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Rudra was mentioned in the Vedas. In the subsequent literature like Shiva purana, Shiva/Rudra was described as Supreme God.

Are there are any verses in the Vedas which declare Lord Shiva/Rudra to be supreme?

Spark Sunshine
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  • This is opinion based question as different sects have different opinions on this. – The Destroyer Aug 16 '19 at 13:36
  • You can go through the answer to another question ( https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/35560/3869)@aniket kumar singh – Srimannarayana K V Aug 16 '19 at 14:33
  • We don't encourage questions which lead to debates and discussion. Hence it is closed as opinion based question. Please read [help/dont-ask]. – Sarvabhouma Aug 16 '19 at 15:06
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    Are you asking a question or making a statement? Instead of asking 'Who is supreme? (which can lead to opinion-based answers), you can change the title/content to the following: Are Shiva and Vishnu both considered supreme according to the Vedas? – Say No To Censorship Aug 16 '19 at 21:16
  • I have edited my question. –  Aug 17 '19 at 07:49
  • You might read the answers to this question: https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/2574/why-doesnt-shiva-worship-anybody-where-as-vishnu-worships-him-in-all-his-incarn/2575#2575 – Pradip Gangopadhyay Aug 17 '19 at 11:57
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    This is now a duplicate of already existing question Do any Vedic verses depict Vishnu as supreme and also How were the trimurti born. They both cover origin of Rudra and Vishnu as well as verses which show Vishnu and Rudra to be supreme. This question still produces debates or half hearted answers without giving proper info why both Rudra and Vishnu are supreme and answers would be based on opinion. So leaving closed. – Sarvabhouma Aug 17 '19 at 17:45
  • @srimannarayanakv The OP is interested to know if there are 2 supreme lords. That's true but Rudra is not called supreme in not only a single verse like you have added in the edit. I restored to previous revision because there is Sri Rudram, Rudra Suktam, some more mantras from Yajurveda too. So I rolled backed to OP's version of saying suktam names. OP also wanted to know the origin which you have removed in your edit. Our edits should not remove questions which are existing from OP's version. – Sarvabhouma Aug 17 '19 at 18:01
  • Ekam Brahm, Divtya Nasti -Vedas, God is only one, not two. creator Brahma, maintainer Vishnu and destroyer Mahesh are 3 qualities of same God. God has infinite forms as shown in Vishwaroop of Krishna to Arjuna in Geeta, yet formless God like space is same for all. –  Aug 18 '19 at 04:33
  • @Sarvabhouma:ok. I got it. – Srimannarayana K V Aug 18 '19 at 09:18
  • @aniketkumarsingh I made further edits to remove all links and statements. Ideally, these should belong in the answers. – Say No To Censorship Aug 19 '19 at 20:01
  • What god(s) the Vedas declare is a subject that different sects of Hinduism disagree about, so I’m closing your question for the time being. If you want to revise your question, then edit it and flag me to reopen it. – Keshav Srinivasan Aug 20 '19 at 01:41
  • @KeshavSrinivasan can I change my question fully with another topic? –  Aug 20 '19 at 13:03
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    @aniketkumarsingh No, if you want to ask a question on a completely different topic you should post a new question, not edit the existing one. – Keshav Srinivasan Aug 20 '19 at 13:04
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    @KeshavSrinivasan 'What god(s) the Vedas declare is a subject that different sects of Hinduism disagree about' - this isn't a valid reason for closure. The question isn't asking 'Which god(s) Vedas declare to be supreme?' it's only asking 'Do Vedas support the position taken by some that either Vishnu or Shiva or both are supreme?' This is no different from asking if a certain BG verse is interpreted certain way by anyone. It really does not matter there are 100's of competing interpretations of BG. We don't close all BG questions because different sects have different interpretations of BG. – Say No To Censorship Aug 20 '19 at 15:45
  • @sv. “This is no different from asking if a certain BG verse is interpreted certain way by anyone.” Well, a question that asked “Do any commentators/Acharyas interpret the Vedas as saying that Vishnu and Shiva are both supreme?” would be fine. But as it stands, how it would be is Vaishnavas would post an answer showing the Vedas declare Vishnu to be supreme and declare Shiva and other gods to be Jivatmas, and Advaitins would post an answer attempting to show the Vedas declare both Vishnu and Shiva to be supreme, and people would vote according to which sect they belong to. – Keshav Srinivasan Aug 20 '19 at 17:30
  • @sv. In general, if the correctness of the answers to question depend on which sect of Hinduism is correct, then there’s a problem with the question. It should be restricted to what a particular sect of Hinduism believes, or what different sects believe, etc. And also Vishnu vs. Shiva questions tend to inflame tensions around here. – Keshav Srinivasan Aug 20 '19 at 17:33
  • @KeshavSrinivasan “Do any commentators/Acharyas interpret the Vedas as saying that Vishnu and Shiva are both supreme?” - you cannot expect lay persons to ask questions in such a scholarly manner. I recently asked a question on a certain BG verse without caring too much about how different schools interpret the verse. A good answer to such questions would provide a summary of opinions from various schools. And for this reason, such questions should not be closed with the reason "...is a subject that different sects of Hinduism disagree about" – Say No To Censorship Aug 20 '19 at 18:55
  • @KeshavSrinivasan "And also Vishnu vs. Shiva questions tend to inflame tensions around here" - this only happens when some user is trying to prove their favorite god is superior to others. But that's not the case here. This is a simple objective question with no ill intent so should be left to the community to decide whether it should remain open. – Say No To Censorship Aug 20 '19 at 18:58
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    @sv. It’s all right if the OP doesn’t immediately think of asking a question of the form “What do different sects think?” or “What do different commentators think?” That’s what more experienced users on the site are for, to edit questions when the OP doesn’t think of such things. And I’m not talking about the wording of the question inflaming things, I’m talking about the ensuing answers and comments and the like. – Keshav Srinivasan Aug 20 '19 at 19:10
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    "I’m talking about the ensuing answers and comments and the like" - this is not a valid reason to disallow questions on Shiva or Vishnu. If users start engaging is such behavior OP is not to be blamed for their questions. This is where mods need to step in and warn users from posting such comments or answers. @KeshavSrinivasan – Say No To Censorship Aug 20 '19 at 19:51
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    “What do different sects think? What do different commentators think?” - this is just rephrasing the same question and everyone has their own style of asking questions. And just because you rephrase the question that way, in no way does it prevent some users from posting inflammatory answers or comments. So, IMO, the question in the current form seems fine and should be re-opened. @KeshavSrinivasan – Say No To Censorship Aug 20 '19 at 19:55
  • I did a meta post about this but there's a lot of opposition to reopening. So I suggest changing your question to: Do any Vedic verses depict Lord Shiva to be supreme? and use the same language as the other question. Then flag the mods to reopen. This should prevent closure again. – Say No To Censorship Aug 22 '19 at 23:42
  • @KeshavSrinivasan this is a duplicate question, please close this. This is not only a duplicate, but also a chameleon question. –  Aug 29 '19 at 18:29

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Rig Veda 2.33 was dedicated to Rudra.

Rig veda 2.33.9 states that Rudra is sovereign of the world.

सथिरेभिरङगैः पुरुरूप उग्रो बभ्रुः शुक्रेभिः पिपिशेहिरण्यैः | ईशानादस्य भुवनस्य भूरेर्न वा उ योषद रुद्रादसुर्यम ||

With firm limbs, multiform, the strong, the tawny adorns himself with bright gold decorations: The strength of Godhead ne’er departs from Rudra, him who is Sovran (sovereign) of this world, the mighty.

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A verse of Śrī Rudram from Yajurveda speaks of Rudra as Lord of the Universe:

जगताम् पतये नमः । jagatăm pataye namaha ।

Srimannarayana K V
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