INTRODUCTION🔗

Śrī Rudram is the most popular and powerful of the chants that are found in the 4ᵗʰ kāṇḍa (chapter) of the Taittirīya saṁhitā of the Yajur veda. It has the śiva pañcākṣarī mantra at its centre. Rudra, the divine aspect of Lord Shiva, is the powerful Guru who goads His disciples to overcome inimical forces, triumph over enemies and rise up to fulfill the obligations of life and go beyond. What appears initially to be a prayer for worldly benefits alone, as we delve deeper, slowly unfolds its true depth.

The chant progresses from praying for material benefits to seeking emotional upliftment and mental stability with the aid of prayers and rituals. The prayer promotes harmonious existence with natural forces such that these forces become the benefactors for pushing the aspirant to the state where his wants are mitigated, and he begins to have a deeper look at himself. He progresses from the state of aiming for the śakti (energy) to change what he can, toaccepting what he cannot change with his buddhi (intelligence). The intense chanting itself is the yukti or the technique to jump to the state where we understand that everything around us is forever changing and that change is the only phenomenon that is constant. This knowledge makes us seek that which undergoes no change. The advent of divine power in the form of the Master is the fresh breeze of bliss that can uplift everyone. In this edition we of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam are immensely pleased to present to the readers the words of wisdom of our Master Paramahamsa Nithyananda as they embellish the chants of Śrī Rudram and make them easy for modern man to understand. The words of the Master have the power to transform our inner space, therby making us resonate with the inner significance of these chants.

This edition is an attempt to make the ancient wisdom applicable for the man of this age. The Master's words of wisdom are the highlights of each of these verses. These words will help us apply this ancient everlasting mantra to the here and hereafter.

We appreciate the various editions of Rudram compiled by different authors and we have taken guidance from them. We are happy to introduce the svara (pitch) markings in the English transliteration which, we feel, will help readers from all over the world to understand and recite the mantras. We thank Ma Ananda Punidavathi for having compiled this work.