Guru Pūrṇimā

This particular full moon day is known as Guru Pūrṇimā. On this day the ongoing transmission from teacher to student is especially honoured. In previous years I have offered posts with chants honouring the lineage of teachers.

This year I would like to focus on the significance of the full moon within this day by offering a chant known as the Candra Namaskṛtya Mantra.

oṣadhayaḥ saṃvadante somena saha rājñā ‖
– Taittirīya Saṃhitā 4.2.6

This Mantra salutes the moon as if the king of medicinal herbs, in that the presence of the moon enhances the potency and healing power of herbs.

Listed below are the links to both a text file and a sound file from my personal library of recordings with TKV Desikachar. This particular one is recorded with one of his senior chant students, Sujaya Sridhar and includes the Pada, Krama, Jaṭā, and Ghana Pāṭha, the four primary variants based on the Saṃhitā or Mūla Mantra.

– Śrī Gurubhyo Namaḥ –

• View or Download the Candranamaskṛtya Mantra as a PDF with notations
• Listen or Download the Candranamaskṛtya Mantra as an MP3 Sound File