Shiva
Rudra Gayatri
ॐ तत्पुरुषाय विद्महे महादेवाय धीमहि । तन्नो रुद्रः प्रचोदयात् ॥
Simple reading
Om tat-pu-ru-shaa-ya vid-ma-he, ma-haa-de-vaa-ya dhee-ma-hi, tan-no rud-rah pra-cho-da-yaat
Oṁ tatpuruṣāya vidmahe mahādevāya dhīmahi, tanno rudraḥ pracodayāt
About this mantra
The Gayatri of Shiva as Mahadeva, the great god, from the Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad. It is one of a set of Gayatris there, each turning the ancient metre toward a different deity.
Meaning
We know that supreme person; we meditate on Mahadeva; may Rudra set our minds in motion. The Gayatri mould turns a name into a practice: first acquaintance, then absorption, then the request that the absorption not stay idle. And the impelling is asked of Rudra, the storm-form: what moves us toward the great god may be fierce, and the prayer accepts that.
Learn it by heart
Say the first line until it comes without reading, then add the next line and say both, until the whole mantra comes on its own.
Line 1 of 2
ॐ तत्पुरुषाय विद्महे महादेवाय धीमहि ।
Oṁ tatpuruṣāya vidmahe mahādevāya dhīmahi, tanno rudraḥ pracodayāt
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Aim for eleven before the next line. Move on when the line comes without reading.
Progress stays on this device.
When to recite it
For deep Shiva sadhana: Mondays, Pradosh evenings, Sawan, and abhishek rites; kept by practitioners building a long daily discipline rather than a moment's bow.
Word by word
- तत्पुरुषाय विद्महेtatpuruṣāya vidmahe
- we know that supreme being
- महादेवाय धीमहिmahādevāya dhīmahi
- we meditate on the great god
- तन्नो रुद्रः प्रचोदयात्tanno rudraḥ pracodayāt
- may Rudra inspire us
Source: Taittirīya Āraṇyaka 10 (Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad)