<P> Rudra 's evolution from a minor Vedic deity to a supreme being is first evidenced in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad ( 400 -- 200 BC ) , according to Gavin Flood . Prior to it , the Upanishadic literature is monistic , and the Shvetashvatara text presents the earliest seeds of theistic devotion to Rudra - Shiva . Here Rudra - Shiva is identified as the creator of the cosmos and liberator of souls from the birth - rebirth cycle . The period of 200 BC to 100 AD also marks the beginning of the Shaiva tradition focused on the worship of Shiva as evidenced in other literature of this period . Shaiva devotees and ascetics are mentioned in Patanjali 's Mahābhāṣya ( 2nd - century BC ) and in the Mahabharata . Other scholars such as Robert Hume and Doris Srinivasan state that the Shvetashvatara Upanishad presents pluralism , pantheism , or henotheism , rather than being a text just on Shiva theism . </P>
<P> Rudra 's evolution from a minor Vedic deity to a supreme being is first evidenced in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad ( 400 -- 200 BC ) , according to Gavin Flood . Prior to it , the Upanishadic literature is monistic , and the Shvetashvatara text presents the earliest seeds of theistic devotion to Rudra - Shiva . Here Rudra - Shiva is identified as the creator of the cosmos and liberator of souls from the birth - rebirth cycle . The period of 200 BC to 100 AD also marks the beginning of the Shaiva tradition focused on the worship of Shiva as evidenced in other literature of this period . Shaiva devotees and ascetics are mentioned in Patanjali 's Mahābhāṣya ( 2nd - century BC ) and in the Mahabharata . Other scholars such as Robert Hume and Doris Srinivasan state that the Shvetashvatara Upanishad presents pluralism , pantheism , or henotheism , rather than being a text just on Shiva theism . </P>
what is the name of the hindu liberator god
what is the name of the hindu liberator god
Rudra - Shiva
Rudra - Shiva