Radha naam jaap

A single name, repeated. In Braj it is heard constantly — as jaap, as greeting, as a way of marking the day.

The name

Radha is the consort of Krishna in Vaishnava devotion, and in several traditions the object of worship in her own right rather than only alongside him. The Radha Vallabh sampradaya, founded by Hit Harivansh in the sixteenth century, centres on her directly. The Nimbarka and Gaudiya lineages hold her as inseparable from Krishna.

Radha, or Radhe Radhe

Both are chanted. Radhe Radhe — the doubled vocative — is the more common spoken form in Vrindavan and Barsana, used as jaap and as greeting. The single name is quieter and is what many use when counting silently. Neither is more correct; they are different ways of saying the same thing.

How it is counted

One name per bead, 108 to a mala. Because the name is short, a mala goes quickly — five to ten minutes is common — and many practitioners count several in a sitting, or hold a longer vow across weeks.

Some count with the breath rather than the fingers, one name to each exhalation. That is slower and harder to keep track of, which is where a counter helps.

Counting it here

Root Jaap counts without asking anything of you — no account, no sign-up, nothing sent anywhere. Tap to count; the screen goes quiet while you do.

Opens the counter with this mantra chosen. No account, works offline.