Editing Hari

{{Short description|One of the names of the Hindu deity Vishnu}}
{{other uses}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2017}} 
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
[[File:Wood painting 2, Crafts Museum, New Delhi, India.jpg|thumb|304x304px|Painting of Vishnu, Crafts Museum, New Delhi, India]]

'''Hari''' ({{langx|sa|हरि}}) is among the primary epithets of the [[Hindus|Hindu]] preserver deity [[Vishnu]], meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins).<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2009-04-12 |title=Hari, Hāri, Harī: 45 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/hari |access-date=2022-08-02 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progress. 

The name Hari also appears as the 650th name of [[Vishnu]] in the [[Vishnu sahasranama|Vishnu Sahasranama]] of the [[Mahabharata]] and is considered to be of great significance in [[Vaishnavism]].
{{Vaishnavism}}
==Etymology==
The [[Sanskrit]] word "[[wikt:हरि#Sanskrit|हरि]]" (Hari) is derived from the [[Proto-Indo-European]] root "*''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰelh₃-|ǵʰel-]]'' to shine; to flourish; green; yellow"  which also gave rise to the [[Persian language|Persian]] terms ''zar'' 'gold', Greek ''khloros'' 'green', Slavic ''zelen'' 'green' and ''zolto'' 'gold', as well as the English words ''yellow'' and ''gold''.

The same root occurs in other Sanskrit words like ''[[wikt:हरिद्रा#Sanskrit|haridrā]]'', '[[turmeric]]', named for its yellow color.

In Hinduism, beginning with [[Adi Sankara]]'s commentary on the [[Vishnu sahasranama]], ''hari'' became etymologized as derived from the verbal root  ''hṛ'' "to grab, seize, steal", in the context of Vaishnavism interpreted as "to take away or remove evil or sin",<ref>Monier-Williams, ''A Sanskrit Dictionary'' (1899):</ref> and the name of Vishnu rendered as "he who destroys [[samsara]]", which is the entanglement in the cycle of birth and death, along with ignorance, its cause;<ref>''Sri Vishnu Sahasranama'', commentary by Sri Sankaracharya, translated by Swami Tapasyananda (Ramakrishna Math Publications, Chennai)</ref>  compare ''hara'' as a name of [[Shiva]], translated as "seizer" or "destroyer".{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==In Indian religions==

=== In Hinduism ===
*The [[Harivamsha]] ("lineage of Hari") is a text in both the [[Purana]] and [[Itihasa]] traditions.
* As the name of tawny-colored animals, ''hari'' may refer to lions (also a name of the [[Leo (astrology)|zodiacal sign Leo]]), bay horses, or monkeys. The feminine ''Harī '' is the name of the mythological "mother of monkeys" in the [[Sanskrit epics]].
* [[Harihara]] is the name of a fused deity form of both Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) in Hinduism.
* Hari is the name of a class of gods under the fourth [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]] (''manu tāmasa'', "Dark Manu") in the Puranas.
* [[Haridasa]] is the [[Vishnu|Hari]]-centered bhakti movement from [[Karnataka]].<ref>{{cite book |surname=Sharma |given=B.N. Krishnamurti |title= History of Dvaita school of Vedanta and its Literature |orig-year=1961 |year=2000 |place=Bombay |publisher=Motilal Banarasidass |edition=3rd |isbn=81-208-1575-0 |pages=xxxii–xxxiii, 514–516, 539}}</ref>
* In the [[Gaudiya Vaishnava]] tradition, Hari is a name of both [[Krishna]] and [[Vishnu]], invoked in the [[Mahamantra|Hare Krishna mahamantra]] (Hare could be a vocative form of Hari).
* The [[Hari Stuti]] is a hymn in praise of Vishnu composed by [[Adi Shankara]].
* The [[Hari Stotra]] is a Sanskrit hymn.
* ''[[Hari Om]]'' is a mantra and greeting.

=== In Sikhism ===
The name "ਹਰਿ" (Hari) is frequently used as a name for [[Waheguru]] in the [[Guru Granth Sahib|''Sri Guru Granth Sahib'']]:<blockquote>ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਹੈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪਾਵੈ ਕੋਇ ॥<br />

Hari, Hari, Hari, Hari is the Name (of the Lord); rare are those who, as [[Gurmukh]], obtain it. (SGGS, Ang.1313)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Guru Granth Sahib|url=http://srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&g=1&h=1&r=1&t=1&p=0&k=0&Param=1313|access-date=2021-06-12|website=srigranth.org|page=1313}}</ref></blockquote>In the ''[[Varan Bhai Gurdas]]'', an early explanation and interpretation of Sikh theology, [[Bhai Gurdas]] also associates the name "ਹਰਿ" (Hari) in the form of Hari Krishan in the Dwapur Yuga with the letter "ਹ" (h) in "ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ" (Waheguru).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://searchgurbani.com/bhai-gurdas-vaaran/vaar/1/pauri/49/line/1|title=Bhai Gurdas Vaaran|at=Vaar 1, Pauri 49}}</ref>

However, in the context of the ''Sri Guru Granth Sahib'', the name "Hari" refers to the [[Ik Onkar|one monotheistic God]] of [[Sikhism]], as similar to "Hari" is used in [[Vaishnavism]] for [[Parabrahman]] as well. However Sarabloh Granth and Dasam Granth call Krishna as Hari several times. Krishna creates several Krishna during his avatar during Ras Leela which is what Guru Ram Das mentioned in Adi Granth that Hari himself creates several Kanha for the Gopis and he himself becomes those Gopis.

==See also==
* [[Vishnu]]
* [[Narayana]]
* [[Govinda]]
* [[Perumal (deity)|Perumal]]
* [[Ishvara]]
* [[Purushottama]]
* [[Krishna]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Shades of yellow]]
[[Category:Titles and names of Krishna]]
[[Category:Names of Vishnu]]