Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 11
॥
Devanāgarī
उमा शङ्करयोगो यः स योगो विष्णुरुच्यते । यस्तु तस्मै नमस्कारं कुर्याद्भक्तिसमन्वितः
Transliteration (IAST)
umā śaṅkarayogo yaḥ sa yogo viṣṇurucyate | yastu tasmai namaskāraṃ kuryādbhaktisamanvitaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
उमा-शङ्कर-योगः यःumā-śaṅkara-yogaḥ yaḥwhich is the union of Umā and Śaṅkara
सः योगः विष्णुः उच्यतेsaḥ yogaḥ viṣṇuḥ ucyatethat union is called Viṣṇu
यः तु तस्मै नमस्कारंyaḥ tu tasmai namaskāraṃand whoever a bow to him
कुर्यात् भक्ति-समन्वितःkuryāt bhakti-samanvitaḥperforms, endowed with devotion
Translation
"Which is the union of Umā and Śaṅkara — that union is called Viṣṇu. And whoever performs a bow to him, endowed with devotion …"
Version
ba6b1d183695 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is an unexpected definition, worth attention: sa yogo viṣṇur ucyate, "that union is called Viṣṇu." That is, Viṣṇu is named not as a third person alongside the two, but as what is between them — their union. This definition is worth comparing with what was said when reading the Tripurā-tāpanī (42), where the Goddess was called antarāla, "the interval between Śiva and Śakti." The device is the same, but the names are swapped: there, what is highest is declared to be the "between," and named by Her name; here, by His.
The coincidence of the device across different names is instructive. Both books, having reached the limit, call the highest not one of the two, but what binds them; and both give this binding thing the name of a person, not of a relation. The Vaiṣṇava side is sympathetic to this, for her highest is not solitary either. What stands between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is prema; and this was discussed in the same place.
A separate word is worth saying about the word yoga, standing here in its direct meaning — "union." It, and the fact that it is always two that are united, was discussed when reading the Tripurā-tāpanī (18); and the argument there was given by the book itself: after union, they are still two, otherwise it is not union but disappearance.