--> Skip to main content


Importance of the number 108 in Hinduism

What is the importance of 108 in Hinduism. Most of us might have heard about the 108 names of Lord Ganesh and Lord Shiva, and some people recite certain mantra 108 times like the Hanuman Chalisa. Numerous gods and sages in Hindu religion have 108 names. The importance of the number is also found in other religions and cultures. So what is the significance of 108? There are numerous explanations given in scriptures to this.

Vamana Avatar of Vishnu

  • The Vedic system believes that 108 represent the universe or supreme.
  • Lord Krishna had 108 gopis, 
  • There are 108 beads in Hindu rosary,
  • There are 108 Upanishads,
  • There are 108 holy places associated with Lord Vishnu (Divyadesams) and Sati’s body split into 108 pieces on hearing Daksha insulting her husband Lord Shiva. 
  • Diameter of sun is 108 times the diameter of earth
  • Distance from sun to earth is 108 times diameter of sun
  • The average distance from moon to earth is 108 times diameter of the moon
  • Ayurveda talks about 108 marma points that are vital to human beings
  • Sri Chakra Yantra intersects in 54 points each with a masculine and feminine quality and thus totaling 108
  • As per Tantra, it is estimated that every day we breathe 21,600 times out of which 10,800 are solar energy and 10800 are lunar energy. Multiplying 108 X 100 is 10,800
  • Natya Shastra of Bharata has 108 karanas (movement of hand and feet)
  • Sanskrit has 54 letters each can be mentioned as masculine (shiva) and feminine (shakti) totaling 108.
  • There are 108 puranas.
The list grows as we dig into scriptures.

Apart from this the distance between the earth and the sun equals about 108 times the sun’s diameter.

Number 108 is significant mathematically also because it is based on the numbers 1,2 and 3. If we raise each number to their own power and multiply the result would be 108. i.e. 1x2x2x3x3x3=108.

Related
Importance of Archana in Hinduism