Dhyana Slokas of Sri Rudram

Shivaratri is considered to be a very auspicious day. The word “Shiva” itself means the
auspicious one. Therefore Shivaratri means “night of auspiciousness” during which we worship
Shiva. HE is the embodiment of auspiciousness, who is the embodiment of Mangalam, and who
is the embodiment of Ananda. By worshipping Shiva today we can attain all the purusharthas –
artha, kama, dharma and moksha. And on this day Shiva puja is done in the form of rudra
abhisekham. Sri Rudram is supposed to be a very sacred mantra occurring in the Vedas. Sri
Rudram is the glorification of Lord Shiva who is none other than Rudra, which means one who
removes all sorrows or pains from one’s mind. “Ruth” means “dukham” and “dra” means
“remover”. So the very meaning of Rudram is ‘remover of sorrow” and so we chant Rudram and
do abhisekham today. The glory of Rudram is mentioned in Kaivalya Upanishad: a person
becomes free from pappas and sins he has committed. Rudram not only sets us from our sins but
also give us all the four purusharthas. We chant some Dhyana slokas before chanting rudram and
these verses are used for the meditation on Lord Shiva. These prayer verses are beautiful verses
and with beautiful meaning. So I thought I will give you briefly the meaning of the dhyana sloka
today.
            These Dhayana Slokas of Rudram is beautiful as Lord Shiva is described in three
different ways depending upon the stage of the seeker, depending upon the maturity of the
devotee the Lord HIMSELF is seen from three different perspectives. All the three angles are
given in the dhyana slokas and we’ll discuss them.
            The first way of looking upon the Lord as a human being, as a person. A beginner looks
upon the Lord as a person (as a personal god). Therefore the initial description of the Lord is as a
person with hands and legs, asanams and ornaments etc. But once the devotee is evolved enough
then he has to change his perspective. The Lord should not be seen as one particular person but
Lord must be seen as total creation endowed with all the forms of creation. This is called viswa
rupa ishwaraha. Once we have evolved sufficiently then we have to go beyond the viswarupa
also. We have to learn to appreciate the same Lord as formless, attribute less, the absolute
nirgunam Brahman. In Sanskrit the first stage is “eka rupa” bhakti, the Lord in one particular
form. The second stage is “anaka rupa” bhakti, the Lord in manifold form and ultimately the
“arupa” bhakti where the Lord is formless. Every devotee has to start as “eka rupa” bhakta and
here the devotee has a lot of options. You can choose your personal god as personal gods are
many with different names and forms. You can choose Shiva as your Ishta Devata, you can
choose Vishnu as your Ishta devata, you can choose Devi as Ishta Devata – all of them you see
as a person in the beginning. But once I do sufficient puja then the very same Shiva or any
personal God I learn to look upon as the very creation. Viswa, prapanja, eka rupah shariram as
Viswarupah. Thus for a Shiva Bhakta, Shiva becomes the whole creation or the whole creation is
nothing but Shiva. Similarly for a Vishnu bhakta starts with Vishnu rupam initially with Shankar,
gada, chakra etc and he should also evolve to see Vishnu as the very creation. Then all the
bhaktas – whether Shiva bhakta or Vishnu bhakta – must go to the final goal stage where he sees
Vishnu or Shiva or Devi as Sachithananda nirgunam Brahman which is the ultimate devotion. 
           The beauty is when we are in the beginning stage there will be differences between Shiva
and Vishnu and Devi because the forms are different, the weapons are different, the vahanams
are different. Therefore in the first stage every personal god is different from the other. But once
you go to the second stage where you see the Lord as the very creation then there cannot be any
difference between Vishnu and Shiva because Vishnu represents the whole creation, Shiva also
represents the whole creation. How many viswarupams are possible? Viswarupam can only be
one and in this stage there is no difference between Shiva and Vishnu. Similarly when you go to
nirgunam Brahman stage there cannot be any difference between Shiva or Vishnu or Devi. We
start with difference but ultimately we end in non-differences. So initially alone we have got
quarrels “Whether Shiva is bigger or Vishnu is bigger” or “whether Shiva worships Vishnu or
Vishnu worships Shiva” do both of them worship the devi. So all the quarrels are only when the
devotee is in the first stage of personal gods. Veda affirm that we should not grade Brahma or
Shiva or Vishnu and if we do so then it is a big sin. And if a person grades gods as superior or
inferior etc then he is doing a papam and the Lord will give that person a punishment with
“stomach pain”.  So if you don’t want “stomach ache” you should desist from comparisons and
grading! I am not saying but shastra: if you rank Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as “uttama” or
“madhyama” (inferior superior etc) then you will be condemned to pains in the stomach.
Therefore remember all the three are one and the same, one god seen in three different forms.
            All the three levels of Bhakti is there in the dhyana sloka. We will briefly see the
meaning of the sloka.

śuddhasphaṭika saṅkāśaṃ trinetraṃ pañca vaktrakam | 

gaṅgādharaṃ daśabhujaṃ sarvābharaṇa bhūṣitam
         
This is the first stage where we look upon Lord Shiva as a person. And what is HIS complexion?
Suddhaspatika Sankasam, Shiva is very, very fair. Mrs. Shiva, Parvathi, is dark. Maybe this is to
show that there should not be any fights over black and white! Shiva is as fair as a crystal. Then
trinetram, HE has three eyes represented by the sun, the moon and the fire. The sun and moon
represent the ordinary eyes. Agni the third eye represents knowledge. In the mythology you’ll
find that Lord Shiva with the third eye destroyed everything including Manmatha (god of kama)
and HE also destroy tripurantaka asuras etc. Philosophically the third eye represents Janani
Agnih. When we mean Lord destroys Kama we mean HE destroys all our petty desires. IF we
have the third eye of wisdom like Shiva we can also burn Kama, kroda, loba, etc. Tripura
rakshasas represent the three sharirams, the three gunas, and the three avasthas. With the help of
the third eye a person destroys all the sharirams (sthula, sukha and karam). In short, HE destroys
samsara, thereby HE destroys all our problems. Pancavaktrakam – the Lord who has five faces or
five heads.  Four heads on four sides and one head looking up (you should not ask where is the
place!). The five heads are enumerated in the Vedas in the well known mantra sandyo jatham
prapadh is the first one, vamadevayah is the second,  agorabyo is the third one, tat purushaya is
the fourth one, eshanah is the fifth. The fifth head is very important for those people who seek
self-knowledge, all the apara vidya and also para vidya. It is from the standpoint of eshanah that
we look upon Lord Shiva as Dakshinamurthy. Lord Shiva is the authority of Vedas. Then
Gangadaram means is one who has got Ganga devi or Ganga river on his jatta. From Lord Shiva
head only Ganga is blessing all people. Philosophically Ganga represents brahma vidya or self-
knowledge. There are a lot of similarities between Ganga and self-knowledge. Both originate
from the Lord’s head. Ganga is a perennial river not like our local Madras river that dry up,
similarly the tradition of self-knowledge is also perennial. Ganga flows from higher plane to
lower plane, atma-vidya too flows from guru in the higher plane to sishya in the lower plane. If
you dip into Ganga it refreshes your body and mind, similarly if you dip in brahma vidya (self-
knowledge) you like refresh yourself. Ganga has got various ghats (steps). You should approach
only through the ghats otherwise you’ll be swept away. Ganga is a powerful river. There are lot
of rocks and it;s ice cold. Even a powerful swimmer cannot swim in this river. So if you want to
have a bath you must go to a ghat. Likewise if you want self-knowledge you must follow a
tradition of approaching a guru. You insist on self-efforts like using translation it will only cause
confusion. There are so many common features and the Lord is called Gangadarah. Dasabhujam
– the Lord who has ten hands which are stretched in all the ten directions (four main quarters,
four secondary quarters and then up and down).  Sarva bharana Bhushitam – One who has many
ornaments on HIS body. All the ornaments of Shiva are made up of snakes! 

nīlagrīvaṃ śaśāṅkāṅkaṃ nāga yaṅñopa vītinam | 

vyāghra carmottarīyaṃ ca vareṇyamabhaya pradam             

Nilagrivam is the one who is blue necked and one who swallowed the poison to save the whole
world. Sasankankam is one who has got moon on HIS head. Philosophically the moon represents
the time principle for we determine “thiti” and kala from its movement. Therefore Shiva has
Kala under HIS control.  nāga yaṅñopa vītinam – HE has got the sacred thread which is another
snake.  vyāghra carmottarīyaṃ ca is the tiger skin that HE is wearing as a dress. Varenyam means
that HE is the goal of all the people as HE is the nature of Ananda. Abaya pradam is ONE who
gives protection, refuge to all the devotees.       

kamaṇḍal-vakṣa sūtrāṇāṃ dhāriṇaṃ śūlapāṇinam |

jvalantaṃ piṅgaḷajaṭā śikhā muddyota dhāriṇam

HE has got Kamandalu and aksha mala and that’s why HE is the representative of all sanyasis.
Shivaratri is considered to be very sacred as many take sanyasa deeksha on this auspicious day.
Shiva represents tyaga and Vishnu represents bhoga. Shiva has got jatta and HE does not even
have a proper dress. Shiva represents the sanyasi parampara. HE has got sulapaninam to destroy
all the asuras. Jvalantam is ONE who is shining, one who is bright. Pingalajatta means jatta  is
golden yellow in colour as it is not washed (there is no shampoo etc) and it has become brawny
colour. And sikha that is standing upward like a plane and one who is keeping Ganga jalam in
HIS matted hair.       
vṛṣa skandha samārūḍham umā dehārtha dhāriṇam |
amṛtenāplutaṃ śāntaṃ divyabhoga samanvitam

HE is amrutham as abhisekam is indicated, HE is ananda and HE is one who has Uma devi as the
second half of HIS body. Even after sanyasa HE has got a peculiar problem for he cannot leave
his wife. Wherever HE goes Uma devi will also come. And one who is seated on a divine
simhasanam that is the Himalayas. And one who has all the bhoga as Himalayas have all the
gold, gems etc.

digdevatā samāyuktaṃ surāsura namaskṛtam |

nityaṃ ca śāśvataṃ śuddhaṃ dhruva-makṣara-mavyayam

One who is surrounded by dig devatas and one who is worshipped by all suras and asuras. Until
now you got description of Shiva as a personal god. Now the sloka give a different and higher
angle of nirgunal brahma swarupam. nityaṃ ca śāśvataṃ śuddhaṃ dhruva-makṣara-mavyayam and
these are all definitions of formless Brahman. It is nitya, (eternal), sasvatam (changeless),
suddham (pure), druvam (without any movement), aksharam (without any distraction) and
avyayam (without any taint). According to the level and maturity of the seeker we can see Shiva
as personal god or we can see Shiva as nirgunam Brahman. Then having given these two aspect
the dhyana sloka gives the third aspect, that is anaka rupam or vishwa rupam.      

sarva vyāpina-mīśānaṃ rudraṃ vai viśvarūpiṇam |

evaṃ dhyātvā dvijaḥ samyak tato yajanamārabhe

The very same lord is not seated in Kailasa but HE is the form of whole vishwa or cosmos and
who is all pervading and who is the ultimate lord. Here we have to reverse the order, first eka
rupa then anaka rupa and finally arupa. Having meditated on Shiva in one form or the other
according to the maturity of the devotee thereafter rudra abhisekham should be done. First we
have to meditate and only then do the rudram puja. 

There are two more dhyana slokas and those two I will briefly discuss.

āpātāḷa-nabhaḥsthalānta-bhuvana-brahmāṇḍa-māvisphurat- 
jyotiḥ sphāṭika-liṅga-mauḷi-vilasat-pūrṇendu-vāntāmṛtaiḥ |
astokāpluta-meka-mīśa-maniśaṃ rudrānu-vākāñjapan 
dhyāye-dīpsita-siddhaye dhruvapadaṃ vipro‌உ bhiṣiñce-ccivam

This is a beautiful sloka whee Shiva is seen as a jyotih linga, a shining linga which is pure like
sphatikam. We have different kinds of linga. In fact the pancha bhootas are seen as five lingas:
prithvi linga, jala lingam, agni linga, vayu linga and akasha lingam to show that everything is the
Lord. In this sloka Lord Shiva is seen as Akasha lingam. If you look at the sky it also looks like a
linga with a curvature. An akasha in which all the lokas, the entire brahmadam is there. From
pathala to nabhasthalanta upto brahma loka. The total cosmos (the 14 lokas) are located in the
aksaha and the akasha is the linga. If the akasha is the linga then who will do the abhisekam?
You cannot do it with the local 1 litre or 2 litre of milk! The sloka says that the abhisekam is
done by purnendu chandrah. According to mythology when the moon emits rays it is also
emitting some water also. Because of the water content the moon rays are cool. That moon emits
amruta jalam on a full moon day that pervades the whole space. And that is coming from the
moon partum for the akasha lingam or cosmic linga. Therefore on every full moon day rudra
abhisekam is taking place.
            And what kind of Lord is HE? He is ekam, misam, manisam. He is one absolute ultimate
God we should worship by constantly chanting the Sri Rudram mantram. One should worship
Shiva for dhyaya, dipsita, sidhaya dhruvapadam. For attaining all the four purusharthas. The
people are many and their desires are not one but many. Suppose I say: choose one boon from
the Lord not everyone will opt for moksha. Some will ask for relief from water problem, another
person will say that his stomach pain should go or this and that. By chanting Rudram one can ask
for any purushartha from Shiva who is abhishekam. One should worship that Shiva who is ever
changeless. Dhruvapadam means nirguna swarupam (changless).

brahmāṇḍa vyāptadehā bhasita himarucā bhāsamānā bhujaṅgaiḥ

kaṇṭhe kālāḥ kapardāḥ kalita-śaśikalā-ścaṇḍa kodaṇḍa hastāḥ |
tryakṣā rudrākṣamālāḥ prakaṭitavibhavāḥ śāmbhavā mūrtibhedāḥ
rudrāḥ śrīrudrasūkta-prakaṭitavibhavā naḥ prayaccantu saukhyam

brahmanda vyaptadeha, here one Lord Shiva is worshipped in eleven different forms. They are
all pervading in nature, they are snow white like vibhuti, they all have serpa abaranam (snake as
ornaments). All have necks dark in colour from poison and all of them have got moons
(shashikala) in their eleven heads. All of them have got bows and arrows as their weapons
(ścaṇḍa kodaṇḍa hastāḥ) to destroy the asuras.
            Tryaksa, all of them are three-eyed and all of them have rudraksha mala. They all remove
fear from the minds of the devotees. All the eleven are different aspects of the one and the same
Shambu. And if you want to know the glory of the Lord Shiva śrīrudrasūkta-prakaṭitavibhavā the
source of knowledge is Sri Rudram. Those whose glories are mentioned in the Sri Rudram of the
eleven lingas, may all these rudras bless us with happiness and all the four purushartas. That is
why after chanting rudram we chant chamakkam indicating all our desires. Remember
chamakkam includes not only material desires but also spiritual desires also. We are asking
vivekam, vairagyam, shashta sampathi, mumukshatvam, sadhana chatustaya sampathi we are
asking for self-knowledge, we are asking for moksha. That is why chamakkam is required for all
of us. Therefore chanting rudram and chamakkam we can ask for any purushartha. On this
auspicious day when we chant we will be blessed in the path of moksha ultimately. 
 Answer
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Before starting reciting Sri Rudram the LaghunyAsa is recited and the NyAsas are performed.

LaghunyAsa:
Note: NyAsa simply means to implant God principle in our own bodies. So, first we ourselves
become God and then we worship him after being fully divinised. This is basically the idea behind
the performance NyAsa.

LaghunyAsa begins with a DhyAnam (Meditative verse).

And, the DhyAnam begins with the following verse:

AthAtmanam shivAtmAnam srirudrarupam dhyAyet|

......

One should meditate on the form of Sri Rudra who is the self (Atma) and the essence of happiness.
It then continues and finally ends with the following verse:

Sarva vyApinam ishAnam rudram vai vishvarupinam evam |

DhyAtvA dvijah samyak tato yajanam arabhet ||
...........

He, Rudra, the Lord, has a form which envelops everything. After having meditated on this God of
perfection, the yajamana begins his yajna (or worship).
Now, they do the NyAsas which goes like this:

Prajanane brahma tishthatu (He establishes BrahmA in the source or in the genitals).

PAdyoh vishnuh tishthatu (Establishes Vishnu in the feet).

Hastayoh harah tishthatu (Establishes Hara in the hands).

BAhvoh indrah tishthatu (Establishes Indra in the arms).

Jathare agnih tishthatu (Establishes Agni in the stomach).

Hrdaye shivah tishthatu (Establishes Shiva in the heart).

This goes on till the 31st verse, where they say:

Sarveshu angeshu sarvA devatA yathAsthAnam tishthantu. (Let all the deities be established in their
appropriate places in the subtle body).

MAm rakshantu (May they all protect me). 31

NyAsa still continues with:

vAyuh me prane shritah prAno hrdaye hrdayam mayi ( VAyu is lodged in my PrAna; PrAna in the
heart; heart in me.)
and many other similar verses.

Till the 49th verse NyAsa continues. Then, in the 50th verse, ViniyogAha for Sri Rudram is chanted
as follows:

Asya shri rudrAdhyAyaprashnamahAmantrasya aghora rshih, anushtup chandah

sankarshanamurtisvarupa yo asau Adityah paramapurushah sa esha rudro devatA ||

...........

For this great mantra of Rudra-adyaya, the rishi is Aghora (KAnva), the metre is Anushtuph; He has
the form of Sankarshana. The Supreme Person beyond and great Sun are same as Rudra. 51
Namah shivAya iti bijam, shivatarAya iti shaktih, mahAdevAya iti kilakam, Sri sAmbasadAshiva
prasAda sidhyarthe jape viniyogah ||

...........

Namaha shivAya is the seed, ShivatarAya is the energy, MahAdeva is the linchpin,; The japa is done
as an offering to Shri SAmba SadAshiva for obtaining his (or their) grace. 55
From here on starts Kara (hands), Anga (limb) and Hrdaya (heart) NyAsas.

This is done to divinise the fingers, hands, heart and all-body.

OM agnihotratmane angushthabhyAm namaha | (Salutations to the thumbs that embody

Agnihotra). 56
and so on. Along with chanting the mantras, certain postures and hand movements, Mudras are also
to be performed, which one who has learned Sri Rudram from the teacher will know.

This HridyAdi NyAsa ends with:

bhurbhuvahsuvarom iti digvandaha ( By bhur bhuvah svah, all the quarters are secured) 68
Then starts the DhyAnam for Sri Rudra:

ApAtAla nabhah sthalAnta bhuvana brahmandam avisphurat jyotih sphAtika linga mauli vilasat
purnendu vAntAmri taih ...... murtibhedA rudrAh shri rudrasukta prakatita vibhavA nah
prayachchantu saukhyam || (incomplete-not all verse given)

............

During japa with mantras of Shiva, the wise person (Vipra) meditates on Rudra, who envelops all the
worlds (BrahmAnda) from the lowest world to the highest heaven .... Who has the poison in the
thoraot, who has a Trishula in his hand, who has three-eyes, who is decorated with the RudrAksha
beads, who grants peace and who is beyond form (Mutibheda).
Then they chant a mantra for Lord Ganapati, who is the first to be worshipped in every Hindu
traditions. And then a ShAnti mantra is recited.
Now, the Sri Rudram recitation starts as usual from "Namaste rudra manyava uto ta ishave namaha".
After finishing Namakam, the Chamakam is recited.

Then, Shiva Sankalpa mantras are usually recited to finish things off.

Shiva Sankalpa mantras:

These 6 mantras appear in the 34th AdhyAya of the VAjasaneyi SamhitA of the Shukla Yajur Veda
and also in Khila portion of Rig Veda. They are all Rik mantras in the Trishtubh metre.

YajjAgrato duram udaiti daivam tadu suptasya tathaivaiti ( The Divine One, that wanders far off
from the wakeful and likewise in the sleep too) 1..... SushArathirashvAn iva yanmanushyAn ( May
that in which guides men like a good charioteer)... Hritpratishtham yadajiram javishtham (That which
abides in the heart, most swift and active), Tanme manah shivasankalpam astu (May that my mind
aspire towards Shiva) 6. (Incomplete-Not all mantras given)