AstrologgerSantan Gopal Mantra
Santan Gopal is Krishna in his child form, and the prayers gathered under this name are addressed to him by couples hoping for a child. They are among the gentlest verses in the tradition: not demands or bargains, but a request made from refuge — the mool mantra literally ends by saying "I have come to you". What follows is the family of them, because "Santan Gopal mantra", "stotra" and "path" are three different things people are asking for under one name.
The 5 Santan Gopal Mantras
"Santan Gopal Mantra" is not a single verse. These are the forms in traditional use, each with its own purpose and count.
| Form | Opening | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Santan Gopal Mool Mantra | ॐ श्रीं ह्रीं क्लीं ग्लौं देवकीसुत गोविन्द | 108 daily; a longer sankalp of 21 or 41 days is common |
| The same mantra without the beej syllables | ॐ देवकीसुत गोविन्द वासुदेव जगत्पते। | 108 daily |
| Santan Gopal Stotra (opening verse) | श्रीशं कमलपत्राक्षं देवकीनन्दनं हरिम्। | — |
| Gopal Mantra (Krishna's eighteen-syllable form) | ॐ क्लीं कृष्णाय गोविन्दाय गोपीजनवल्लभाय स् | 108 |
| Santan Gopal Path | ॐ नमो भगवते जगत्प्रसूतये नमः॥ | — |
Santan Gopal Mool Mantra
ॐ श्रीं ह्रीं क्लीं ग्लौं देवकीसुत गोविन्द वासुदेव जगत्पते। देहि मे तनयं कृष्ण त्वामहं शरणं गतः॥
Om Śrīṁ Hrīṁ Klīṁ Glauṁ Devakīsuta Govinda Vāsudeva Jagatpate, Dehi Me Tanayaṁ Kṛṣṇa Tvāmahaṁ Śaraṇaṁ Gataḥ.
The principal form. After four seed syllables it addresses Krishna by four names at once — son of Devaki, Govinda, Vasudeva, lord of the world — and then asks plainly for a child, closing with "I have come to your refuge". The structure matters: the request comes last, and it comes from shelter rather than from demand.
Count: 108 daily; a longer sankalp of 21 or 41 days is common
The same mantra without the beej syllables
ॐ देवकीसुत गोविन्द वासुदेव जगत्पते। देहि मे तनयं कृष्ण त्वामहं शरणं गतः॥
Om Devakīsuta Govinda Vāsudeva Jagatpate, Dehi Me Tanayaṁ Kṛṣṇa Tvāmahaṁ Śaraṇaṁ Gataḥ.
The plain form, without śrīṁ hrīṁ klīṁ glauṁ. Tradition holds that beej syllables are best taken from a teacher who gives them with the practice; where there is no such teacher, this form is the one usually recommended, and it is the version most often heard recited aloud.
Count: 108 daily
Santan Gopal Stotra (opening verse)
श्रीशं कमलपत्राक्षं देवकीनन्दनं हरिम्। सुतसम्प्राप्तये कृष्णं नमामि मधुसूदनम्॥
Śrīśaṁ Kamalapatrākṣaṁ Devakīnandanaṁ Harim, Sutasamprāptaye Kṛṣṇaṁ Namāmi Madhusūdanam.
The stotra opens by describing before asking: lord of Shri, lotus-eyed, delight of Devaki, Hari — and only then states its purpose, bowing to Krishna Madhusudana "for the obtaining of a child". A stotra is recited rather than counted, so this is the form chosen when someone wants to read rather than repeat.
Gopal Mantra (Krishna's eighteen-syllable form)
ॐ क्लीं कृष्णाय गोविन्दाय गोपीजनवल्लभाय स्वाहा॥
Om Klīṁ Kṛṣṇāya Govindāya Gopījanavallabhāya Svāhā.
Not specific to children — this is the general Gopal mantra of Krishna, counted in eighteen syllables, addressed to him as Govinda and as the beloved of the gopis. People searching "gopal mantra" usually mean this one, and arrive at the Santan Gopal pages by accident; both are set out here so the distinction is clear.
Count: 108
Santan Gopal Path
ॐ नमो भगवते जगत्प्रसूतये नमः॥
Om Namo Bhagavate Jagatprasūtaye Namaḥ.
"Path" means the reading itself rather than a separate text — the practice of reciting the stotra through, often daily for a fixed number of days. This short salutation, to the one from whom the world is born, is the line commonly used to open and close such a reading.
When and how to chant
Day: Wednesday, and Krishna Janmashtami; many begin on a Shukla-paksha Ashtami
- Both partners may chant; tradition does not place the practice on the woman alone, and many households do it together.
- A bath first, then a seat facing east or north. Wednesday is associated with it, and Janmashtami is the day most often chosen to begin.
- Offer a tulsi leaf, butter or makhan, and yellow flowers to an image of the child Krishna — the bal-gopal form rather than the adult one.
- A tulsi mala is traditional. Count 108, and keep the same time each day; tradition values the unbroken daily round over the size of the total.
- Where a sankalp is taken, 21 or 41 days is the usual length, with the stotra read through on the final day.
What tradition holds
These verses are kept by couples hoping for a child, and in jyotisha the related reading is of the fifth house, its lord, and Jupiter — the significator of children — along with any Putra Dosha said to affect them. Tradition offers the practice as devotion and as a way of steadying the mind through a difficult wait. It is not a treatment, it makes no promise, and it is not a reason to delay or decline medical care: fertility has causes a chart cannot see and a doctor can. Anyone chanting these is free to do both, and most do.
Related mantras
Frequently asked questions
Which is the Santan Gopal mantra?
The mool mantra: Om Śrīṁ Hrīṁ Klīṁ Glauṁ Devakīsuta Govinda Vāsudeva Jagatpate, Dehi Me Tanayaṁ Kṛṣṇa Tvāmahaṁ Śaraṇaṁ Gataḥ. Where the beej syllables have not been given by a teacher, the plain form beginning Om Devakīsuta is the one usually recommended. Both are set out above with their meaning.
Which mantra is chanted for a child?
The Santan Gopal mool mantra is the one specific to this purpose. The Santan Gopal Stotra is the longer option where someone prefers to read rather than count, and the path is simply that stotra recited through, often daily for 21 or 41 days.
Which Krishna mantra is for children?
Santan Gopal addresses Krishna in his child form and is the one meant for this. The eighteen-syllable Gopal mantra — Om Klīṁ Kṛṣṇāya Govindāya Gopījanavallabhāya Svāhā — is a general Krishna mantra rather than a prayer for a child, though the similar name sends many people to it by mistake.
When should the Santan Gopal mantra be started?
Krishna Janmashtami is the day most often chosen, and otherwise a Wednesday or a Shukla-paksha Ashtami. What tradition emphasises is less the starting date than keeping the same time each day once begun, unbroken, for the length of the sankalp.