Shiv is distinct from Brahmaa, Vishnu and Rudra.

Lord Shiv is the Lord of innumerable crores of Brahmaand or worlds. Eeshwar united with Maayaa gives rise to Brahmaa, Vishnu and Rudra out of Rajas, Sattwa and Tamo Gun respectively, under the command of Lord Shiv. Brahmaa, Vishnu and Rudra are the trinities of the world.

Rudra is the God who bestows prosperity and destroys suffering. He is a benevolent Deity who confers auspiciousness, offspring and cattle. He is the bringer or source of prosperity. Rudra means He who removes sin or suffering. The names Bhav, Sarva, Pashupati, Ugra, Mahaadev, Eeshaan and Asanee are applied to Rudra. Rudra is not a terror-inspiring God, but a bestower of welfare or prosperity. He is the one great Lord of the Universe. Rudra is the ideal of mendicants, because Rudra
alone, of all the deities, is spoken of in the scriptures as the mendicant-God. He is mentioned as having, the ascetic water-pot in
the Rig Ved hymns.

Rudra represents here Par Brahm or the Supreme Self, the Infinite or the Absolute. Rudra, after having created all objects, draws together or takes them all back into Himself at the end of time, ie, during cosmic Pralaya or dissolution. Rudra is the destructive aspect of Shiv. There are eleven Rudra in the cosmic hierarchy. Esoterically, the Praan (or the 10 senses) and the mind represent the 11th Rudra. Hanuman is a manifestation or aspect of Rudra only.

In Shiv Puraan, Rudra is another name for Shiv. Rudra is one who destroys the sins and removes the miseries of His devotees and confers on them wisdom and bliss. Rudra is the Antaryaamee or indweller of all beings. He witnesses silently the actions and thoughts of men and dispenses the fruits of their actions.

"That one God, having His eyes, His face, His arms and feet in every place, when producing Heaven and Earth, forges them together with His arms and His wings". May Rudra, the creator and supporter of the gods, the great seer, the Lord of all, who created at first Hiranyagarbha, endow us with good thought (pure intellect). "Rudra, with Thy form which is auspicious, which is not dreadful, and which manifests what is holy, with that all-blessed form, appear to us, O Dweller among the mountains".