Kṛshṇa-nāma Māhātmya

Kṛshṇa-nāma Māhātmya means “the greatness of the name of Kṛshṇa”. In the Mārgaśīrsha Māsa Māhātmya, a section of the Skanda Purāṇa that praises the month of Mārgaśīrsha (roughly November–December), Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself declares that the name “Śrī Kṛshṇa” is the highest remedy for all pāpa (wrongdoing and its effects) in the Kali Yuga, the present age.

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa says plainly that the name Śrī Kṛshṇa gives him more joy than crores (tens of millions) of other names put together. The name burns away pāpa that hundreds of Cāndrāyaṇa rites and thousands of Pārāka rites (two kinds of strict fasting done to make amends) cannot remove. Even those who have done wrong are freed from Yama, the ruler of death, if they say this name at the moment of death. The name is especially recommended in the month of Mārgaśīrsha as the one good act that pleases Bhagavān Kṛshṇa most.

The Name Above All Others

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa states the name’s greatness without any condition:

I have no pleasure at all in hearing crores of other names. When the name Śrīkṛshṇa is uttered, I get more and more delight.

This places the name Kṛshṇa above all other divine names and above all other good deeds. The name is compared to three of the holiest presences:

Just as there is Gaṅgā in Prayāga, Narmadā in Śuklatīrtha and Sarasvatī in Kurukshetra, so also is the glorification of Śrīkṛshṇa.

Just as these sacred rivers make their places into tīrthas (holy places of pilgrimage), the name Kṛshṇa makes a tīrtha of any place where it is spoken.

The Name as Medicine in the Kali Yuga

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa speaks of the name Kṛshṇa with special urgency as the medicine meant for the Kali Yuga:

  • “Why should there be any fear of the serpent of Kali that has very sharp fangs? He will perish on being burned by the fire issuing forth from the wood of the name of Śrīkṛshṇa.”
  • “Excepting remembering Śrīkṛshṇa there is no other medicine for men who are burned by the fire of pāpa and who are separated from performance of Karmas.”
  • “Without the remembering of Śrīkṛshṇa there is no redemption of men who are immersed in the ocean of worldly existence and who are submerged in the waves of great pāpa.”
  • “Excepting the remembrance of Śrīkṛshṇa, there is no other viaticum to those who go to the other world, to the people burdened with pāpa who do not wish for it even at the time of death.” (A viaticum is provision for a journey.)
  • “In Kali Age, there is no ailment or pāpa in the mind of that man who never forsakes the word Śrīkṛshṇa.”

The Name’s Power Over Pāpa

The name’s power to destroy pāpa is greater than every other way of making amends:

  • “People who commit pāpa cannot commit as much pāpa as my name is competent to burn down.”
  • “The pāpa that is not dispelled by hundreds of Cāndrāyaṇa expiatory rites and thousands of Pārāka rites is removed by repeatedly uttering ‘Kṛshṇa, Kṛshṇa’.”
  • “Such great pāpa as carnally approaching the wife of the preceptor or stealing gold are dispelled by glorifying Śrīkṛshṇa like snow heated by sunshine.”
  • “The benefit that is proclaimed from performing rites during crores of lunar and solar eclipses is obtained by uttering ‘Kṛshṇa, Kṛshṇa’.”
  • “On hearing a man repeatedly uttering ‘Śrīkṛshṇa’, the ruler of the Southern Quarter (Yama) wipes off his pāpa acquired in the course of hundreds of births.”

The Name at the Time of Death

The Māhātmya puts very great weight on the name at the moment of death:

  • “When death is imminent, if people repeat ‘Kṛshṇa, Kṛshṇa’, they will never see Yama even if they are pāpīs.”
  • “Earlier in his life a man might have committed all sorts of pāpa. But at the time of death if he remembers Kṛshṇa, he shall undoubtedly attain me.”
  • “If a person utters ‘Śrīkṛshṇa’ and gives up his life even as he utters it, the leader of ghosts (Yama) stands far off and sees him going to svarga.”
  • “Whether in a cremation ground or in a street, if a person utters ‘Kṛshṇa, Kṛshṇa’ and dies, he attains me alone.”
  • “A man may be of impure mind. He may not strictly adhere to the code of good conduct. Even he does not become a ghost if he glorifies Śrīkṛshṇa in the end.”

Daily Practice

For those living in the world, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa gives the name as the foundation of daily life:

  • “If anyone glorifies Bhagavān Kṛshṇa by repeating ‘Kṛshṇa, Kṛshṇa’, neither his body nor his mind are pierced by pāpa.”
  • “If the two syllables HA and RI are uttered by anyone at least once, he has girt up his loins for proceeding towards moksha.”
  • “If anyone remembers me everyday uttering ‘Kṛshṇa, Kṛshṇa’ continuously, I redeem him from Naraka in the manner in which the lotus comes up breaking through water.”
  • “If a man gets up in the morning and repeats aloud the greatness of the name of Śrīkṛshṇa, I shall be the bestower of welfare on him. There is no doubt about it.”
  • “He who recites the greatness of the name of Śrīkṛshṇa at the time of the three junctions (morning, noon and dusk) shall attain all desires. On death he attains the greatest goal.”

The Duty of the Tongue

The Māhātmya describes saying the name as the tongue’s first duty:

  • “If the tongue of anyone prattles ‘Kṛshṇa, Kṛshṇa’ always, his life is fruitful, his birth is fruitful, his happiness alone is fruitful.”
  • “If it does not glorify the good qualities of Śrīkṛshṇa day and night, the tongue is a creeper of pāpa, though called tongue.”
  • “If in Kali Age the tongue does not glorify the good qualities of Śrīkṛshṇa, let it not exist in the mouth.”
  • “The tongue that glorifies Śrīkṛshṇa is to be respected by all means whether it is in one’s own mouth or in another man’s mouth.”

There is also a striking promise:

He who worships me just for fun, or out of hypocrisy, or due to foolishness, greediness or even fraudulently is my devotee. He does not have to repent.

This shows that even when the name is called on with impure motives, it still brings benefit to the one who calls.

All Tīrthas Are Present

Wherever the name Kṛshṇa is sung every day, all the holy tīrthas become present:

There is Gayā, Kāśī, Pushkara and Kurujāṅgala in mansions wherein there is the glorification of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa with the repetition ‘Kṛshṇa, Kṛshṇa’ everyday.

A home where Kṛshṇa’s name is heard is therefore equal to every holy pilgrimage.

Sources

  • Skanda Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Mārgaśīrsha Māsa Māhātmya, Chapter 15