NAME COLLECTION
Names of Krishna
Names that the Sanskrit sources give to Krishna, listed with the dictionary sense of each word and the place where the name is listed.
This collection follows names to their sources. It describes where a name comes from, not who uses it.
Names recorded in Indian use
Kṛṣṇa
dark, black (adjective); the proper name of Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu
MBh 13.135.20; MBh 13.135.72; Amarakośa 1.1.37
Name page →Hari
tawny/yellow-brown (adjective); a name of Vishnu-Krishna
MBh 13.135.52; MBh 13.135.82
Name page →Upendra
younger brother of Indra; a name of Vishnu/Krishna
MBh 13.135.30; Amarakośa 1.1.41
Name page →Ghanaśyāma
dark like a cloud; Krishna
Keśava
having long or handsome hair; a name of Vishnu/Krishna
MBh 13.135.16; MBh 13.135.82; Amarakośa 1.1.38
Name page →Jagannātha
lord of the world; Vishnu or Krishna
Name page →Śrīkānta
beloved of Shri (Lakshmi); a name of Vishnu
Name page →Vāsudeva
patronymic of Krishna (son of Vasudeva)
MBh 13.135.49; MBh 13.135.87; MBh 13.135.89
Gopāla
cowherd; a name of Krishna
Name page →Janārdana
exciting or agitating men (Monier-Williams:); a name of Vishnu or Krishna
MBh 13.135.27; Amarakośa 1.1.40
Name page →Śyāmasundara
dark and beautiful; a name of Krishna
Madhusūdana
destroyer of the demon Madhu; a name of Vishnu-Krishna
MBh 13.135.21
Ananta
endless, boundless (adjective); a name of Vishnu and of the serpent Shesha
MBh 13.135.108
Name page →Muralīdhara
flute-bearer; a name of Krishna
Name page →Mādhava
descendant of Madhu, a Yadava; especially a name of Krishna-Vishnu
MBh 13.135.21; MBh 13.135.31; MBh 13.135.91
Name page →Bālakṛṣṇa
the boy Krishna
Name page →Govinda
a name of Krishna (or Vishnu); Monier-Williams: treats the derivation as uncertain
MBh 13.135.33; MBh 13.135.71; Amarakośa 1.1.39
Name page →Mukunda
a name of Vishnu (Monier-Williams: sometimes transferred to Shiva)
MBh 13.135.68; Amarakośa 1.1.47
Dāmodara
having a rope round the waist; a name of Krishna
MBh 13.135.53; Amarakośa 1.1.38
Name page →Devakīnandana
a name of Krishna; compound of Devakī (his mother) + nandana
MBh 13.135.119; Amarakośa 1.1.43
Rādhāramaṇa
lover of Radha; a name of Krishna
Gopīnātha
lord of the cowherdesses; Krishna
Murāri
enemy of the demon Mura; a name of Krishna or Vishnu
Name page →Puruṣottama
the best of men, the highest being; a name of Vishnu or Krishna
MBh 13.135.16; Amarakośa 1.1.43
Name page →Acyuta
not fallen, firm, imperishable (adjective); a name of Vishnu
MBh 13.135.24; MBh 13.135.48
Padmanābha
lotus-naveled; a name of Vishnu, from whose navel the lotus of Brahma sprang
MBh 13.135.19; MBh 13.135.34; MBh 13.135.51
Other names in the sources
These words are named in the sources as names of the deity. Their listing here does not say that they are used as given names.
Vanamālin
Monier-Williams: said of Vishnu-Krishna; analysis: vana 'forest' + mālin 'garlanded'
MBh 13.135.73; Amarakośa 1.1.44
Hṛṣīkeśa
a name of Vishnu-Krishna (Monier-Williams: gives no gloss; see hṛṣīka)
MBh 13.135.19; Amarakośa 1.1.38
Sources
- Amarasiṃha, Nāmaliṅgānuśāsana (Amarakośa), kāṇḍa 1; GRETIL e-text (Avinash Sathaye, Pramod S. V. Ganesan) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- K. M. Ganguli, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa translated into English prose (1883-96), Project Gutenberg #15474-15477 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries (local copy sources/cologne/mw.txt) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Viṣṇusahasranāma, Mahābhārata 13.135 (BORI critical edition), GRETIL e-text mbh_13_u ↗ (opens in a new tab)