Rudra

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Representation of Rudra from a 19th century textbook

Rudra ( Sanskrit , m., रुद्र, Rudra, literally: "the howling or roaring, the red") is a Vedic god and probably the forerunner of Shiva , whose name ("the friendly") was originally a euphemistic address of the terrible god Rudra ( Protoshiva ). He is said to have been born from the forehead of the god Brahma when he was angry. Very few hymns of the Rig Veda, four in total, are addressed to this god, which may be related to his suppression by his hypostasis Shiva in cult and sacred literature. The asteroid of the inner main belt (2629) Rudra is named after Rudra .

myth

In the Rigveda, Rudra is the god of storms, wind, rain, death, and destruction. Through the cow Prishni ("the colorful one") he is also the father and ruler of the subordinate Rudras or Maruts , who are considered to be his partial phenomena and doppelgangers and who become Indra's constant companions . He is married to the goddess Rudasi . In contrast to other deities, he is not a benevolent and kind god and also does not fight against the demons for the people to whom he is rather hostile. He has a unique position within the Vedic pantheon . He is a loner and outsider, which is also shown by the fact that his relationships with other gods are not too pronounced. He is also related to Kala , the time, the all devourer, with which he is later identified. Although Rudra is considered to be a destructive deity who sends natural disasters and whose terrible plague arrows bring death and disease to people, gods and cattle alike, the term "Shiva", the "benevolent" and "benevolent", is also used for him. Healing powers are attributed to it as it dispels fumes and purifies the atmosphere. He appears as a great doctor, ruler of medicines and god of healing and sacred rituals. Rudra also gives health and does many good deeds. So he punishes the gods for their misdeeds. Rudra is also the only god who holds the creator god Prajapati accountable for his incest with his daughter Ushas (goddess of the dawn) and only leaves him when he makes him “master of the animals” ( pashupati ). In this role he is portrayed as a bull. In the Rig Veda he appears as an angry red archer who is implored to spare the family and the cattle. He is always shown with a red back and a black belly. He walks around in the forest as a long-haired man dressed in furs. Sometimes it is also considered to be the manifestation of Agnis in its destructive aspect. His red body color stands for blood, fire, destruction and death.

In the Atharvaveda he is the wild hunter, the " master of the animals " of the forest. He himself lives between cattle and plants in dangerous places and in lonely areas. Snakes wind around his neck. In this form he is also depicted on the so-called Pashupati seal of the Harrapa culture (before 1500 BC), with three or four faces pointing in each direction, with a kind of headdress made of bull horns and in a lotus position. So some researchers came to the conclusion that it was Shiva in his Pashupati aspect . His weapons are lightning and poison, fever and cough. He embodies fear and fear, spreads horror and ruin. The wild and dangerous animals of the forest and wilderness are considered to be its manifestations.

According to the widespread belief that the bringer of evil can also cease his dreaded activity and avert the evil, his grace and mercy are often implored in the Rig Veda. The god who sends the disease is called a doctor. His healing herbs can save people and cattle, so he can also be a helpful, peaceful and blessing God to the highest degree. He often has to be appeased in hymns and through sacrifices and is asked not to steal the cattle or children and to leave the clan alone. Instead, he should stay in his remote region in the north. But friendship, health, compassion, grace, protection and favor are also requested from him. Rudra's worship comes with precautionary measures. Particular care should be taken with his victims to refrain from doing anything that might arouse the wrath of God. Pronouncing one's name is a taboo. The god lives near people, villages and settlements. One hopes that one will be spared an encounter with him. He is especially worshiped by those who live in the wilderness or by those who make commercial profits from death, he is the leader of those who live outside the Aryan community. Likewise, Rudra is the god of thieves and robbers.

On the one hand he steals the cattle and lets them die, on the other hand he can spare them, hence his name Pashupati , "master of the cattle". Rudra receives the remains from other victims as offerings. He receives his share so that he does no harm. Otherwise he can get angry and kill people. The fact that the god is a raw eater also fits his uncivilized nature. They also offer him food that does not belong to the village economy, the food of the wilderness, such as wild sesame, wild wheat and milk from the deer. So-called balis (blood and animal sacrifices) were also offered to him. His residence is in the high mountains in the north, where the god prefers to stay, while the other gods are located in the east. In the north, the rituals addressed to Rudra must also be performed. One sacrifices to him especially on crossroads and molehills. Most likely Rudra could be seen as the embodiment of the wild, dangerous, untamed, idiosyncratic, uncultivated, impetuous, eerie, capricious and unpredictable nature. He is particularly considered to be the personification of the wilderness.

Rudra and Shiva

The term "Shiva", which is not used as a name in the Veda , later becomes his name. Rudra loses its connection with the storms and becomes a dissolving and reintegrating principle. Today Aghora-Rudra is still an epithet of Shiva in its destructive, wild and dark aspect. Rudra is one of the great climbers of the Vedic epoch, alongside Vishnu . Shiva's double, contradicting nature is already mapped out in Rudra. His function as a great hunter, patron god of hunters, god of destruction and as "master of animals" lives on in him. Shiva's position as an outsider among the gods is also anticipated by Rudra. Just as Rudra, as a foreign, non-Indo-Aryan deity, is excluded from the Vedic sacrifice, Shiva is later not invited to the great sacrifice by his father-in-law Daksha because of his unusual way of life as an ascetic . Many of Shiva's followers and yogis still wear so-called Rudraksha pearls ("Tears of Rudra") as rosaries around their necks or wrists.

See also

literature

  • Ernst Arbman: Rudra. Investigations into the ancient Indian beliefs and cults. Akademiska Bokhandeln, acc .: Univ. Uppsala, Diss. 1922, ( online )
  • Joachim Deppert: Rudra's birth. Systematic investigations into incest in the mythology of the Brāhmaṇas. Wiesbaden 1977, ISBN 3-515-02583-9 , zugl .: Univ. Heidelberg, Faculty of Oriental Studies a. Classical Studies, Diss., 1975.
  • Jakob Wilhelm Hauer: A monotheistic treatise of ancient India (Svetāśvatara-upaniṣad). Gotha 1931.
  • Manfred Mayrhofer: The name of God Rudra. In: Journal of the German Oriental Society , Vol. 103, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1953, pp. 141–150.
  • Hermann Oldenberg : Rudra. In: The Religion of the Veda. Darmstadt 1970, pp. 215-235.
  • Gonda, Jan, Religions of Mankind, Volume 11, Veda and older Hinduism , W. Kohlhammer Verlag Stuttgart 1960, Rudra .
  • Storm, Rachel, Encyclopedia of Eastern Mythology , Reichelsheim 2000, Rudra .
  • Michaels, Axel, Der Hinduismus , CH Beck Verlag, Munich 1998, Shiva in high and local tradition .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lutz D. Schmadel : Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition. Ed .: Lutz D. Schmadel. 5th edition. Springer Verlag , Berlin , Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7 , pp.  186 (English, 992 pp., Link.springer.com [ONLINE; accessed on August 31, 2019] Original title: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . First edition: Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 1992): “1980 RB 1 . Discovered 1980 Sept. 13 by CT Kowal at Palomar. "
  2. ^ Gonda, Jan, Religions der Menschheit, Volume 11, Veda and older Hinduism , W. Kohlhammer Verlag Stuttgart 1960, Rudra
  3. ↑ Storm, Rachel, Encyclopedia of Eastern Mythology , Reichelsheim 2000, Rudra
  4. ↑ Storm, Rachel, Encyclopedia of Eastern Mythology , Reichelsheim 2000, Rudra
  5. ^ Gonda, Jan, Religionen der Menschheit, Volume 11, Veda and older Hinduism , W. Kohlhammer Verlag Stuttgart 1960, Rudra
  6. ^ Gonda, Jan, Religions der Menschheit, Volume 11, Veda and older Hinduism , W. Kohlhammer Verlag Stuttgart 1960, Rudra
  7. ^ Gonda, Jan, Religionen der Menschheit, Volume 11, Veda and older Hinduism , W. Kohlhammer Verlag Stuttgart 1960, Rudra
  8. ^ Gonda, Jan, Religions der Menschheit, Volume 11, Veda and older Hinduism , W. Kohlhammer Verlag Stuttgart 1960, Rudra
  9. ↑ Axel Michels: The Hinduism. CH Beck Verlag, Munich 1998, Shiva in high and local tradition