34. Rudra Evolved Into Shiva
In the Vedic texts, which date back as far as 1100 BCE, Rudra and Shiva are considered to be aspects of the same personality, discernible from each other but both necessary to fulfill a divine role. Now, Shiva has taken on Rudra’s part of a destroyer, as well as retained his position as creator. To this day, Rudra is still sometimes used as a name for Shiva. By the time Shiva became significant among Hindus, worship of Rudra had been all but forgotten.