Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Minor Religious Systems v1.c7.s2.2

v1.c7.s2.2

§ 79. The character of Rudra appears in a much more developed form in the Śatarudriya (TS. IV, 5, 1; VS. chapter 16). His benignant form (śivā tanuḥ) is distinguished from its opposite, the malignant. He is called Giriśa and Giritra, "lying on a mountain", probably because the thunderbolt that he hurls, springs from a cloud, which is often compared to a mountain and in which he was believed to dwell. The cowherds and the female bearers of water see him as he creeps along with his blue neck and red complexion, that is, these simple folk working in the open field see a black cloud tinged red by the soft glow of the lightning. Representing, as Rudra does, the darker powers of nature, he may be expected to dwell away from the habitations of men, and therefore he is called the lord of the paths, of the forests and of those who roam in them, of thieves and highway robbers who frequent and move about in lonely places to prevent being detected, and also of outcasts who live away from the usual dwellings of men.