Rudra - Terrific, crying, howling, dreadful, horrible, god of tempests

rudra
rudrá [p= 883,1] [L=178517]
(prob.) crying , howling , roaring , dreadful , terrific , terrible , horrible (applied to the aśvins , agni , indra , mitra , varuṇa , and the spáśaḥ) RV. AV. (accord. to others " red , shining , glittering " , fr. a √ rud or rudh connected with rudhira ; others " strong , having or bestowing strength or power " , fr. a √ rud = vṛd , vṛdh ; native authorities give also the following meanings , " driving away evil " ; " running about and roaring " , fr. ru dra = dru2 ; " praiseworthy , to be praised " ; " a praiser , worshipper " = stotṛ Naigh. iii , 16)
rudrá [p= 883,2] [p= 883,1] [L=178518]
" Roarer or Howler " , N. of the god of tempests and father and ruler of the rudras and maruts (in the veda he is closely connected with indra and still more with agni , the god of fire , which , as a destroying agent , rages and crackles like the roaring storm , and also with kāla or Time the all-consumer , with whom he is afterwards identified ; though generally represented as a destroying deity , whose terrible shafts bring death or disease on men and cattle , he has also the epithet śiva , " benevolent " or " auspicious " , and is even supposed to possess healing powers from his chasing away vapours and purifying the atmosphere ; in the later mythology the word śiva , which does not occur as a name in the veda , was employed , first as an euphemistic epithet and then as a real name for rudra , who lost his special connection with storms and developed into a form of the disintegrating and reintegrating principle ; while a new class of beings , described as eleven [or thirty-three] in number , though still called rudras , took the place of the original rudras or maruts: in VP. i , 7, rudra is said to have sprung from brahmā's forehead , and to have afterwards separated himself into a figure half male and half female , the former portion separating again into the 11 rudras , hence these later rudras are sometimes regarded as inferior manifestations of śiva , and most of their names , which are variously given in the different purāṇas , are also names of śiva ; those of the Va1yuP. are ajaikapād , ahir-budhnya , hara , nirṛta , īśvara , bhuvana , aṅgāraka , ardha-ketu , mṛtyu , sarpa , kapālin ; accord. to others the rudras are represented as children of kaśyapa and surabhi or of brahmā and surabhi or of bhūta and su-rūpā ; accord. to VP. i , 8, rudra is one of the 8 forms of śiva ; elsewhere he is reckoned among the dik-pālas as regent of the north-east quarter) RV. &c (cf. RTL. 75 &c )
rudrá [p= 883,2] [L=178519]
N. of the number " eleven " (from the 11 rudras) VarBr2S.
rudrá [L=178520]
the eleventh Cat.
rudrá [L=178521]
(in astrol.) N. of the first muhūrta
rudrá [L=178522]
(in music) of a kind of stringed instrument (cf. rudrī and rudra-vīṇā)
rudrá [L=178523]
of the letter e Up.
rudrá [L=178524]
of various men Katha1s. Ra1jat.
rudrá [L=178525]
of various teachers and authors (also with ācārya , kavi , bhaṭṭa , śarman , sūri &c ) Cat.
rudrá [L=178526]
of a king Buddh.
rudrá [L=178527]
du. (incorrect acc. to Va1m. v , 2 , 1) rudra and rudrāṇī (cf. also bhavā-r° and somā-rudra)
rudrá [L=178528]
pl. the rudras or sons of rudra (sometimes identified with or distinguished from the maruts who are 11 or 33 in number) RV. &c
rudrá [L=178529]
an abbreviated N. for the texts or hymns addressed to rudra Gr2S3rS. Gaut. Vas. (cf. rudra-japa)
rudrá [L=178530]
of a people (v.l. puṇḍra) VP.
rudra [p= 884,1] [L=178750]
» [p= 883,1].

(H2)	mfn.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
(H2B)	m.
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(H1)	&c

Paradoxical Views of Rudra in the Rig Veda

“Paradoxically, the Rigveda presents also the other characteristics of Rudra wherein he has been depicted as intensely humane, overall benificient and divine physician who takes away all ailments of human beings and animals by his multitudinous herbal medicines.” - p. 68-69

The abode of Mahashiva: cults and symbology in Jaunsar-Bawar in ... - Page 69

Madhu Jaina - 1995 - 199 pages - Preview
... the 'divine Bhishaja (Divine physician) — Yo vishvasya ksayati bheshajasya). 9 In Rigveda, Rudra has been distinguished from other Vedic gods by his vigorous terrific character and ferocious nature to harm human beings and animals. ...

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Rudrayamala

4. In her study of tantric texts devoted to these subjects, Lilian Silburn describes the results of a particular set of 'path of transformation' practices in the following way, which suggests that their purpose is to affect a 'commingling' of the innermost (spiritual) and outermost (physical) domains -

Resting in the Self, the yogin experiences utmost delight, even in the midst of his worldly activities: 'To live in the undifferentiated even while the differentiated is unfolding, such is the sudden clap of thunder, the roaring of a yogin'.
This yogin, immersed in the Self, enjoys the glory of his fully expanded organs, fit to perform various activities, and which, far from hindering the way of the intimate and immediate experience of the Self, are instrumental in the penetration into the ultimate, all-pervading Self.

.... To make things clearer, let us take an example [that] refers to the contact between the organ of taste and a fruit; usually the pleasure derived from tasting a fruit is not of such intensity as to give momentary access to the main Center.

However, if the yogin, while tasting the fruit, rests within himself in the Center, he attains the union known as RUDRAMALA, for as his secondary centers are not shut off from the main Center, inner and outer commingle, while the median center opens to infinity.

(Lilian Silburn, Kundalini - energy of the depths, 1988, SUNY Press, pages 172-3)

Rudrayamala Uttarakhanda

by Mike Magee:

Beguiled by false knowledge, certain persons, deprived of the guru- shishya tradition, imagine the nature of Kuladharma according to their own lights. If merely by drinking wine, men were to attain fulfilment, all drunks would attain siddhi. If mere partaking of flesh were to lead to the high state, all carnivores in the world would become eligible for immense merit. If liberation were to be ensured by mere cohabitation with women, all creatures would become liberated by female companionship. Mahadevi, it is not the Kula path that is to be denounced. On the other hand, those deprived of the (Kula) paths should be condemned - Kularnavatantra II, 126-120

The Rudrayamala is used as a source by many other agamas but the original appears to be lost. Strictly speaking, a Yamala is a different class of text, and supposed to pre-date the tantras. However, manuscripts of the Yamala seem to be lost, except as quotations in later works.

This analysis of the contents is of a tantra given the same name, but almost certainly, from internal evidence, not the original text. Although its provenance is unknown, it nevertheless contains a great deal of interesting information and focuses in great detail on the identity of the goddess with Kundalini. Published in a Sanskrit edition by the Vacasampati Press, Calcutta, this work is divided into 66 chapters (patala) of different lengths and written in a simple manner. Here is a digest of its contents (under construction).

Chapter One
The text takes the form of Shiva asking questions and Shakti answering, making this nigama rather than agama form. Another example of this style is found in the undoubtedly old Kulachudamani Tantra. In his form as Bhairava, Shiva opens by saying he has heard many tantras including the Shriyamala, the Vishnuyamala, the Shaktiyamala and the Brahmayamala. Now he wants to hear of the Uttara Khanda (last section) of the Shri Rudrayamala.
Bhairavi replies that she will tell him and proceeds to enumerate the topics. These include Kumari- Lalita sadhana; Khechari, Yakshini and Kanya sadhanas; the vidyas of Unmatta Bhairavi and Kali as well as their sadhanas and a host of other topics of interest to a Shakta such as the Garland of Skulls sadhana, Guhyakali, Kubjika sadhana, Bhadra Kali, Shmashana Kali, &c. &c. She starts with a description of the well- known three types of sadhaka, divya (divine), vira (heroic) and pashu (beastlike).