[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879) › c5.1693.1 # A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.1693.1 A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.1693.1 - **Language:** English ### [c5.1693.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1693.1) SIVA. The name Siva is unknown to the Vedas, but Rudra, another name of this deity, and almost equally common, occurs in the Veda both in the singular and plural, and from these the great deity Siva and his manifestations, the Rudras, have been developed. In the Rig-veda the word Rudra is used for Agni, and the Maruts are called his sons. In other passages he is distinct from Agni. He is lauded as “the lord of songs, the lord of sacrifices, who heals remedies, is brilliant as the sun, the best and most bountiful of gods, who grants prosperity and welfare to horses and sheep, men, women, and cows; the lord of nourishment, who drives away diseases, dispenses remedies, and removes sin; but, on the other hand he is the wielder of the thunderbolt, the bearer of bow and arrows, and mounted on his chariot is terrible as a wild beast, destructive and fierce.” In the Yajur-veda there is a long prayer called Śatarudriya which is addressed to him and appeals to him under a great variety of epithets. He is “auspicious, not terrible;” “the deliverer, the first divine physician;” he is “blue-necked and red-coloured, who has a thousand eyes and bears a thousand quivers;” and in another hymn he is called “Tryambaka, the sweet-scented increaser of prosperity;” “a medicine for kine and horses, a medicine for men, and a (source of) ease to rams and ewes.” In the Atharva-veda he is still the protector of cattle, but his character is fiercer. - [Previous: c5.1692](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1692) - [Next: c5.1693.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1693.2) - [Up: c5.1693](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1693) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1693.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.1693.1) · Pramāṇa