Editing Rudra (section)

==Etymology ==
The [[etymology]] of the [[theonym]] ''Rudra'' is uncertain.<ref name=Chakravarti1994_4>{{harvp|Chakravarti|1994|p=4}}.</ref> It is usually derived from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) root ''rud-'' (related to English ''rude''), which means 'to cry, howl'.{{r|Chakravarti1994_4}}{{sfnp|Kramrisch|1993|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA5 p. 5]}} The name Rudra may thus be translated as 'the roarer'.{{sfnp|Majumdar|1951|p=162}} An alternative etymology interprets ''Rudra'' as the 'red one', the 'brilliant one', possibly derived from a lost root ''rud-'', 'red'{{sfnp|Griffith|1973|loc=p. 75, note 1}} or 'ruddy', or alternatively, according to Grassman, 'shining'.{{r|Chakravarti1994_4}}

Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form ''raudra'', which means 'wild', i.e., of ''rude'' (untamed) nature, and translates the name ''Rudra'' as 'the wild one' or 'the fierce god'.<ref>{{harvp|Kramrisch|1993|p=5}} cites "rudra" in M. Mayrhofer, ''Concise Etymological Sanskrit Dictionary''.</ref>  R. K. Śarmā follows this alternative etymology and translates the name as 'the terrible' in his glossary for the [[Shiva Sahasranama]].{{sfnp|Śarmā|1996|p=301}} [[J. P. Mallory|Mallory]] and [[Douglas Q. Adams|Adams]] also mention a [[Comparative mythology|comparison]] with the [[Old East Slavic|Old Russian]] deity Rŭglŭ to reconstruct a [[Proto-Indo-European mythology|Proto-Indo-European]] wild-god named ''*Rudlos'', though they remind that the issue of the etymology remains problematic: from PIE ''*reud-'' ('rend, tear apart'; cf. [[Latin]] ''rullus'', 'rustic'), or ''*reu-'' ('howl').<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Mallory|first1=J. P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNUSDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA433 |title=The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World|last2=Adams|first2=D. Q.|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-929668-2|pages=434}}</ref>

The commentator [[Sayana|{{IAST|Sāyaṇa}}]] suggests six possible derivations for ''rudra''.{{sfnp|Chakravarti|1994|p=5}} However, another reference states that Sayana suggested ten derivations.<ref>Sri Rudram and Purushasuktam, by Swami Amiritananda, pp. 9-10, Sri Ramakrishna Math.</ref> The adjective ''śiva'' (''shiva'') in the sense of 'propitious' or 'kind' is first applied to the Rudra in [[Mandala 10|RV 10]].92.9.<ref>{{harvp|Kramrisch|1993|p=7}}. For the text of RV 10.92.9, see {{harvp|Arya|Joshi|2001|loc=vol. 4, p. 432}}.</ref>

Rudra is called 'the archer' (Sanskrit: ''{{IAST|Śarva}}''){{sfnp|Apte|1965|p=910}} and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra.<ref>For archer and arrow associations, see {{harvp|Kramrisch|1993|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA27 Chapter 2]}}; for the arrow as an "essential attribute" of Rudra, see {{harvp|Kramrisch|1993|p=32}}.</ref> This name appears in the [[Shiva Sahasranama]], and R. K. Śarmā notes that it is used as a name of [[Shiva]] often in later languages.{{sfnp|Śarmā|1996|p=306}} The word is derived from the Sanskrit root ''{{IAST|śarv}}-'' which means 'to injure' or 'to kill',{{sfnp|Apte|1965|p=910}} and Śarmā uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name {{IAST|Śarva}} as 'One who can kill the forces of darkness'.{{sfnp|Śarmā|1996|p=306}} The names {{IAST|Dhanvin}} ('bowman'){{sfnp|Chidbhavananda|1997|p=33}} and {{IAST|Bāṇahasta}} ('archer', [[Literal translation|literally]] 'Armed with a hand-full of arrows'){{sfnp|Chidbhavananda|1997|p=33}}<ref>For translation of {{IAST|Bāṇahasta}} as “Armed with arrows in his hands”, see: {{harvp|Śarmā|1996|p=294}}.</ref> also refer to archery.

In other contexts the word ''rudra'' can simply mean 'the number eleven'.{{sfnp|Apte|1965|p=804}} The word ''[[rudraksha]]'' (Sanskrit: ''{{IAST|rudrākṣa}}'' = ''rudra'' and ''{{IAST|akṣa}}'' 'eye' or tear), or 'eye or tears of Rudra', is used as a name for both the berry of the [[Elaeocarpus ganitrus|rudraksha tree]] and a name for a string of the prayer beads made from those seeds.{{sfnp|Apte|1965|p=804}}

Rudra is one of the names of [[Vishnu]] in [[Vishnu Sahasranama]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Nityananda Misra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e89eDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT248|title=The Om Mala: Meanings of the Mystic Sound|date=25 July 2018|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-9387471856|page=248}}</ref> [[Adi Shankara]] in his commentary to [[Vishnu Sahasranama]] defined the name Rudra as 'One who makes all beings cry at the time of cosmic dissolution'.<ref>{{cite book|author=M. M. Ninan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-8RTZcjg9awC|title=The Development of Hinduism|date=23 June 2008|publisher=Madathil Mammen Ninan|isbn=978-1438228204|page=378}}</ref>  Author D. A. Desai in his glossary for the [[Vishnu Sahasranama]] says Vishnu in the form of Rudra is the one who does the total destruction at the time of great dissolution.<ref name="D. A. Desai 1998 58">{{cite book|author=D. A. Desai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1gpAAAAYAAJ|title=Shri Vishnu Sahasranama: In Sanskrit with Phonetics and Brief English Translation Explaining Its Grandeur and Procedural Rituals Etc|date=1998|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|page=58|quote=One who does this total destruction ( Pratardanah ) is the Lord in the form of Rudra at the time of great dissolution (Pralaya).}}</ref> This is only the context known where Vishnu is revered as Rudra.