Tatpurushaya Vidmahe
तन्नो रुद्रः प्रचोदयात्॥
tanno rudraḥ pracodayāt..
(or)
Om. May we know that Lord Isvara, for which may we meditate upon Mahadeva. May that Rudra endow our minds with lustre and clarity, may he make all our thoughts brilliant or effulgent.
Description
Lord Rudra is a famous deity worshipped popularly in Hinduism since Vedic times. Rudra is the manifestation of Lord Shiva and quite often the term Shiva and Rudra are used interchangeably. Rudra is the destructive and cleansing force. Though the name looks fierce, Lord Rudra is highly merciful and benevolent in fulfilling the needs of the devotees.
Gayatri mantras are protective in nature. They act like a shield surrounding the individual and protect them from all fears and dangers. The Rudra or Shiva Gayatri mantra says “I meditate on the Supreme Being of Lord Maha Deva. Let Lord Rudra illumine my intellect and show a clear path to enlightenment.”
Benefits of chanting Rudra mantras
Rudra mantras remove fear and clear all the confusions and vagaries of the mind. Every human has a set of fears. Chanting Rudra mantra regularly in the prescribed manner with devotion and focus of mind can help overcome all kinds of fears and stresses.
Rudra mantra is the ultimate panacea for all illnesses, discomforts and diseases. It can relieve the individual of the uncomfortable state of illnesses and promote overall health and happiness.
When you feel your energies are drained, you can chant Rudra mantra to recharge your body, mind and spirit. Rudra mantra can relieve the harmful influences of planets and bring peace and stability into the individual’s life. It can augment the positive planetary influences and offset the negative impacts of some unfavourable planetary combinations.
Detailed meaning from the book Prayer Guide by Swami Dayananda
Rudra is the one who is known through the sāstras or Vedas. The word ‘Rudra’ means the one who destroys samsāra or ajñāna, ignorance. The other meaning is the one into whom the whole world is resolved. When the Lord absorbs into himself everything that is projected, he is Rudra. That is why you will see Lord Siva sitting in meditation. Everything is absorbed into him; the whole world of time and space collapses into him. The limitless conscious being, saccidānanda-vastu, who is Isvara as the one who brings into manifestation, sustains and resolves the world, srsti-sthiti-laya-kartr, is called Rudra, in the function of resolving. He is the one whose grace is invoked for the removal of ignorance. This Rudra is puruşa, who is pūrņa or limitless. What kind of puruşa is he?
Tatpuruṣāya, tasmai puruṣāya which is to be taken as tam puruşam. It is told in the śāstras that Isvara, is the prathama-puruşa, the first person. In English grammar what we call the third person is the first person in Sanskrit. He is the first one and everything comes from him. We pray to know that being, puruşa, who is pūrņa, limitless, and who is revealed by the sāstra. Puruṣāya is construed as puruşam, the accusative case.
Vidmahe, may we know or come to know. The verb is in the plural. This is a gayatri-mantra. In all gayatri mantras, like this one, the verb is in the plural. Why do we say ‘we’ when it is ‘I’ who wants to know? This is because we include others in our prayer. May we know that puruşa who is limitless.
Mahadevāya dhimahi. Dhimahi means we meditate upon. We meditate upon that Lord Mahadeva who is mahān, limitless, and who is all-knowledge, devā, the Lord of all Lords and the Lord of all devatās like Indra, Varuna and so on.
Tanno rudraḥ pracodayāt: Tat, that Rudra or Mahādeva, who we want to know and upon whom we meditate, naḥ pracodayāt, may he impel us. May he set our minds in the proper direction to enable us to discover what the truth is, and what the Lord is. Here one meaning of pracodayet is, may he impel the mind on the proper course of action. We can also understand it to mean pracodanam kuryāt. Pracodana means dyotana, illumination. May he endow our minds with lustre and clarity, may he make all our thoughts brilliant or effulgent!
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Tatpurushaya Vidmahe – Shiva – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Translation and Meaning. Commentary for selected Shlokams. With commentary by Swami Dayananda