श्री रुद्र - अनुवाक १ - मन्त्र १

श्री रुद्र consists of Eleven Anuvakas. In the first, consisting of 15 mantras, we pray to the Rudra Shakti for His grace. He has two forms: The "Rudra" form which is terrifying and destructive and the "Shiva" form which is benign.

 

ॐ नमस्ते रुद्र मन्यव उतोत इशवे नम:|
नमस्ते अस्तु धन्वने बाहुभ्यामुतते नम:||१||

 

रुद्र - O! Rudra ते मन्यवे to your anger नम: salutations. उत ते इशवे नम: Again, salutations to your arrow. नमस्ते अस्तु धन्वने Salutations to your bow उत ते बाहुभ्याम नम: again salutations to your arms (which wield the bow).

 

Rudra:

 

The term is derived in various ways as follows:

1. Who makes us speak

2. Who makes people understand everything by words (language)

3. Who makes us conscious of our dharmas through Vedas

4. Who leads us to self knowledge through repetition of pranavas

5. Who removes sins and melts in compassion

6. Who makes people cry at the time of dissolution of the universe

7. Who removes the miseries of the Sansara by His grace

8. Who enters the hearts of people as Nada Bramha

9. Who imparts spiritual knowledge to seekers of the Truth through Upanishads

10. Who imparted to Bramha, the creator, the truth (knowledge of the Vedas) at the time of creation

 

These meanings are derived from the word रु, to produce sound, to cry and रुद्, to shed tears and द्रु, to flow, run, melt.

 

मन्यु is anger. This is the root of all miseries. Rudra's anger causes destruction. So to propitiate Him, salutations first to Rudra, who is anger embodied. It may mean: manyu - anger is the Shakti of the Lord and therefore our salutations to Him so that He may not use it against us for our transgressions of the eternal moral codes. Again, manyu is the cause of misery.

 

The word Rudra is derived as the one who melts the manyu within us. Salutations to you arrow - इशवे, Salutations to your bow - धन्वने  and the arms - बाहुभ्याम that wield it.

 

Swami Amritanand ji has, in his book, also covered the interpretations of Vishnusuri. Any mistakes in reproducing these are my own.

 

Vishnusuri: Rudra represents the Atman and arrow means jivatman, which when discharged merges into paramatman. Manyu is the maya shakti of the Lord. Rudradhaya is an Upanishad. Its subject matter is the all-pervasiveness of Rudra. Rudra is the self of everything. Jiva is essentially Rudra however his agnyana makes him think that he is different.

 

So salutations to the maya shakti of the Lord which is manyu and which makes the jiva feel helpless and miserable.

 

The bow is pranava. The Lord is the goal of the pranava and holds the bow. The two arms of the Lord are the two powers of maya, the concealing power and the distorting or projecting power - avarana Shakti and vikshepa Shakti. These may also mean dharma and adharma which confer happiness and misery on the jiva according to his prarabdha karma.