Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 12
॥
Devanāgarī
आत्मानं परमात्मानमन्तरात्मानमेव च । ज्ञात्वा त्रिविधमात्मानं परमात्मानमाश्रयेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
ātmānaṃ paramātmānamantarātmānameva ca | jñātvā trividhamātmānaṃ paramātmānamāśrayet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आत्मानं परम-आत्मानम्ātmānaṃ parama-ātmānamthe self, the supreme self
अन्तर-आत्मानम् एव चantara-ātmānam eva caand the inner self as well
ज्ञात्वा त्रि-विधम् आत्मानंjñātvā tri-vidham ātmānaṃhaving known the threefold self
परम-आत्मानम् आश्रयेत्parama-ātmānam āśrayetlet him take refuge in the supreme self
Translation
"Having known the threefold self — the self, the supreme self, and the inner self — let him take refuge in the supreme self."
Version
3ad0dae4053b · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a line that settles more than all the preceding ones: paramātmānam āśrayet, "let him take refuge in the supreme self." The verb ā-śri means "to take refuge, to seek support, to entrust oneself"; from it comes āśraya, "refuge," discussed when reading the Tripurā-tāpanī (43), and āśrama, "a place where shelter is found." It is worth noting the structure of the thought. Three selves are named — one's own, inner, and supreme; it is said to know all three; and then it is said what must be done with the supreme. And what must be done is not "merge," not "understand that you are it," but — take refuge.
Between these verbs lies the whole difference of the two teachings, and here it is expressed in a single word. One takes refuge in one who can shelter — that is, in another; one does not take refuge in oneself. The threefold division, incidentally, occurs in Vaiṣṇava books too, and was discussed when reading the Ātma (Muktikā 78), where three puruṣas were listed the same way. This distinction is convenient: "the self" is what a person takes himself to be; "the inner" is what he is; "the supreme" is the One within him.
And here, at the last, having known all three, one is commanded not to stop, but to take refuge; and the difference between "having known, he was at peace" and "having known, he went to Him" is, in essence, the difference between two roads.