Identify the name of the deity mentioned in the Rigveda?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Rudra
The earliest religious text, the Rigveda (compiled c. 1500-1000 BCE), mentions a god named Rudra, a name used for Shiva in later Puranic traditions. Unlike Shiva, Rudra in the Rigveda is shown neither as Pashupati nor as a yogi.
NCERT (2026-27): “11.2 Problems of interpretation … Let us look, for instance, at the ‘proto-Shiva’ seals. The earliest religious text, the Rigveda (compiled c. 1500-1000 BCE) mentions a god named Rudra, which is a name used for Shiva in later Puranic traditions (in the first millennium CE ; see also Chapter 4). However, unlike Shiva, Rudra in the Rigveda is neither depicted as Pashupati (lord of animals in general and cattle in particular), nor as a yogi. In other words, this depiction does not match the description of Rudra in the Rigveda.… 1.2 Difference and conflict … The divergence is perhaps most stark if we compare Vedic and Puranic traditions. The principal deities of the Vedic pantheon, Agni, Indra and Soma, become marginal figures, rarely visible in textual or visual representations. And while we can catch a glimpse of Vishnu, Shiva and the goddess in Vedic mantras, these have little in common with the elaborate Puranic mythologies. However, in spite of these obvious discrepancies, the Vedas continued to be revered as authoritative.… 2.1 The sacrificial tradition … The Rigveda consists of hymns in praise of a variety of deities, especially Agni, Indra and Soma. Many of these hymns were chanted when sacrifices were performed, where people prayed for cattle, sons, good health, long life, etc.… 6.2 Author(s) and dates … We notice another phase in the composition of the text between c. 200 BCE and 200 CE. This was the period when the worship of Vishnu was growing in importance, and Krishna, one of the important figures of the epic, was coming to be identified with Vishnu. Subsequently, between c. 200 and 400 CE, large didactic sections resembling the Manusmriti were added.…” |