Sri Rudram hymn is an invocation to Lord Siva.  Sri Rudram consists of two parts, Namakam and Chamakam. Namakam sings the glory of Lord Siva and Chamakam is requesting the Lord to grant the devotee materialistic and spiritual grace so that he/ she can elevate himself/ herself. Each of Namakam and Chamakam consists of 11 chapters called “Anuvakams”.

Quick Facts:

• Routine chanting of Sri Rudram is called “Roopam” and consists of chanting the Namakam and the Chamakam once.
• Eleven recitations of Namakam followed by one recitation of Chamakam are called “Ekadasa Rudram”.
• Eleven rounds of Ekadasa Rudram chanting constitutes a “Laghu Rudram”.
• Eleven rounds of Laghu Rudram chanting constitutes a “Maha Rudram”,
• Eleven rounds of Maha Rudram chanting constitutes an “Athi Rudram”.

When 121 priests chant Ekadasa Rudram simultaneously that would result in completing a Maha Rudram. Typically, a Maha Rudram is completed by chanting the Rudram 1331 (121×11) times.  If a Maha Rudram is repeated 11 times then we would have completed an Athi Rudram during which the Sri Rudram would have been chanted a total of 14,641 (121×121) times.

Chanting Sri Rudram enlightens an individual’s mind, body, and the intellect. Enlightenment leads to peace within and unity with the creation and the creator, which leads to realising the divinity within ourselves and in the entire creation.