Dear All,
Greetings and Namaste. Maha Shivaratri (20-Feb-2012, Monday) is one of the most important Hindu festival/occasion and perhaps the most important occasion attributed to Lord Shiva. In this connection, I am happy to share some very very rare stotras on Lord Shiva. (It is indeed difficult to choose Stotras on Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu as they are in thousands and the important ones will be in hundreds!!).
Sri Shiva Ashtottaram - Shiva Puranam
1. This is actually the second part of the Sri Shiva Gadyam by Sage Sanatkumara (which I shared last month).
2. Given the context of the hymn as well as phalashruti, chanting this Ashtottaram will help in destroying all forms of fears.
Sri Shiva Shata Nama Stotram - Skanda Puranam
1. This is one of the several Ashtottara/Shata Namas on Lord Shiva in Skanda Puranam.
2. This stotra, as per the phalashruti, is capable of granting all wishes of the chanters.
3. The Chapter in which this hymn appears describes Sage Dadhici's sacrifice and a special Vrat on Lord Shiva and Puja Vidhi.
Sri Shiva Stuti - Lord Kalki - Kalki Puranam
1. This rare hymn was created by Lord Kalki (Vishnu) on Lord Shiva seeking his blessings prior to taking Kalki Avatar and set forth the activities for re-establishing Dharma in the universe which is completely destroyed by the dark epoch (Kali).
2. The chapter appears as a conversation between Lord Parashurama and Lord Kalki (who receives all vidyas from the former). Lord Parashurama prognosticates the future actions of Lord Kalki and how He will receive Astras from Lord Shiva.
3. Lord Kalki prays to Lord Shiva in the form of Lord Bilvodakeshvar and seeks his blessings. Lord Shiva, in turn, bestows him Garuda, Ashva (the vehicle attributed to Kalki Avatar), Shuka and others.
4. The prayer extols Lord Shiva as the Supreme being on whose directions the entire universe and elements are operating. (This is not the only hymn where Lord Vishnu conveys this message - there are many other hymns with the same message in several purans).
5. The Stanza 6 is especially interesting where Lord Kalki mentions that Vayu (and Agni, Savita, Shitamshu, Taras, Grahas) operate(s) on Lord Shiva's AGYA. I am reminded of a glimpse I had a year ago on a book containing the translation of Vedas. I was casually moving pages and I happened to read a page that contained the translation of Atharvana Veda - towards the end).
The Atharvana Vedic hymns mentioned that Lord Rudra is indeed the Prana of the Universe and His five faces represent Pancha Prana/Vayu (I don't recollect the exact words). This kind of correlates with Lord Kalki's words above.
I am curious to correlate this to Madhva Sampradaya and Vayu - In Madhva Sampradaya (Dvaita), Hari and Vayu are considred in dual forms (Hari Vayu Stuti is one of the most famous prayers in the Madhva Sampradaya). Of course Vayu is referred to in the Vaishnavite context but the Vedic text refers in the Shaivite context.
That sort of comes back to the same point - that Brahman is just one and the names are for our convenience. It is meaningless and utter waste of time to fight over names.
Sri Shiva Stuti - Sage Narada - Narada Pancharatra
1. This is a very unique Stuti in many respects, though the prayer is very short and sweet.
- First of all, Narada Pancharatra is one of the most important Vaishnavite Agamas.
- Second, the Stuti is on Lord Shiva (in a Vaishnavite Agama).
- Third, the hymn is composed by Sage Narada, who is known as the first and foremost Vaishnavite Bhagavatottama.
- Fourth, as though the above are not unique, Sage Narada prays to Lord Shiva to bestow him Hari Bhakti.
- Fifth, Lord Shiva grants his wish to become a Hari Bhakta.
- Sixth, Lord Shiva mentions that this Shiva prayer will bestow Hari Bhakti apart from fulfillment of all wishes.
What a fantastic and unique combination!
We keep bickering about who is superior - Vishnu or Shiva! If there were indeed any such rivalry between the two, why would Narada pray to Shiva to get bhakti on Vishnu who is his rival (non-sensical - is it not?). And who is Shiva to bestow bhakti on his rival (even more absurd)?
2. Come to think of it, the above is not entirely unique/strange. The following incidences are also similar in context:
- In Nrusimha Puranam, Lord Rama's forefather Ikshvaku, prays to Lord Ganesha seeking Hari Bhakti (I had shared this stotram during last year's Vinayaka Chaturthi).
- Sri Jayadeva, who composed Gita Govindam, prays to Lord Vishnu to grant Vishnu pada to the theif who chopped off his legs and dumps him in a well (Can there be a more precise definition of forgiveness and kindess?). Strangely, Lord Shiva appeared as a result of his prayer and granted the boon.
- Sri Narasi Mehta, a great Vaishnavite of the 12th century who composed the famous Vaishnava Janato, performed intense meditation on Lord Shiva in the village temple and Lord Shiva personally took him to Vrindavan and showed him Krishna Rasa Leela.
- Saint Namadev was singing the praise of Lord Vittala in front of a Shiva temple and he was driven out of the temple by the fanatic Shaivite priests. He went to a corner and continued singing. The Lord's sanctum sanctorum apparently turned towards his side and is still so, as the history goes.
3. So, in essence, it looks as though Hinduism preaches and practices "Unity in Diversity" and we as mortals try to seek "Diversity in Unity" through our select learning/listening! All the talk of universal brotherhood and One Brahman/Multiple forms may come handy in boasting about our religion to a foreigner new to Hinduism.
4. As a finale, a quote Varaha Puranam (considered a Vaishnavite manual of worship), Chapter 58 (Saubhagya Vratam), may be apt:
yA shrIH sA girijA proktA yo hariH sa trilocanaH |
evaM sarveShu shAstreShu purANeShu ca gadyate |
etasmAd anyathA yastu shrUte shAstraM pRRithak tathA |..
etayor antaraM brUyAt so .a dhametyucyate janaiH ||
(Meaning : Lakshmi is identical with Girija (Gauri) and Hari is identical with three-eyed Shiva. It is so declared Shastras and Puranas. Any Shastra/Kavya which states otherwise is not worthy of its name. He who speaks of difference between them is lowly (Adhama) and should be considered an atheist outside the field of Dharma".)
The same is mentioned in a different way in Narada Pancharatram (Ratri 1, Adhyaya 12, Verses 55-59) :
shrIpArvatyuvAca-
tava vaxasi rAdhAhaM rAse vRRindAvane vane |
mahAlaxmIsh ca vaikuNThe pAda padmArcane ratA || ..
(Meaning : In Vrindavana/rAsa, I am Radha on your Vaksha sthala. In Vaikuntha, I am Mahalakshmi who performs archana at your lotus feet...)
The above message also appears in Shiva Puranam, Tejini Vana Mahatmyam where Lord Shiva mentions to Parvati that she is going to be assisting Lord Rama as his consort Sita (and other forms in various avatars).
May we endeavor to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva during Maha Shivaratri.
With best regards,
K. Muralidharan (Iyengar)
Please will you post these documents on mediafire so that I could download it. thanks. Kaumaaram
ReplyDeleteThere is a problem with docstoc. I am planning to move my resources from docstoc to googledrive.Not able to do due to paucity of time. Will let you know once done
DeleteYou have posted some rare stotras and stutis here which are a boon to mankind. It would be very much helpful if you could post these documents in google drive. docstoc website doesnt allow us to download without opting for a premium account. Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteGanapathi
Thanks sir.Now I have started posting them in googledrive.
ReplyDelete