



Charanamrita (cha-ra-NAM-rita), literally the "nectar from the Lord's feet, which bestows immortality." Temple priests bathe the Deities every day with water. This water, known as Charanamrita , is distributed to temple guests, often after being mixed with yogurt. Because it has taken on a spiritual quality by contacting God's omnipotent spiritual form, devotees of Krishna honor that sacred water—by sipping some drops from their palm.


  • Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 4.59, Purport:

    "In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (6.30) it is stated that the Deity should be bathed in water mixed with yogurt and milk, accompanied by the sounds of conchshells, bells and other instruments and the chanting of the mantra om bhagavate vasudevaya namah, as well as the chanting of the Brahma-samhita . . . [ Bs. 5.29]."

  • Pancharatra-Pradipa:

    "Having drunk the water from the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu, which destroys all disease and takes away the chance of dying untimely, I hold that water on my head."This mantra commonly chanted while honoring Charanamrita .

  • Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.80.4:

    "An actual head is one that bows down to the Lord in His manifestations among the moving and nonmoving creatures, real eyes are those that see only the Lord, and actual limbs are those which regularly honor the water that has bathed the Lord's feet or those of His devotees."

  • Srimad-Bhagavatam, 11.6.19, Purport:

    "Every morning in ISKCON temples, the lotus feet of the Deity of Krishna are bathed, and the water thus sanctified is also called charanamrita, the nectar of Krishna's lotus feet. Srila Prabhupada taught his disciples and followers to come before the Deities each morning and drink three drops of the charanamrita from the Deities' bathing."

  • ". . . our temple . . . must be managed expertly [so] that everyone who comes is given charanamrita and prasadam of the Deity."
    Srila Prabhupada, in a letter to Akshayananda Swami, 1975

  • Suddha Bhakata, verse 3:

    "One day while performing devotional practices, I saw my house transformed into Goloka Vrindavan. When I take the charanamrita of the Deity, I see the holy Ganges water that comes from the feet of Lord Vishnu, and my bliss knows no bounds."