Who is speaking?
Yashoda’s child, Arjuna’s charioteer and the gopis’ beloved are encountered through different relationships.
THE NAMES OF KRISHNA
Every name
opens a relationship.
Krishna’s names are more than labels. They remember a quality, a lila, a place, a bond of affection, or the voice by which someone calls to him.
Explore the namesHOW TO READ A NAME
A small word can hold a whole story.
What is remembered?
A name may preserve a lila—the lifted hill, the flute, the rope—or reveal a divine quality.
Where does it live?
Names gather meaning through scripture, temple worship, poetry, music and everyday family devotion.
SEARCH THE COLLECTION
Find a name by meaning or story.
24 names shown
01Essential
कृष्ण
Krishna
The dark-hued or all-attractive oneThe central personal name, associated with Krishna’s beauty and power of divine attraction.
Bhagavatam 10.8 ↗02Essential
गोविन्द
Govinda
Protector and giver of joy to the cows, land and sensesA name of pastoral care, bestowed in the Govardhan narrative after Krishna protects Braj.
Bhagavatam 10.27 ↗03Braj & childhood
गोपाल
Gopala
Protector of the cowsRemembers Krishna as the young cowherd who walks the forests and pastures with his friends.
Bhagavatam 10.15 ↗04Braj & childhood
कान्हा
Kanha
A beloved vernacular form of KrishnaAn intimate North Indian name heard in songs, family devotion and the living traditions of Braj.
Krishna’s childhood ↗05Braj & childhood
कन्हैया
Kanhaiya
Beloved little KrishnaAn affectionate name emphasizing the approachable, playful child of Gokula.
Krishna’s childhood ↗06Braj & childhood
माखन चोर
Makhan Chor
The butter thiefA joyful household name recalling Krishna’s butter-stealing childhood lilas.
Bhagavatam 10.8 ↗07Braj & childhood
दामोदर
Damodara
He whose waist was bound with a ropeYashoda’s loving persistence binds the child whom no ordinary limit can contain.
Bhagavatam 10.9 ↗08Relationships
यशोदानन्दन
Yashodanandana
The beloved son of YashodaNames Krishna through his tender mother-child relationship with Yashoda in Gokula.
Bhagavatam 10.8–10.9 ↗09Relationships
नन्दनन्दन
Nandanandana
The beloved son of NandaLocates Krishna within the home, community and pastoral world of Nanda Maharaja.
Bhagavatam 10.5 ↗10Relationships
देवकीनन्दन
Devakinandana
The beloved son of DevakiRemembers Krishna’s birth to Devaki amid imprisonment and danger in Mathura.
Bhagavatam 10.3 ↗11Relationships
वासुदेव
Vasudeva
The son of VasudevaA lineage name used throughout the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita; the long-vowel Sanskrit form is Vāsudeva.
Bhagavad Gita 7.19 ↗12Relationships
राधारमण
Radharamana
The delight of RadhaAn intimate devotional name centered on Krishna’s loving relationship with Radha.
Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition ↗13Relationships
गोपीनाथ
Gopinatha
Lord and beloved of the gopisRemembers the gopis’ wholehearted devotion and Krishna’s intimate Vrindavan lilas.
Bhagavatam 10.29–10.33 ↗14Relationships
माधव
Madhava
A name linked with divine fortune and the Madhu lineageA classical name repeatedly used by Arjuna and others in the Bhagavad Gita.
Bhagavad Gita 1.14 ↗15Lilas & qualities
गिरिधारी
Giridhari
The holder of the hillRecalls Krishna lifting Govardhan Hill to shelter the residents and animals of Braj.
Bhagavatam 10.25 ↗16Lilas & qualities
गोवर्धनधारी
Govardhanadhari
Bearer of GovardhanA fuller form of the Govardhan name, joining the divine act to its sacred landscape.
Bhagavatam 10.25 ↗17Lilas & qualities
मुरलीधर
Muralidhara
Bearer of the fluteEvokes Krishna’s flute, the forests of Vrindavan and the call of loving remembrance.
Bhagavatam 10.21 ↗18Lilas & qualities
श्यामसुन्दर
Shyamasundara
The beautiful dark-hued oneBrings together Krishna’s dark complexion and radiant beauty in one devotional name.
Brahma-samhita 5.30 ↗19Lilas & qualities
मधुसूदन
Madhusudana
Slayer of the demon MadhuA heroic name used by Arjuna, invoking divine power against destructive forces.
Bhagavad Gita 1.35 ↗20Lilas & qualities
केशव
Keshava
A celebrated name with several traditional explanationsCommonly connected with Krishna’s beauty and with the defeat of the horse-demon Keshi.
Bhagavatam 10.37 ↗21Gita & universal
हृषीकेश
Hrishikesha
Master of the sensesThe Gita’s narrator uses this name as Krishna guides Arjuna’s chariot and inner discernment.
Bhagavad Gita 1.15 ↗22Gita & universal
पार्थसारथि
Parthasarathi
Charioteer of Partha (Arjuna)Names Krishna through friendship and service: the divine teacher takes the reins for Arjuna.
Bhagavad Gita 1.24 ↗23Gita & universal
योगेश्वर
Yogeshvara
Lord of yogaThe Bhagavad Gita closes by naming Krishna as the master of yoga beside the archer Arjuna.
Bhagavad Gita 18.78 ↗24Gita & universal
जगन्नाथ
Jagannatha
Lord of the universeA widely worshipped form and name of Krishna, especially associated with Puri and the Ratha Yatra.
Jagannath tradition ↗NAMES AS RELATIONSHIPS
One Krishna,
many ways of knowing.
The same person is encountered as child, friend, beloved, protector and teacher. These are not competing identities; together they reveal why Krishna devotion feels deeply personal.
THE RELATIONSHIP BEHIND THE NAME
Explore the relationships →Meet the people in Krishna’s world.
Explore how Yashoda, Radha, Balarama, Sudama, Arjuna and others reveal different dimensions of Krishna.