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much as possible on Shivratri. If Shivratri falls for eg. on the 5th of the month then chant on 5th night into 6th morning. During the 9 days of Navratri also, you should do as much prayer as possible.
In my (Aiya's) tradition we chant the Rudram 11 times during Shivratri. So the question arises what is Rudram? It is a set of shlokas or a litany from the Yajur Veda, 5th patala (ie 5th book of the Veda): Krishna Yajur Veda. When the primal explosion took place before creation, Aum was the first sound that manifested after creation. When there was nothing in space, from this formless entity, the universe was manifested. John said: “in the beginning was the word...” This word was Aum. So there was a transition from nirguna brahmam to saguna brahmam. Nirguna brahmam is the formless entity which became saguna brahmam that is the universe that was formed. At the site of the primordial explosion the temperature was 2 and a half billion degrees C. This was Rudram. So when you chant the Rudram you are recreating in your system, that primordial explosion that took place at the time of creation. Why should you create that heat? Because all the previous karmas that you have created over thousands of births till that point will be burnt. So you want that heat in your body (but you must not overdo it.)
Women can also chant the Rudram but not during their menses as it can cause excessive bleeding and scarring. In 1 out of 8 women of child bearing age, chanting of the Rudram will cause endometriosis or prolapse of the uterus. Thus they should be careful not to overdo it.
Rudram has to be chanted in the proper way with force at the appropriate points. It has to be learnt from a person who knows the proper method of chanting. When the Rudram is chanted the temperature created in your body is proportional to your muscle tone, the space that you occupy (ie the volume of your body), your musculature, your breath control and your ability to inflect the sounds. During this time of Shiva there are several things that are important.
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amrender muni ji maharaj
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