Kripa (कृपा, IAST: Kṛpā) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “Ever-gracious, perennially compassionate”. The dative nityaṃ kṛpālave resolves to kṛpālu (gracious, compassionate) qualified by nityam (always, eternally), declaring that Vishnu's mercy is not occasional but an unceasing, essential attribute of his divine nature.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Kṛpā derives from the root kṛp (to lament for, to pity), and in devotional usage it denotes the spontaneous, unmotivated grace that flows from the Lord toward suffering beings. The adverb nityam transforms kṛpālu into a statement about Vishnu's very ontology: compassion is not something he exercises at times but something he perpetually is. This theological insight underpins the Vaishnava teaching that the Lord's grace is always available and never exhausted.

While Kṛpālu is the full epithet name here, Kripa is the form most usable as a contemporary given name and has a gentle, melodious quality. Pronounced KRIH-paa, it carries an immediate spiritual warmth and is occasionally used for boys in devotional families.

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Scriptural source

Kripa appears in the Vishnu Sahasranama, among the sacred names of Vishnu.