Mantras pertaining to Shiva
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Mantras pertaining to Shiva
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(i) The Tripura Tapini Upanishad of the Atharva Veda tradition, Canto 4,
verse/paragraph no. 8 describes the great Mantra of Lord Shiva which gives the
worshipper the stature equivalent to that of Lord Shiva. To quote—“The Lord (Shiva)
replied, ‘You must worship the God who vanquishes death with the help of the Anushtup
Chanda ‘Trayambak’ etc. (narrated above).
It has been said from the beginning that the monosyllablic word OM is a
representative of the Lord (the supreme transcendental Brahm) who is universal and
uniformly all-pervading, all-incorporating and all-encompassing.
Hence, those who worship the Lord with Mantra ‘OM Namaha Shivaaye’ of the
Yajur Veda are able to attain the exalted stature equivalent to Lord Rudra. He is rewarded
with auspiciousness. [This Mantra briefly means ‘Salutations to the Lord represented by
the word OM! I bow before Lord Shiva who is this particular supreme transcendental
Lord’.]
You must be fully enlightened about it. [That is, a spiritual aspirant who knows
the profound import of this great Mantra uses it for offering worship to the Lord in order
to attain the supreme state of enlightenment that gives him salvation and emancipation.]
[8].”
(ii) The Tripura Tapini Upanishad of the Atharva Veda tradition, Canto 4,
verse/paragraph nos. 2-6 describe the great Mantra of Lord Shiva in his divine form as
Trayambak. The full Mantra is ‘Trayambakam Yajaamahe Sugandhim Pushti-vardhan
Urwaaruk-miv Bandhanaan-mrityor-mukshi-yeti Mamritaat’
(iii) The Sharav Upanishad of the Atharva Veda, verse nos. 10, 23, 26, 33-34,
describes the glories of Lord Shiva as follows—
“verse no. 10 = We bow reverentially and pay our obeisance to the great Lord known as
Rudra who can burn to ashes the entire world by the fierce spurt of fire emanating from
the third eye located in his forehead1
, and is so gracious that he re-creates it once again
after punishing it (for its sins and misdeeds by reducing it to ashes), and then offers it his
protection (10).
“verse no. 23 = Lord Maheswar, the Great God (‘Ishwar’) and Lord of all the other gods,
is truthful, is eternal, unchanging, steady and always omnipresent everywhere, is a
(neutral and dispassionate) witness to all and everything (that is happening in this
creation), is eternally blissful and happy, has no comparison or parallel in this creation,
and is indescribable and incomprehensible.
The Lord or Bhagwan is also known as ‘Girish’ as he is the Lord of mountains.
[This is because the symbolic abode of Shiva is said to be on the higher reaches of snow-
covered Mt. Kailash. The reason for Shiva living in mountains is that he is the greatest
Yogi or ascetic, and for an ascetic it is prescribed in the scriptures that he makes
mountains and forests his abode. This is to help him in his meditation and contemplation
or other forms of spiritual exercises. Mountains are places that give serenity, solitude,
peace and tranquillity to the soul. They are the natural habitat for those who wish to
pursue spiritual path of meditation and contemplation because they provide the aspirant
with the perfect environment that fits their spiritual needs. Besides this, the mountains are
metaphors for areas on earth where the positive energy of the consciousness is at its
peak—and this is physically depicted in the form of high peaks of mountains that almost
touch the sky.]
We say that the Lord lives there or anything else about the Lord only because we
imagine it to be so, as it is just not possible to know about him (23).
“verse no. 26 = Everything in existence comes to an end in a regular cycle and in a
sequential order when the time comes. Therefore, everything is impermanent, mortal and
perishable, and hence false and illusionary. [This is because if they would have been real
and truthful then they would have been permanent and immortal, as ‘truth’ never ends
and it is constant.]
OM salutations! We pay our obeisance and greatest of respect to that Great Lord
known as Mahadev (literally the great God or Lord) holding the ‘Shul’ (the invincible
and strong spear or any sharp pointed weapon, here meaning the trident held by Shiva)
who devours everything and brings them to an end. [That is, Shiva is the Authority that
concludes this creation.]
At the same time our obeisance and greatest of respect are meant for the same
Lord Maheshwar (literally the great Ishwar or God or Lord) known as Rudra (or Shiva)
who is ever so merciful, gracious, benevolent and munificent on all (26).
“verse no. 33-34 = Shiva is the only truthful, eternal and imperishable entity that remains
infinitely constant, steady and unchanging, that is immutable and indivisible. Except
Shiva everything else is un-truth, illusionary and false.
That is why besides the other exalted God known as Vishnu, the aspirant should
meditate and contemplate only upon Lord Shiva who is the Lord (like Vishnu) who can help the aspirant to break free from all the fetters that shackle him down and prevent his
liberation and deliverance from this ensnaring world.
We pay our sincere obeisance and the greatest of respect to Maheshwar (the great
Lord God) who provides liberation and deliverance from the formidable snare of this
world which is very difficult to break free from, as well as is the Lord who devours
everything in this world. [Refer verse nos. 10, 17-18, 24, 26 and 30 in this context.] (33-
34).”
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cerdit : Ajai Kumar Chhawchharia