Nakshatra Devatas II
6. Ardra Mythologically ārdra is ruled by Rudra. There is abundance of references of Rudra in the vedas and puranas and it would not be possible to bring forward all the aspects of rudra in article such as this, however, I shall try to provide pointers which shall help the reader to understand the hidden meaning behind this nakshatra. In Rigveda, Rudra is often portrayed as the deity of storm, wind and the hunt. The name rudra has many meaning of which the most commonly used is to cry out loud. The root of the word ‘rud’ means ‘to cry’. In earlier scripture Rudra was identified as an independent deity which got merged with one of the aspect of Shiva, an aspect which represents the form of Shiva which is responsible to cause destruction in the scheme of creation, sustenance and destruction. Although the most common belief is that the rudra are the cause of destruction, many others believe that Rudra are the protector of the created world and only when they are decline to support, destru