Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 16
॥
Devanāgarī
धर्मो रुद्रो जगद्विष्णुः सर्वज्ञानं पितामहः । श्रीरुद्र रुद्र रुद्रेति यस्तं ब्रूयाद्विचक्षणः
Transliteration (IAST)
dharmo rudro jagadviṣṇuḥ sarvajñānaṃ pitāmahaḥ | śrīrudra rudra rudreti yastaṃ brūyādvicakṣaṇaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
धर्मः रुद्रः जगत् विष्णुःdharmaḥ rudraḥ jagat viṣṇuḥthe law — Rudra, the world — Viṣṇu
सर्व-ज्ञानं पितामहःsarva-jñānaṃ pitāmahaḥall knowledge — the Grandsire
श्री-रुद्र रुद्र रुद्र इतिśrī-rudra rudra rudra iti"Śrī-Rudra, Rudra, Rudra!"
यः तं ब्रूयात् विचक्षणःyaḥ taṃ brūyāt vicakṣaṇaḥwhoever, discerning, utters that
Translation
"The law — Rudra, the world — Viṣṇu, all knowledge — the Grandsire. 'Śrī-Rudra, Rudra, Rudra!' — whoever, discerning, utters that …"
Version
822b9a08b9fe · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Kīrtana, "utterance aloud," is named, and it is promised that one who utters it is purified of all sins; the next line will speak of the promise itself. It is worth pausing on the method. One is enjoined not to reflect, not to offer sacrifice, and not to build a diagram, but to utter the name — and, moreover, three times in a row.
Threefold repetition is constant in these books and has its own meaning: what is said once may be a slip; what is said three times is an affirmation. This is how an oath is confirmed, how a vow is fixed. It is worth noting also what stands first: śrī. The name is not uttered bare, but with a respectful prefix; and this is again the same as in every address to a living being: one calls by name, but does not hail in vain.
The Vaiṣṇava side stands on this method more than on any other, and calls it by the same word — kīrtana. In the list of nine forms of service (Bhāgavatam 7.5.23), it stands second, right after hearing; and the famous saying about the present age states that what was once attained by contemplation and sacrifice is now attained by chanting the name (12.3.52). This coincidence is no accident and is explained simply. Of everything a person can do, uttering a name is the most accessible: it requires no implements, no purity of place, no health, no literacy; and so where a means suitable for everyone is sought, one arrives at it.