Using the ancient technology of Vedic Yagyas
to solve modern day problems.
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Yagya Friends,

This year's Shivaratri program will be exceptional and I hope you will feel inspired to participate. This annual event is the highlight of late winter and it has a fascinating history.

Even though the ritual will be performed in India, it is possible to participate in our own way at home. You might listen to Rudram and Chammakam being chanted, or read the translation of these vedic selections. You could offer a flower, fruit, or some water to an image of Shiva.

This newsletter will give you access to a wide variety of resources to help you to understand Shivaratri and to enjoy it even more.

Best regards,
Ben Collins
Every day the priests will recite Rudram, the main Shiva text from Yajur Veda 11 times in the morning and 11 times in the evening. When this is repeated daily over an 11 day period, it is called a "Maha Rudra Yagya" of 1,464 repetitions.

This year we are performing the Maha Rudra Yagya twice with a total of 2,928 Rudram repetitions.

There is a link to a recording of Rudram below. I encourage you to listen to it at least once and then imagine singing that 2,928 times over a three week period. You'll agree that for the priests, it is an athletic as well as spiritual accomplishment.

You can read a detailed description of the Maha Rudra yagya here.
The complete text of Sri Rudram with English translation is here.

You can listen and download Sri Rudram here.
Rudram is combined with another text called Chammakam. This text is quite literally a listing of everything a person could want. Rudram is praising Shiva, and Chammakam is like saying, "Since you are here, would you mind giving me these things." It is a very comprehensive list, even in our modern era.

You can read the text with English translation here.

You can listen to Chamakam here.
We have a library of chanting recordings on the Puja.net website. Within that library, we have 100 different slokas and hymns for Shiva and they are all downloadable for your repeated enjoyment during our 21 day Yagya. Listen to something every day!

A few years ago I created a podcast called "Vedic Mythology, Music and Mantras". It is available on Spotify, Google, Apple, etc. Search for the podcast title and you'll find close to 100 episodes.

They're all good listening. The following are 10 episodes about Shiva.

  • Introduction to Shiva and Shivaratri

  • The Story of Shivaratri

  • Shiva as Ruler of Time (Kalabhairava)

  • Shiva with the blue throat (Neelakantha)

  • Shiva and the Mrytunjaya Mantra

  • Shiva and Ganga

  • Rudram - the essence of Yajur Veda

  • Conversation with a Shiva Pundt (Seetharama Sastry)

  • Parvati, Shiva's wife

  • Nandi, Shiva's bull
We also have a few videos available on my YouTube channel. Here's a partial listing.


108 Names of Shiva - 5 minutes