Hari

Hari or Har(i) (Sanskrit: हरि, Punjabi: ਹਰਿ, IAST: Harī or Har) is a name for the supreme absolute in the Vedas, Guru Granth Sahib and many other sacred texts of South Asia. Hari refers to Vishnu who takes away all the sorrows of his devotees. In Rigveda’s Purusha Suktam (Praise of the supreme cosmic being), Hari is the first and most important name of god (Brahman), alternative name of supreme being is Narayana after Hari and Purusha according to Narayana Suktam of yajurveda. In the Hindu tradition, it is often used interchangeably with Vishnu to such an extent that they are considered to be one and the same. In Vedas, it is required to use the mantra Harih om before any recitation, just to declare that every ritual we perform is an offer to that supreme divine even if the hymn praises any demigod. In Hinduism, kirtan or praise songs of any god has a common name known as Hari kirtan and katha or storytelling is known as Hari katha.No depiction of Hari (God) is permitted in Sikhism. Hari in Purusha Suktam, Narayana Suktam and Rudra Suktam is usually depicted as having a form with countless heads, limbs and arms (a way of saying that Supreme divine is pervaded everywhere and cannot be limited). Lord Hari is also called sharangapani as he also wields a bow named as sharanga.The word Hari is widely used in Sanskrit and Prakrit literature as well as in Hindu, Sikhism, Buddhist and Jain religions. The name Hari also appears as the 656th name of Vishnu in the Vishnu sahasranama of the Mahabharata and is considered to be of great significance in Vaishnavism.

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