--> Skip to main content


Spiritual Meaning Of The Name Rama And Krishna – Symbolism

There is mystery in the name Rama. When Rama was born, his father, Dasharatha, asked the sage Vasishtha to name his son. Vasishtha said, ‘The name of this child is Rama.’ King Dasharatha and his ministers said: ‘That is a very short name. This child will inherit the throne, so he should have a long, dignified name.’ Vasishtha said: ‘O King, you do not know the glory and greatness of the name Rama. Please listen: The letter ra of the name Rama comes from the mantra Namo Narayanaya, which is the essence of the famous Vaishnava mantra. If you remove ra from that mantra, it becomes Namo nayanaya, which means “salutations to the sensual objects of the world” instead of “salutations to Bhagavan Narayana”. Similarly, the letter ma of the name Rama is the quintessence of the Shiva mantra Namah Shivaya. If ma is removed from this mantra, it becomes Na Shivaya, which means “everything is inauspicious” instead of “salutations to the all-auspicious Shiva”. When Vasishtha thus unveiled the mystery of the name Rama, Dasharatha was pleased.

The spiritual meaning of the name Krishna is this: The root meaning of the word Krish is ‘ever-existent Brahman’, and na is ‘happiness’ or ‘bliss’. This sat, or existence, and ananda, or bliss, are the essence of Brahman. That is the meaning of the word Krishna. If sat is removed from Brahman, nothing can exist; and if ananda is removed, we will not seek anything in this world. So the meaning of the word Krishna is sat and ananda.