Rudra Chamakam - Numbers

Sri Rudra Namaka - Chamakam :

Sri Rudram is a Hindu stotra dedicated to Rudra. It is a part of Yajurveda. It consists of two parts, both from Canto 4 of Taittariya Samhita of the Krishna Yajurveda version. Chapter 5 of the book consists of the eleven anuvakas of Sri Rudram, with the final anuvakam extended by an additional six verses including the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra. Sri Rudram describes the names and attributes of Rudra.

The seventh chapter of the same Canto consists of the Chamakam, asks God for fulfillment of wishes. It has the phrase "च मे", meaning and to me accompanied by a list of wishes.

The following is the eleventh (and final) anuvaka of Chamakam. It apparently asks for numbers from God. But the numbers, of course have a deeper meaning.

TS 4.7.11

एका च मे तिस्रश्च मे  पञ्च च मे सप्त च मे
नव च मे एकादश च मे त्रयोदश च मे पञ्चदश च मे
सप्तदश च मे नवदश च मे  एकविंशतिश्च मे
त्रयोविंशतिश्च मे पञ्चविंशतिश्च मे
सप्तविंशतिश्च मे नवविंशतिश्च मे त्रिं
एकत्रिंशच्च मे त्रयस्त्रिंशच्च मे
चतस्रश्च मेऽष्टा च मे द्वादश च मे षोडश च मे
विंशतिश्च मे चतुर्विंशतिश्च मेऽष्टाविंशतिश्च मे
द्वात्रिंशच्च मे षट्त्रिंशच्च मे चत्वारिंच्च मे
चतुश्चत्वारिंच्च मेऽष्टाचत्वारिंच्च मे
वाजश्च मे प्रसवश्चापिजश्च क्रतुश्च सुवश्च मूर्धा च
वयश्नियश्चान्त्यायनश्चान्त्यश्च भौवनश्च
भुवनश्चाधिपतिश्च

Translation (Literal)

Let me be granted the one, the three, the five, the seven, the nine, the eleven, the thirteen, the fifteen, the seventeen, the nineteen, the twenty one, the twenty three, the twenty five, the twenty seven, the twenty nine, the thirty one, the thirty three, and the four, the eight, the twelve, the sixteen, the twenty, the twenty four, the twenty eight, the thirty two, the thirty six, the forty, the forty four and the forty eight to ensure food and its production and growth (continuity). [I request] the sun, the origin of all, the heavens, the gods presiding over the heavens, the gods presiding over the deluge, the deluge, the gods presiding over the world, the world, and the god presiding over everything, all be merciful to me.

Now, it is obvious that the seeker is not so involved in mathematics as to ask for numbers. Here is the significance of the numbers.

ODD NUMBERS: 1 to 33 (Symbolism)

ONE :
Nature or Parkriti

THREE :
The three gunas, namely sattwa, rajas and tamas

FIVE :
The five mahabhutas, or the five basic elements, that is, prithvi, apa, tejas, vayu and akasha, (earth, water, energy or agni or fire, wind and space).

SEVEN:
The five sensory organs and the mind and intellect.

NINE :
The nine openings in the human body (two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, rectum and genitals), called the navadwaras.

ELEVEN:
The ten pranas or life forces and the Sushumna nadi.
The ten pranas include five mahapranas and five laghupranas.
The mahapranas are Prana (heartbeat and breath), Apana (excretion), Vyana (voluntary muscular action), Udana (voice), Samana (digestion and metabolism).
The laghupranas are Naga (Burping), Koorma (Blinking) , Krikala (Sneezing), Devadatta (Yawning), Dhananjaya (Opening and closing of heart valves)
The Sushumna Nadi correlates to the central nervous system.

THIRTEEN :
Thirteen Devas of Vastu mandala namely Brahma, Apa, Savitri, Jaya, Rudra, Apavatsa, Savita, Vivudhadipa, Rajayakshma, Aryama, Vivasvan, Mitra, Prithvidhara.
(From Chapter 253 of Matsya Purana)

FIFTEEN:
The fifteen major nadis (out of the 350,000 nadis) of the or nerve centres in the human body,including
Ida, Pingala and Sushumna Nadis.

SEVENTEEN:
These are the seventeen 'limbs' of the astral body or sukshma-sharira.  They consist of tive attributes each from the three Gunas along with intelligence and mind.

The five positive Sattwa attributes are the abstract knowing senses, Jnana-Indriya, through which man realizes his five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Manas, the Mind, guides these Jnana-Indriya through its sense-consciousness.

The five neutralizing Raja attributes are the abstract working senses, Karma-Indriya, through which man realizes his five abilities of articulation, motion, generation, absorption, and excretion. The Karma-Indriya are guided by Prana, the Life-Energy.

The five negative Tama attributes, by their resisting force, produce the five Tanmatra, the objects of the abstract senses. Tanmatra comes from the root, Tat, that, and matra, merely.

Tanmatra, then, are Only That or Merely That, the most subtle and most imperceptible form of matter, the vibratory structure of material substance. They are classified as Roopa, form and color; Shabda, sound; Gandha, odour; Rasa, taste and fluidity; and Sparsha, touch.

These fifteen electrical manifestations, together with the two magnetic poles, Intelligence and Mind, make up the seventeen "fine limbs" of the subtle or astral body or Sukshma-Sharira, the fine material body of Purush, Spirit.

NINETEEN:
The 19 primary medicinal herbs of Ayurveda which include Saffron (Amlika), Terminalia Paniculata (Ashwakarna), Ailanthus Excelsa (Aralu), Lotus (Kamalam), Camphor (Karpooram), Salt Reed Grass (Kusa), Sesame (Tilam), Coconut (Narikelam) and Indian Laurel (Plaksha) among others.  

TWENTY ONE:
The twenty one important vulnerable parts of the body. These may be the bridge of the nose; above the ear; the philtrum (groove between nose and upper lip); the point of the chin; Adam's apple; the clavicle (collar bone); the armpit; the solar plexus; the bottom ribs; the abdomen; the groin; the inner wrist; the shins; instep ( the arched part of the top of the foot between the toes and the ankle); the nape (which is the base of the cerebellum); the upper back; the coccyx (or tailbone); hollow of the knee; the calf; the Achilles tendon.

TWENTY THREE:
The twenty three devas controlling serious diseases like Sheetala Devi (for Smallpox); Surya (for Jaundice); Jvarataharisvara (for Malaria); Mahamari (for Cholera).

TWENTY FIVE :
 The twenty five primary Apsaras in heaven including Rambha, Urvashi, Menaka, Tilottama, Sugandha, Supriya, Suraja, Surasa, Surata, Anavadya, Anuchana, Aruna, Asita, Chandrajyotsna, Indralaxmi, Kamya, Karnika, Keshini, Kshema, Manorama, Mishrasthala, Mrugakshi, Nabhidarshana, Marichi.

TWENTY SEVEN:
The twenty seven tribes of Gandharvas. (Book 2, Section 11 of Mahabharata)

TWENTY NINE:

Vidyut Devas, the embodiment of lightning, electricity or electromagnetic energy.

THIRTY ONE:
Thirty one worlds. The traditional Hindu cosmology describes 14 worlds. However, the Buddhist cosmology talks about thirty one planes of existence, spread over three catgories.
 - The immaterial
(31) Neither-perception-nor-non-perception (nevasaññanasaññayatanupaga deva)
(30) Nothingness (akiñcaññayatanupaga deva)
(29) Infinite Consciousness (viññanañcayatanupaga deva)
(28) Infinite Space (akasanañcayatanupaga deva)

- The material
(27) Peerless devas (akanittha deva)
(26) Clear-sighted devas (sudassi deva)
(25) Beautiful devas (sudassa deva)
(24) Untroubled devas (atappa deva)
(23) Devas not Falling Away (aviha deva)
(22) Unconscious beings (asaññasatta)
(21) Very Fruitful devas (vehapphala deva)
(20) Devas of Refulgent Glory (subhakinna deva)   
(19) Devas of Unbounded Glory (appamanasubha deva)   
(18) Devas of Limited Glory (parittasubha deva)   
(17) Devas of Streaming Radiance (abhassara deva)   
(16) Devas of Unbounded Radiance (appamanabha deva)   
(15) Devas of Limited Radiance (parittabha deva)   
(14) Great Brahmas (Maha brahma)
(13) Ministers of Brahma (brahma-purohita deva)
(12) Retinue of Brahma (brahma-parisajja deva)

- The Sensuous
** Happy states
(11) Devas Wielding Power over the Creation of Others (paranimmita-vasavatti deva)
(10) Devas Delighting in Creation (nimmanarati deva)
(9) Contented devas (tusita deva)
(8) Yama devas (yama deva)
(7) The Thirty-three Gods (tavatimsa deva)
(6) Devas of the Four Great Kings (catumaharajika deva)
(5) Human beings (manussa loka)

** Deprived states
(4) Asuras (asura)    
(3) Hungry Shades/Ghosts (peta loka)
(2) Animals (tiracchana yoni)
(1) Hell (niraya)

THIRTY THREE:
 The thirty three Devas (composed of eight Vasus, eleven Rudras and twelve Adityas along with Indra and Prajapati) (Brihadraranyaka Upanishad 3.9)

The eight Vasus - Agni (fire), Prithvi (earth), Vayu (air), Antariksha (sky), Aditya(sun), Dhyu (heaven), Chandra (moon), nakshatras (stars). The world rests (vasati) on them. Hence, they are Vasu.

The eleven Rudras - the ten vital breaths or indriyas (five karmendriyas, the organs of action; and five jnanendriyas, the organs of sense) along with the atman. When they depart from the body, they make men weep (rodayanti). Hence, they are called Rudra.

The twelve Adityas - The twelve months of the year. They move (yanti) and take hold of everything (aadadaanaaha). Hence, they are called Aditya.

Indra is the thunder and Prajapati is the sacrifice.

FOUR:
The four ideals of human life, namely dharma, artha, kama and moksha,

(righteous way of life, wealth, desire, and salvation)

EIGHT:
The four Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Athavaveda) and the four corresponding upavedas(Ayurveda-medicine, Dhanurveda-archery, Gandharvaveda-music and related arts and one of Shastrashaastra-military science or Sthapatyaveda-architecture)

TWELVE:
Six Vedangas and six Darshana Shastras.
Vedangas are auxiliary disciplines which are pre-requisites for proper study of the vedas. They are Shiksha (phonetics, phonology and morphophonology),  Kalpa (ritual), Vyakarana (grammar),  Nirukta (etymology),  Chandas (meter),  Jyotisha (astronomy).
The six Darshana Shastras are schools of philiosophy in othodox Hinduism. They are Yoga Darshana (based on the exposition of the epistemological, metaphysical, and methodological ideas, by Patanjali), Saankhya Darshana (enumerist, strongly dualist philosophy by Kapila Muni), Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa Darshanas (whose primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on investigation. Purva Mimamsa is attributed to Jaimuni Muni and Uttara Mimamsa to Badarayana Vyasa), Vyesheshika Darsana (espouses a form of atomism and postulates that all objects in the physical universe are reducible to a finite number of atoms. Originally proposed by Kanāda) and Nyaya Darshana (which is based on logic, by Aksapada Gautama)


SIXTEEN:
The sixteen attributes that one can seek from God.
1. Daya – Compassion
2. Dharjya – Patience
3. Kshama – Forgiveness
4. Nyaya – Justice
5. Nirapeksha – Impartiality
6. Niraskata – Detachment
7. Tapasya – Meditation and Spiritual Powers
8. Aparchitta – Invincibility
9. Danasheel – Beneficience, Bestower of all wealth in the world and nature.
10. Saundarjyamaya – Beauty Incarnate
11. Nrityajna – Best of Dancers
12. Sangitajna – Best of Singers
13. Neetibadi – Embodiment of Honesty
14. Satyabadi – Truth Itself
15. Sarvagnata – Perfect master of all arts, such as poetry, drama, painting etc.
16. Sarvaniyanta – Controller of All

TWENTY:
The Mahabhutas associated with the primary elements of Akasha (space), Vayu (air), Agni (fire), Aapa (water) and Prithvi (earth).

TWENTY FOUR:
The number of letters in the Gayatri chhanda or metre.
 It is a metre of three feet or padas, of eight syllables each, giving a total of twenty four syllables. The three pada length is unusual. Thus, it is sometimes also called as Tripada-Gayatri. However, in some non-vedic hymns, it can also manifest as four padas (usual length) of six syllables each.

TWENTY EIGHT:
The number of letters in the Ushnik chhanda or metre.
This metre is named after the 7th horse pulling Surya's chariot. It is of four padas of seven syllables each. Thus, resulting in a twenty eight syllable stanza.

THIRTY TWO:
The number of letters in the Anushtup chhanda or metre.
This metre is the one which is usually used at the beginning of sanskrit hymns. It is of four padas of eight syllables each. Thus, resulting in a thirty two syllable stanza. An example would be

vak-ra-tun-da-ma-ha-kaa-ya 
sur-ya-ko-ti-sa-ma-pra-bah:
nir-vigh-nam-ku-ru-me-de-va 
sar-va-ka-rye-shu-sar-va-da

THIRTY SIX:
The number of letters in the Brihati chhanda or metre.
This metre is also of four padas. However, all the padas are not of equal length. The third pada is of twelve syllables while the rest are of eight syllables each, resulting in thirty six syllables in a stanza.

FORTY:
The number of letters in the Pankti chhanda or metre.
This metre is of five padas, instead of the usual four. Each pada is of eight syllables each. Thus, resulting in a forty syllable stanza.


FORTY FOUR:
The number of letters in the Trushtup chhanda or metre.
This metre is of four padas. Each pada is of eleven syllables each. Thus, resulting in a forty four syllable stanza.

FORTY EIGHT:
The number of letters in the Jagati chhanda or metre.
This metre is of four padas. Each pada is of twelve syllables each. Thus, resulting in a forty eight syllable stanza.