Govinda and Gopāla are names of Krishna, referring to his youthful occupation as a cowherd. Popular Names of Lord Krishna with their Meanings kanhaiya modified kanha Krishna has been given many names and titles by his devotees A cowboy is an animal Herder who tends Cattle on Ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback and often performs a multitude of

Both names translate to "cowherd". Sanskrit go means "cow"; pāla and vinda form tatpurusha compounds, literally translating to "finder of cows" and "protector of cows", respectively. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical In Sanskrit grammar a tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष compound is a dependent determinative compound, i

The story of how Krishna was given the name Govinda is described in detail in the Vishnu Purana. After lifting Govardhan hill to protect the villagers and cows of Vrindavan, the lord of devas Indra awarded him the title. Govardhan (गोवर्धन is a hill located near the town of Vrindavan in India, considered as Sacred by a number of traditions within Hinduism Vrindavan (alternate spellings Vrindaban or Brindavan) or Vraj in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India is a town on Indra ( Sanskrit: इन्द्र or इंद्र Indra, Malay: Indera, Thai: พระอินทร์ Phra-Intra

A famous prayer called the Bhaja Govindam 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. Bhaja Govindam is a very popular 8th century Hindu devotional composition in Sanskrit composed by Adi Shankaracharya. Adi Shankara ( Malayalam: ആദി ശങ്കരന്‍ Devanāgarī: आदि शङ्कर Ādi Śaṅkara, aːd̪i ɕaŋkərə (see below " This refers to the belief that worshipful adoration of Krishna can lead believers out of the cycle of reincarnation, or samsara, and into an eternal blissful life in Vaikuntha, 'beyond this material world' where Govinda resides. Vaikunta (Sanskrit वैकुण्ठम् or Paramapadham is the abode of Lord Vishnu.

Govinda is a name of Krishna and also appears as the 187th and 539th names in the Vishnu Sahasranama. The Vishnu sahasranāma (literally "the thousand names of Vishnu " is a list of 1000 names for Vishnu, one of the main forms of God

According to Adi Sankara's commentary on the Vishnu Sahasranama, translated by Swami Tapasyananda, Govinda has three meanings:

1. The sages call Krishna "Govinda" as He pervades all the worlds, giving them power. Swami Tapasyananda was a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Mission.
2. The Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata states that Vishnu restored the earth that had sunk into the netherword, or Patala, so all the devas praised Him as Govinda (Protector of the Land). For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific In the study of Mythology and Religion, the underworld (gr κάτω κόσμος) is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term Afterlife Deva (देव in Devanagari script pronounced as /'d̪evə/ is the Sanskrit word for "god Deity "
3. Alternatively, it means "He who is known by Vedic words alone". Vedic Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language, the language of the Vedas, the oldest Shruti texts of Hinduism. Adi Sankara's Bhaja Govindam prayer expresses the value of inner devotion to Krishna. Bhaja Govindam is a very popular 8th century Hindu devotional composition in Sanskrit composed by Adi Shankaracharya.

In the Harivamsa, Indra 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. The Harivamsha (also Harivamsa; Sanskrit Harivaṃśa sa हरिवंश "the lineage of Hari ( Vishnu)" is an important Indra ( Sanskrit: इन्द्र or इंद्र Indra, Malay: Indera, Thai: พระอินทร์ Phra-Intra "

According to Klaus Klostermaier, Krishna Gopijanavallabha, Krishna the lover of the Gopis, is the latest stage in the historical process resulting in contemporary Krishnaism, being added to the worship of Bala Krishna (the Divine Child Krishna), and the original cult of Krishna-Vasudeva which may date back to several centuries before the Common Era. Klaus K Klostermaier (born 1933 in Munich, Germany) is a researcher on Hinduism and Indian history and culture Gopi is a word of Sanskrit (गोपी origin meaning 'cow-herd girl' Krishnaism 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 Bala Krishna ( IAST bālakṛṣṇa, literally "child Krishna" sometimes translated to " Divine Child Krishna " It must be noted that See also Krishna The cult of Krishna Vāsudeva ( IAST kṛṣṇa vāsudeva "Krishna son of Vasudeva " is historically one of the earliest ^[1]

References

• Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, commentary by Sri Sankaracharya, translated by Swami Tapasyananda (Ramakrishna Math Publications, Chennai).

• Hein, Norvin. A Revolution in Kṛṣṇaism: The Cult of Gopāla: History of Religions, Vol. 25, No. 4 (May, 1986), pp. 296-317. www. jstor. org. Retrieved on 2008-05-24. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned

See also

• Radha Krishna
• Hindu scriptures
• Bhagavad Gita
• Bhagavata Purana

External links

• Who is Govinda (Krishna)?
• Sacred Hindi verses describing Govinda