Hare Krishna Mahamantra · हरे कृष्ण महामंत्र

The sixteen-name chant of Hare, Krishna and Rama, called the great mantra for the age of Kali.

Mantra 1
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 ||
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare ॥
हे हरे (दिव्य शक्ति), हे कृष्ण; हे हरे, हे कृष्ण; कृष्ण, कृष्ण; हरे, हरे। हे हरे, हे राम; हे हरे, हे राम; राम, राम; हरे, हरे।
O Hare (divine energy), O Krishna; O Hare, O Krishna; Krishna, Krishna; Hare, Hare. O Hare, O Rama; O Hare, O Rama; Rama, Rama; Hare, Hare.

About this text

The Hare Krishna Mahamantra is a chant of sixteen names: Hare, Krishna and Rama, each repeated. The Kali-Santarana Upanishad presents it as the means of crossing the age of Kali, and gives it with the "Hare Rama" half first. Following Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition (including ISKCON) chants it with the "Hare Krishna" half first, which is the order the editions compared here give. "Hare" is understood either as calling on Hari (Vishnu) or on Hara, his divine energy, identified with Radha; "Rama" is read as Ram or as Krishna, "the one who gives delight". It is a prayer of pure calling on God's names rather than a request for anything specific.

How it is recited

It is chanted on a tulsi mala (in the Gaudiya tradition, sixteen rounds of 108 a day), and sung in congregational kirtan with drums and cymbals. Customs vary.