Mantra · Hindu practice
Hare Krishna Maha Mantra
O Hari, O Kṛṣṇa, O Rāma — an address to the divine by name, not a sentence with a predicate
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
Sixteen names in thirty-two syllables, central to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava devotion. In this tradition, chanting the divine names is itself a way of relating to the divine.
Source: Kali-Santaraṇa Upaniṣad (Hare Rāma first); displayed in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava order
The count shown here is Japa's suggestion, not a rule of the tradition. Follow the form and number you were taught.
Free online counter
Begin a round, right here.
Choose your round size, then tap the dial once per complete recitation. It works in your browser, with no account and nothing to download.
Changing round size keeps your total.
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
Continue in JapaOpens a preview of this practice, with an option to add it in Japa 1.6 or later. The words and round size transfer; your browser count does not. If you install the app, return here and open the link again.
Total: 0 recitations
With the dial focused: Space, Enter or ↑ to count; ↓ to undo.
Your count stays in this tab and resets on reload. Nothing is saved or sent.
What the words say
Not a sentence. Hare is a vocative — of Harā, a name of Rādhā, or of Hari, depending on the commentator. Kṛṣṇa and Rāma are the names addressed. Nothing is asked for and nothing is asserted; the mantra is entirely address, which is the point commentators return to.
Where it comes from
The Kali-Santaraṇa Upaniṣad transmits the mantra with the Hare Rāma lines first. The form displayed here places the Hare Kṛṣṇa lines first, as used in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava practice associated with Caitanya Mahāprabhu and later taught internationally by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.
How it is practised
Counted on a mala of 108 tulasī beads; initiated ISKCON devotees undertake sixteen rounds a day, which is 1,728 recitations. It is also sung in kīrtan, where counting is not the point at all.
References
- Kali-Santaraṇa Upaniṣad
- Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, on the name in the present age
Keep it, and count it every day.
Japa keeps this text beside a large, calm counter on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with a haptic for every bead and an optional bell at the end of each round. Counting is unlimited and free.
Get Japa on the App Store