हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे। हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे॥
Roman transliteration · IAST
Hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare. Hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare.
The meaning
A repeated call to the divine through Hare, Krishna and Rama. In ISKCON’s explanation, Hare addresses divine energy; Krishna and Rama are names of God.
A few words, unpacked
- Hare
- An address to divine energy, in the ISKCON explanation.
- Kṛṣṇa
- Krishna, understood as the all-attractive Lord.
- Rāma
- A divine name associated with joy.
Try the sounds
ha-re krish-na ha-re krish-na · krish-na krish-na ha-re ha-re ha-re raa-ma ha-re raa-ma · raa-ma raa-ma ha-re ha-re
- Hare has two syllables, ha-re; it is not the English word hare. Hold the ā in rāma longer: raa-ma.
- Krish-na is only an approximation of kṛṣṇa. The ṛ and retroflex ṣ and ṇ need listening practice; regional pronunciations differ.
The spaced spelling is an approximate reading aid. Long marks such as ā show a longer vowel. Follow your teacher or a trusted recitation for the finer sounds.
UBC Sanskrit · Devanāgarī phonology chart with audioTradition & version
This is the Krishna-first order printed by ISKCON. It is recited individually as japa and sung as kirtan. This guide presents that tradition’s reading of the names.