Prayer Guide1

with detailed explanations of several Mantras, Stotras, Krtans, and Religious Festivals

Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Arsha Vidya Gurukulam Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Published by Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. Edited by Krishnakumar (KK) S. Davey and Jayshree Ramakrishnan. Available at http://books.arshavidya.org/

Contents
Foreword Preface Key to Transliteration UNDERSTANDING PRAYER The Need for Prayer The Purpose of Prayer Ritualistic Prayer Oral Prayer Mental Prayer Prayerfulness CUTIVATING DEVOTION Becoming a Devotee Pj Akhaa-nma-japa Mantra Initiation FORMS OF THE LORD Forms of Worship Lord Gaea Lord Naarja r Dakimrti ivaliga Worship of the Five Elements MANTRAS AND STOTRAS uklmbaradharam Agajnana padmrkam Y kundendu Gyatr-mantra O namo bhagavate dakimrtaye iii iv vii 1 14 33 38 44 57 58 65 72 77 95 99 101 105 111 114 117 120 123 128 133

Maunavykhy Nidhaye sarvavidynm O nama pranavrthya varo gururtmeti Tatpuruya vidmahe Rjdhirjya Na tatra sryo bhti rrma rma rmeti Namaste astu bhagavan ivamnasapj Saha nvavatu Om Overview of Rudram and Camakam The Gist of Purua Sktam Introduction to Viusahasranma Pra-kumbha mantra KRTANS Vandeha radm Dakimrte amrte Khelati mama hdaye RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS Gaea-caturth Sarasvat pj Rmanavam ivartr Guruprim r akara Jayanti INDEX

137 140 142 144 145 148 151 154 156 159 174 181 190 200 211 225 242 249 256 260 263 268 288 294 309 321

Namaste astu bhagavan

nmSte AStu gviNveray mhadevay y<bkay ipuraNtkay ikalaikalay kalaiay nIlk{Qay m&Tyuyay sveRray sdaizvay ImNmhadevay nm>. namaste astu bhagavan-vivevarya mahdevya tryambakya tripurntakya triklgni-klya klgnirudrya nlakahya mtyujayya sarvevarya sadivya rmanmahdevya nama. Oh Lord, may this salutation be unto you who is the Lord of the universe, limitless and effulgent, all-knowing, the one who projects, sustains and takes back this universe, the one who is timeless and also the destroyer of time, all-pervasive, the conqueror of death, the Lord of all, and the ever auspicious one who is always a blessing. This is a beautiful mantra. It is very good, especially for pryacita, and can be chanted when one feels guilty for ones omissions and commissions. Nama, namaskr. Te, to you, astu, be. Bhagavan, Oh Lord! My namaskr unto you Oh Lord! Nama astu vivevarya. You have to repeat nama astu with each name. Vivevarya. vara, the

2 Lord of the entire viva, the entire jagat, the world. My namaskr unto the Lord of the entire world. Mahdevya, unto the one who is mahn, limitless, and a deva, effulgent. Tryambakya, unto the one who has three eyes. He knows the past, the present, and the future. He is all-knowing. Tripurntakya, unto the one who is antaka, the one who brings an end of Tripura, the three puras, cities or worlds, bh, bhuva and suva. Tripurntakya is the one who takes all the three worlds unto himself. Triklgni-klya, unto the one who devours the three klas, or time, which consists of the past, present and future. Kla eva agni klgni. Agni means fire. Klagni, time, is such that, like fire, it distorts and devours everything, and the Lord devours time itself. In other words, he is timeless, being the creator, the sustainer, and the destroyer of time. Klgnirudrya. He is the kla-agni-rpea rudra, the one who in the form of the kla-agni, time, makes everybody weep, or in other words, he is the chastiser, the giver of the fruits of action, karmaphaladt.

3 Nlakahya, unto the one who is all-pervasive and manifest in the form of the jagat, whose kaha or neck is the blue sky. This is a beautiful vision of the whole jagat as a manifestation of vara, with the blue sky being Bhagavns neck. Mtyujayaya, unto the overlord of mtyu, death. The Lord of Death thought that he was the greatest, until he was made to realize that vara was supreme. There are many interesting stories about this. The story of Mrkaeya is based upon this aspect of vara. Sarvevarya, unto the Lord of all the worlds, bh, bhuva and suva. He is the Lord of all beings, including the various devats, deities. Sadivya, unto the one who, despite being the Lord of everything, is himself untouched by anything. The entire jagat is his manifestation, sustained by him and absorbed back unto him, but who is he? He is sadiva, of the nature of pure nand, the limitless Consciousness. rmanmahdevya nama, my namaskr unto the one who is riman mahdeva. riman is rimat, which means rimn, one who is a blessing. In reciting this verse, we invoke the Lord in the form of riman mahdeva and seek his blessing.