Hari ( sa, हरि) is among the primary epithets of the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

preserver deity Vishnu, meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins). It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progress. In the ''Rigveda’s'' Purusha Sukta (praise of the supreme cosmic being), Hari is the first and most important name of the supreme Divine Being (whose Sanskrit

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

is Brahman). The second and alternative name of the supreme being is

Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is consi ...

according to Narayana sukta of the '' Yajurveda''. Within the Hindu tradition, it is often used interchangeably with Vishnu to such an extent that they are considered to be one and the same. The name "Hari" also appears as the 656th name of Vishnu in the Vishnu Sahasranama of the Mahabharata and is considered to be of great significance in Vaishnavism. In the Vedas, it is required to use the mantra "Harih om" before any recitation, just to declare that every ritual we perform is an offering to that supreme Divine Being; even if the hymn praises some one or the other demigods. The idea of demigods as found in Hinduism is very different from that found within Greco-Roman mythology. This has to be borne in mind while understanding how, within Hinduism, all beings including demigods are inseparable from Hari. Hari in ''Purusha Suktam'', Narayana Suktam and Rudra Suktam is usually depicted as having a form with countless heads, limbs and arms (a way of saying that the Supreme Being is everywhere and cannot be limited by conditional aspects of time and space). Lord Hari is also called '' Sharangapani'' as he also wields a bow named as Sharanga.

Etymology

The Sanskrit word " हरि" (Hari) is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*'' ǵʰel-'' to shine; to flourish; green; yellow" which also gave rise to the Persian terms ''zar'' 'gold', Greek ''khloros'' 'green', Slavic ''zelen'' 'green' and ''zolto'' 'gold', as well as the English words ''yellow'' and ''gold''. The same root occurs in other Sanskrit words like '' haridrā'', ' turmeric', named for its yellow color. In Hinduism, beginning with Adi Sankara's commentary on the Vishnu sahasranama, ''hari'' became etymologized as derived from the verbal root ''hṛ'' "to grab, seize, steal", in the context of Vaishnavism interpreted as "to take away or remove evil or sin", and the name of Vishnu rendered as "he who destroys samsara", which is the entanglement in the cycle of birth and death, along with ignorance, its cause; compare ''hara'' as a name of Shiva, translated as "seizer" or "destroyer".

Other names of Hari

There are multiple names of Hari mentioned in the holy scriptures of Hinduism, such as the

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

and Mahabharata. A few names which are used quite frequently are: * Vishnu *

* Rama * Krishna * Madhava * Damodar * Govinda * Gopala

In Indian religions

In Hinduism

*The Harivamsha ("lineage of Hari") is a text in both the Purana and

Itihasa Itihasa () refers to the collection of written descriptions of important events in Hinduism. It includes the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Ramayana. The Mahabharata includes the story of the Kurukshetra War and preserves the traditions of ...

traditions. * As the name of tawny-colored animals, ''hari'' may refer to lions (also a name of the zodiacal sign Leo), bay horses, or monkeys. The feminine ''Harī '' is the name of the mythological "mother of monkeys" in the

Sanskrit epics Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called ''Kavya'' (or ''Kāvya''; Sanskrit: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá''). The ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata'', which were originally composed in ...

. * Harihara is the name of a fused deity form of both Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) in Hinduism. * Hari is the name of a class of gods under the fourth

Manu Manu may refer to: Geography *Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region ** Manú National Park, Peru **Manú River, in southeastern Peru * Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh *Manu Temp ...

(''manu tāmasa'', "Dark Manu") in the Puranas. * Haridasa is the Hari-centered bhakti movement from Karnataka. * In the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, Hari is a name of both Krishna and Vishnu, invoked in the Hare Krishna mahamantra (Hare could be a vocative form of Hari). * Sri Hari an avatar of Vishnu liberated Gajendra in the puranic literature.

In Sikhism

The name "ਹਰਿ" (Hari) is frequently used as a name for Waheguru in the ''Sri Guru Granth Sahib'':

ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਹੈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪਾਵੈ ਕੋਇ ॥
Hari, Hari, Hari, Hari is the Name (of the Lord); rare are those who, as Gurmukh, obtain it. (SGGS, Ang.1313)

In the '' Varan Bhai Gurdas'', an early explanation and interpretation of Sikh theology, Bhai Gurdas also associates the name "ਹਰਿ" (Hari) in the form of Hari Krishan in the Dwapur Yuga with the letter "ਹ" (h) in "ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ" (Waheguru). However, in the context of the ''Sri Guru Granth Sahib'', the name "Hari" refers to the one monotheistic God of Sikhism. Hari is the same god in Sikhism that is also known in Hinduism as well.

References