Shri Krishna Ashtottara Shatanamavali (108 names)

When it is sung or recited

When it is chanted: traditionally on Krishna Janmashtami, on Ekadashi, during the month of Kartik, and in the daily puja to Bal Gopal (baby Krishna). Many families chant these names during the Janmashtami puja.

How to chant

How to chant: say Om, then the name, then Namah, for example 'Om Shrikrishnaya Namah'. Take a mala (rosary) of 108 beads and say one name for each bead, so one full round of the mala completes the 108 names. Without a mala, simply read or listen to the names in order. Ask a priest or elder to guide pronunciation. Lighting a lamp and offering a flower is traditional but not required.

Please note

There are several lists of 108 names of Krishna. This is the one that runs from Shri Krishna, Kamalanatha, Vasudeva and Sanatana to Paratpara, and it appears in the same order on well-known sites. Some sites count Tribhangi and Madhurakriti as two separate names and print 109; here Tribhangi-madhurakriti is a single name, so the total is exactly 108. A few names are spelled or worded differently from site to site (for example Jishnu and Vishnu, Tirthakara and Tirthapada); where the sources differed, the form found in most of them is used, and where they were evenly split one form had to be chosen. A related reading tradition linked with the Brahmanda Purana also exists and differs in a few names (for example Govidam-pati in place of Yoginam-pati); if your family or temple follows a different text, use your own book.

Text compared with: drikpanchang.com, shlokam.org, stotranidhi.com, sanskritdocuments.org. A comparison with printed editions is still in progress. Wording differs between sources, so follow your priest’s version.