Rudrashtakam Audio

A few weeks ago I went to a liquor store to pick up some alcoholic beverages for entertaining some guests at our home. When I entered the store, they were playing some silly love songs on the speakers. The guys in the store were Indian and so I said to the cashier in Hindi: " Arey bhayya, Krishna Ke Gane bajao; ye kyaa phaalthu geet lagaayaa hai aapne? " -- meaning, "Play some Krishna songs; what silly songs are you playing..." To that the cashier smiled and asked me what the pink string on my left wrist was. I told him that someone gave me as a gift and that it is from Shiva's Pashupathi Naath temple in Nepal.

After my shopping, at the counter the old cashier smiled and recited Sri Rudrashtakam to me; I listened to it fully, praised him and said "Good, that was nice !"

He said, " Sorry, I took up your time. I really felt like reciting it to you. I dont feel the same with everyone."

I was happy that I could make someone else happy a little bit.

The Shiva Lingam photo at the top was sent to me by my friend by phone -- the Tamil words at the top mean "Good Morning" !

My son started reciting Sri Rudrashtakam on his own and I felt that others that might want to recite may be interested in a helping hand. So, here are some helpful hints. Rudrashtakam composed by Sri Goswami Tulsidas is based on the Sanskrit metre Upajati which has subsets such as Upendravajra, etc. The setting is t R R r R R || t R R r R R and repeat. Sung with devotion, this hymn for Lord Shiva fills one with bliss and provides peace of mind.

Now I present my audio rendering of Sri Rudrashtakam which is 2 minutes 57 seconds long:
( Mobile Devices: Click Download; then play. )

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5yrewH-M1zncHpzN182Z0NXMXM/view?usp=sharing

The Sanskrit lyrics  can be found at:

http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_shiva/rudra8.pdf

The Sanskrit lyrics, English transliteration as well as English meaning can be found at:

http://greenmesg.org/mantras_slokas/sri_shiva-rudrashtakam.php

Om Nama Shivaya !