Few months before I was surfing YouTube and hoping I would stumble across something interesting and I found a video with 12 million views. I was intrigued and wanted to know what was so special about it. It is called “Rudri Path“. Sri Rudram also called Sri Rudrapraśna consists of 2 parts. – Namakam and Chamakam.
From the moment I first heard this hymn, I was hooked and I am glad that I clicked on that link that day. In Namakam it describes various names of Rudra (a form of shiva) and requests for forgiveness. However, in Chamakam it asks for fulfillment of wishes. Here, I am highlighting few phrases from Chamakam which I found extremely interesting.
Chamakam is beautifully written and covers various aspects of life. It consists of 11 Anuvakas overall but I will be calling out only those which has stood out for me and things that I probably would never have prayed about.
- Highlights from 1st Anuvaka
- May the food that I eat be pure. Let me have good appetite and relish the food and digest the food that I eat.
- Grant me the capacity to discriminate what to hear and what not to hear.
- May my mind be lit up with clarity to understand things properly.
- May my mind deserve the right knowledge through incisive grasping. May you grant me the gift of eloquent speech and a sane and healthy mind.
- Let me have a respectable old age with dignity.
Summary: I never prayed for a good appetite and it to digest or provide me with clarity to understand and process information and have respectable old age. This was an eye-opener for me on how these are really basic and are important to us.
- Highlights from 2nd Anuvaka
- May I have the sense of resentment which is just and anger which is righteous. Let me have the right self-control for the dignified manifestation of anger.
- Let me be sought after and respected by others.
- May I be granted good progeny and unbroken lineage. May my learning, character and truthfulness grant me natural superiority over others.
- May the heritage which has come down to me from my forefathers be steady with me and what I acquire in my life be protected.
- May I always dwell in pleasant, hospitable and safe places. May my passage in this world be always smooth and may I be endowed with spiritual merit in my afterlife.
- May I be provided material comforts in abundance in my life’s journey to make it comfortable and pleasant and also to put them to the best use. May I be granted a brilliant and balanced intellect, to manage difficult situations cleverly and successfully.
Summary: In this Anuvaka, I like it how it talks about “Righteous” anger, respect by others, growing heritage from forefathers. These are somethings that we taken for granted in our life and never understand the value they bring in our life.
- Highlights from 3rd Anuvaka:
- May I be granted happiness in this world and in the other world. May I acquire good and pleasant objects in this world and also in the other world.
- May I have the guidance of elders and teachers who can control and lead me in the right way. Let me have parents and elders who will comfort and support me. May I be blessed with the capacity to protect and retain what I have already earned. May I be granted unshaken fortitude under the most trying and difficult circumstances.
- May I have the capacity to command obedience and work from my children out of love. May I have the executive ability and drive to extract obedience and work from my employees and others.
- May I possess righteous conduct which wins the approval of one and all. May I be blessed with sound sleep, a happy and auspicious dawn, and a fruitful day.
Summary: In this Anuvaka, it made me realize how important the guidance of elders is and how often we overlook them. Extracting Obedience from children out of Love and not from fear of punishment is a nice thing to have.
- Highlights from 5th Anuvaka and 11th Anuvaka
- May I be granted the ability to add to my ancestor’s properties with my own earnings. May I be blessed with children with competence and prowess to achieve success in the world.
- May I possess food. May it be produced in plenty. May it be produced again and again.
- O mother Prithvi (Earth) do not injure me. I shall entertain sweet thoughts, do sweet deeds, make sweet offerings, speak sweet words and speak honeyed words to the God-loving men. May the Gods make them faultless. May they be approved by the Pitrs (manes or ancestors)
Conclusion:
The reason, I like Chamakam is because it has made me realize there are so many things we are blessed with which we dont value today . It also gave me a vision for what is important I should include some of the above in my future prayers.
Appendix:
– Shri Rudram – Full Video on Youtube
– Wiki Link on Shri Rudram
– Link for Detailed instructions on Sri Rudram
