Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 7
॥
Devanāgarī
ये द्विषन्ति विरूपाक्षं ते द्विषन्ति जनार्दनम् । ये रुद्रं नाभिजानन्ति ते न जानन्ति केशवम्
Transliteration (IAST)
ye dviṣanti virūpākṣaṃ te dviṣanti janārdanam | ye rudraṃ nābhijānanti te na jānanti keśavam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ये द्विषन्ति विरूपाक्षंye dviṣanti virūpākṣaṃwho hate Virūpākṣa
ते द्विषन्ति जनार्दनम्te dviṣanti janārdanamthose hate Janārdana
ये रुद्रं न अभिजानन्तिye rudraṃ na abhijānantiwho do not acknowledge Rudra
ते न जानन्ति केशवम्te na jānanti keśavamthose do not know Keśava
Translation
"Whoever hates Virūpākṣa, those hate Janārdana; whoever does not acknowledge Rudra, those do not know Keśava."
Version
d2c4098ce511 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The same thought is turned to its reverse side, and this turn is stronger than the direct assertion. To say "whoever honors one honors the other" is pleasant and offends no one. But it is said: whoever hates one hates the other; and this is already an accusation, directed at one's own.
It is worth noting the choice of names. Virūpākṣa, "of unlike eyes," is a name of Śiva, pointing to his third eye; Janārdana, "who crushes people" or "impelled by people," is a name of Viṣṇu. Both are rare and both are formidable; and they are placed together precisely where hatred is at issue — that is, what one threatens with.
The second half is even more precise: na abhijānanti, "do not acknowledge." The verb abhi-jñā means not simply "to know," but "to acknowledge, to recognize as someone." It is said, accordingly, not "whoever has not studied Rudra," but "whoever refuses to acknowledge him."
And this is exactly what the verse is aimed against, and aimed exactly where it should be. People usually fail to acknowledge not out of ignorance, but out of jealousy for their own; and this jealousy in India has produced hostility, the ruin of temples, and whole compositions written for the sake of reviling. The Vaiṣṇava side answers this with one rule worth remembering even outside these disputes. One cannot exalt one's own at another's expense: one who exalts himself by demeaning another has exalted no one, but only shown what occupies him.