Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad
The Kali-Santarana Upanishad (Sanskrit: कलिसन्तरणोपनिषद्; IAST: Kali-Santaraṇa Upaniṣad), also called Kalisantaraṇopaniṣad, is a Sanskrit text. It is a minor Upanishad of Hinduism.
| Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad | |
|---|---|
A representation of a Brahmin during the Kali Yuga | |
| Devanagari | कलिसन्तरण |
| Title means | To overcome the effects of Kali Yuga |
| Linked Veda | Krishna Yajurveda |
| Verses | 2 |
| Philosophy | Vaishnava |
The Vaishnava Upanishad was likely composed before c. 500 CE. According to Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, this text's central mantra, known as the Hare Krishna, or Mahā ("Great"), Mantra, was given in the 16th century to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at his initiation in Gaya (though the Sanskrit mantra is absent from his biographies).
This mantra, presented in two lines, contains the words Hare, Rama, and Krishna. The word Hare, meaning "O Harā" (the feminine counterpart to Vishnu, sometimes known as Hara), is repeated eight times, while the other two names are Hindu gods and are each repeated four times (or two forms of Vishnu, who is then invoked eight times as well). The text asserts that the audible chanting of this mantra is a means to wash away all the tribulations of the current era (Kali Yuga).