Punyashravanakirtana (पुण्यश्रवणकीर्तन, IAST: Puṇyaśravaṇakīrtana) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “He whose hearing and singing bestow merit”. This triple compound—puṇya (merit, holiness), śravaṇa (listening), and kīrtana (singing, glorification)—identifies Viṣṇu as the one whose very name sanctifies both the act of hearing and the act of praising.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The name encapsulates two of the nine primary forms of bhakti: śravaṇa (hearing the Lord's glories) and kīrtana (chanting them aloud). Puṇya denotes meritorious, auspicious, and purifying power, so the compound teaches that merely to listen to Viṣṇu's names or to sing them generates spiritual merit beyond ritual performance. This epithet thus serves as its own instruction manual for devotional practice.

Lord Viṣṇu is addressed by this name especially in contexts of communal recitation and harikathā (sacred storytelling), affirming that the congregation gains puṇya simply by being present. As a given name for daily use its length is unwieldy; it functions best as a devotional title. Pronounced puṇ-ya-śra-va-ṇa-kīr-ta-na.

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Scriptural source

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

Astrology — nakshatra, rashi & numerology

By the standard Vedic correspondence between a name’s first syllable and the lunar mansion, Punyashravanakirtana aligns with the Hasta nakshatra, under the Kanya rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 7.