RUDRA is, in Vedic mythology, a collective name of the gods of the tempest. or Maruts, Rudra in tire singular) being the name of their father. (See John Muir 's eon.
bributions to a Knowledge of the Vedic 7'heogony and hlythology, in the Journal of the Royer Asiatic Society, new series, vol. i. part 4, London, 1864). In later and Puranie mythol ogy (see HINDU RELIGION and Pun'ANA), Rudra (the terrible) is a name of Siva, and tin Ruckas are his offspring. "From Brahma's forehead," the Vishn'u-Pardn'a relates "darkened with angry frowns, sprang Rudra, radiant as the noontide sun. fierce, and of vast bulk, and of A figure which was half male, half female. " Separate yourself,' Brahma said to him, and having so spoken, disappeared: obedient to which command, Rudra became twofold, disjoining his male and female natures. This male being he again divided into eleven persons, of whom some were agreeable, some hideous, some fierce, some mild; and he multiplied his female nature manifold, of complexions black or white." See Wilson's Vishn'u-Purdn'a. —The word rudra apparently comes from the Sanskrit rod, weep; but as the sense of this radical does not yield any satisfac tory clue to the meaning of the deity called Rudra, the Purdn'as invented a legend, according to which Rudra received this name from Brahma. because, when a youth, he 'ran about crying aloud; and when asked by Brahma why he wept, replied that he wanted a name. "Rudra be thy name," rejoined Brahma: "be composed; desist from tears•" In this legendary etymology there is, moreover, a punning on the simi larity hetwean red, cry. and dot, run—an illustration of one of the sources whence Vito later mythology of India derived some of its boundless stock of absurd myths.
RUE, Beta, a genus of plants, of the natural order rutaceo, having a short 4 to 5 parted calyx, 4 or 5 concave petals, affixed by a claw, 8 or 10 stamens, and a 4 to 5 lobed germen, with 8 or 10 nectariterous pores at the base. The species are natives of the a.
of Europe, the n. of Africa, the Canary isles, and the temperate parts of Asia. They are half shrubby; and have alternate, stalked, repeatedly pinnate leaves with translucent dots, the flowers small, and in terminal corymbs. COMMON RUE, or GARDEN RUE (R. graceolens), grows in sunny stony places in the countries near the Mediterranean. It has greenish-yellow flowers, and glaucous evergreen leaves with small oblong leaflets, the terminal leaflets obovate. It is not a native of Britain, but frequently cultivated in L,mrtlens. It was formerly called herb of grace (see Handet, act iv. scene 5), because it was used for sprinkling the people with holy water. It was in great repute among the tncients, having been hung about the neck as an amulet against witchcraft in the time of Aristotle. It is the peganon of Hippocrates. Rue is still employed in medicine as a powerful stimulant, but the leaves must be used fresh, as they lose their virtues by dry ing. The smell of rue when fresh is very strong, and to many very disagreeable; yet the Romans used it much for flavoring food, and it is still so used in some parts of Europe. leaves chopped small are also eaten with bread and butter as a stomachic, but they must be used sparingly, as they are acrid enough to blister the skin -if much handled, and in large doses act as a narcotic poison. All their properties depend on an acrid volatile oil, which is itself used for making syrup of rue, 8 or 10 drops of oil to a pint of syrup; and this, in doses of a teaspoonful or two, is found a useful medicine in flatulent colic of children. The expressed juice of rue, mixed with water, and employed as a wash, promotes the growth of the hair. Some of the species found in the n. of India resemble common rue in their properties, and are used for the same purposes.