Ravana: The great Shiva bhaktha

Most people think when the hear the word Ravana, the terrible Asura who slaughtered thousands of innocent beings and usurped his righteous brother Kubera's throne. While it is true that he was an Asura who did commit various acts of injustice, he is still seen as an Aryan by Hanuman when he visits Lanka in the Sundarakhanda of Valmiki Ramayana. An Arya is a being of great nobility, it was a title reserved for great kings and mighty sages. Then does he, Ravaana deserve this title?

Who was he?

Son of Vaishrava, the grandson of Pulastaya Rishi and princess Kaikesi. Pulastaya was the son of Brahma, and thus he (Raavana) is considered Brahmin. The central antagonist in the Hindu epic Ramayana, he was the great demon king of Sri Lanka. He was called a dashagriva. A dashagriva is one who has 10 heads. He is described to have 10 heads and 20 arms, and when running into the battle he would terrify even ghosts and demons, as such he became known as the demon king of Lanka. Despite his horrific appearance, Ravana had a peaceful form, which was that of a scholar who had learned and mastered the four Vedas and devout follower of Lord Shiva. Legend has it, that because he was such a devout Shaivite (follower of Lord Shiva), the lord gave him divine weapons. He was thus indestructible to the Devas. He was considered a maestro of the Veena, an ancient India musical instrument who contested the great Rishi Agastya on the Veena.  

Tapas to Brahma 

PENANCE TO BRAHMA

Inspired by his demonic maternal uncles and mother (who was a daitya, a clan of demons) he began to perform ascetic penances to please his grandfather who was known as the creator of man. Through rigorous Tapas, Brahma, the creator god was much pleased and asked what he desired. Ravana instantly requested immortality, to which Brahma refused, as all beings have an ultimate end, including him. However, Brahma pleased with his great grandsons penances made him near invincible to almost any weapon and gave him Amritham (the nectar of immortality) to wear around his waist. Which can only be defeated by a weapon forged by brahma himself the legendary brahmaastra. 


Lankeshwaran
Having obtained the celestial boons, Raavana defeated his older half brother in battle and took Lanka built by the celestial architect Visvakarman. Having obtained a massive kingdom, he became an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He performed many austerities to please him. However, he did not get the attention he sought. Having failed at pleasing Shiva, Ravana decided to end his life, and cut of his only head. When Lord Shiva graced him with his divine presence and bestowed upon him 10 heads and 20 arms for the one he lost. Thus making Raavana practically invincible. 

CUTTING HIS HEAD OFF

The mighty Shiva Bhakta
Every morning Ravana would worship Shiva with ardent devotion. It is said that when made a Shiva Lingam out of sand it would stay put for the entire worship. Ravana's bhakti to Shiva grew greater and greater to point where Raavana was maddened by his bhakti to the Lord. This ultimately made him near invincible, as Shiva was the God of War and Death, Raavana became the unquestionable emperor of the three worlds. Unfortunately, often with great power comes great pride. As expected, the demon king grew tremendously proud but his pride was often checked by even more devout and sincere beings such as Valli the Monkey king of Kishkinda or Kartaveerya Arjuna. 

PENANCE TO PLEASE LORD SHIVA

Shaking of Kailasam and Loss of Golingam
As Ravana's Bhakti to Lord Shiva was growing exponentially, Raavana wanted to have the biggest lingam in the world in his back yard, so he could worship it when he feels like it. And thus a brilliant (yet arrogant) idea occurred to him. He decided Kailasam was the largest lingam and it better fitted in Lanka. Thus he set forth with his Puspaka Vimana (Flying Chariot) to lift it and bring it back to Lanka. At that time, Mahadeva (Lord Siva) was having a huge argument with Parvathi (his wife) and Parvathi left him. At this time a huge earth quake shook the mountain, it was actually Raavana lifting the mountain. Parvathi ran back to the arms of her lord and Shiva pressed his upper toe against the ground and the entire mountain fell on the King of the Demons. Howling in pain, the demon king roared aloud. Just then ganapathi and his ganas came down to tell Ravana who was residing on the mount and immediately raavana grew penitent. He plucked his own nerves to make a veena and sang the Shiva Tandava Stotram. He praised lord Shiva for years under the mount and Shiva, pleased with his humility lifted his big toe. Raavana ran to the feet of Mahadeva and Shiva gave him a lingam called Golinga. He said that this lingam is as powerful as the Mountain itself and he can carry it to Lanka. Roaring with joy, Raavana takes the lingam. Shiva warned him, however, that if he drops the lingam, then the lingam cannot be lifted. It will stay there permanently. Raavana agreed and flew to Lanka. On the way, he realised the sun was setting. During the sun rise and sun set period, the Aryans of the Vedic culture must do a ritualistic worship of the sun, called the Sandhya vandanam. Ganesha, who did not want the lingam to leave India, came in the guise of a brahmin (priest) who agreed to look after the lingam until Raavana completed the rituals, under one condition, which was to complete the entire ritual in under ten minutes. Raavana agreed as he knew the mantras (incantations) like the the back of his hand. However, while doing the Puja, Ganesha entered his mind and deluded the poor demon king. Making him forget and redo the ritual several times, ensuring the agreed upon ten minutes were passed. In doing so he conveniently dropped the Lingam on the spot and Raavana roared a painful loss. 

DASHAGRIVA RAAVANA

Legacy.
Raavana's thirst for knowledge, his desire to please Shiva and his austerities earned him the various yogic abilities. As he was an ardent devotee of the Lord his wisdom grew. He is worshipped as a god amongst many cults and is considered the master of astrology, ayurveda and saama veda. However, with unquestionable power comes absolute corruption. It was Raavanas lust and pride that destroyed him and his beautiful city. He gave into such a menial desire on the becoming of his sister and ultimately dug his own grave.

Swami Vidyaranya

As I turn a quarter of a century, I contemplated on some of the people who have influenced me the most in my spiritual path. The obvious few would be Swami Vivekananda, with his Guru Paramahamsa Ramakrishna, Adi Shankara, Appar, Yogananda, Ramana Maharishi and ofcourse my own self perception on various scriptural dogmas. I wanted to thank someone/god or being for bringing me this far in life with both intellect and philosophical inquiry. As such I thought about writing a short biography of one the above saints only to realize that they are already infinitely famous (at least within Hinduism) and there would not be much of a tribute to my system of thought and as such I decided upon the patron saint Vidyaranya. He is not very well known amongst most Hindus but his very existence is one of the core reasons for the existence of Hinduism itself.

This great swami was born to Māyaṇācārya and Śrīmatīdevī in Pampakṣetra (modern day Hampi) around 1268 CE. What you ask is so special about this man? Well, he was born at a time when Hinduism faced a real threat from Islamic conversion. The Muslim kings had decided on making Bharata Varsha an Islamic state at all costs and were burning thousands of priceless scriptures. One half of all Indian astronomy was burnt to crisp as it did not gain appreciation with the 'Koran', thousands of Vedic texts, and their associated commentaries burnt as they posed a threat to the holy Koran. As a young boy, Madhava (Pre-ascetic name of Vidyaranya) had a high commitment to the preservation of knowledge. He decided that at all costs he would lay his life for the preservation of this knowledge.

Madhava learned the tenents of Hindu thought under the great scholar Shankarananda and later Sri Vidya Tirtha in Kanchi. The knowledge of Sri Vidya Tirtha was so great that he was known as an avataram of dakshinamurthi (the god of wisdom). However despite all the learning, one thought still burdened him.`I must try to remove the dangers which Hinduism and its culture are facing in South India. I must propitiate the mother goddess Bhuvaneshwari and bring back the knowledge India has lost to the Muslims.' His guru was touched by the ambition of Madhava. He blessed him in his mission and Madhava left for his mission.

Just then Mallik Khafur with his army of Muslims invaded Sri Rangam. They plundered the entire temple, defecated the idols and burnt the copies of the Bhagavada Purana and the Bhagavad Gita. They killed over 150,000 innocent civilians and the residing priests all died of shock and grief. Madhava came to learn of this atrocity and great flame burnt into his chest. He decided even at the cost of his life, he will not stop until he manages to establish a Hindu kingdom. 

He wandered throughout India to establish a good spot for his meditation. He decided to meditate in the Vindhya mountains. While he was doing so a brahmarakshasa arrived. A brahma-rakshasa is a spirit. When a very learned person fails to impart his knowledge and lives an irreligious life, he becomes a brahma-rakshasa. This spirit asked him for food and water as it was eternally thirsty and hungry. Being a monk, Madhava said he did not have anything to offer him, to which the spirit said "Let me take you to the great sage Veda Vyasa, who will impart you all the 64 Shastra and in turn you can teach it to me which will feed me."  The name of the spirit was called Shringi. Madhava agreed and the two went to Varanasi (the Jerusalem of India) and on the way, the Shringi pointed to a paraiya (low cast usually a hunter) with 4 dogs. The intuitive Madhava at once realized that this was no paraiya, but the great sage Vyasa himself and the 4 dogs were the 4 Vedas. He prostrated before him and requested to know the 64 scriptures. The great sage readily blessed him and initiated him into the esoteric Sri Vidya upasana (a specific method of worshipping the divine mother). He is said to have written the Sri Vidyanarva tantra which a complete encyclopedia on Sri Vidya.

After learning the secret mantra from the great Sage Vyasa, Madhava meditated on that Mantra. Days passed to weeks, which passed to months, then years. Madhava lived at first on roots & grass, then on just water and finally just air. The weather turned harsh on his body, but his will was fixed. This he did for 12 years and after 12 long years of sincere meditation, the great goddess appeared before him, "Oh great saint, for your austerities, I confer the title Vidyaranya, now ask any boon so that I may fructify it" She said. Vidyaranya was overwhelmed by the deity and replied "Oh great goddess! I am perfectly happy here, I have no other desire but to see your grace!" The deity knew what he was truly desirous of and told him "Oh Child, I know what you truly desire, you will bring back the lost knowledge of the Veda and restore the glorious state of Karnataka but. . ." immediately the Saint replied "why mother? Why stop?"
"But you will not be able to accomplish this in this lifetime. Only in your next birth" the goddess replied.
"Mother! I cannot wait this long, my mother-land cannot wait this long!" Vidyaranya pleaded.
"In that case you must become a celibate and rule through a king who is young enough to lay the foundations." The goddess said.
"I will do so immediately," the saint replied and the goddess, pleased, replied "Be it so my son" 

And soon enough, two young men arrived at the ashrama (hermitage) of Vidyaranya. "Who are you?" the saint asked. "We are brothers, Harihara Rayya and Bukka Rayya, Alas we were once rulers of this land but the evil King Mohammed Bin Tughlaq plundered our city and mercilessly killed everyone. We managed to escape just in time. The sage made up his mind to ensure that this two were the progenitors of the dynasty. He chose a spot near the Tungabhadra river (modern day Hampi) established the legendary Kingdom of Vijaya Nagara. It was initially intended to be called Vidyanagara (land of knowledge) but instead became known as Vijayanagara (land of victory).

The great sage, not only ruled the entire city of Vijayanagara, but also wrote the Sarva Darshana Sangraha where he refutes every philosophy known at the time and establishes the truth of Advaita (non duality) Vedanta. He also wrote the Panca Deshi which is a concise treaty on Advaita.

Legacy:

Brought the 64 arts/Culture back to India
Wrote the Shankara Dig Vijayam (Legend has it he saw the whole life of Adi Shankara through his meditation and wrote this text)

Wrote the Sri Vidyanarva

Became the pontiff of Sringeri Madham

It is believed that even today in the Shringeri madham,  food is offered to Shringi the brahma rakshasa.

Thiruvalaiyadal: Manikavacakar

The Story of the great Shaivite Saint Manikavachar

In the banks of the Vaigai river there existed a great kingdom of the Pandiyas. This river gave birth to the great Saints of Lord Shiva. One such person was Mannikavacar (Literally one whose voice/utterance are like gems). His story comes in the Thiruvalaiyadal Puranam (story 58 -> 62). This saint was born in the city of Vadavoor (his exact date of birth is subject to controversy, but it is accepted to be around 882 - 885 C.E.) As he was born in Vadavoor, his name became Vadavoorar.

Upon his birth Vadavoorar was put to study very early, and he mastered all the religious texts and scriptures from a very early age. As he was educated in the art of morality, love and truth, (as these are the core components of Shaiva Gnaana or knowledge of Shivam) he became well known for his love for all beings, and his ardent love for Lord Shiva. Soon the King of Madurai came to know of his greatness and quickly made him the prime minister of his kingdom giving him the title Thennavan Brahmanan (the greatest of Brahmins).

 He performed the duties of a minister with perfection second to none, and the king was thoroughly pleased with him, but he had no desire for material wealth. His mind was constantly engrossed in loving Lord Shiva the god of all beings. He desperately wanted Lord Shiva as a guru. He felt that only lord Shiva could grant him gnaana (divine knowledge) and constantly kept his mind focused on his godly feet. 

One day, the King, desired to increase his cavalry and hence wished to buy some of the best horses. He tasked this job to Vadavoorar. Vadavoorar saw this as an excellent opportunity to do some travelling and search for his master, Lord Shiva while enquiring about horses along the way. He visited many temples dedicated to Mahadeva, and made many stops to holy sites. One his trip, he came to a village called Tiruperundurai. Lord Shiva, having realised the maturity and intellect of Vadavoorar came to this village a year early and began teaching as a school teacher to children anxiously awaiting his for his prema-sishya (loving student). Finally when he saw Vadavoorar he changed his form to that of a Ascetic Sage with many sages, and sat under a Kurundai (Cinnamon) tree behind a temple. As suspected, Vadavoorar went to the temple and saw the Lingam inside. Then he went around the temple, and as he did, he saw the Ascetic Sage and instantly tears of joy filled his eyes. His bliss knew no bounds and he fell at the Sages feet. He begged the Lord to take him as his sishya. As the lord had come only to do just that, he gave him enlightenment (divine knowledge) by merely looking at him. As he felt like singing in praise of the Guru, he sang some devotional songs, which were like gems. Iswara was pleased, and addressing him as ‘Manikkavacakar’ (one whose voice are like gems) After doing so, he vanished. Manikkavacakar cried like a toddler, "oh lord why have you left me thus?!?" The villagers, too were surprised to see that their school teacher had vanished. The whole village searched for him but to no avail.

After consolidating his great loss, Manikavacar, the great saint sat on the very spot he got mukthi and began tapas. Giving all the money he got to purchase horses (for the cavalry) to the reconstruction/renovation of the temple he was sitting in. The King soon came to hear of this action and flew in a terrible rage. He order him to come to the city and deposit the money for the horses. Manikavacar prayed to Lord Shiva with ardent devotion and that night Lord Shiva came to him and gave him a Gem of priceless beauty and told him give this to the king and tell the king to wait for the night of the Moola Nakshatra Sravana Maasa (Star of Moola and the Month of Sravana). The King will have his horses. Manikar did as asked and King imprisoned Manikar until the month of Sravana, Moola Nakshatra.

Sure enough on the night of Moola in the month of Sravana, Mahadeva disguised himself as an equestrian and transformed (using his maya-shakthi) a bunch of jackals into horses, and waited facing east. Sure enough the greedy king (after taking the precious jewels) came for the horses. He gave away the horses and the King freed Manikar. 

The next day, the Horses turned back into jackals and killed every horse in the stable. The King flew into a rage and demanded that it was Manikar's Maya that killed the horses and he had Manikar flung in the dungeons. Manikar started worshipping Hara Hara, with ardent devotion. Shiva became terrible angry and decided to flood the Vaigai River. The River overflowed and started drowning the citizens. The king ordered that one person from every family should be donated to build a dam. 

It just so happened that in this village, Puttu Ammaiyar, a widow, had no one but Lord Shiva as her family. She knew that she did not have the strength or the endurance (being over 60 years old) to lift the logs and stick the mud in between them for the dam. She sold Puttu, an Indian traditional dish made of powdered rice, and made her livelihood selling this. She immediately prayed to the Lingam she had in her shop, and sure enough the lord decided to play. 

Puttu & Idly: Full without cracks

He went to Ammaiyar as a handsome, well built (six-pack sporting, bicep curling) vagabond and told the lady, "do not worry, I will go in place of you if you can feed me some food. I love to eat puttu, I will not eat the Puttus that form whole cylinders, just the cracked, broken ones" Ammaiyar was overjoyed. She is a perfect professional, and in all her life puttu has never cracked, she thought she will make the first few as perfect and as charity offer them nevertheless. She took the rice powder and placed it on the bamboo cooker.

Cracked and broken puttu, delicious, but not sellable

Each and every puttu that came out, cracked. Soon she ran out of powder and the adolescent Shiva ate the whole stock of puttu for a week. She was stunned, but even still a weeks worth of puttu would be enough if she did not have to work in the dam. The vagabond thanked her and assured her that she need not work in the dam.

The boy wandered to the place of the dam and fell fast asleep snoring loudly. It just so happened that the king was patrolling the area and saw this vagrant adolescent sleeping without work. The rest of the workers were enviously looking as the adolescent was fast asleep snoring loudly, while they work in back breaking labour. This was too much for the king, he told his strongest body guard to take the largest whip and slash his large back. The body guard only too happy to discipline the dallying loafer, took the whip and with all the might he could muster, slashed the whip with a loud cackle on the vagabond's back. Instantly, the King, the Body guard, all the labourers, the ammaiyar, the whole kingdom including the animals, from cows to deer howled in pain. 

The adolescent had disappeared and there was a huge whiplash scar on the back of everyone in the kingdom. A loud voice, from the sky, (Sarveshwara, The lord of all beings) thus spoke "Foolish King, force not your subjects to work for you, pay them and extradite labour, free Manikavacar and fall at his feet for all the trouble you have caused him I myself did all this to show you his greatness . . ." 

The King fled on all fours to the prison to free him, and on the way he went to visit to Puttu Ammaiyar (as she had served the lord of all beings) and wished to obtain her grace. However, a chariot from heaven had already descended and it was about to carry her to the heavens. The king saluted her and went to the prison. The king told "My dear Manikar! Take my Kingdom, I will go to a forest and meditate on the holy feet of Mahadeva" Manikar humbly hugged the king and told him not to apologise. He refused the throne and decided to visit more holy sites dedicated to Mahadeva, and finally settled in Chidambaram 

The Glory of Lord Shiva

Aum! Nama Shivaaya!  I bow down to the glorious supreme controller of the universe, Maha-Deva (The Great Deva). He who is the lord of all beings Sarveshwara, and he who is the lord of all gurus (Jagad Guru). I bow down to the entity who is the destroyer of Tripurantaka. He who is the consort of Gauri, the most compassionate. The being of complete benevolence and care, he who is easily pleased. He who is the complete composition of light Jyothirmaya, he who is the lord of all yogins Yogeeshwara, who is the store house of all knowledge gnyaaneshwara. He who is known by many names, Nilalohita, Neelagriva, Neelakanta, Shambhu, Sadashiva, Rudra, Hara, Bhairava, Bholenath (the innocent) Tryambhaka (three eyed) Trilochana (three Eyed) Vishvanatha (Lord of all) Chandrashekara (controller of the moon) Maheswara (greatest of the Eshwaras) Digambara, Dakshinaamoorthi.


 
He is the ocean of mercy, he comes running to his devotees. He is pure renunciation, he is the complete form of dispassion. He has no love of anything but his bhakthas. He only cares for those who come to him. He burns the sins of those who utter his holy name. The great Mahadeva, is the regenerator. It is a mistake to call him the destroyer, when your body is old and full of ailments, he quickly bestows upon you a fresh body with rigorous health he wants to take all his devotees to his lotus feet quickly, and save them from continual, mundane rebirth. 

When Brahma and Vishnu wanted to find out who is mightier
 he assumed the jyothirmaya roopam!

He is far more easier to please than Hari. The embodiment of mercy, love and compassion comes running to all who worship him. A little love and a few chants of his holy name, and that is enough to infuse delight in him. Such is potency, such is magnitude for mercy. He is the quickest bestower of boons. His heart is full of compassion, he quickly gave the most powerful weapon (the pashupatastra) to Arjuna for his meagre tapas. How large is his heart? He appeared to bhageeratha, when all the gods were not able to help him. He withstood the full force of the ganga (which had the potency to annihilate the entire planet) on his head just to please his devotee. How kind is he? He made Raavana the demon king of Lanka invincible because he pleased him with his Saama Veda chanting. He flew with tremendous speed to save Markendeya from the clutches of death for his small penance. Oh Shankara! (the sweet)! How easily he is pleased. He gave his darshanam to the hunter, Kannapa. He harvested a field the size of 25 football stadiums for the pariah (untouchable) Nandanar his and took him directly to his abode. In madurai, he took the form of sundareshwara and carried the Earth on his forehead for the sake of a devoted lady. Look at his unbounded love for his devotees! When the four sanat kumaras were lost, looking for a guru, he quickly descended to initiate them. When vishwamitra wanted to prove his might, he quickly gave him the brahmastra, to show him that tapas is more mighty than strength. When Brahma and Vishnu quarrelled over who is greater, he assumed his mighty infinite form, the Jyothirmaya roopam to show them the pointless nature of their argument. When the devas were terrified of the Hala Hala (poison) which came from the churning of the ocean, he gladly drank the poison to save the Devas! So Kind! Ready to injure himself than to hurt his Bhakthas! When mahavishnu pleased Siva with his worship, he quickly bestowed upon him the sudarshana chakra. He lived in the house of Pattinattu Swami for many years as his adopted son, and dissappeared after giving him this note "not even a broken needle will follow you after death" upon reading this note, Pattinattu swami attained gnyaana. What are you waiting for? Why are not attempting to reach Siva right NOW?

Just as fire burns wood, the name of the Kind Compassionate Shiva burns sin. Chant his name incessantly, with love and see how he takes care of you. The glory of Shiva is indescribable. Its omnipotent, omnicient, invincible! Shiva is the kindest of the gods. He is the greatest of the gods. Many births are required to even think of him, let alone worship him! So why are you waiting? Start now! Chant his holy name and see his capability! All the rishis of Satya yuga worshiped mahadeva from Agastya, Vashishta, Vishvamitra, Aghora Rshi, Atri, Brighu and so on. So many Rshis have worshipped this kind compassionate god, so what are you waiting for? What more sanction do you need? Love Mahadeva and see how he carries you from this yuga of Kali!

Why is Lord Shiva considered as best husband and all girls want husband like Lord Shiva?

Lord Shiva is considered the epitome of discipline, principle and love. He is:

1. Strictly one-woman man/god. No chasing or even eyeing other women.

2. Powerful. (As he is the god of War)

3. Loves his wife. Waited two lifetimes for Sati to be reborn and restored to him.

4. Plays chess with her;  (REF To Lalita Sahasranama: Chathuranga Baleshwari) usually other husbands spend time in front of the TV.

5. Physically attractive, but tends to disguise it with ashes rather than vainly show off with other women.

6. Encourages his wife to chart her own course in life -- killing demons (Mahishasura Mardini etc), visiting devotees, etc.

7. Uses love rather than violence to calm down wife when she is in the Kali form.

8. He is the only god who gave his half part of the body to his wife, along with half of his spiritual Tapas (Heat), austerity and  Strength.

All women want husbands who are faithful, devoted, loving, intelligent.

The Shatarudriyam

The legendary Shatarudriyam, also called Rudra Namakam, Rudradhyaya or simply Rudram, is a series of verses dedicated to Lord Shiva as Rudra. In the Krishna Yajur Veda, Taittiriya Samhita, there are 7 cantos, and 44 prasnams. The Shatarudriyam (Rudram) comes in the 4th canto 5th Prasnam. The chant consists of 11 anuvakams and 1234 padams. This chant is said to have been seen or heard by aghora rishi when he was deep in mediation to Lord Shiva. This section is considered one of the holiest padhas in entire vedam as it describes the lord in all his aspects from the charioteer to the rider of the chariot. From the horse to the owner of the horse etc.

Rudram is an unparalleled hymn addressing Rudra (an epithet of Lord Shiva) where he is extolled as the supreme deity, second to none. From the Smrithis in the  Shiva Purana, Yagnyavalkya smrithi, and Yama smrithi to  shruthis such as the Jabala Upanishad and the Kaivalyopanishad, Rudram is held at the height of supremacy and claims to bestow immortality to the devotee. This hymn is also famous for the legendary Panchakshara Mantram known as Namaḥ Śhivāya which occurs in the eighth anuvaakam (also the holiest of the 11 anuvaakas) and extols the auspicious nature of Rudra. The legendary Maha Mrithyunjaya mantra is also present in the last anuvaaka where it extols Rudra as the great conqueror of death. It is believed that he who chants the Rudradhyaya will be honoured in all the Lokams including Brahma Lokam. 

The hymn is split into two parts. Namakam and Chamakam. The namkam has the 11 anuvaakas and is chanted with a Namo at the beginning and at the end of each verse from the second anuvaka to the ninth. The Chamakam ends in 'cha me' for the entire hymn, hence the name Chamakam. The Namakam extols various aspects of the supreme while the Chamakam requests boons from Shiva. The repeated phrase, 'cha me' literally means, "and to me [be this granted]", accompanied by a list of desirables which are primarily necessary appurtenances for Vedic sacrifices. The hymn invokes, apart from Agni and Vishnu at the beginning, a pantheon of Vedic deities that are successively linked with Indra to enable the yajamana or sacrificer/patron to successfully perform Vedic fire sacrifices or yagnyas, such as the Agnishthoma, Somayaga, and the Ashwamedha.

Praise for Rudram

Kaivalya Upanishad (Last 2 verses) 

यः शतरुद्रियमधिते सोआग्निपुतो भवति ।|

सुरापानात् पूतो भवति|
ब्रम्हाहत्यात् पूतो भवति|
क्र्त्याक्र्त्यपुतो भवति|
तस्माद्विमुक्त्माश्रितो भवति|
अत्याश्रमी सर्वदा सक्रद्  वा जपत् अनैन  ज्ञानमप्नाऐति|
Yah Sátarudriyamadhite so’agniputo bhavati surapanatputo bhavati brahmahatyatputo bhavati krtyakrtyatputo bhavati tasmadavimuktamasrito bhavati atyasrami sarvada sakrdva japat

He who studied the Satarudriya is freed from all sins like drinking, brahmahatya, doing prohibited actions etc. Through this he has his refuge in Shiva, the Supreme Self. One who belongs to the highest order of life should repeat this always.

Jabala Upanishad Section 3 verse 2. 

किं जप्यएन अम्रुतत्वं नो ब्रुहि इति

Kim Japyena amrutatvam no bruhi ithi
“Tell us by what holy recitation (japa) one attains immortality”?

स हो वाच याज्ञवल्क्य शातरुद्रीयेणेति

Sa ho vaacha Yagnyavalkya Satarudreeyaneti
Yajnavalkya replied "BY JAPA of Satarudreeya" 

एतानि ह वा अम्रुतस्य नामधेयानि एहतैर्हवा भवति
“These are the names of the immortal one. Reciting these, one verily attains immortality."

Mahabharata:

Rudrajapi vimuchyathei mahapathakapankarath 
Samyak jnanam cha labhate thena muchyet bandhanath
Anena Sadrusam japyam nasthi satyam sruthow smruthow

He who chants Sri Rudra gets released from the cage of mahapatakas (heinous sins) gets good knowledge and by that he is released from bondage. There is verily nothing else in the Srutis and Smritis similar to Sri Rrudam for being and fit to be chanted. 

Kurma Puranam

Bhasmoddholitha sarvango rudradhyayana thatparah aradhyaan harih Sambhum krutwa pasupatam vratam

Lord Hari undertook the observance of pasupata vrita by worshipping Shambu (Shiva) with the Sri Rudra Mantra. His Body completely smeared with sacred ash, vibhoothi. 

Method of Chanting.

Rudram can be chanted with the accompaniment of a yagnya or without it. Chanting alone would make it Japa. 

1. Reciting the entire  Sri Rudram – 11  Anuvakas (chapters) of  Namakam once followed by 11 Anuvakas of Chamakam, is the most common method practised in day- to- day worship. 
2. Reciting  Namakam 11 times followed by first ,second canto of  Chamakam for  each Namakam  recitation is known as Rudraikadasini (Ekadasha Rudram). 
3. Eleven Rudraikadasini make one Laghu Rudram (121 times recitation). This is usually done by 11 priests each chanting Rudram 11 times  simultaneously.
4. Eleven Laghu Rudrams make one Maha Rudram (1,331 times) and
5. Eleven Maha Rudrams make one Ati Rudram (14,641 times) 

Rudra, The epithet of Lord Shiva: an Introduction

Rudra, ( रुद्र), is associated as the Rig Vedic storm god, known for his benevolence and endowment of knowledge. The name loosely translated comes as the Howler, the Roarer. The name in actuality has 4 root meanings, (1) Dreadful or terrific, (2) Great or Large (3) Drive away evil (4) Worthy of praise. Another meaning is that the root word "Ru" is usually considered to teach and "dra" is considered as flow. Thus we get flow of knowledge. As a result, Rudra is considered the deity who teaches knowledge to all those who seek it. He is seen as the destructive force of nature as well. Unlike classical theology, Shaiva Siddanta views god a being present in everything. Shiva is not merely just a creator who looks after the universe, but is present in every animate/inanimate good/bad beautiful/ugly entity. The unique aspect of his worship is that the devotee worships all his cosmic forms.

Rudra: The Fierce one

However, despite this, one must not confuse oneself with the thought that Rudra is a destructive force, who punishes and destroys. Quite the contrary, Rudra is a benevolent deity who confers prosperity, offspring and cattle. Not only is he known for bringer of prosperity but also of knowledge. The verse RV 6.49.10 calls Rudra as " The Father of the Universe" (bhuvanasya pitaraṃ)

  

bhuvanasya pitaraṃ ghīrbhirābhī rudraṃ divā vardhayā rudramaktau
bṛhantaṃ ṛṣvamajaraṃ suṣumnaṃ ṛdhagh ghuvema kavineṣitāsaḥ (RV 6 :49:10)

 Translation: 

Rudra by day, Rudra at night we honour with these our songs, the Universe's Father. Him great and lofty, blissful, undecaying let us call specially as the Sage impels us ( RV 6.49.10)^*The Rig Veda, trans. Ralph T.H. Griffith [1896]

The Sage Rudra

The verse RV 2.33.9 calls Rudra as "The Lord or Sovereign of the Universe" 
(īśānādasya bhuvanasya)

sthirebhiraṅghaiḥ pururūpa ughro babhruḥ śukrebhiḥ pipiśehiraṇyaiḥ īśānādasya bhuvanasya bhūrerna vā u yoṣad rudrādasuryam (Rig veda 2:33:9 )

 Translation

With firm limbs, multiform, the strong, the tawny adorns himself with bright gold decorations: The strength of Godhead never departs from Rudra, him who is Sovereign of this world, the mighty. The Rig Veda, trans. Ralph T.H. Griffith [1896]

He is pleased by chanting the legendary Rudram which occurs in the Krishna Yajur Veda of the Vedas. Rudram is also known as Shatarudriya, Rudraprashna or Rudradhyaya. The Jabala upanishad, from the vedas claim that he who chants the Shatarudriya obtains immortality. The text Shri Rudram is also famous for its mention of its Shaivite Panchakshari Mantra (NAMA SHIVAAYA) which is considered as the holiest of all mantras within the Yajur Veda. The Panchakshari mantra occurs in the middle of Sri Rudram and hence considered the most important within the Shatarudriya. The chanting of Shatarudriyam is considered of utmost benefit which has the capacity to burn sins and confer wealth and prosperity to the chanter.