Keshava (, ) is an epithet of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

tradition. The name appears as the 23rd and 648th names in the Vishnu Sahasranama of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

. Keshava is also venerated by those persons wanting to avert bad luck or ill-omens. His consort is Kirti (

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

). Keshava is an iconographical form of Vishnu.

Etymology

Keshava means "the one with beautiful long (unshorn) hair" or "killer of the Keshi demon". According to the

Padma Purana The ''Padma Purana'' (, or ) is one of the eighteen Puranas#Mahapuranas, Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Brahma appeared, and includes large sections dedic ...

, the name refers to Krishna's long, beautiful, looking unshorn hair. Referring to Sangraha Ramayana of Narayana Panditacharya, Authors Meenakshi Bharat and Madhu Grover says that "The name Keshava refers to Vishnu. The letter 'Ka' refers to

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

and 'Isha' refers to

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

. The word Keshava refers to one who animates both Brahma and Shiva".

Literature

A verse from the Vishnu Sahasranama mentions Keshava: In

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

uses the name Keshava for

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

a number of times, referring to him as the 'killer of the Keshi demon': The demon Keshi, in the form of a horse, was sent by

Kamsa Kamsa (, ) was the tyrant ruler of the Vrishni kingdom, with its capital at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura. He is variously described in Hindu texts, Hindu literature as either a human or an asura; The Puranas describe him as an asura, while ...

to kill

, but was overpowered and slain (

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana () is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manuscripts of ''Vishnu Purana'' have survived into ...

5.15-16). Keshav is the supreme personality of Godhead who is popularly known as Madhava amongst his devotees. It is also mentioned in the sanaatani scriptures like Bhavishya Malika, Sreemad Bhagwat Mahapuran etc. that by chanting his name " Madhav" all devotees will receive his grace and protection by the end of Kaliyuga.

References

Sources

*''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dhallapiccola *{{cite book, title=Representing the Exotic and the Familiar: Politics and perception in literature, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c7-9DwAAQBAJ, first1=Meenakshi, last1=Bharat, first2=Madhu, last2=Grover, publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company, year=2019, isbn = 9789027261908

External links

Krishna.com , All About KrishnaThe Killing of the Kesi Demon
Titles and names of Krishna Names of Vishnu