Listen & Chant Along
Meaning & Translation
Sanskrit
जय जय राम कृष्ण हरी
Transliteration
Jai Jai Ram Krishna Hari
Deity / Quality Invoked
Vitthal
Pronunciation
jye jye rahm KRISH-nah HAH-ree
Full Translation
Jai Jai Ram Krishna Hari is the signature chant of the Varkari tradition of Maharashtra, joining three beloved names of the divine — Ram, Krishna, and Hari — into a single unbroken call. For Varkaris the three names point to one presence: Vitthal, the form of Krishna who stands on a brick in Pandharpur, waiting for his devotees.
Spiritual Significance
For the Varkari ("pilgrim"), this chant is a constant companion — sung while walking, working, and worshipping, it turns the whole of daily life into remembrance of Vitthal. Its steady, rolling repetition is said to carry the pilgrim's heart to Pandharpur even when the feet stay home, dissolving the distance between the singer and the sung-to.
Cultural Context & History
This is the naam-jap of the Varkari sampradaya, sung for over seven centuries by the great Marathi saint-poets — Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, and Tukaram — and by the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who still walk the wari to Pandharpur every year, chanting it to the beat of cymbals and the mridanga-like pakhawaj.
Terms in the Glossary
Words from this page, explained in our A–Z reference.