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In Hinduism, Hari (Sanskrit: हरि) is another name of Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, and appears as the 650th^[1] name in the Vishnu sahasranama of Mahabharata. In Sanskrit "Hari" sometimes refers to a colour, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki (it is the colour of the Sun and that of Soma).

Religious usage

• the Harivamsha "lineage of Hari" is a text within both the Puranic and Itihasa traditions.
• Within Sikhism it is stated that one of the names of God is Hari. The Golden Temple, the most sacred temple in Sikhism is also called Harimandir or "Temple of God." According to Sikhism God is formless and Sikhs do not believe "Hari" has any connection with Krishna or Vishnu.
• In Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition Hari is a name of both Krishna or Vishnu meaning 'he who steals, or takes away'- referring to how Krishna takes away all distress and anxieties, and lovingly robs the heart of His devotee. During religious festivals it is a common occurrence to hear people call out Haribol ! Haribol ! meaning 'please call out the name Hari; the Hare Krishna mantra contains the name in the vocative.
• According to Adi Sankara' s commentary on the Vishnu sahasranama, Hari means "One who destroys samsara, which is the entanglement in the cycle of birth and death, along with ignorance, its cause.
• In the Ravidasi religion it is the holy symbol consisting of the three letters in Gurmukhi with the character for "i" being made into a flame. It adorns all Ravidasi temples, known as Gurdehras.

In the Philippines, Hari is the generic word for 'king,' as in the word for rainbow: 'bahaghari' -- the king's garment. Historically, however, Filipino rulers from the precolonial era seem to have carried the title 'raja.'

Influences

The Avestan cognate is zari, sometimes incorrectly identified as the first part of the name of Zarathustra. The English words gold and yellow are probably also both cognates of hari. They all derive from the hypothetical Proto-Indo-European root *ghel-, meaning "to shine". Many words in other unrelated languages in Asia are also derived from the word; due to the influence of Sanskrit as a language of learning in the region. For example: the word for daylight in Indonesian, the word for day in Malay and the word for king in Tagalog, all of which are "hari". It is also a commonly used name in many Indian languages.

References

Cited from Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, commentary by Sri Sankaracharya, translated by Swami Tapasyananda ((Ramakrishna Math Publications, Chennai))

1. ^ Vishnu Sahasranamam

See also

• Gauranga
• Hari Tuma Haro
• Hari Nama Keerthanam
• Harikatha
• Hari (director)
• Hara: A name for Shiva.

External links

• Online Vedic Encyclopedia
• Krishna.com All about Krishna.