Shyam and Kanha — The Names of Intimate Love

"Shyam" names the Lord's dark beauty, and "Kanha" or "Kanhaiya" is Vraja's affectionate form of "Krishna". These are the names that come first to devotees who feel the Lord is their very own.

"Shyam" means dark, the deep blue-black of a rain cloud. Devotional poets compare the Lord's complexion to monsoon clouds, the dark tamala tree and the sapphire. Shyamsundar, Ghanashyam and Shyam Salone are all names of this enchanting beauty. In Vraja, Radha Rani is lovingly called "Shyama", and the divine couple is worshipped together as "Shyama-Shyam".

"Kanha", "Kanhaiya" and "Kanh" are the everyday Braj forms of the Sanskrit "Krishna". In Gujarati they become "Kanudo", "Kaan" and "Kanji". These are not formal titles but words of endearment, spoken the way a mother, a friend or a beloved would speak. The butter thief, the playmate of the cowherd boys, the child wriggling in Mother Yashoda's lap is called Kanha by everyone.

These names fill the songs of saint-poets such as Surdas, Raskhan and Narsinh Mehta. On Janmashtami, homes everywhere welcome Kanha with the joyful cry "Nand ke anand bhayo", celebrating the joy that came to Nanda's house.

Name Sa

श्याम / कान्ह

Name Roman

Shyam / Kanha

Meaning

the dark-complexioned one; the beloved Kanha (folk form of Krishna)