Hari
Encyclopedia
Hari is an Avatar
, another name of and , and appears as the 650th name in the Vishnu sahasranama
of Mahabharata
. In Sanskrit
"hari" sometimes refers to a colour, green, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki. It is the colour of the Sun and of Soma
. The word Hari is widely used in Dharmic literature covering Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh religions.
Some other related meaning of Hari
1. bearing (adj.)
2. bay
3. tawny
4. an exclamation
4. people
5. sun
6. horse
7. monkey
8. steed
words "gold" and "yellow" are probably also both cognate
s 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
are "hari". It is also a commonly used name in many India
n languages.
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
, another name of and , and appears as the 650th name in the Vishnu sahasranama
Vishnu sahasranama
The Vishnu sahasranama is a list of 1,000 names of Vishnu, one of the main forms of God in Hinduism and the personal supreme God for Vaishnavas . It is also one of the most sacred and commonly chanted stotras in Hinduism...
of Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. In Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
"hari" sometimes refers to a colour, green, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki. It is the colour of the Sun and of Soma
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
. The word Hari is widely used in Dharmic literature covering Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh religions.
Some other related meaning of Hari
1. bearing (adj.)
2. bay
3. tawny
4. an exclamation
4. people
5. sun
6. horse
7. monkey
8. steed
Religious usage
- The word Hari is a particular class of gods under manu tAmasa.
- The Harivamsha ("lineage of Hari") is a text in both the Puranic and ItihasaItihasaItihasa as defined by Amarakosha refers to purvavritta, i.e. events of the past. In the Vedic age, those portions of the Brahmanas which narrated events of bygone days were known as itihasa and had some ritualistic importance...
traditions. - Vaishnavites believe that God (conceived as Vishnu) has form and is without form. Swami Tapasyananda, in his book, Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, reminds readers that Vishnu pervades everything and is not anthropomorphic. Vishnu has no particular material form but can manifest in any form, and is a center of all force, power, will, auspiciousness, goodness, beauty, grace, responsiveness, etc. As Swami Tapasyananda said, "Vishnu is the Indwelling Spirit in all beings and the whole cosmos constitute His body."
- In the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, Hari is a name of both KrishnaKrishnaKrishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
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 mantraMantraA mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
contains the name in the vocative. - According to Adi Sankara's commentary on the Vishnu sahasranamaVishnu sahasranamaThe Vishnu sahasranama is a list of 1,000 names of Vishnu, one of the main forms of God in Hinduism and the personal supreme God for Vaishnavas . It is also one of the most sacred and commonly chanted stotras in Hinduism...
, Hari means "One who destroys samsaraSamsarathumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...
", which is the entanglement in the cycle of birth and death, along with ignorance, its cause. - In the RavidasiRavidasiRavidassia are people who follow the Ravidassia Dharam a religion based on the teachings of Guru Ravidas. The members of the Ravidasi religion believe in Guru Ravidas or Raidas as their founding prophet. The members are called Ravidasias who believe in Guru Ravidas to be their spiritual master and...
religion it is the holy symbol consisting of the three Gurmukhi letters with the character for "i" being made into a flame. It adorns all Ravidasi temples, known as Gurdehras. In Ravidassia Dharam it is used as "हरि" "ਹਰਿ".
Influences
The Avestan cognate is zari, sometimes incorrectly identified as the first part of the name of Zarathustra. The EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
words "gold" and "yellow" are probably also both cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
s of hari. They all derive from the hypothetical Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
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
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, the word for "day" in Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
and the word for "king" in Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
are "hari". It is also a commonly used name in many India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n languages.
See also
- Gauranga
- Hari Nama KeerthanamHari Nama KeerthanamHari Nama Keerthanam is a medieval devotional and philosophical text in Malayalam. Its title translates into English as "The Song of the Holy Name Hari". It was composed by Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan in Kerala around the 16th century...
- Hari Tuma HaroHari Tuma HaroHari Tuma Haro is an Indian bhajan or devotional song by Mirabai, the poet saint. Mahatma Gandhi reported this song to be his favorite. Gandhi once expressed the wish to hear M S Subbulakshmi sing the song. Subbulakshmi answered that she had not practiced the song. Gandhi replied that he would...
- HarikathaHarikathaHarikatha , otherwise called Katha Kalakshepa is a form of Hindu religious discourse, also known as Katha storytelling format, in which the story teller explores a religious theme, usually the life of a saint or a story from an Indian epic.Harikatha is a composite art form composed of story...
- Hara, a name for ShivaShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
External links
- Online Vedic Encyclopedia
- Krishna.com All about Krishna.