Vishnu
Govinda nama-mantra
ॐ गोविन्दाय नमः
Simple reading
Om go-vin-daa-ya na-mah
Oṁ Govindāya Namaḥ
About this mantra
Govinda, finder of cows, of the earth, of the senses gone astray, is Krishna as the herdsman of all that wanders. The name the Vraja children shouted across pastures became one of bhakti's dearest addresses: to call him Govinda is to admit one needs herding home.
Meaning
Om, salutations to Govinda, go-vinda, finder and keeper of the cows. The Bhagavata Purana (10.27.22–23) tells how the name was given: after Krishna lifted Govardhan, Surabhi the cow bathed him with her own milk and Indra with the water of the Ganga, and Indra named him Govinda, lord of the cows. The same name is among the thousand of the Vishnu Sahasranama, so the cowherd's name is offered to Vishnu himself.
Learn it by heart
Say the first line until it comes without reading, then add the next line and say both, until the whole mantra comes on its own.
Whole mantra
This mantra is a single line. Learn it whole, then add it to your review deck so it comes back for a check.
ॐ गोविन्दाय नमः
Oṁ Govindāya Namaḥ
0not said yet
Aim for eleven. Stop reading as soon as the whole mantra comes on its own.
Progress stays on this device.
When to recite it
Janmashtami, Govardhan Puja and Annakut carry it, and Gopashtami, the day the cows are honoured, belongs to the cowherd's name; counted whenever Krishna is called as keeper of the herd rather than as king.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- गोविन्दायgovindāya
- to Govinda, protector of cows and the earth
- नमःnamaḥ
- I bow, salutations
Source: Traditional nāma-mantra