Rudra was formed in mid-1992 as a trio, then made up of Kathir (bass, vocals), Shiva (drums) and Bala (guitar). It was then known as Rudhra. A fourth member, Selvam, was recruited to supplement Bala on guitar. With this line-up they released a 4-track demo, The Past, in 1994. Prior to this release, Rudhra was also featured in a few underground death metal compilation albums with Singaporean underground metal bands.
In early 1996, the band had a hiatus and the members were involved in separate bands. Towards the end of 1996, Kathir decided to resurrect Rudhra with a slight alteration to its name; thus Rudra (the most common English transliteration for the Sanskrit word) was born. Kathir teamed up with Shiva and started work in the studio, soon to be joined by Bala and Alvin Chua to complete the line up before recording the self-titled debut album in late 1997, which was released in June 1998. The band played a couple of gigs and also starting work on new material. The band replaced its two guitarists with Selvam (ex-member) and Kannan in January 2000.
With that line-up Rudra released its second album, The Aryan Crusade, in September 2001. In January 2002, Big O magazine[1] named this album as one of the top 40 albums of the year. In July 2003, Rudra released a third album, named after the battlefield featured in the Indian epic the Mahabharata, Kurukshetra.
After touring in Singapore, India, Indonesia and Thailand, Rudra released Brahmavidya: Primordial I, in April 2005. Brahmavidya: Primordial I represents a slight shift in the band's sound as it exhibits more black metal influences than the previous albums and presents a denser recording that showcases the band's progressive move into more dynamic leads, complex bass-lines, and tighter, faster drumming with a bigger emphasis on blast beats. With this release, Rudra toured the USA in January 2007.
In 2008, Kannan was replaced by Devan. In 2009, Rudra released Brahmavidya: Transcendental I as the second chapter in the Brahmavidya trilogy. They have collaborated with Singapore director Jacen Tan on the music video for Hymns from the Blazing Chariot. In 2009, the band went through another line up change with Vinod replacing longtime member Selvam.
In August 2010, Rudra headlined the first day of Baybeats, an annual 3-day alternative music festival, held in Singapore. This was probably one of the rarest moments in history where an Extreme Metal band headlines a non-metal music festival. The band has also invited the interest of musicologists and research papers have been published about both Vedic Metal and the band.
In November 2011, Rudra announced that they will be closing the 2011 Brahmavidya Tour by headlining the Strawberry Fields Rock Fest @ Bangalore, India. It has been more than 7 years since the band last played Bangalore.
In July 2011, Devan left the band to focus on his personal life. Subash joined the band officially in January 2012 to replace Devan.
Hymns to Thee
Rudra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Under the Banyan tree, facing the south
Uprooting primordial nescience
With his burning eyes of wisdom
For the benefit of the four Rishis
He teaches the inconceivable truth
In silence he teaches
In silence the knowledge revealed
[chorus]
The guru of gurus
Teacher of Atmavidya
Lord of all learning
Whose nature is Ananda
With the chinmudra unfolding Brahmavidya
Duality vanishes without a trace
[solo - kannan]
Om namah pranavaarthaaya shuddha jnaanaika moortaye
Nirmalaaya prashaantaaya dakshinaamoortaye namah
[solo - kannan]
Beyond death he takes you
By staring into the eyes of death
Where there is no place to reach
By just listening you gain all there is
[solo - selvam]
The youthful lord imparts the ageless truth
Under the Banyan tree, facing the south
Uprooting primordial nescience
With his burning eyes of wisdom
For the benefit of the four Rishis
He teaches the inconceivable truth
In silence he teaches
In silence the knowledge revealed
[chorus]
The lyrics to Rudra's song "Hymns to Thee" depicts the wisdom and teachings of the youthful lord, who imparts the ageless truth. The lord sits under the Banyan tree, facing the south, and uproots the primordial nescience with his burning eyes of wisdom that benefits the four Rishis. He silently teaches the inconceivable truth that is revealed through knowledge. The chorus describes him as the guru of gurus, the teacher of Atmavidya, the Lord of all learning whose nature is Ananda.
Line by Line Meaning
The youthful lord imparts the ageless truth
The powerful lord imparts the timeless truth.
Under the Banyan tree, facing the south
Under the Banyan tree, facing the southern direction.
Uprooting primordial nescience
Eliminating the original ignorance.
With his burning eyes of wisdom
With his fiery eyes of knowledge.
For the benefit of the four Rishis
For the enlightenment of the four sages.
He teaches the inconceivable truth
He teaches the unimaginable truth.
In silence he teaches
He teaches in stillness.
In silence the knowledge revealed
In stillness the knowledge is unfolded.
[chorus]
Chorus
The guru of gurus
The greatest guru.
Teacher of Atmavidya
Teacher of the knowledge of the self.
Lord of all learning
Master of all knowledge.
Whose nature is Ananda
Whose essence is bliss.
With the chinmudra unfolding Brahmavidya
With the mudra of consciousness revealing the knowledge of the ultimate reality.
Duality vanishes without a trace
Dualism disappears without a trace.
[solo - kannan]
Solo by Kannan.
Om namah pranavaarthaaya shuddha jnaanaika moortaye
Salutations to the embodiment of pure knowledge in the form of the sacred syllable Om.
Nirmalaaya prashaantaaya dakshinaamoortaye namah
Salutations to the peaceful Dakshinamurti.
[solo - kannan]
Solo by Kannan.
Beyond death he takes you
He takes you beyond death.
By staring into the eyes of death
By gazing into the eyes of death.
Where there is no place to reach
Where there is nowhere to go.
By just listening you gain all there is
Just by listening, you attain everything.
[solo - selvam]
Solo by Selvam.
The youthful lord imparts the ageless truth
The powerful lord imparts the timeless truth.
Under the Banyan tree, facing the south
Under the Banyan tree, facing the southern direction.
Uprooting primordial nescience
Eliminating the original ignorance.
With his burning eyes of wisdom
With his fiery eyes of knowledge.
For the benefit of the four Rishis
For the enlightenment of the four sages.
He teaches the inconceivable truth
He teaches the unimaginable truth.
In silence he teaches
He teaches in stillness.
In silence the knowledge revealed
In stillness the knowledge is unfolded.
[chorus]
Chorus
Contributed by Kylie P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.