Keshava

Epithet for Hindu god Vishnu and Krishna

Keshava (Sanskrit: केशव, lit. 'one who has beautiful long hair or the slayer of Keshi', IAST: Keśava) is an epithet of Vishnu in Hindu tradition.^[1] The name appears as the 23rd and 648th names in the Vishnu Sahasranama of the Mahabharata. Keshava is also venerated by those persons wanting to avert bad luck or ill-omens. His consort is Kirti (Lakshmi).^[2]

Keshava is an iconographical form of Vishnu.

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Etymology

Keshava means "the one with beautiful long (unshorn) hair" or "killer of the Keshi demon". According to the Padma Purana, the name refers to Krishna's long, beautiful, looking unshorn hair.^[3] 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 and 'Isha' refers to Shiva. The word Keshava refers to one who animates both Brahma and Shiva".^[4]

Literature

Representation of Vishnu as Keshava. His consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi are on either side. Above him are representations of Vishnu's ten avatars.^[5]

A verse from the Vishnu Sahasranama mentions Keshava:

आकाशात् पतितं तोयं यथागच्छति सागरम् ।
'सर्वदव नमस्कारः केशवं प्रतिगच्छति ॥'

ākāśāt patitaṃ toyaṃ yathāgacchati sāgaram

sarvadeva namaskāraḥ keśavaṃ pratigacchati

Just as the rainwater falling on the earth reaches the ocean, in the same way, offerings (namaskara) made to various deities ultimately reach only one God Keshava (Vishnu).^[6]^[7]

In Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna uses the name Keshava^[8] for Krishna a number of times, referring to him as the 'killer of the Keshi demon':

"I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I see only causes of misfortune, O Kesava, killer of the Keśī demon."
— Bhagavad Gita, Verse 1.30

The demon Keshi, in the form of a horse, was sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna, but was overpowered and slain (Vishnu Purana 5.15-16).

References

^ www.wisdomlib.org (12 April 2009). "Kesava, Keshava, Keśava, Keśavā: 30 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
^ The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography, Margaret Stutley, p.71, 73
^ Alain Daniélou (1991). The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 154. ISBN 9780892813544.
^ Bharat & Grover 2019, p. 205.
^ "Standing Vishnu as Keshava". The Met Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
^ Balasubramanian Narayan Aiyer (1999). Principles and Practice of Hindu Religion. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 24. ISBN 9788172761424.
^ R. K. Madhukar (1 January 2014). Gayatri: The Profound Prayer. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 9788178224671.
^ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita, a New Translation and Commentary, Chapter 1-6. Penguin Books, 1969, p 148-149 (v 54)

Sources

Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dhallapiccola
Bharat, Meenakshi; Grover, Madhu (2019). Representing the Exotic and the Familiar: Politics and perception in literature. John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN 9789027261908.