Govinda

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Govinda

and are names of Krishna, referring to his youthful occupation as a cowherd.

Both names translate to "cowherd". Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
go means "cow"; pala and vinda form tatpurusha compounds, literally translating to "finder of cows" and "protector of cows", respectively.

The story of how Krishna was given the name Govinda is described in detail in the Vishnu Purana

Vishnu Purana

The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of eighteen Puranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna ....
. After lifting Govardhan hill

Govardhan hill

Govardhan is a hill located near the town of Vrindavan in India, considered as sacred by a number of traditions within Hinduism.It is especially important to those traditions which worship Krishna or Vishnu as the Supreme God such as Vaishnavism and Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which are popular around the Govardhan area....
to protect the villagers and cows of Vrindavan

Vrindavan

Vrindavan , or Vraj in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India is a town on the site of an ancient forest which is believed to have been the region where Lord Krsna, from Hinduism#Scriptures and theology scriptures spent his childhood days....
, the lord of devas Indra

Indra

Krishnaism

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Govinda'

Start a new discussion about 'Govinda'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

and are names of Krishna, referring to his youthful occupation as a cowherd.

Both names translate to "cowherd". Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Vishnu Purana

Govardhan hill

Vrindavan

Indra

Krishnaism

File:Krishna Holding Mount Govardhan - Crop.jpgKrishnaism, is a term that is often used to describe a number of Hindu religious traditions, that are among the Hindu denominations centered on devotion to Radha Krishna or other forms of Krishna, or Vishnu in a sentiment of Krishna....
is often contrasted Vedism when Krishna asks his followers to desist from Vedic demigod, Indra worship. Thus the character of Gopala Krishna is often considered to be non-Vedic, while it can also be based on the popular understanding or rather misunderstanding -of the Rgvedic texts.

A famous prayer called the Bhaja Govindam

Bhaja Govindam

Bhaja Govindam is a very popular 8th century Hindu devotional composition in Sanskrit composed by Adi Shankaracharya. This Works of Adi Shankara underscores the view that devotion to God, Govinda, is a vastly important part of general spirituality and especially Bhakti Yoga and Bhakti movement This work is generally considered a good summar...
was composed by Adi Sankara, a summary of which is; "If one just worships Govinda, one can easily cross this great ocean of birth and death." This refers to the belief that worshipful adoration of Krishna can lead believers out of the cycle of reincarnation

Reincarnation

Reincarnation, literally "to be made flesh again", is a doctrine or Metaphysics belief that some essential part of a living being survives death to be reborn in a new body....
, or samsara
Samsara

'Samsara' or refers to the cycle of reincarnation or rebirth in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions.According to these religions, one's karma "account balance" at the time of death is inherited via the state at which a person is reborn....
, and into an eternal blissful life in Vaikuntha, 'beyond this material world' where Govinda resides.

Govinda is a name of Krishna and also appears as the 187th and 539th names in the Vishnu Sahasranama

Vishnu sahasranama

The Vishnu Sahasranama is a list of 1,000 names for Vishnu, one of the main forms of God in Hinduism and the personal supreme God for Vaishnavism ....
.

According to Adi Sankara's commentary on the Vishnu Sahasranama, translated by Swami Tapasyananda

Tapasyananda

Swami Tapasyananda was a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Mission. He was a disciple of Swami Shivananda, one of the eminent disciples of Sri Ramakrishna....
, Govinda has three meanings:

The sages call Krishna "Govinda" as He pervades all the worlds, giving them power.
The Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata
Mahabharata

The is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetrys of History of India, the other being the '. The epic is part of the Hindu itihasa , and forms an important part of Hindu mythology....
states that Vishnu
Vishnu

Vishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of panchadeva, and his supreme status is declared in the Hindu sacred texts like Yajurveda, the Rigveda and the Bhagavad Gita....
restored the earth that had sunk into the netherword
Underworld

In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly the dead souls go....
, or Patala, so all the devas praised Him as Govinda (Protector of the Land).
Alternatively, it means "He who is known by Vedic
Vedic Sanskrit

Vedic Sanskrit is an Old Indic language. It is the language of the Vedas, the oldest shruti texts of Hinduism, compiled over the period of the mid 2nd to mid 1st millennium BC....
words alone". Adi Sankara's Bhaja Govindam
Bhaja Govindam

Bhaja Govindam is a very popular 8th century Hindu devotional composition in Sanskrit composed by Adi Shankaracharya. This Works of Adi Shankara underscores the view that devotion to God, Govinda, is a vastly important part of general spirituality and especially Bhakti Yoga and Bhakti movement This work is generally considered a good summar...
prayer expresses the value of inner devotion to Krishna.

In the Harivamsa

Harivamsa

The Harivamsha is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shloka, mostly in metre. The text is also known as . This text is believed as a khila to the Mahabharata and traditionally ascribed to Vyasa....
, Indra

Indra

Indra is the god of War and Weather, also the King of the gods or Deva and Lord of Heaven or Swarga in Hinduism. Mentioned first as the chief deity in the sacred Hindu text of Rig Veda, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash and amorous character....
praised Krishna for having attained loving leadership of the cows which Krishna tended as a cowherd, by saying, "So men too shall praise Him as Govinda."

According to Klaus Klostermaier

Klaus Klostermaier

Klaus K. Klostermaier is a researcher on Hinduism and Indian history and culture. He obtained a PhD in philosophy from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1961, and another in "Ancient Indian History and Culture" from the University of Bombay in 1969....
, Krishna Gopijanavallabha, Krishna the lover of the Gopi

Gopi

Gopi is a word of Sanskrit origin meaning 'cow-herd girl'. In Hinduism specifically the name gopi is used more commonly to refer to the group of cow herding girls famous within Vaishnava Theology for their unconditional devotion to Krishna as described in the stories of Bhagavata Purana and other Puranas literatures....
s, is the latest stage in the historical process resulting in contemporary Krishnaism

Krishnaism

Bala Krishna

Bala Krishna sometimes translated to "Divine Child Krishna", is historically one of the early forms of worship in Krishnaism and an element of the history of Krishna worship in antiquity....
(the Divine Child Krishna), and the original cult of Krishna-Vasudeva which may date back to several centuries before the Common Era.

Govinda

See also

External links