Listen & Chant Along
Meaning & Translation
Sanskrit
हर हर महादेव
Transliteration
Hara Hara Mahadeva
Deity / Quality Invoked
Shiva
Pronunciation
Full Translation
A rousing call to Shiva by two of his names: Hara — "the remover," the one who dissolves sorrow, sin, and the bondage of the ego — and Mahadeva, "the Great God." More an exultant cry than a petition, it is raised in temples, on pilgrimage, and in kirtan as a way of throwing oneself wholly toward the divine.
Spiritual Significance
To chant "Hara" is to ask, again and again, for the burning away of whatever binds the heart — fear, attachment, the small self — so that only the auspicious (shiva) remains. It is a chant of surrender and fearlessness.
Cultural Context & History
An ancient and ubiquitous Shaivite invocation — at once a pilgrim's greeting, a rallying cry, and a temple chant across India. In the Western Kirtan world it is sung in long, building call-and-response by artists such as Krishna Das.
Terms in the Glossary
Words from this page, explained in our A–Z reference.