Introduction
Ishvara, "the lord", is one of the eleven Rudras, a group of deities who are aspects or manifestations of Shiva in the Puranic tradition.
The eleven Rudras (Ekadasha Rudras) are a group of deities who are aspects or manifestations of Shiva. The idea goes back to the Vedic Rudra and the Maruts, who are sometimes called the sons of Rudra. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (3.9.4) says that the eleven Rudras are the ten vital breaths and the mind, and are called Rudras because when they leave the body at death, they make people weep (the verb rud, "to weep"). In the Puranas, the eleven Rudras are sons of Kashyapa and Surabhi, or of Kashyapa and Aditi, or manifestations of Shiva. The lists of the eleven names differ between the Mahabharata, the Harivamsha and the Puranas. This article follows one Puranic list: Ajaikapada, Ahirbudhnya, Pinakin, Ritadhvaja, Tryambaka, Maheshvara, Vrishakapi, Shambhu, Hara, Ishvara and Kapardin.
The Rudras are worshipped together in the Ekadasha Rudra rites, in which the Rudram hymn is recited eleven times over an abhisheka of Shiva. A tradition regards Hanuman as the eleventh Rudra, an incarnation of Shiva.
Name and early references
Ishvara means "lord" or "ruler" and is the general Sanskrit term for God or a personal deity. The word is used for Shiva in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and in many texts, and for God in many Indian philosophical systems. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Ishvara is a special being untouched by suffering, on whom one can meditate.
In the Puranic tradition
In Advaita Vedanta, Ishvara is Brahman as seen with attributes, the lord of the universe (Saguna Brahman). In Shaivism, Ishana, the fifth and topmost face of Sadashiva, is closely connected. In the Puranic lists, Ishvara is one of the eleven Rudras, and the Mahabharata list of the eleven Rudras includes Ishvara as well.