Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 13
॥
Devanāgarī
अन्तरात्मा भवेद्ब्रह्मा परमात्मा महेश्वरः । सर्वेषामेव भूतानां विष्णुरात्मा सनातनः
Transliteration (IAST)
antarātmā bhavedbrahmā paramātmā maheśvaraḥ | sarveṣāmeva bhūtānāṃ viṣṇurātmā sanātanaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अन्तर-आत्मा भवेत् ब्रह्माantara-ātmā bhavet brahmāthe inner self is Brahmā
परम-आत्मा महेश्वरःparama-ātmā maheśvaraḥthe supreme self is Maheśvara
सर्वेषाम् एव भूतानांsarveṣām eva bhūtānāṃbut of all beings
विष्णुः आत्मा सनातनःviṣṇuḥ ātmā sanātanaḥViṣṇu is the eternal self
Translation
"The inner self is Brahmā, the supreme self is Maheśvara; but of all beings, Viṣṇu is the eternal self."
Version
3788109f5181 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is the line for whose sake Vaiṣṇavas read and cite this book: sarveṣām eva bhūtānāṃ viṣṇur ātmā sanātanaḥ, "of all beings, Viṣṇu is the eternal self." This is said in a Śaiva upaniṣad, between two assertions about Brahmā and Maheśvara, and said without any dispute — as something self-evident. Let us examine the three selves named. Antarātman, "the inner," is given to Brahmā; paramātman, "the supreme," to Maheśvara; and the third, the most universal — ātmā sarveṣāṃ bhūtānām, "the self of all beings" — is given to Viṣṇu.
It is worth noting that the third is not third in sequence but in scope: the first two are named by their places in the structure, while the last applies to all without exception. The word sanātana, "eternal, everlasting," is added to Viṣṇu alone; and it is one of the weightiest in this literature — it names what has neither beginning nor interruption. The Vaiṣṇava side draws from this a modest and sufficient conclusion. It is not said that Śiva is false or small; it is said that what every being is in itself bears the name Viṣṇu. And this suffices: the dispute over which god is senior is a dispute over a retinue; here, what is named is that which is in each.