Ruru Bhairava Mantra
ॐ ह्रीं रुरुभैरवाय नमःIn Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.
Who Ruru Bhairava is
Ruru Bhairava is the second of the eight Bhairavas who arise as directional guardians from the fierce body of Shiva in the Tantric classifications preserved in the Sharada Tilaka and the Rudrayamala. His name is taken from ruru, a word that names both a swift antelope of the Indian forests and a low, resonant cry. Iconographic passages assign him a smoky-blue or deep indigo complexion, four or more arms carrying trident, damaru, noose and sword, and an ox as vahana. In the circular mandala of the Ashta Bhairavas he is stationed after Asitanga and before Chanda, in the south-eastern quarter. Commentaries link his antelope swiftness to the sudden cutting of subtle karmic residues that cling like hide, yet the texts speak only of his nature and station, never of any automatic result that follows his name.
Second of the Eight
Ruru Bhairava is known chiefly through his place in the circle of the Ashta Bhairavas, the eight fierce forms of Shiva who guard the eight directions. The usual order runs Asitanga in the east, Ruru in the south-east, Chanda in the south, Krodha in the south-west, Unmatta in the west, Kapala in the north-west, Bhishana in the north and Samhara in the north-east. Over all eight stands Kala Bhairava, who is their lord rather than one of their number. Ruru is therefore met as the second guardian, after Asitanga and before Chanda, and he is worshipped in turn with the others as the circuit of the eight is completed. His name, taken from the ruru antelope, and his bull vahana are what mark him out within the set.
The mantra, in six scripts
The seed mantra, and the form most devotees chant daily. No initiation is required — it is open to anyone, including a parent chanting for a child.
- ॐ
- oṃ — the open primordial syllable
- ह्रीं
- hrīṃ — the hrīṃ seed of radiant shakti
- रुरुभैरवाय
- rurubhairavāya — to Ruru Bhairava (dative)
- नमः
- namaḥ — salutation
The syllable people get wrong
The doubled short u of रु-रु in Ruru is routinely lengthened by speakers into the English diphthong of “rue,” yielding “roo-roo Bhairava.” The mistake erases the two equal, clipped beats that the name requires and is almost universal when the mantra is first met only in Roman letters.
When Ruru Bhairava is chanted
Weekday. Monday
Questions
Have your chart read before you decide
Chanting is yours to do, and free. But which deity your situation calls for — and whether a mantra alone is the right response — depends on your chart. Sometimes it is; sometimes it is not.
- Over 30 years in the Guru–Sishya Parampara, from the age of five
- He reads every chart himself — 60 minutes, one to one, never delegated
- Charts are read only between sunrise and sunset, following tradition
Related
Chanting is yours to do. Some things are performed for you.
Where a matter carries real weight, devotees sponsor the homa alongside their own practice. Performed for you and any family members you name, at our Yagna Ashram, in your name and gotra, on a muhurta calculated from your chart, and telecast live so you can watch it done for you.