds and sacred tanks The river flows on. On its way it is fed by many tributaries which feed it as it swells in size meandering through the contours of the plains in its journey to join the ocean. On its way the river fills up tanks and lakes and small temple ponds whose waters are used for bathing the deities.  The river does this in two ways. It increases the water table which in turn maintains the water level in the ponds and lakes as also fills them up directly through feeder channels. The sadhaka takes the wisdom of his co-aspirants and the guidance of the Guru and grows in his sadhana and as he progresses he is able to share his own experiences and knowledge with other aspirants and helps them in their own progress. Like the river and the ponds sustaining life the sadhaka's spiritual progress helps the others around him and the society in which he lives and he is looked upon as a godly person. NAMA KOOPYAYA CHA AVATYAYA  CHA NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests KOOPYAYA CHA water in the Wells and AVATYAYA CHA also as the valleys Water is essential for living and is the elixir of life. Though it is available in plenty in tge water bodies and rivers, people dig wells in the backyard of their houses to be used by the womenfolk and the old and infirm who cannot go a long way to the river or other water bodies to fetch water. This signifies that the Lord is in all waters whether contained in the well or in the sacred temple tank or the mighty river. The Sadhaka when he is advanced in his sadhana sees the Lord in all beings high or low. He sees Shiva in everything animate or inanimate. It does not matter whether the person he comes face to face is an accomplished person or is a fool. It does not matter whether he is a king or a beggar.  All are same and are the manifestation of the supreme Lord. Valleys are spaces situated between two mountains. Normally the springs in the mountains drain their waters into the valleys which are carried by small streams which join the river which normally flows through the valley. This  valley is highly fertile and any plant grows there. It is rich in flora and fauna. The valley is like the mind of the accomplished sadhaka. He is a perfect sadhu in  whose fertile mind grows the trees and plants that are used by other aspirants to help in their own progress. Such persons are the repertoire of the Vedic wisdom and are like an all giving Kalpaka tree. Glory to the Lord who manifests as such noble souls. NAMO VARSHYAYA CHA AVARSHYAYA CHA NAMO salutations to the Lord who manifests as VARSHYAYA CHA places that have copious rainfall and AVARSHYAYA CHA also as places that do not receive any rainfall The importance of rainfall has been beautifully described by Saint Thiruvalluvar in the Thirukkural. He says that all dharma will fail if the rains fail. It is true also that rains will fail whenever there is a fall in the Dharma.  The Lord is the distributor of the fruits of dharma and hence it is wrong to blame God for our woes as it is brought by our own failure to adhere to the Dharma. A shower of cool rain is most welcome in the heat of summer. Rain provides fresh water which is the elixir of life.  The impurities of the water in the sea is removed when it comes back ad rain. What a great blessing indeed. The Lord's compassion removes all our impurities and comes down to drench us as the sweet and cool rain of blessings. We seldom realise that every moment of our existence is a blessing of the Lord as we take things for granted and turn to Him only on the face of adversity. Varsha also means year which is a mark of time. There are 60 years in a cycle according to the Hindu calender. One is supposed to go through the cycle of the four ashramas of Brahmacharyam,  Grihastam,  Vanaprastam and Sanyasam within this period and be ready for a life of service to the humanity till the call comes to cast away this body. The fact is that we cling on to life at 60 as if we are just 16. As each Varsha  (year) rolls by it is a grim reminder that time is swallowing our life. We should therefore lead a life dedicated to the Lord to make our life purposeful. Varsha also means land. We are living in the Bharata Varsha which is one of the 9 places fit for human inhabitation on the earth. Our Sastras tell us that the land we live in is a Punya bhoomi where the karmas will be dissipated. It is indeed a rare privilege to be blessed with birth in this holy land. Are we realising that we are losing an opportunity to perform good karmas to redeem ourselves from our bad ones? Visiting holy places and taking dip in the holy waters of the punya nadhis, worshipping the Lord on His manifestations as the Archa moorti in temples and listening to the  saints and sages and following the  dharmic path are available to us bit we seem to be bust otherwise. GOD BLESS. While we are in the place which can receive copious showers of the Lord's grace we are mute to it as if we are in a parched and arid desert which has no means of receiving any rain  (avarshya ). But the hymn says that the Lord's grace follows there too. NAMO MEGHYAYA CHA  VIDYUDYAYA CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as MEGHYAYA CHA the rain bearing clouds as also VIDYUDYAYA CHA as thunder and lightning A small village girl without any formal education centuries ago describes clearly how rainfall occurs. Saint Andal  in  her pasuram AAZHI MAZHAI KANNA sings thus - Oh Lord having the complexion of dark clouds please do one thing. Take a deep dive into the oceans and take in your hands water and throw the same upwards. Changing your colour even darker like the Lord of death and flexing your great shoulders strike with your mighty bow Saranam showering sharp arrows of rain drops to the accompaniment of flashes of lightning like the movement of your radiant Sudarshana chakra and thunder like the sound from your great conch Panchajanyam. How beautifully she has explained a scientific phenomenon as the grace of the Lord who pours as the rain to bring life to the earth. A cloud holds in itself the waters as vapour and sheds them when it cools and solidifies. The three states of matter namely solid, liquid and gas is personified by the rain bearing cloud. The cloud does not discriminate between the rich or poor or learned or ignorant to shed it's waters.  It is only by the grace of God that the cloud moves about and bursts out to shower the earth below with life giving rain. The conditions should be appropriate for the clouds to form and to bring showers. Likewise the conditions should be ripe for the  aspirant to be blessed with the Lord's shower of grace. Till such time he has to keep praying and yearning for the Lord's grace without any let up. There is no looking back once he comes in the line of vision of the Lord and will be drenched by His unbounden grace. There is a story in the Kena Upanishad. The Devas were basking in their victory over the Asuras and were talking about their valour.  Suddenly a pillar of fire came before them and when they questioned who it was, the YAKSHA meaning Unknown form placed a blade of grass in front of them and asked the mightiest of them to move it. Vayu came with force but could not move the blade of grass. Agni tried with all his ferocity to burn it but could not succeed. The king of Devas Indira humbly stepped forward and begged the form to reveal who it was where upon the yaksha vanished and Devi Uma appeared as lightning and said that the Lord had come as the pillar of light to test them. We take pride that we are so and so and are capable of doing this or that. We feel that we can rule over nature. The truth is that we are totally powerless. Without the grace of God we can hardly exist. This is revealed by the Lord sometimes like the flash of lightning when we are able to grasp the truth but again our mind gets clouded and is embroiled in the darkness of doubt and pride. If we approach the Lord in all humility like Indira then He will send us His grace as devi Uma who will in one flash remove our Avidya and make us pure and fit to receive the Lord within us. NAMA IIDRIYA CHA ATAPYAYA CHA NAMA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as IIDRIYA CHA the autumnal clouds and ATAPYAYA CHA also as burning  heat As against the rain bearing monsoon clouds the clouds in autumn are white and fluffy floating around lazily in the austre blue sky. It is very interesting to gaze on the clouds during autumn which is the season eagerly awaited.  The flowers will be in full bloom and the fruit bearing trees will be bent to the ground with the weight of ripened fruits. It is a season which is enjoyed by humans as well as birds and animals. The smaller animals will be scurrying hither and thither storing up their larder for the coming winter. It is the period for worshipping Shakti over a period of nine days called Saradha Navaratri. It is a time for peaceful contemplation on the blessings of the Lord in the form of  bounties of nature. All the trees shed off their old leaves and each garden will look like  carpeted with the fallen leaves which will be stored to be burnt in the winter to drive away the cold. For the sadhaka it portends a time for enjoying the bountiful blessings of the Goddess and to fine tune his spiritual practices by shedding off those sadhanas that are no longer of use. Heat is a characteristic feature of life in earth.  Without heat and light from the Sun no life form can survive . Similarly when the heat increases life becomes miserable. It is therefore necessary that we should be blessed with the right amount of heat to make our life comfortable.  Saint Appayya deekshitar invites the Lord to come and be comfortable in his heart which is burning with desires and other thoughts that generate much heat. He does so when he sees the Lord being bathed in cool waters on a soggy winter night. The Lord has the cool ganga on His head, snakes slither over His body. He also wears the cool moon on His forehead and half His body is taken by the daughter of Himavan whose peaks are always snow clad and She Herself drenches Him with Her compassion. So the best way to cool our mind is to install the Lord there and He will surely remove our afflictions of heat generated by our passion and other qualities. NAMO VATYAYA CHA RESHMIYAYA CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as VATYAYA CHA the air and RESHMIYAYA CHA also as  the howling wind Air sustains life in this planet. All animate things breathe to live. The  oxygen in the air rejuvenates the cells. It is called Prana or sustainer of the life force which is also known as Prana. All the elements are present in the body. The Ayurveda system of medicine holds that the composition of  Vatha or air, Pitta or fire and Shleshma or water in the body and any variations  in the same give rise to diseases. Air in movement is called wind or Vayu. The movement of wind across the land and oceans cause the monsoons to occur. When the wind blows gently it is pleasurable. When it come with a force it destroys. It howls and screams and up roots trees and houses and causes destruction. Reshmi also means dissolution. Lord Rudra is called Ucchairgosha that is one who howls loudly. He comes with such force during the time of dissolution devouring the galaxies and all creation in His huge mouth dancing His final dance of Samhara. While all creation including the Trimurtis are dissolved the only spectator is Uma devi who also dances assuming the form of Maha  Kali matching step by step Her consort Mahakala. NAMO VASTAVYAYA CHA VASTUPAYA CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who manifests as  VASTAVYAYA CHA various objects such as dwellings and also  VASTUPAYA CHA as the in dweller in such objects and places. Vastu means object. It could be manmade or that which is in existence. Any object fulfills its purpose only when used. Like the beauty of nature has to be seen and experienced. This brings into being the experiencer.  The experiencer is the subject and vastu is  the object. When both come together there is experience or anubhava.  Now the object though appearing to be inanimate has its own properties which only lead to the experience.  Sugar is sweet. The sweetness is sugar is experienced by the person who tastes it.  This property in the objects is called Vastupa.  It is none other than the Lord who manifests as the taste in sugar. The experiencer is also the Lord manifest in the human form who tastes the sugar. If we understand this we understand creation and the reason behind. Shiva limits Himself and becomes a Jhiva for enjoying the material world.  Vastu also means that which is associated with a dwelling place. Any confined space has some energy residing in it. It is the Vastu Purusha or VASTOSHPATI who energises the confines of spaces. Each house or temple is therefore built in a particular pattern which brings out the positive energy of the Vastoshpati. This is called the vastu Sastra. A place of worship or a dwelling place built according to the vastu Sastras exudes positive energy which resonates with the energy of the persons entering those places and creates positive vibes. That is the reason why we find the  temples to be store house of energy and a reservoir of grace. Further the Murtis installed in the temples also have three fold energy of Mantra Tantra and Yantra which in combination with the energy of the temple multiplies manifold to answer the prayers of those who come and pray. The Lord is the indweller in the spiritual aspirant.  When He is firmly installed in the consciousness He resides in our mind and energises our thoughts. The body is the temple says Saint Thirumoolar.  The Mind is the place called Garbha graham where the Lord shines as the everlasting lamp that illuminates.  Eighth Anuvakam Introduction to the eighth Anuvakam Sri Rudram is considered to be most sacred among the mantras because it occurs in the middle of the Krishna Yajur Veda and shines as a resplendent jewel in the centre of a necklace.  The quintessence of all the vedas is considered to be the divine Panchakshara Mantra which occurs in the middle of the Namakam in the eighth Anuvakam.  It is customary to perform abishekam to the Lord while chanting this Anuvakam. Even if one is not able to chant the entire Sri Rudram, if one chants this Anuvakam then it is believed to bestow the same benefit as chanting the entire Sri Rudram.  This Anuvakam brings out the Lord's facets within the comprehension of the mind. [09:22, 13/07/2015] Kannan Insuran: SRI RUDRAM  NAMA SOMAYA CHA RUDRAYA CHA  NAMA Salutations to the Lord who is SOMAYA CHA - inseparable from Uma,  - wears the digit moon,  - The Lord of Kubera, - Pleased with the offering of the Soma rasam, - is of a pleasing disposition, - Is the undisputed Lord of all RUDRAYA CHA the Lord of all beings, their source and destination. The word SOMAYA has different connotations which makes this Anuvakam very unique. It starts with describing the Lord as inseparable from Uma. Kenopanishad mentions Uma as Himavati which can be taken as the golden hued Devi or as the daughter of Himavan. How is she inseparable from the Lord? The Supreme in its static aspect does not perform any activity and remains in a state of stable equilibrium called Sat - Chit - Ananda or Pure Conscious Bliss. This is the state of Suddha Sivam. When the first desire arises in the Supreme He releases His immanent powers or Saktis of Iccha Kriya and Gnana and limits His prowess to manifest as the universe full of dynamic activity. The sakti or prowess of Shiva is Uma who is the combined manifestations of the three fold activities of Iccha, Kriya and Gnana. She is called Shanta sakti which is the state just before the equilibrium is disturbed.  The word Uma comes from AUM split as A representing gnana, U representing Kriya and M representing Iccha. The letters A and U represent Brahma and Vishnu while M represents Rudra. This is called the Pranava. It is the Pranava which expands as the Panchakshara depicting the five fold activity of creation, sustenance, withdrawal, veiling and blessing. Uma is called the parrot on cage. Omkara Panchara Sukhi.  This is the stage as seen earlier, the transition from the static to dynamic state. The bird is held in restraint to fly out and makes its world by the five faceted Panchakshara cage.  Sa Umaya Cha defines that the Lord is inseparable from His sakti called Uma.  However according to Saiva Siddantam, the process of creation involves the Supreme Omniscient Omnipotent and Omnipresent Shiva becoming a Jhiva with limitations.  Then what happens to the powers of Shiva when He becomes Jhiva? Uma veils the  Shiva as creation prigresses with Her unlimited Maya and deluges the Jhiva into imagining that he is weak and powerless. She can hide the Shiva aspect of reality from the Jhiva as long as he allows himself to be deluded by the external creation. The moment he starts his inner journey to find his real nature Uma loosens Her bond one by one and releases him to go back to His Shiva hood. Even on a Jhiva Devi Uma is present as his limited power in functioning and enacting his life. So Shiva or Jhiva Uma never leaves Him. The interplay of Shiva and Shakti is represented in the Yantra form as two intersecting triangles. In the Sri Yantra or Sri Chakra there are nine triangles, five representing Shiva pointing upwards and four representing Shakti pointing downwards. These are sheathed in Nine Mandalas or Avaranas where the Devi resides as Yoginis. Thus there is Samarasyam or equipoise between Shiva and Sakti in Devi upasana also. The symbolic representation of Shiva is the Shiva Lingam which consists of a Banam or cylindrical portion fixed to a pedestal called the Avudayar.  The pedestal consists of a bottom portion which is Brahma and an upper portion through which the abishekam water is channelled to flow. This portion is called the Vishnu roopam.  The Banam is Fixed to the Vishnu roopam through a depression called Yoni which represents Shakti Uma. Thus Shiva and Uma are inseparable in Saivite worship also. There is an interesting story in the Puranas. Sage Bringhi was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. He would only worship the Lord and not the Devi. To test his devotion Shiva Shakti became one as Ardhanareeswara. This did not deter Bringhi who took the form of a bee and drilled through the body of the Lord so as to circumambulate only Shiva and not Shakti. He lost three of his limbs (a bee has six limbs) in the process and did amends for his folly and was blessed with the grace of Uma Maheswara.  The Samarasyam or equipoise between Shiva and Shakti is very aptly described Adhi  Shankara Bagavadpada in his works Soundaryalahari and Sivanandalahari. The first sloka of Soundaryalahari says that Shiva is incapable of any movement without Shakti.  The word used is spanda which is the first throb or pulse which causes rotation. In the unmanifested state the universe lies as an ideation in Shiva who holds His Shakti within Himself. The  first sloka of Sivanandalahari tells that Shiva and Shakti attained each other as the fruit of their Tapas. We know that Shiva is the supreme yogi who is always in deep meditation. Shakti pulls Him out of His deep reverie and makes Him dance with Her the dance of creation . The law of physics states that when a body revolves around another there are two forces acting. One pulls the revolving object towards the center object around which it revolves.  The second force pushes the revolving object out away from the center. When these two forces are balanced the movement continues but the two objects appear to be  static in relation to each other. Thus the Samarasyam of Shiva and Shakti is responsible for the stability of creation  or in other words responsible for its sustenance.  Another dimension of Somaya cha is Somaskanda. Skanda joins His parents Shiva and Uma in the Sa Uma Skanda Murti.  All the utsava murtis in a Shiva temples that are taken out in procession  are invariably Somaskanda murtis.  Skanda or Subramania gives definition to the ideation of the universe.  His beauty is unparalleled. He is swift and is the nemesis of the Asuras.  He represents the threefold manifestation of Shakti. He is the origin and the resting place of the Vedas.  The four sons of Lord Brahma, Sanaka,  Sanatana,   Sanandana and Sanatkumara did penance for eons and came to Lord Dakshinamoorthi for clearing their doubts.  When all the explanations and expositions of the Vedas could not clear their doubts, the Lord became silent and the sages realised the truth through silent contemplation of the Chinmudra. Sage Sanatkumara was deeply absorbed in the truth and remained in contemplation for eons. Lord Shiva and Uma appeared before him and asked him to ask for any boon as a fruit of his attainment.  The sage laughed and said that having realised the truth there was nothing to ask for and if the parents of the universe wanted any boon from him they may ask. The Lord was pleased and said that they would be happy to have Sanatkumara become their kumara.   Thus when the devas were afflicted by Soorapadma they approached Lord Shiva and six sparks of fire came out of His third eye. Agni and Vayu were directed to carry the fire seedlings and deposit the same in the cool waters of  Saravana Poigai a beautiful pond in the Himalayas. Devi Uma Herself had taken the form of the pond to bear Saravana who emerged as six babies from the  sparks deposited by Agni and Vayu.  He became a single baby with six faces when devi Uma hugged the babies together.  Saravana was the creation of Lord Shiva but His swaroopa is that of Shakti. The elder son Ganapati was the creation of Shakti and He is Shiva swaroopa. The younger son is inseparable from His parents and is worshipped along with them as Somaskanda. Skanda represents the mind while Ganapati represents matter in creation. In the Kundalini yoga Lord Ganapati sits in the Mooladhara chakra the origin of creation while Lord Skanda is in the Aagnya chakra the seat of ultimate knowledge.

Soma means the Moon. According to the Hindu pantheon the Moon is a planet or Graham.  Science considers the Moon as a satellite of the earth born from the earth. Puranas consider the moon to have its origin in the Sun. He is the Lord of the night. He is beautiful and hence the Lord of beauty. He is romantic and is the Lord of romance aiding Manmatha the god of love in his task. He the Lord of Aushadis or medicinal herbs. He is also the Lord of the Mind and controls the vagaries of the human mind. He is very significant in Astrology.   The Lord wears the digit of the moon on His forehead and is worshipped as Chandra Mouleeswara or Chandra Sekara.  On the Pradosham day we worship Lord Chandrasekara and take Him out in procession on the Nandi.  There is a puranic story which states that the Moon was cursed by his father in law Daksha prajapati for being close to Rohini and boycotting the other 26 stars who were all the daughters of Daksha. When the moon started losing his phases one by one he surrendered to Lord Shiva who compassionately took Him on His forehead and saved him though the phases of waxing and waning continued. The logical explanation for this is that from the earth the position of the moon is always near the constellation  of Rohini. The digits of the moon are called KALA. There are 16 kalas including the new and full moons. KALA means phases of progress till one reaches poornatva. The supreme is always in a state of poornatva. This poornatva is limited in the Jhiva. The cycle of waning signifies the descent of Shiva to Jhiva and the waning period of the moon is the ascent to regain Sivatvam. The third digit of the waxing moon which adores the crown of the Lord is significant to all religions as it the first phase of the moon that can be seen clearly signifying the turn back to reach  Shiva. The Lord is called Soma Sundarareswara in Madurai. The Thiruvilayadal Puranam states that the Lord changed His looks from that of a wandering mendicant clothed in tiger skins wearing serpents as ornaments and smearing His body with the ashes of burnt corpses. The Lord wore pitambaram decked Himself with sandal paste and ornaments and beautiful fragrant flowers and work the digit moon on His forehead and came to marry Devi Meenakshi. He is called Sokkanathar that is, one who captivates with His beauty. He is Sundarareswara the Lord of exquisite beauty. The moon became more beautiful adorning the forehead of the Lord.  The term Soma signifies beauty, control over mind and medicine for the disease of birth and death. Soma is a vedic God having great importance next only to Indira and Agni. He is swift flowing. Ruddy brown or red in colour like Rudra. He is fierce and brings victory to the devas in war. He plays an important  part in the fire sacrifices. He is the juice of the Soma lata which is a medicinal herb that grows in the high ranges of the mountains. The Soma rasam or juice of the Soma creeper is pressed between two stones in an elaborate ritual and is offered to Indira and other gods in the fire sacrifices. The Soma juice thrice in a day to the Gods. It is considered to have medicinal properties that can cure and illness. It is also considered to be Amruta or nectar that can bestow immortality. Gods became immortal by drinking the Somarasam.  The juice is mixed with either milk or curds or water  and it's properties varies accordingly. It is supposed to be an intoxicant and hence people are prohibited from drinking the same unless it is an offering in a sacrifice. The Lord is the Soma juice offered in the sacrifices and also is the bestower of the fruits in a Soma sacrifice. There are three types of fire sacrifices according to the Vedas. Soma yagnya involving offering of the Soma juice, Havir yagnya where rice gruel is offered and yagnyas using other materials. One is ordained by the Sastras to perform all these yagnyas as part of their samskaras. A person who performs the Soma sacrifice earns the epithet of Somayaji. There was a Saivite Saint called Somaji Mara  Nayanar who had performed the Soma yagnya according to the Sastras.  It was his desire that Lord Shiva should come in person to take the Havirbagam or the offering made in the fire at the end of the sacrifice. He prayed sincerely to the Lord and started off with another Soma yagnya. The Saint asked the priests not to conclude the yagnya as he was confident that the Lord will come in person to take the Havirbagam.  All those assembled poopooed the Nayanar and asked him not to waste their time. The Nayanar was confident and prayed sincerely for the appearance of the Lord and appear He did. A chandala or person of low caste entered the yagnya vedika along with his wife and two children with four dogs in tow. He held a pot containing alcohol and a stick in his hands and sauntered casually into the sacrificial area. The priests cried foul and raised a hue and cry that the yagnya has gone waste because it was polluted by the arrival of the chandala and ran heater skelter lest the pollution should also affect them and earn them the curse of the Devas.  Somaji was perplexed but intently prayed when he could catch a glimpse of Lord Ganapati on the eldest of the boys who came with the  Chandala. The boy with a twinkle in his eyes pointed out to the Chandala. Immediately it all became clear for Somaji who rushed to the Chandala and fell at His feet and offered arghyam and padyam to the visitors and offered the Havirbagam to them according to the vedic rites. The Brahmins assembled there were aghast at this act which they considered to be a sacrilege. They started to curse Somaji but were astounded by the flash of light that appeared in which Somaji and his family were absorbed and were blessed to have darsan of the Lord as vrisharuda with Uma Skanda and Ganapati along with Somaji Mara Nayanar and his family. In Tamil there is a saying that for those without means (porul) there is no life in this world and for those who do not have the grace of God  (arul) there is no life in the other worlds.  The means to lead a comfortable life here in this world is again dependent on our own samskaras and prarabda. But if the grace of God is earned by us then He will grant us both bogha or enjoyment and Yoga or means for emancipation. Soma is the treasurer of the gods. He is called as Kubera and is a Yaksha. He is the step brother of Ravana. He is the custodian of the nine types of riches called Nava Nidhi and gives us our fortune according to our destiny. He has the status of being the friend of the Lord. He holds in his custody the divine pot of elixir or Amruta which is called Soma and hence the name.  He is  dik palaka in charge of the north and is juxtaposed with Yama who is the Dharma raja and Lord of death. Yama also goes by the name Soma and is the dik palaka of south. While Kubera gives us the means to live, Yama makes the means useless when he takes our life away. The irony is that the riches accumulated by one becomes useless when life ebbs out. Bogha ends when Rogha sets in.  Kubera represents Artha or means to fulfill Kama or desires while Yama represents dharma. Artha earned through Dharma and spent in fulfilment of Kama which is dharmic makes ones life full and content.  This is the way to live. We should earn the grace of three Somas - Kubera for blessing us with the means of livelihood,  Yama to guide us in the right path and to remember that life is fleeting and unstable and the Lord of Sacrifice Soma to spend our Artha purposefully in performing yagnyas for the benefit of Al around us. Rudra means the one who cries or makes one cry out loud. According to the Puranas when the creator Brahma made a mistake in creation and knitted his brows in desperation out came Rudra from the meeting point of the eye brows (the seat of Aagnya chakra) with a loud cry what is my name? Why have you called me? He then set about devouring all that Brahma Dev had created and showed Him the secret of creation. He appeared as Ardhanareeswara and explained that creation is to be done with conjoining of the male and female aspects.  When we indulge in material pursuits we move away from our core which is our real self. In order to turn us back to our core the Lord makes us suffer and cry out aloud when we realise our inability to cope up with the situation.  He then makes our sorrow (rud) flow out of us (dravyati) and we become free as we are able to look inwards and realise the futility of running after external pleasures in pursuit of happiness. Rudra is red in colour. This is the colour of creation which is Rajasic in nature. He rises as Aruna of reddish brown (babru) hue in the morning, shines white during the day and with a golden red (tamra) colour as the setting sun. He removes the darkness of our ignorance and shows us our real nature. The vedic God Rudra bears many similarities to the Vedic God Agni. Both are bright and blazing forth with a golden body, fierce, with ruddy matted hair decorated with golden ornaments, are fierce and destructive,  yet compassionate and giver of boons. Both are the gateway to the celestials.   The Shiva Lingam form of the Lord is a representation of Agni climbing upwards as  Urdva Retas.  As Agni roopa Sri Rudra is the Mitra (friend ) of mankind.  He manifests as the three forms of Agni helping people to perform their karma samskaras. He accepts the offerings made in the sacrifices as the Yagnya Purusha and bestows boons on the performers.  The 33 crore divinities in the Hindu pantheon rest in 33 main divinities classified as 8 Vasus, 11 Rudras and 12 Adityas. Vasus are present in the earth as the five elements and the three fold mind. Rudras are present as Prana represented by the ten Vayus which have their place in the mid regions ( atmosphere, barosphere, etc) surrounding the earth. 5he Adityas have their place in the Heavens beyond shining as celestial galaxies  divided into twelve constellations as we observe from the earth. The Rudras permeate the regions around the earth as Prana and are responsible for sustenance of life. They are both Maruts the beneficial winds and the fierce storms that come with a howl and blow away everything in their way. As life force they envelop the Atma to give it existence as Jhiva.  Rudra is the absolute cosmic force bringing life into creation, sustaining the  same and absorbing it back. NAMAHA SANGHAYA CHA PASUPATAYE CHA NAMAHA Salutations to the Lord who  SANGHAYA CHA is in union with his creation and also PASUPATAYE CHA is the Lord of all Sangam means a collection or group of people living together sharing the resources and United in thought and action. The Lord manifests as such group of people who are united.  Unity is strength goes the saying. In a group of people pursuing spiritualism or for that matter any vocation or objective sharing of thoughts and tasks and collective action brings about the desired results in a much shorter time. Each member of the group may have some talent which is utilised for the betterment of the entire group. God helps such people who help themselves.  The Buddhists call their group as Sangam.  The group is held in high respect by its members and by others outside the group. Dharma is propagated and practiced collectively which ultimately makes each one a Buddha.  I go the way of the Buddha. I go the way of the Sangam. I go the way of the Dharma is the prayer. Sangam also means fruits of action. The Lord is the granter of the fruits of Karma and is the Karma phala dhata.  That is why it is repeatedly stated in the scriptures not to look for the result of action and leave it to the Lord. He will always do good (Sam Ghaha) and one who lives with the conviction God's will is welcome never suffers. The Lord is the Pati master and all the Jhivas are Pasu. Saiva Siddantam says that Shiva the absolute limits His powers and shrinks to become the Jhiva through the bondage of Maya. When the Jhiva stops running after material pleasures and turns inwards then the shackles of Maya called Pasam are loosened one by one and he regains his Shiva hood. This is called the doctrine of Pasupatham which is one of the six main tracks of worship in Hinduism.  Lord Sri Krishna demonstrated this in His sojourn in the Brindavanam. All the gopas and gopikas were attracted to Him and forgetting their chores came running to Him drawn by the melodious notes from His mystical flute with which He bound them. They could not bear separation from Him even for a moment. Each one felt that Sri Krishna was with him or her only.  So how did they bear His separation  when He and Balarama left for Mathura with Akroora? They were disappointed at first and felt as of their very life has gone away as they ran behind the Lord's chariot for a long distance. Then they returned with a heavy heart to their houses and Lo! Who was there but their beloved Krishna who never left them from that moment. He had entered their hearts and made that His permanent residence. How blessed were these uneducated and uncouth people of Brindavanam!  Saint Andal and Saint Meera therefore made their mind and habitat a Brindavanam and Giridhara Gopala came running into their hearts and the love for Him poured out as beautiful poetry from Meera bhai and Andal. NAMA UGRAYA CHA BHEEMAYA CHA NAMA Salutations to the Lord who  UGRAYA CHA is fierce and BHEEMAYA CHA fearsome Ugra means fierce and terrible.  What can be so terrible and fierce about the Lord who is pure love and compassion not only to those who worship hom but to all creation without any exception or expectation. We should understand that the Lord's appearance is only a reflection  in our mind. He looks fierce if we are afraid to go near Him. Fear stems from a feeling of incompleteness or a feeling of guilt. We have transgressed the Sastras which are the tenets given to us by the Rishis based on the Vedas given by the Lord which we cannot comprehend. We forget to remember the Lord amidst our wallowing in material pleasures. We allow us to be torn asunder by the senses which land us in the mire of six vices. All these cause guilt in us and out of this arises a fear of retribution. So the Lord looks terrible and fierce to us. We start our prayer with a request to the Lord to reduce His anger and Hide His weapons !!! If we approach the Lord with love and surrender the Lord can be seen as pure love. SIVAM. The Taitireeya says that out of fear the wind blows, the Sun shines, Indira brings rains, Agni burns and Yama takes away life. Fear of whom? Their master the Supreme power which has created them and the universe and sustains all. This is not fear of retribution or guilt. It is a fear to perform the task assigned to the satisfaction  of the master. The master is beyond satisfaction or happiness as He Himself is both the master and servant. So the servant has to satisfy himself rather than his master. The only way to do a task to ones satisfaction is to concentrate on the task and not on the result.  If this is done then the focus will be on the task and hence the task will be performed well. We should strive to root out the fear complex from our minds.  Fear comes from dualism. If we realise there is no second and everything is only one then there is nothing to fear about. Let us constantly and consciously think about the unity in creation which will slowly make us strong inwardly and be blessed to see the Lord's true form of Love and Peace. NAMO AGREVADAYA CHA DOOREVADAYA CHA  NAMO Salutations to the Lord who  AGREVADAYA CHA torments from near and DOOREVADAYA CHA from afar. Vadha means to kill or execute. Though Lord Rudra is the Samhara Murti who dissolves all the universe into Himself at the time of pralaya He is Mangala moorti and an embodiment of love.  Why then should he kill or harm anybody?  Again we need to understand the core rationale behind the creation and manifestation of the universe. Shiva tge absolute of His own choice veils Himself with the five Avaranas or Kanchukkas or sheaths of Maya which again is His own prabhavam. He becomes limited in every respect by this Maya and enjoys the universe as the Bhoga immersed Jhiva.  When the  Jhiva decides enough is enough and embarks upon the return journey to become Shiva again, he needs to cut off the bondage that limits him and enters the path of Yoga giving up Bhoga. Of the various upayas  Saiva Siddantam talks about three upayas called Anu upaya to transcend the limitations of the body,  Shakta upaya to transcend the limitations of the  mind and Shambava upaya to transcend the limitations in the realm of consciousness.   Yama and Niyama are two practices associated with the body and mind. Yama is eschewing vices and Niyama is inculcating virtues. Here is where the help of the Lord is required. The aspirant prays fervently to God to help him overcome the influence of the senses that immerse him into vices. With one swift blow the Lord cuts away the bondage of the body and mind to the sense perceptions. This is killing from within or Agrevadam.  Niyama is inculcating virtues or good practices to train the mind and body in the path of yoga. Such practices come from the blessings of the Guru or through the grace of the Lord.  As one progresses these practices will bring in some sidhies and ridhies that would become manifest in mystic powers such as telepathy,  healing, materialisation of objects, powers to walk on water or fly in the sky. If the aspirant falls into this trap he cannot escape from its deadly grasp. He has to transcend this stage with the help of God.  This is where the Lord annihilates the ego which exhibits the powers to the outside world. As He kills the outbound tendencies it is called Doorevadha.  NAMO HANTRE CHA HANEEYASE CHA NAMO Salutations to the Lord who  HANTRE CHA destroys and HANEEYASE CHA resolves everything unto himself. The two words have the same root. Hun means to kill. Again destruction?  Again killing? Of course. All that is born has to die some time. A flower that blooms also withers away. Man lives a little longer and Rishis some more time. Devas live for a still longer time yet their time also comes to ab end. That which is within all subsists the decay of the body and mind and is imperishable.  To reach that imperishable all that is perishable should be peeled off like one peels off the layers of onion. This is what Vedanta says. Discard all that is not the Brahman as Na-Iti Neti till you reach the level where the remaining substance cannot be discarded. We can discard the body, the mind, all that is outside the body and mind but cannot discard the self or I. Even here the real I will be covered by the false I or Ego. When that layer also is peeled off the pure and efficient self alone remains. The Lord is Hantu and Haneeya - the one who constantly peels off the layers covering the self. He destroys the infatuating world around us, then the illusory world that  clogs our mind as me and mine and takes us to our roots which is pure Shivam.  By adding an A to the two worlds as Ahanta and Ahaneeya, we get a different meaning. Ahanta is the first stage of evolution after Shakti emerges from Her place within Shiva. The first ideation is I AM or AHAM Spoorti. When this thought of I Am rises then the question of I Am what? comes. The process of creation starts now. I  am That or AHAM IDAM is the third stage when IDAM or all that is outside the AHAM is added to AHAM. This is the stage of Ahaneeya or looking beyond the AHAM.   NAMO VRUKSHEBHYO HARIKESEBHYO NAMO salutations to the Lord who manifests as  VRUKSHEBHYO the splendid tree HARIKESEBHYO crowned with thick and dark foliage These words of Vrukshebhyo Harikesebhyo have already occurred in the 2nd Anuvakam. There it represented the samsara Vruksha which bound the pasus or Jhivas. Here it is a life giving tree, the tree of Sanatana dharma which is the means to cross the samsara sagara.  Imagine a huge tree tall and broad with deep roots and thick and dark foliage providing means of life to the various creatures and birds and shade to the people to relax and recuperate.   At its roots grows grass and plants and creepers that climb up its tall trunks. There is a huge Anthill in which serpents live. It has many branches spread out in various directions with a thick foliage of leaves of dark and light green and sometimes red or yellow too. It has fragrant flowers which are sought after by the bees which carry its pollen to impregnate the flowers to give birth to sweet fruits. Birds of rich plumage rest on its branches drawn by its ripe fruits. Small animals like squirrels run up and down frolicking and tasting it's buds and fruits.  The tree of Sanatana dharma has the yagnya as its roots, Dharma as it's trunk, the Vedas as its branches and Smritis or Sastras as its sub branches. The leaves are the different deities and means of worship, the flowers are the attraction towards spiritual pursuits, the fruits being the four  puruaharthas and the various creatures that have made the tree their habitat are the Jhivas who flock to the trees for rest from the mad mad world and emancipation.  The Lord who has created the world where there is both happiness and sorrow has also provided the means by which we can attain peace. That is the tree of Dharma which if we can use will help us reduce our trials and tribulations and provide us the means to uplift ourselves.  NAMAHA TARAYA  NAMAHA Salutations to the Lord who manifests as TARAYA as the primordial sound, as a shining star, as the banks of the ocean of samsara, as the boatman who helps  cross the ocean, who protects preserves and is the saviour. The  Vedas state that everything sprang from the Pranava, the  Omkara which is the primordial sound heard and propagated by the sages of yore. The Bible also says that in the beginning there was the Word. This self existing sound is called the Nada or Nadabrahman.  From Nada came the light the Bindhu. This Bindhu split with first movement Spanda and created the Misra Bindhu which started its revolution around the Bindhu causing the second movement Spurana. OMKARA expanded into the trifold A U M which further expanded into 14 syllables called Maheswara sutras from which came the 51 Matruka Aksharas which laid the foundation for speech and development of language. The Omkara is the ultimate Mantra. The core of the  Gayatri Mantra is OM.  It is the effulgent Brahman appearing as the Sun in the skies fit for worship to attain clarity of mind. One may learn the 7 crore Mantras but the core of all the Mantras is Omkara only. Vedas begin with a contemplation of the Omkara. It is the form of Brahman. Lord Brahma creates the universe with this Mantra. Lord Karthikeya is Pranava swaroopi.  So is Vigneswara. When Brahma Deva could not explain the meaning of the Pranava Subrahmanya stopped Him from further creation work and out Him behind bars. When Lord  Shiva asked Murugan whether He knew the meaning the Bala said to His father that of He could become His disciple then He would explain. He thus became Swaminatha the swami or master of the Nada Brahman Shiva Himself. Tara means a Star. Stars are self luminous bodies that illuminate the dark matter that is the substance of the universe.   Our Sun is also a star. Devas are self luminous beings. In this universe light emerges from two sources.  The first from self luminous objects or beings and the other from objects which reflects the light. Our mind does not have any luminance of its own. It only reflects luminance of the Soul or Atma. All knowledge are contained in this Atma and the mind functions by reflecting the knowledge in flashes as it comes into contact with the inner self. The Lord is both self illuminating and also reflecting His own Luminance. The outer world can be seen only if there is light. When the light fades out like after twilight the objects appear differently and makes the observer see illusions like the snake in the rope. Such illusion is called Moha.  This is the play of Maya. The Devi Shakti plays this delightful sport of forcefully causing even the most accomplished sage to be immersed in Moha. We should therefore always pray to the Lord to provide us light and lead us from Darkness into Light.   TAMSO MA JYOTIR GAGANA. Tara means the banks of a river or a ocean. At one end is the Jhiva who is a limited edition of Shiva and at the other end is the magnificent effulgent Supreme being Shiva Himself. When the Jhiva wants to reach Shiva he has to cross the river of Samsara with strong currents. He  requires a sturdy boat and a skilful boatman who knows the ways of the current to take him across safely. He is the Guru and the boat is dharma. The Guru uses the oars of shradha or Bakti and dedication  and inquiry or gnana to guide the boat across.  The aspirant has only to dedicate himself and follow the steps shown by the Guru and he will be through. The Lord Himself comes as the Guru as Guru is not different from the Lord. The boatman is called a TARAKA. The name of the Lord itself is called the Taraka Mantra as uttering the Mantra itself is sufficient to get across the river of Samsara. There is a beautiful anecdote. The Lord whose very name is the Taraka Mantra Sri Rama requested Guha the king of the forest dwellers to ferry himself, Sita and Lakshmana across the mighty river Ganga.  Guha had only one request.  He asked Sri Rama to permit him to first wash His feet and also clean his boat of pebbles and sand before Sri Rama came on board. Guha explained. Oh Lord when your feet touched a stone Ahalya devi who remained a stone for many years on account of her curse regained her form. In my boat there are many small pebbles. Who knows? they may Likewise be people cursed to become stones and by coming into your lotus feet they may turn into men and women and their weight might overturn this boat!!! To cross the ocean of samsara and reach godhood we require some means. It is the Mantra of the Lord which can ferry us across. We have to board the boat of Mantra sadhana which is given by the Guru who is also the boatman and can remain in peace as our reaching our destination is assured. What is the Mantra which is capable of ferrying us across the deep and terrible ocean of Samsara? We all know that Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are two aspects of the Supreme Brahman. One gives us bogha and moksha and the other form gives us yoga and moksha. The first path is karma and Bakti while the second is Karma and Gnana. Karma here denotes Lord Brahma who is in tge form of Rajas or action.But is there a combination of both since we want both Bhoga and Yoga.  Saint Thyagaraja swami in his keertana Evareni  Nirnayam chesira explains. The important letter in the Siva Panchakshara is Ma. In the Astakshari  Mantra of Lord Vishnu the letter Ra is significant. Without these Aksharas the respective Mantras will lose their potency as without Ma the Panchakshara will be Na Shivaya and without Ra the Astakshari will be Na Ayanaya. The combination of both is Ma Ra which when reversed gives the Taraka Mantra RAMA.  Kashi is considered to be the mukti Kshetram because Lord Vishwanatha Himself whispers the last Mantra called Karna Mantra into the ears of those who die in Kashi. The Lord gives the holy Taraka Mantra Rama to carry the devotee across the samsara sagara. Elsewhere in the Mahabharata the Lord explains that He always remains in contemplation of the Rama Mantra. A single  Rama Mantra gives the benefit of chanting  thousand times any other Mantra.  The Lord remains as the Taraka Mantra and delivers his devotees from getting drowned in Samsara. NAMA SHAMBHAVE CHA MAYOBHAVE CHA  NAMA  Salutations to the Lord who  SHAMBHAVE CHA is the giver of happiness in this world and  MAYOBHAVE CHA also in the other world. Shambhu means one who is in a state of happiness. It is only one who is always in a state of happiness who can provide happiness to another. The Lord is Sadchidananda swaroopi.  The fleeting happiness we experience in our day to day life when we come into contact with objects of pleasure is only a glimpse of the unlimited happiness that is our real nature. It is only through the Lord's blessings that we are able to experience this happiness albeit for a fleeting moment. Sam also means the whole or the sum total. Hence the Lord is the sum total of all happiness that was before, is here and will be hereafter. He is Poorna Ananda or one who is the embodiment of eternal happiness. When happiness is eternal it is called BLISS or Ananda. It is undescribable. We can only say we are happy. But we cannot describe it. Happiness is Love.  Love also cannot be described. That is why we cannot describe the form of Lord. Maya means all encompassing. Sarvam Shivamayam or Sarvam Vishnumayam is a statement we commonly hear. Bhava means a state of being or origin.  The Lord is the origin of everything and also encompasses everything. There is nothing beyond Him. He was before, is now and will be after. He is KALA traya adeetha.  Maya also means wonderful. All that is wonderful is the Lord's manifestation. Ubha means both or many. The Lord manifests as all that is wonderful and as Happiness in both the  worlds and at all times. NAMA SANKARAYA CHA  MAYASKARAYA CHA  NAMA Salutations to the Lord who  SANKARAYA CHA always does good to us and also MAYASKARAYA CHA makes us do good things to others. The Lord is auspiciousness incarnate and can only do good to us. In the previous verse the Lord was karma phala dhata. Here He is karma phala Hetu that is He impels us to do good karma. Many a times we blame God for our sufferings. Little do we realise that whatever we consider to be good or bad is really not so. All come out of the blessings of God. There cannot be anything beyond. If we train our mind to take things as they come as the Prasadam of God then even our suffering will be enjoyable to us.  The Lord also makes us do good to others. He passes on His blessings to others through us. We should know that we have come to this world with a purpose. Our relationship with those around us is also out of our previous karma. When we interact with others we should bear in mind that it is through divine will we have come together and radiate only positive thoughts and speak softly and put across our views thinking that we are addressing the divine within the other person. If this be so then there would be no room for arguments and anger. Every single action on our part and on the part of every being in this world is ordained by divine will. We have to accept this. We want the good things to last for ever. In the fairy tales the ending will always be that all lived happily ever after.  Life is not a fairy tale. Nor can happiness last for ever. We ourselves might not like that.  Imagine that eating laddus makes a person happy. The first laddu gives us happiness. As we continue to eat the law of diminishing marginal utility operates and we stop eating. In fact life is like that. We always run after some things and when we get them we lose interest. So happiness is not in the objects we pursue nor is it in the desire which makes us pursue the  objects. Happiness is in our core. All attempts to be happy are aimed at getting to our core. That is why we cannot remain happy with something for long. Each activity to realise a desire only allows us to have a glimpse of the real happiness which lies in our core. Shankara makes Himself the desire and object and impels us to keep trying to unravel the mystery of eternal happiness. He is a great leveller. Sam means equal. Equal to what? To Himself us the answer. He makes us turn inwards first by luring us outwards with His Maya (Mayaskara) then making us realise that the happiness from external objects does not last long and then making us embark on the inward journey to find happiness and peace within. NAMA SHIVAYA CHA SHIVATARAYA CHA NAMA Salutations to the Lord who  SHIVAYA CHA is most auspicious and  SHIVATARAYA CHA who transcends auspiciousness. The word Shiva means auspiciousness, good health, prosperity, good fortune, water, a post or Stambha to which cattle are tied and final beatitude. All living beings seek good  things with the aim of experiencing happiness. It is said if we are good then we will be happy. As seen earlier, happiness is not an emotion or state but is our own innate nature. We are Shiva searching auspiciousness and happiness outside ourselves. Good or bad is something which is a matter of perception. What is good for me might not be good for another.  Even the worst sinners have something good in them and the most pious something bad. The world is a complex compound of good and bad. Again, good or bad is relative. Only the happiness that is sought to be obtained from the good things is absolute and permanent.  Shiva therefore does not merely stand for good or auspicious things as Guna sampanna. He transcends them as He is Guna atheetha. He is without attributes and it is only His Shakti that makes Him Guna sampanna. That is why the Veda here makes it Shivaa with an additional akara acknowledging the role of Shakti in making Shiva auspicious. A poet eulogises  Devi Meenakshi that Sokkanathar who was wearing a tiger skin and elephant skin and wandering about in cremation grounds became Sundarareswara of exquisite beauty only after He married Her. Later in the Sri Rudram it it stated that Shivaa is the elixir for Shiva and keeps Him alive as also the universes. Manthra Pushpam Yopam puspam veda Puspavan prajavan pasuvan bhavati

Candramava Apam puspam

Puspavan, Prajavan pasuman bhavati

Ya Evam Veda

Yopa mayatanam Veda

Ayatanam bhavati.

Agnirva Apamayatanam

Ayatanavan Bhavati

Yo gnerayatanam Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Apovagner ayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati

Ya Evam Veda

Yopa mayatanam Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Vayurva Apamaya tanam

Ayatanavan bhavati.

Yova Yorayatanam Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati|

Apovai va yorayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati.

Ya Evam veda

Yopamayatanam Veda

Ayatanavan Bhavati

Asowvai tapanna pamayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati

Yo musya tapata Ayatanan Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Apova Amusyatapata Ayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati

Ya Evam Veda

Yopa mayatanam Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Candrama Vama pamayatnam

Ayatanavan bhavati.

Yascandra masa Ayatanam Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Apovai Candra masa Ayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati

Ya Evam Veda

Yo pamayatanam veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Nakshtrani va Apamayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati

Yo Nakshtrana mayatanam Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Apovai Nakshtrana mayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati

Ye evam Veda

Yopamaya tanam Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Parjanyova apamayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati

Yah parjanyasya syayatinam Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Apovai parjanya Syayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati

Ye Evam veda

Yopa maya tanam Veda

Ayatanavan bhavati

Samvastaro Va Apamayatanam

Ayatavan bhavati

Yassavatsa rasyaya tanam Veda

Ayatavan bhavati.

Apovai samvasara ayatanam

Ayatanavan bhavati

Ya Evam veda

Yopsu Navam pratistitam veda

Pratyeva tistati

Rajadhi rajaya Prasahya Sahine|

Namo Vayam Vai Sravanaya Kurmahe

Samekaman Kama Kamaya mahyam

Kamesvaro Vai Sravano dadatu

Kuberaya Vai Sravanaya

Maha rajaya Namah. சிவ தாண்டவ தோத்திரம் சிவ தாண்டவ தோத்திரம்இராவணனால் இயற்றப்பட்டதாகச் சொல்லப்படும் புகழ்பெற்ற துதி ஆகும். இது சிவபெருமானின்அழகையும் ஆற்றலையும் புகழ்ந்து பாடும் சங்கத மொழிப்பாடலாகவிளங்குகின்றது. தாளம் போடவைக்கும் நடையும் எதுகை மோனையும் இப்பாடலின் சிறப்பம்சமாக உள்ள அதேவேளை, அதில் மயங்கி ஈசனே நடனமாடுவார் என்ற பொருளில் "சிவ தாண்டவ தோத்திரம்" எனும் பெயர் காரணப் பெயராகவும் அமைகின்றது. வரலாறு செருக்கோடு கயிலையைத் தூக்கி, அதன்கீழ் நசுங்குண்ட இராவணன், அதிலிருந்து மீள்வதற்காக இத்துதியைப் பாடி, ஈசனைக் குளிர்வித்ததாகச் சொல்லப்படுகின்றது, இத்துதியைப் பாடியபின்னர் தான், "சந்திரகாசம்" எனும் புகழ்பெற்ற வாளை, அவனுக்குச் சிவன் வழங்கினார். பாடல் சங்கத இலக்கியத்தின் படி, "பஞ்சசாமர சண்டம்" எனும் பதினாறு வரிகள் கொண்ட பாடலாக இது அமைந்துள்ளது. சிவ தாண்டவ தோத்திரத்தின் இறுதி சுலோகத்தில் வருகின்ற "எப்போது நான் மகிழ்வோடு இருப்பேன்?" என்ற ஏக்கம் மிகுந்த வினா, இந்நாளைய பக்தர்களுக்கும் பொருந்துவதாக அமைகின்றது. ஸ்ரீ சிவ தாண்டவ ஸ்தோத்திரம் ஓம் கணேசாய நமஹ தமிழ் ஜடா டவீ கலஜ் ஜல ப்ரவாஹ பாவித ஸ்தலே கலே வலம்ப்ய லம்பிதாம் புஜங்க துங்க மாலிகாம் டமட் டமட் டமட் டமன் னிநா தவட் டமர் வயம் சகார சண்ட தாண்டவம் தனோது னஃ சிவஃ சிவம் பொருள்: அடர்ந்த காடு போன்ற திருச்சடையிலிருந்து பொங்கும் நீரால் நனைக்கப்படும் அவன் திருக்கழுத்தில், இராசநாகம் மாலை போல் சுழன்றாட, "டம டம" என ஒலியெழுப்பும் உடுக்கையேந்தி திருக்கூத்தாடும் சிவன், அவன் அருள் மழையை எங்கும் பொழிக! தமிழ் ஜடா கடாஹ ஸம்ப்ரம ப்ரமண் ணிலிம்ப நிர்ஜரீ விலோல வீச்சி வல்லரீ விராஜ மான மூர்த்தனி தகத் தகத் தகஜ் ஜ்வலல் லலாட பட்ட பாவகே கிஷோர சந்த்ர ஷேகரே ரதிஃ ப்ரதிக்ஷணம் மம  பொருள்: சுருள்சடையாலான குளத்தில் அலைவீசி ஆடும் கங்கையும், திருநெற்றியில் கனல் வீசும் தீயையும், இளம்பிறையை அணிகல்னாகவும் கொண்டுள்ள சிவனை நான் போற்றுகின்றேன். தமிழ் தரா தரேந்த்ர நந்தினீ விலாஸ பந்து பந்துர ஸ்புரத் திகந்த ஸந்ததி ப்ரமோத மான மானஸே க்ருபா கடாக்ஷ தோரணீ நிருத்த துர்த ராபதி க்வசித் தீகம்பரே மனோ வினோதமேது வஸ்துனி  பொருள்: பரந்த ஞாலத்தின் உயிர்களெல்லாம் வாழத் திருவுளம் கொண்டவனும், மலையரசன் மகளுடன் மகிழ்ந்தாடுபவனும், தன் கடைக்கண்ணோக்கால், துன்பமெல்லாம் தீர்ப்பவனும், திக்குகளையே ஆடையாய் அணிந்து அம்மணமாய்த் திரிபவனுமான சிவனைக் கண்டு, நான் உளம் மகிழ்கிறேன். தமிழ் ஜடா புஜங்க பிங்கள ஸ்புரத் பணா மணி ப்ரபா கடம்ப குங்கும த்ரவ ப்ரலிப்த திக்வதூ முகே மதாந்த ஸிந்து ரஸ்புரத் வகுத்தரீ யமேதுரே மனோ வினோத மத்புதம் பிபர்து பூத பர்தரி  பொருள்: வாழ்க்கைக்கு ஆதாரமானவனும், கொடியொத்த கழுத்து நாகத்தின் செங்கபில நிற நாகமாணிக்கம் எங்கும் ஒளிவீசித் தென்படத் திகழ்பவனும், பல திசைகளும் நிறைந்து (உன்னைப் போற்றும்) மாதரின் முகங்களில், அந்த மாணிக்கத்தின் கதிர்கள் பலவண்ணக் கோலமிடவும், மதயானையின் உருபோர்த்து அருளொளி வீச அமர்ந்திருப்பவனுமாகிய சிவனைக் கண்டு என்னுள்ளம், களித்தாடுகின்றது. தமிழ் ஸஹஸ்ர லோச்சன ப்ரப்ருத் யசேஷ லேக சேகர ப்ரஸூன தூளி தோரணீ விதூ ஸராந்த்ரீ பீடபூஃ புஜங்க ராஜ மாலயா னிபத்த ஜாட ஜூடக ஸ்ரியை சிராய ஜாயதாம் சகோரபந்து சேகர  பொருள்: சகோரப்பறவையின் தோழனை (நிலா) தலையணிகலனாகக் கொண்டவனும், செந்நாகத்தால் கட்டிய திருச்சடையைக் கொண்டவனும், அரி - இந்திராதி தேவர்களின் தலையிலிருந்து விழுந்த மலர்களின் மகரந்தத் தாதினால் சாம்பல் நிறமாகக் காணப்படும் பாதங்களை உடையவனுமான ஈசன் எமக்கு சகல வளங்களும் நல்குக.