About This Edition
What the Krishna Sahasranama is, where this edition comes from, and how faithfully it is rendered.
A sahasranāma is a litany of a thousand names of a deity, recited as a single garland of praise and contemplation. The Krishna Sahasranama, also written Krishna Sahasranamam, is that garland for Kṛṣṇa. This edition presents the Parāśara recension, preserved in the Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa: 201 verses and 965 names, each restored to the līlā, the episode of Kṛṣṇa's life that the name recalls.
The recension and its transmission
The recension is named for the ṛṣi Parāśara. The hymn descends through six teachers:
How this edition is made
Unlike a bare list of names, this edition restores to each epithet the story it recalls, drawing its 440 annotations from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the Mahābhārata, the Harivaṃśa, and the Bhagavad Gītā. Every Sanskrit string, transliteration, name, meaning, and citation is reproduced exactly as transmitted; nothing is paraphrased, abridged, or invented. The full apparatus of sources is set out on the sources and recensions page.
Who maintains this edition
This edition is compiled and maintained at vaikunthapuram.com as a freely readable reference. Corrections that improve fidelity to the source are welcome.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Krishna Sahasranama?
A sahasranāma is a litany of a thousand names of a deity, recited as a garland of praise and contemplation. The Krishna Sahasranama gathers a thousand names of Kṛṣṇa; this edition follows the Parāśara recension preserved in the Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa.
How many names does it contain?
This recension sets out 965 distinct names across 201 verses. With the closing uttarāṅga names, the liturgical count is completed to 1000.
Which recension is this?
The Parāśara recension, named for the ṛṣi Parāśara, transmitted through the line of Bhagavān, Brahmā, Vasiṣṭha, Parāśara, Vyāsa, Śuka.
What are the benefits of chanting the Krishna Sahasranama?
The tradition holds the recitation to be purifying and meritorious. The phalaśruti, the closing verses, declare its fruits in the source's own words; those verses are reproduced verbatim on the phalaśruti page.
Is the text reproduced faithfully?
Yes. Every Sanskrit string, transliteration, name, meaning, and citation is reproduced exactly as transmitted. Nothing is paraphrased, abridged, or invented.