The Hare Krishna mantra: what it means and how it is chanted

The Hare Krishna mantra meaning is simple to state and deep to live with. The mantra is a call to God by three names, Hare, Krishna and Rama, repeated in a set pattern of sixteen names and thirty-two syllables. It is also called the maha-mantra, the great mantra. Families usually meet it at a Hare Krishna kirtan in the home, a temple, or a wedding celebration, and then ask what the words actually say.

This guide gives the text in Devanagari and transliteration, explains each word, names the sources, and says plainly where traditions read it differently.

What is the Hare Krishna maha-mantra?

Here is the mantra in the order used by ISKCON and the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition:

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare

Count the names and you find “Hare” eight times, “Krishna” four times and “Rama” four times. That makes sixteen names. ISKCON’s own pages describe the mantra as three Sanskrit names of the Supreme Being, and as the “great chant” for this age.

What does each word mean?

Krishna. ISKCON’s explanation is that Krishna refers to the “incomparable attractiveness of the Supreme Being”. The name is often read as “the all-attractive”.

Rama. In the same ISKCON explanation, Rama indicates God as the source of all happiness. Most readers also link the name to Lord Rama of the Ramayana. Some commentators take it as a short form of Balarama, Krishna’s elder brother. Both readings are found in the tradition.

Hare. This is the word people ask about most. Many people hear it as the calling form of “Hari”, a name of Vishnu or Krishna. The Gaudiya Vaishnava reading, which ISKCON follows, is different. It takes “Hare” as the calling form of “Hara”, the divine energy of the Lord, and identifies that energy with Radha. ISKCON’s page describes Hare as a call to the compassionate feminine aspect of God, Radharani.

So the same word is heard in two ways: a call to Hari, or a call to the Lord’s energy. Families sing the mantra together either way.

What is the full translation of the Hare Krishna mantra?

ISKCON’s standard translation is “O Lord, O Energy of the Lord, please engage me in Your service.” This is the reading of founder-acharya A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In his purport to Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya 22.16), he writes that when we chant the maha-mantra we are saying, in effect, “Hare! O energy of the Lord! O my Lord Krsna!” He adds that the devotee is praying to the Lord and His spiritual energy for engagement in their loving service.

Prabhupada also names the divine couples the mantra can call to: Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama and Lakshmi-Narayana. For him the mantra is not a request for a particular favour. It is an address, and the only request is to be taken into service.

Other traditions give simpler glosses. For many Hindu families outside the Gaudiya line, the mantra is a repetition of the names Hari, Rama and Krishna, and the meaning is the name itself: remembering God in this age through his names. A family can hold either understanding and still sing together.

Where does the mantra come from?

The earliest known text to contain these sixteen names is the Kali-santarana Upanishad, a short Vaishnava Upanishad. In it Brahma tells the sage Narada that chanting these names destroys the evil effects of the age of Kali. The text is a minor, late Upanishad: it is number 103 in the Muktika list of 108 Upanishads, and scholars place its composition before about 1500 CE. It is not part of the older collections of principal Upanishads.

Gaudiya Vaishnavas add a second line of support. They quote the verse from the Brihan-naradiya Purana (38.126) that Prabhupada cites in Chaitanya-charitamrita (Adi 17.21): harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam, kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha. It says that in the age of Kali there is no other way, no other way, no other way, than the holy name of Hari.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the sixteenth-century saint, made the mantra the centre of public congregational singing in Bengal. Prabhupada then carried it abroad from the 1960s, and ISKCON made it known worldwide.

A note on history: popular tradition says Chaitanya received the mantra at his initiation in Gaya. Scholars point out that his early biographies say he received a ten-syllable mantra instead. That is a difference in the record, and it does not change how the mantra is used today.

Why is the order different, Hare Krishna or Hare Rama first?

The mantra has two common orders.

• Hare Rama first. This is the order in the Kali-santarana Upanishad text, where Brahma gives the Rama names first.
• Hare Krishna first. This is the order in the tradition of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and in ISKCON, which is why most people call it the Hare Krishna mantra.

The count is identical in both: eight Hares, four Ramas, four Krishnas. If you are hosting a kirtan, the singers will use the order of their own lineage. Sing with them rather than correcting them.

How is the mantra chanted in kirtan and in japa?

The same mantra is used in two ways. ISKCON’s own pages describe kirtan as the mantra set to music, and japa as meditation on beads.

Kirtan is chanting aloud, usually in a group. A lead singer sings a line and everyone answers it, often with a harmonium, mridanga drum and karatalas (hand cymbals). It begins slowly and builds in pace and volume. This is the form families book for a home satsang, a wedding sangeet or a festival. On Book Kirtan, the Hare Krishna kirtan tradition page lists the artists who lead it, among them Madhurika Devi Dasi, Sacinandana Swami and Gaura Vani Das.

Japa is quiet, personal repetition. A string of 108 beads is held in the right hand, and the mantra is said once for each bead. One full circuit is a round. ISKCON Birmingham’s guide notes that most people take between five and ten minutes per round, and that at the end of a round you reverse direction rather than cross the large head bead.

Prabhupada’s translation of the mantra’s source verse says that the holy name has been given every power, and that “there are no hard and fast rules” for remembering it (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Antya 20.16, the second verse of Chaitanya’s Shikshashtaka). That is why you will see the mantra sung on a train, in a kitchen, and in a temple hall.

How many times should you chant the Hare Krishna mantra?

There is no single number that fits everyone, because the answer depends on who you are in the tradition.

• ISKCON initiates take a vow to chant sixteen rounds each day. That is 1,728 repetitions of the mantra, and takes roughly one and a half to two hours.
• Newcomers are usually advised to start with one round or a few and add more as the habit settles. This is common practice, not a rule.
• In kirtan, nobody counts. You sing as long as the session lasts.

If you only want to join a family kirtan, you do not need to count anything. Sit, listen, and answer the leader.

Can anyone chant the Hare Krishna mantra?

Yes. ISKCON recommends the mantra to “those seeking self-realization in the present age of Kali”. The scriptural line quoted above says there is no other way in this age, and the Shikshashtaka verse says there are no fixed rules about when to remember the names.

The only requirement ISKCON describes is attention and respect. Chanting “with respect and attention” is what its pages recommend. Members who take initiation add vows, including the sixteen rounds. That applies to them, not to guests at a kirtan.

Families from other traditions sometimes worry about joining. A home kirtan is open by nature. Guests sing the response, clap, or simply sit, and all are welcome.

Planning a Hare Krishna kirtan for your family

If you are planning a kirtan, the mantra itself needs no preparation, but the session does. Decide the length, the seating and the sound system ahead of time. Our home kirtan checklist covers each of these, and the guide to hosting a kirtan at home walks through the day. If you are new to the form, start with what is kirtan.

To find a Hare Krishna kirtan artist for a griha pravesh, a birthday or a satsang, request a booking and tell us the date, the city and the size of your gathering. For practical hints on talking to an artist, see our tips.