Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Rudra

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

  • 112 Accesses

In the Rig Veda – believed to have been composed during 1500 BCE–1200 BCE – Rudra figures as a powerful wild god symbolizing destruction. He is known for his wrath [1] and most hymns (hymns 1.43, 1.114, 2.33, 6.74, and 7.46) implore him to be merciful to humans and beasts. The Yajur Veda (1200–1000 BCE) pays homage to his “auspicious look” (4.5). Both the Rig Veda and the Yajur Veda hail him as a wild hunter and as the best healer. While in the Rig Veda Rudra is a nature god symbolizing fierceness, diseases, and remedies, the Yajur Veda presents him as a celestial and ominous god. Rudra, the most terrifying of the divine figures, rides upon a chariot carrying a bow and arrows in search of beings to devour (Rig Veda, hymn 1.114 and Yajur Veda 4.5). But polarities operate on all levels of his ambiance as there lies grace along with fierceness in Rudra’s being. This ambivalence may reflect the religious tension of Rudra’s post-Vedic appropriation with Śiva as one of the primary Hindu...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Chakravarti M (1986) The concept of Rudra-Shiva through the ages. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  2. Kramrisch S (1981) The presence of Śiva. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  3. O’ Flaherty WD (1973) Asceticism and eroticism in the mythology of Śiva. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  4. Srinivasan DM (1983) Vedic Rudra-Śiva. J Amer Oriental Soc 103(3):543–556

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Zaehner RC (1962) Hinduism. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India

    Chaitali Choudhury

Authors
  1. Chaitali Choudhury
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Choudhury, C. (2018). Rudra. In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_147-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_147-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation