Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 5
॥
Devanāgarī
वामपार्श्वे उमा देवी विष्णुः सोमोऽपि ते त्रयः । या उमा सा स्वयं विष्णुर्यो विष्णुः स हि चन्द्रमाः
Transliteration (IAST)
vāmapārśve umā devī viṣṇuḥ somo'pi te trayaḥ | yā umā sā svayaṃ viṣṇuryo viṣṇuḥ sa hi candramāḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
वाम-पार्श्वे उमा देवीvāma-pārśve umā devīon the left side — the goddess Umā
विष्णुः सोमः अपि ते त्रयःviṣṇuḥ somaḥ api te trayaḥViṣṇu and the moon, these three
या उमा सा स्वयं विष्णुःyā umā sā svayaṃ viṣṇuḥwhich is Umā, she herself is Viṣṇu
यः विष्णुः सः हि चन्द्रमाःyaḥ viṣṇuḥ saḥ hi candramāḥwhich is Viṣṇu, that is also the moon
Translation
"On the left side — the goddess Umā, Viṣṇu, and the moon, these three. Which is Umā, she herself is Viṣṇu; which is Viṣṇu, that is also the moon."
Version
cc82fd7c0b41 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
It is said that Umā and Viṣṇu are one: yā umā sā svayaṃ viṣṇuḥ. This assertion is unexpected to the ear, and it is worth explaining where it comes from, for it is not an invention of this book. In tradition, Umā is Viṣṇu's sister. She is born a daughter of Himavat, and by another reckoning a daughter of Dakṣa; and in both cases is called Viṣṇu-bhaginī, "Viṣṇu's sister." This is repeated constantly in the Harivaṃśa and the Purāṇas, and in Bengal, where Durgā-pūjā is the chief festival, it is still sung to this day that Durgā is Hari's sister.
Hence the close connection of the two forms of worship, which seems strange to the uninitiated. Here it is carried to the limit: not "sister," but "herself." The Vaiṣṇava side accepts such an identification not literally, but by category. Śakti is the power of the Lord, and in this sense she is not other than Him — as heat is not other than fire; but she has her own person, and in this sense she is not Him. This distinction was discussed when reading the Tripurā (14), where both halves were called equal, and moreover two.
A separate word is worth saying about the third member — the moon. Soma is both the moon and the drink; and its connection with Viṣṇu comes from the sacrificial rite, where soma is the chief offering. This word was discussed when reading the Tripurā-tāpanī (40).