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Rudra (Devanagari: रुद्र) is a Rigvedic God, associated with wind or storm,^[1] and the hunt. The name has been translated as "The Roarer",^[2][3] or "The Howler".^[4]

The theonym Shiva originates as an epithet of Rudra, the adjective shiva "kind" being used euphemistically of the god who in the Rigveda also carries the epithet ghora "terrible".^[5] Usage of the epithet came to exceed the original theonym and by the post-Vedic period (in the Sanskrit Epics), and the name Rudra has been taken as a synonym for the god Shiva and the two names are used interchangeably.

Etymology[link]

The etymology of the theonym Rudra is somewhat uncertain.^[6] It is usually derived from the root rud- which means "to cry, howl."^[7][8] According to this etymology, the name Rudra has been translated as "the Roarer".^[9] An alternate etymology suggested by Prof. Pischel derives Rudra ("the Red, the Brilliant") from a lost root rud-, "to be red"^[3] or "to be ruddy",^[10] or according to Grassman, "to shine".^[11] Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra, which means wild, of rudra nature, and translates the name Rudra as "the Wild One" or "the Fierce God".^[12] R. K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as "Terrible" in his glossary for the Shiva Sahasranama.^[13]

The commentator Sāyaṇa suggests six possible derivations for rudra.^[14] However, another reference states that Sayana suggested ten derivations.^[15]

The adjective shivam in the sense of "propitious" or "kind" is applied to the name Rudra in RV 10.92.9.^[16][17] 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^[18] Axel Michaels says Rudra was called Shiva for the first time in the Śvetāśvatara Upanishad.^[19]

Rudra is called "The Archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva)^[20] and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra.^[21] 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.^[22] The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv- which means "to injure" or "to kill"^[23] and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness".^[22] The names Dhanvin ("Bowman")^[24] and Bāṇahasta ("Archer", literally "Armed with arrows in his hands")^[24][25] also refer to archery.

In other contexts the word rudra can simply mean "the number eleven".^[26]

The word "rudraksha" (Sanskrit: rudrākşa = rudra + 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.^[27]

Rigvedic hymns[link]

The earliest mentions of Rudra occur in the Rigveda, where three entire hymns are devoted to him.^[28][29] There are about seventy-five references to Rudra in the Rigveda overall.^[30][31]

Epithets as fierce or frightening[link]

In the Rigveda Rudra's role as a frightening god is apparent in references to him as ghora ("terrible"), or simply as asau devam ("that god").^[32] He is "fierce like a formidable wild beast" (RV 2.33.11).^[33] 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.^[34]

RV 1.114 is an appeal to Rudra for mercy, where he is referred to as "mighty Rudra, the god with braided hair."^[35]

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 the destructive power of lightning.^[36]

Rudra was believed to cause disease, and when people recovered from them or were free of them, that too was attributed to the agency of Rudra.^[37] 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[link]

The verse RV 6.49.10 calls Rudra as " The Father of the Universe" (bhuvanasya pitaraṃ)

bhuvanasya pitaraṃ ghīrbhirābhī rudraṃ divā vardhayā rudramaktau
bṛhantaṃ ṛṣvamajaraṃ suṣumnaṃ ṛdhagh ghuvema kavineṣitāsaḥ (RV 6 :49:10 ) ^[38] Translation:

Rudra by day, Rudra at night we honour with these our songs, the Universe's Father.

Him great and lofty, blissful, undecaying let us call specially as the Sage impels us ( RV 6.49.10)^[39]

The verse RV 2.33.9 calls Rudra as "The Lord or Sovereign of the Universe" (īśānādasya bhuvanasya)

sthirebhiraṅghaiḥ pururūpa ughro babhruḥ śukrebhiḥ pipiśehiraṇyaiḥ
īśānādasya bhuvanasya bhūrerna vā u yoṣad rudrādasuryam ( Rig veda 2:33:9 )^[40] Translation:

With firm limbs, multiform, the strong, the tawny adorns himself with bright gold decorations:

The strength of Godhead never departs from Rudra, him who is Sovereign of this world, the mighty.^[41]

Relation to other deities[link]

Rudra is used both as a name of Shiva and collectively ("the Rudras") as the name for the Maruts.^[42] Gavin Flood characterizes the Maruts as "storm gods", associated with the atmosphere.^[43] They are a group of gods, supposed to be either eleven, thirty-three or a hundred and eighty^[44] in number. The number of Maruts varies from two to sixty (three times sixty in RV 8.96.8.).^{[citation needed]}

The Rudras are sometimes referred to as "the sons of Rudra".^[45] Rudra is referred to as "Father of the Maruts" in RV 2.33.1.^[46][47][48]

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:

This Varuṇa, the leader of the rite, and the royal Mitra and Aryaman, uphold my acts, and the divine unopposed Aditi, earnestly invoked: may they convey us safe beyond evil. I propitiate with oblations the ramifications (vayāḥ) of that divine attainable Viṣṇu, the showerer of benefits. Rudra, bestow upon us the magnificence of his nature. The Aśvins have come down to our dwelling abounding with (sacrificial) food.^[49]

One scholiast^{[clarification needed]} interpretation of the Sanskrit word vayāḥ, meaning "ramifications" or "branches", is that all other deities are, as it were branches of Vishnu,^[50] 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.^[51]

Post-Rigvedic hymns[link]

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).^[52][53]

In Sikhism[link]

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

See also[link]

• Rudras
• Rudra Sampradaya

External links[link]

• [5]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965). The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 81-208-0567-4.  (fourth revised & enlarged edition).
• Arya, Ravi Prakash; Joshi, K. L. (2001). Ṛgveda Saṃhitā: Sanskrit Text, English Translation, Notes & Index of Verses. Parimal Sanskrit Series No. 45. Delhi: Parimal Publications. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/81-7110-138-7|81-7110-138-7]].  Second revised edition. Set of four volumes (2003 reprint). This revised edition updates H. H. Wilson's translation by replacing obsolete English forms with more modern equivalents, giving the English translation along with the original Sanskrit text in Devanagari script, along with a critical apparatus.
• Basham, A. L.; Zysk, Kenneth (Editor) (1989). The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-507349-5. 
• Bhandarkar, Ramakrishna Gopal (1913). Vaisnavism, Śaivism, and Minor Religious Systems. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0122-X.  Third AES reprint edition, 1995.
• Chakravarti, Mahadev (1994). The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through The Ages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-0053-2.  (Second Revised Edition; Reprint, Delhi, 2002).
• Chidbhavananda, Swami (1997). Siva Sahasranama Stotram: With Navavali, Introduction, and English Rendering.. Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam. ISBN 81-208-0567-4.  (Third edition). The version provided by Chidbhavananda is from chapter 17 of the Anuśāsana Parva of the Mahābharata.
• Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0. 
• Flood, Gavin (Editor) (2003). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. ISBN 1-4051-3251-5. 
• Griffith, Ralph T. H. (1973). the Hymns of the Ṛgveda. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-0046-X.  New Revised Edition
• Kramrisch, Stella (1981). The Presence of Śiva. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01930-4. 
• Lubin, Timothy (2007). “The Nīlarudropaniṣad and the Paippalādasaṃhitā: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Upaniṣad and Nārāyaṇa's Dīpikā,” in: The Atharvaveda and its Paippalāda Śākhā: Historical and Philological Papers on a Vedic Tradition, ed. A. Griffiths and A. Schmiedchen, pp. 81–139. (Indologica Halensis 11). Aachen: Shaker Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8322-6255-6
• Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (1996). A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. ISBN 81-215-0715-4. 
• Majumdar, R. C. (general editor) (1951). The History and Culture of the Indian People: (Volume 1) The Vedic Age. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.. 
• Michaels, Axel (2004). Hinduism: Past and Present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08953-1. 
• Sharma, Ram Karan (1996). Śivasahasranāmāṣṭakam: Eight Collections of Hymns Containing One Thousand and Eight Names of Śiva. With Introduction and Śivasahasranāmākoṣa (A Dictionary of Names).. Delhi: Nag Publishers. ISBN 81-7081-350-6.  This work compares eight versions of the Śivasahasranāmāstotra. The Preface and Introduction (in English) by Ram Karan Sharma provide an analysis of how the eight versions compare with one another. The text of the eight versions is given in Sanskrit.
• Zimmer, Heinrich (1972). Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01778-6. 

v t e Hindu deities and texts Gods Deva Ganesha Brahma Vishnu Shiva Rama Krishna Murugan Hanuman Indra Surya more Goddesses Adi parashakti Devi Saraswati Lakshmi Sati Parvati Durga Shakti Kali Sita Radha Mahavidya Navadurga Matrikas more Texts Vedas Upanishads Puranas Ramayana Mahabharata Bhagavad Gita more Hinduism Hindu mythology

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Shri Raghaveshwara Bharathi ( Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಘವೇಶ್ವರ ಭಾರತಿ ) or officially, Shree Shree Jagadguru Sri Shankaracharya Srimad Raghaveshwara Bharathi Swamiji is the present pontiff (Guru) of Ramachandrapura Mutt. He is the 36th pontiff in the unbroken lineage of the mutt. His holiness took sannyasa from Late Shri Raghavendra Bharati, the previous pontiff, in April 1994. Since his ascent in April 1999, the pontiff is working for spirutual progress. Swamiji's intellectual and spiritual strength, moral vision, love and compassion have made him popular.

Birth and childhood[link]

Shree Swamiji in his supposed prior life was known by the name Hareesha Sharma [1]. He was born in the village called Chaduravalli, Sagara Taluk, Shimoga District in Karnataka. He had the formal education until high school. He had his vedic education in Gokarna and Varnasi and at the age of 18 years he took sannyasa from His Holiness Brahmaikya Shree Shree Raghavendra Bharati Swamiji and further continued the vedic education in Mysore.

Sannyasa and after[link]

After the Samadhi (death) of Sri Raghavendra Bharathi Sri Raghaveshwara Bharathi was crowned in as the seer at his young age of 23 years. Since then he is known for pious nature yet alert and active, good in talk, humble and diplomatic, highly appealing with heartful love. He has become a popular and beloved Jagadguru.

Religious thought and activity[link]

Primarily, he started with stressing the need to protect Vedic culture, and its activities along with other social activities. Following, he started many educational institutions. Many temples, mathas including Ramashrama in Chadarahalli-Bangalore, Ramakrishna Kalika Matha in Ambagiri Sirsi, Sri Rama Temple in Chokadi-Bellare-Sullia merged with his matha impressed by his work and ability.

He established the Bharathiya Nethra Chikitshalya in Mujangavu, Kumbla taluk, Kasaragod dist, to cater the need of rural eye patients, criss crossing the boundaries of religion in social service. Some of the plans instituted by him in the Mutts as Musti Bikshe Yojana wherein in each devotee house keeps a fist full of rice daily as biksha to mutt, and collectivelly later feeds the needy and hunger, as oldage orftens, anathashrama, at time of natural calamity, etc. He had good momentum and was able to bring in a good relationship among different mathas or sanyasis, as result of which in most of event organised by the matha, a good number of different religious leaders, sanyasis, peetadipathis, joined in. In recent Vishwa Go-Sammelan, on 22 April 2007, more than 300 religious leaders had participated which showed Swamiji's impact.

The urgent call for the protection and preservation of Indian Cow Breed ( Bos Indicos ) has been his primary activity in the very recent years. Of total 70 breeds recognised in India, only around 35 breeds exist today, and all of them can be found in matha. He started the Kamaduga yogana, to concentrate on the work. Projects are on to start 108 goshalas, of which few are already started in Karnataka, Maharastra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu. In fact, this work is highly noted, as so far no institutions in India, govt. or NGO's, had started the work, and the matha is the only institution to have all the breed collection. Work is being done to preserve the same for future. Some rare breeds as Amrithmahal, Vechur, which count less than 100 in numbers, are protected here. Inspired by this, the Karanataka State Government. has started working in the row. He has been working stressing the need to promote products other than milk products, as Go-ark, medicines from cow, Doopa, etc.

External links[link]

• Official Website of Sri Sri Raghaveshwara Bharati
• Official website of Shreei Ramachandrapura Math
• Gou Sammelana (2007)
• Gokarna Temple, under Sri Matha's administration

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Udit Narayan Jha, popularly known as Udit Narayan is a playback singer in commercial, Maithili language, Hindi, Kannada, Nepali, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Garhwali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese, Maithili and Bengali language cinema. Narayan has sung in 32 different languages.^[1] He has won three National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

Career[link]

Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district, Nepal.^[2] His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.

Narayan studied at P.B. School, Rajbiraj, where he passed his S.L.C.(class 10) and later obtained his intermediate from Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus, mostly known as RR campus Kathmandu.

Udit Narayan began his career in Nepal singing for Radio Nepal as a staff artiste for Maithili and Nepali folk songs. He sang many popular nepali folk, modern songs in Radio Nepal. His first filmy playback singing was for Nepali film Sindur.It was a comedy song for famous nepali comedians (Late) GopalRaj Mainali (Chankhe) and Basundhara Bhushal (Nakkali). It was a duet song with Sushmaa Shrestha now known as Poornima in Hindi film Industry. After eight years in that role, Indian Embassy offered him the chance to study classical music at a prestigious school in Bombay, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan on a music scholarship. He moved to Bombay in 1978.

He got his first break in 1980, when noted music director (composer) Rajesh Roshan asked him to playback for the Hindi film Unees Bees, and was given the opportunity to sing with the veteran Mohammed Rafi. He later provided playback for a number of films, the most notable being Sannata (1981), Bade Dil Wala (1983) and Tan-Badan (1986). The actual success story of his career began in 1988 when Anand-Milind gave him the oppportunity to sing all the songs for the successful Bollywood movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, earning him a Filmfare Award.^[3] The film also brought actor Aamir Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and playback singer Alka Yagnik to stardom. After the success of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, he became one of the leading playback singers in the Indian film industry.

He has worked with musicians like Rahul Dev Burman, Rajesh Roshan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji, Bappi Lahiri, A. R. Rahman, Anand-Milind, Nadeem-Shravan, Jatin Lalit, Anu Malik, Jagjit Singh, Uttam Singh, Raam Laxman, Ilayaraja, Bhupen Hazarika, Shiv-Hari, Ravindra Jain, Madan Mohan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Himesh Reshammiya, Viju Shah, Vidyasagar, M. M. Keeravani, Ismail Darbar, Anand Raj Anand, Aadesh Shrivastava, Arun Paudwal, Pritam Chakraborty, Sajid-Wajid, Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sohail Sen, Nikhil Vinay, Sandesh Shandilya, Ram Sampath, Rahul Sharma, Daboo Malik, Sukhwinder Singh, Roop Kumar Rathod, Adnan Sami, Sanjeev Darshan, Vishal-Shekhar, Ajay-Atul, and directors like Yash Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ashutosh Gowariker and Karan Johar. Some of those films include Lagaan, Darr, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil To Pagal Hai, Mohabbatein, Devdas, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Swades and Veer Zaara. He has also sung hit songs for actors like Aamir Khan, Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar, Shahid Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Sunil Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Saif Ali Khan, Bobby Deol, Hrithik Roshan and Ajay Devgan. Udit's capability as a playback singer knows no bounds, as he has been magnanimously acclaimed in every kind of melody - soulful, romantic, fast-paced and recently, even pop. Udit has an extremely versatile tone which appears to flawlessly suit every Indian hero on screen. And today, innumerable awards and accolades later, Udit Narayan possesses one of the largest arrays of hit songs in the industry.

Udit Narayan has sung many songs with Lata Mangeshkar in many successful Hindi films like Darr, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai, Mohabbatein, Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain, Veer-Zaara, Lagaan, Mujhse Dosti Karoge to name some. He has sung maximum duets with Alka Yagnik. They have sung for movies Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Raja, Akele Hum Akele Tum, Raja Hindustani, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., One 2 Ka 4, Lagaan, Tere Naam, Kyon Ki to name a few. Udit Narayan is best known for his exceptional vocal quality and his originality. His vocal quality often compared with the Bollywood veteran singers like Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi. His voice never resembled any of the old singers. Many musical biggies like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Pankaj Udhas and Anup Jalota believes that Udit Narayan is the best in his generation for his quality in voice and originality Udit Narayan has been hailed as the screen voice of Shahrukh Khan and has sung many songs for him in famous movies like Darr, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Devdas, Chalte Chalte and Swades for which he won his third National Film Award for the song "Yeh Taara Woh Taara".

At the same time, he sang in Nepalese movies, and also acted in two Nepali films Kusume Rumal and Pirati. He has worked in Nepalese films as well, in particular for composer Shambhujeet Baskota. During his early singing career, he performed songs composed by Shiva Shankar, Natikaji and Gopal Yonjan. In 2004, he released his first private Nepalese album, Upahaar, in which he also sang duets with his wife Deepa Jha. At the Hits FM Awards in 2004 he won awards in two major categories for the album, Record of the Year and Album of the Year.^{[citation needed]} Some of Narayan's other private albums are Bhajan Sangam, Bhajan Vatika, I love You, Dil Deewana, Yeh Dosti, Love is Life, Jhumka de Jhumka, Sona No Ghadulo, Dhuli Ganga, and Ma Tarini.

He was in the panel of judges of Indian Idol 3 along with music composer Anu Malik and female playback singer Alisha Chinai on Sony TV.

He was in the panel of judges on Sony TV for Waar Pariwaar, a reality show based on the bringing together of a singing gharana (family of singers). He shared judging duties with fellow playback singer Kumar Sanu and Jatin Pandit of the famous music duo Jatin-Lalit. Indian Idol 3 judge, Saregama many time special gust, X Factor, Jo Jita wo super Star special judges

Narayan has performed in many stage shows in India and abroad and is the recipient of a large number of awards. These include Screen Videocon Award, MTV Best Video Award and Pride of India Gold Award.

In 2009, Narayan was considering running as a candidate for the Padma Shri.^[2] In 2010, Udit Narayan with Madhushree sang for the English independent film "When Harry Tries to Marry"

Personal life[link]

Narayan is a resident of Mumbai.^[4] He is married and has one son. His second wife Deepa Narayan, whom he married in 1985, is a singer, and the two recorded an album together titled Dil Deewana. Their son is Aditya Narayan who is a former child actor, singer and television presenter. Aditya Narayan started his singing for child artists in Nepali film with his father before starting his singing career in Hindi movies in the 1990s and also acted in a few films.

Awards and nominations[link]

Honours[link]

• 2009: Padma Shri, India's 4th highest civilian honour.^[5]

• He has received Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu,one of the highest honor given to the civilians traditionally given by the king and now by Nepalese president, by the late king Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.

• Maharashtra Ratna Award from Government of Maharashtra in 2011

[edit] National Film Awards

National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer

[edit] Filmfare Awards

Filmfare Best Male Playback Award

Filmfare Best Male Playback Award (Nominated):

[edit] Star Screen Awards

Star Screen Award Best Male Playback:

[edit] Zee Cine Awards

Zee Cine Award Best Playback Singer- Male:

[edit] IIFA Awards

IIFA Best Male Playback Award:

[edit] Bollywood Movie Awards

Notable Bollywood Filmography[link]