Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 42
॥
Devanāgarī
केवलं साक्षिरूपेण विना भोगं महेश्वरः । प्रकाशते स्वयं भेदः कल्पितो मायया तयोः
Transliteration (IAST)
kevalaṃ sākṣirūpeṇa vinā bhogaṃ maheśvaraḥ | prakāśate svayaṃ bhedaḥ kalpito māyayā tayoḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
केवलं साक्षि-रूपेणkevalaṃ sākṣi-rūpeṇasolely in the form of a witness
विना भोगं महेश्वरःvinā bhogaṃ maheśvaraḥwithout enjoyment, Maheśvara
प्रकाशते स्वयं भेदःprakāśate svayaṃ bhedaḥshines; but the discord itself
कल्पितः मायया तयोःkalpitaḥ māyayā tayoḥis fabricated by māyā, of these two
Translation
"Solely in the form of a witness, without enjoyment, Maheśvara shines; but the discord itself, of these two, is fabricated by māyā."
Version
c5ca73dfa8e8 · published Aug 7, 2026, 1:42:45 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The first half of the verse continues the previous one and is fine: Maheśvara shines vinā bhogam, "without enjoyment," solely as a witness. But the second half cancels everything just said: bhedaḥ kalpito māyayā tayoḥ, "the discord of these two is fabricated by māyā." And here one must explain fully, for this move — first citing the verse of the two birds, then declaring their difference illusory — is the usual move of Advaitic compositions, and it must be answered constantly.
Let me answer with what stands in the verse itself. The word bheda means "discord, division, difference"; and it is said to be fabricated. But by what? — māyayā, "by māyā." And let us ask directly: whose māyā is this, and on whom does it act?
If it acts on the jīva, then the jīva exists prior to its deception — otherwise there is no one to deceive; and so the jīva is not fabricated, but only misled about itself. If it acts on Maheśvara, then He is subject to it — but the line above just said He only looks and does not taste; a watcher and a deceived one at once is impossible. And if it acts on no one, then it does not exist at all, and there is nothing to explain by it.
This difficulty is old, called "the question of the locus of ignorance" (ajñāna-āśraya), and no satisfactory answer has been given to it. The Vaiṣṇava side answers simply: māyā is His power, it is real, and it acts on the jīva — not by fabricating it, but by concealing from it the memory of whose it is.