Lord Krishna: Who He Is, With His Mantras and Prayers

Who is Lord Krishna?

Krishna is revered as one of the incarnations of Vishnu. In Hindu tradition, he was born to Devaki and Vasudeva. He is often portrayed as a cowherd boy who plays the flute. His birth is celebrated at Janmashtami.

Krishna mantras with meaning

Below are the 16 mantras and verses to Lord Krishna in Diya's prayer library, in Sanskrit and in English letters, each with its meaning in plain English.

Mantra (Sanskrit and transliteration)	Meaning in English
Hare Krishna Mahāmantra हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे । हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे ॥ hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare | hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare ||	O Hare, O Krishna, O Rama—again and again, I call upon your sacred names.
Oṃ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय । oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya |	Om. I bow to the blessed Lord Vasudeva, Krishna.
Invocation to Krishna ॐ श्री कृष्णाय नमः । oṃ śrī kṛṣṇāya namaḥ |	Om. I bow to revered Krishna.
Invocation to Govinda ॐ श्री गोविन्दाय नमः । oṃ śrī govindāya namaḥ |	Om. I bow to revered Govinda, a beloved name of Krishna.
Invocation to Gopala ॐ श्री गोपालाय नमः । oṃ śrī gopālāya namaḥ |	Om. I bow to revered Gopala, Krishna who tends and protects the cows.
Vasudevasutaṃ Devaṃ वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् । देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ १॥ vasudevasutaṃ devaṃ kaṃsacāṇūramardanam | devakīparamānandaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum || 1||	I bow to Krishna, the divine son of Vasudeva, destroyer of Kamsa and Chanura, Devaki's greatest joy and teacher of the world.
Karmaṇy Evādhikāras Te कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana | mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo’stvakarmaṇi ||	Krishna says: Your right is to action alone, never to its fruits. Do not let the reward of your work be your motive, and do not become attached to doing nothing.
Sarvadharmān Parityajya सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज । अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥ sarvadharmānparityajya māmekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja | ahaṃ tvā sarvapāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ ||	Krishna says: Leave behind all dharmas—all duties and religious observances—and take refuge in me alone. I will free you from every sin. Do not grieve.
Yadā Yadā Hi Dharmasya यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥ परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् । धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥ yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavati bhārata | abhyutthānamadharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmyaham || paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṃ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām | dharmasaṃsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge ||	Krishna says: Whenever dharma declines and wrongdoing rises, Arjuna, descendant of Bharata, I manifest myself. To protect the good, destroy evildoers and reestablish dharma, the order of righteous living, I appear age after age.
Kṛṣṇāṣṭakam 2 अतसीपुष्पसङ्काशम् हारनूपुरशोभितम् । रत्नकङ्कणकेयूरं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ २॥ atasīpuṣpasaṅkāśam hāranūpuraśobhitam | ratnakaṅkaṇakeyūraṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum || 2||	I bow to Krishna, teacher of the world, whose color resembles a flax blossom. Necklaces and anklets adorn him, and he wears jeweled bracelets and armlets.
Kṛṣṇāṣṭakam 3 कुटिलालकसंयुक्तं पूर्णचन्द्रनिभाननम् । विलसत्कुण्डलधरं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ३॥ kuṭilālakasaṃyuktaṃ pūrṇacandranibhānanam | vilasatkuṇḍaladharaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum || 3||	I bow to Krishna, teacher of the world, with curling locks, a face like the full moon and shining earrings.
Kṛṣṇāṣṭakam 6 रुक्मिणीकेळिसंयुक्तं पीताम्बरसुशोभितम् । अवाप्ततुलसीगन्धं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ६॥ rukmiṇīkeḻisaṃyuktaṃ pītāmbarasuśobhitam | avāptatulasīgandhaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum || 6||	I bow to Krishna, teacher of the world, delighting in loving play with Rukmini, beautiful in yellow garments and fragrant with tulsi.
Kṛṣṇāṣṭakam 5 उत्फुल्लपद्मपत्राक्षं नीलजीमूतसन्निभम् । यादवानां शिरोरत्नं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ५॥ utphullapadmapatrākṣaṃ nīlajīmūtasannibham | yādavānāṃ śiroratnaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum || 5||	I bow to Krishna, teacher of the world, whose eyes are like the petals of a fully opened lotus and whose form resembles a dark raincloud, the crowning jewel of the Yadavas.
Adharaṃ Madhuraṃ अधरं मधुरं वदनं मधुरं नयनं मधुरं हसितं मधुरम् । हृदयं मधुरं गमनं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ १॥ adharaṃ madhuraṃ vadanaṃ madhuraṃ nayanaṃ madhuraṃ hasitaṃ madhuram | hṛdayaṃ madhuraṃ gamanaṃ madhuraṃ madhurādhipaterakhilaṃ madhuram || 1||	Krishna's lips are sweet, his face is sweet, his eyes and smile are sweet. His heart is sweet, his walk is sweet—everything about the Lord of sweetness is sweet.
Kṛṣṇāya Vāsudevāya कृष्णाय वासुदेवाय हरये परमात्मने । प्रणतक्लेशनाशाय गोविन्दाय नमो नमः ॥ kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya haraye paramātmane | praṇatakleśanāśāya govindāya namo namaḥ ||	Again and again, I bow to Krishna, Vasudeva, Hari, the Supreme Self, Govinda, who destroys the suffering of those who bow to him.
Kararavindena Padāravindaṃ करारविन्देन पदारविन्दं मुखारविन्दे विनिवेशयन्तम् । वटस्य पत्रस्य पुटे शयानं बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि ॥ karāravindena padāravindaṃ mukhāravinde viniveśayantam | vaṭasya patrasya puṭe śayānaṃ bālaṃ mukundaṃ manasā smarāmi ||	In my mind I remember the child Krishna as Mukunda, giver of liberation, lying in the hollow of a banyan leaf, using his lotus-like hand to place his lotus-like foot in his lotus-like mouth.

Diya's English gives the meaning of each verse in plain language; it is not a word-for-word translation.

Prayers to Lord Krishna

• Hare Krishna Maha Mantra: Meaning, Text, and Transliteration
• Achyutam Keshavam Lyrics in English, With Meaning
• Shri Krishna Govind Hare Murari Lyrics, With Meaning
• Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki Lyrics in English: Krishna Aarti
• Bhagavad Gita in English: All 18 Chapters and 700 Verses

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