Rudra

Etymology

The etymology of the theonym Rudra is somewhat uncertain. It is usually derived from the root rud- which means "to cry, howl." According to this etymology, the name Rudra has been translated as "the roarer". An alternative etymology suggested by Prof. Pischel derives Rudra as "the red one, the brilliant one" from a lost root rud-, "to be red" or "to be ruddy" or respectively, according to Grassman, "to shine". A Rigvedic verse "rukh draavayathi, iti rudraha" where 'rukh' means sorrow/misery, 'draavayathi' means to drive out or eliminate and 'iti' means that which or he who, implies 'Rudra' to be the eliminator of evil and usherer of peace.

Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra, which means wild, i.e. of rudra nature, and translates the name Rudra as "the wild one" or "the fierce god". R. K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as "the terrible" in his glossary for the Shiva Sahasranama. The commentator Sāyaṇa suggests six possible derivations for rudra. However, another reference states that Sayana suggested ten derivations.

The adjective shivam in the sense of "propitious" or "kind" is applied to the name Rudra in RV 10.92.9. According to Gavin Flood, Shiva used as a name or title (Sanskrit śiva, "the kindly/auspicious one") occurs only in the late Vedic Katha Aranyaka, whereas Axel Michaels asserts that Rudra was called Shiva for the first time in the Śvetāśvatara Upanishad.

Rudra is called "the archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva) and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra. This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages. The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv- which means "to injure" or "to kill" and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness". The names Dhanvin ("bowman") and Bāṇahasta ("archer", literally "Armed with arrows in his hands") also refer to archery.

In other contexts the word rudra can simply mean "the number eleven". The word "rudraksha" (Sanskrit: rudrākşa = rudra and akşa "eye"), or "eye of Rudra", is used as a name both for the berry of the Rudraksha tree, and a name for a string of the prayer beads made from those seeds.

Rigvedic hymns

The earliest mentions of Rudra occur in the Rigveda, where three entire hymns are devoted to him. There are about seventy-five references to Rudra in the Rigveda overall.

Epithets of fierceness and fright

In the Rigveda Rudra's role as a frightening god is apparent in references to him as ghora ("extremely terrifying"), or simply as asau devam ("that god"). He is "fierce like a formidable wild beast" (RV 2.33.11). Chakravarti sums up the perception of Rudra by saying: "Rudra is thus regarded with a kind of cringing fear, as a deity whose wrath is to be deprecated and whose favor curried."

RV 1.114 is an appeal to Rudra for mercy, where he is referred to as "mighty Rudra, the god with braided hair."

In RV 7.46, Rudra is described as armed with a bow and fast-flying arrows. As quoted by R. G. Bhandarkar, the hymn says Rudra discharges "brilliant shafts which run about the heaven and the earth" (RV 7.46.3), which may be a reference to lightning.

Rudra was believed to cause diseases, and when people recovered from them or were free of them, that too was attributed to the agency of Rudra. He is asked not to afflict children with disease (RV 7.46.2) and to keep villages free of illness (RV 1.114.1). He is said to have healing remedies (RV 1.43.4), as the best physician of physicians (RV 2.33.4), and as possessed of a thousand medicines (RV 7.46.3). This is described in Shiva's alternative name Vaidyanatha (Lord of Remedies).

Epithets of supreme rule

[These citations need to be checked]

A verse from the Rig Veda (RV 2.33.9) calls Rudra "The Lord or Sovereign of the Universe" (īśānādasya bhuvanasya):

A verse of Śrī Rudram (= Yajurveda 16.18) speaks of Rudra as Lord of the Universe:

जगताम् पतये नमः ।

jagatăm pataye namaha ।
Homage to the Lord of the Universe.

Another verse (Yajurveda 16.46) locates Rudra in the heart of the gods, showing that he is the inner Self of all, even the gods.

देवानां हृदयभ्यो नमो ।

devănăm hridayebhyo namo
Salutations to him who is in heart of the gods.

In a verse popularly known as the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, both Rig Veda (7.59.12) and Yajur Veda (3.60) recommend worshipping Rudra to attain moksha (liberation):

tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam
urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya mā'mṛtāt

We worship Tryambaka, sweet augmenter of prosperity. As from its stem a cucumber, may I be freed from the bonds of death, not reft of immortality.

In the Taittiriya Aranyaka of Yajur Veda(10.24.1) Rudra is identified as the universal existent ("all this") and thus as the Purusha (Supreme Person or inner Self) of the Vedas:

sarvo vai rudrastasmai rudrāya namo astu
puruṣo vai rudraḥ sanmaho namo namaḥ
viśvaṃ bhūtaṃ bhuvanaṃ citraṃ bahudhā jātaṃ jāyamānaṃ ca yat
sarvo hyeṣa rudrastasmai rudrāya namo astu ॥ 1॥

All this verily is Rudra. To Rudra who is such we offer our salutation. We salute again and again that Being, Rudra, who alone is the Purusha and the Soul of creatures. The material universe, the created beings, and whatever there is manifoldly and profusely created, in the past and in the present, in the form of the world—all that is indeed this Rudra. Salutations be to Rudra who is such.

The Taittiriya Aranyaka of Yajur Veda 1.10.1 identifies Rudra and Brihaspati as Sons of Bhumi (Earth) and Heaven:

[The translations below need to be cleaned up; the transliteration standardized; the so-called "modern translation" should be removed, because it is not necessary or helpful. Do these lines constitute a single verse, or are they separate verses drawn from different places in the text? That needs to be made clear.]

Relation to other deities

Rudra is used both as a name of Shiva and collectively ("the Rudras") as the name for the Maruts. Maruts are "storm gods", associated with the atmosphere. They are a group of gods, whose number varies from two to sixty, sometimes also rendered as eleven, thirty-three or a hundred and eighty in number (i. e. three times sixty, see RV 8.96.8.).

The Rudras are sometimes referred to as "the sons of Rudra", whereas Rudra is referred to as "Father of the Maruts" (RV 2.33.1).

Rudra is mentioned along with a litany of other deities in RV 7.40.5. Here is the reference to Rudra, whose name appears as one of many gods who are called upon:

One scholiast interpretation of the Sanskrit word vayāḥ, meaning "ramifications" or "branches", is that all other deities are, as it were branches of Vishnu, but Ralph T. H. Griffith cites Ludwig as saying "This [...] gives no satisfactory interpretation" and cites other views which suggest that the text is corrupt at that point.

Post-Rigvedic hymns

In the various recensions of the Yajurveda is included a litany of stanzas praising Rudra: (Maitrāyaṇī-Saṃhitā 2.9.2, Kāṭhaka-Saṃhitā 17.11, Taittirīya-Saṃhitā 4.5.1, and Vājasaneyi-Saṃhitā 16.1–14). This litany is subsequently referred to variously as the Śatarudriyam, the Namakam (because many of the verses commence with the word namaḥ [`homage`]), or simply the Rudram. This litany was recited during the Agnicayana ritual ("the piling of Agni"), and it later became a standard element in Rudra liturgy.

A selection of these stanzas, augmented with others, is included in the Paippalāda-Saṃhitā of the Atharvaveda (PS 14.3—4). This selection, with further PS additions at the end, circulated more widely as the Nīlarudram (or Nīlarudra Upaniṣad).

In Sikhism

The 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh describes the incarnation of Rudra in his book the Dasam Granth, the canto is titled Rudra Avatar.