The Names of Khatu Shyamfrom Lakhdatar to the giver of his head

A deity’s names are not merely words for calling — they are doorways into his nature. Behind each name is a story, a quality, a moment when a devotee experienced Baba in that form, and the name stayed joined to him forever.

The full collection of Khatu Shyam’s eighty-four names has its own place; but a few names sit most often on devotees’ lips. Here are the stories behind those famous names.

The first and deepest name — "Sheesh ke Dani", the giver of his head. In the story of Barbarika, when Krishna in a Brahmin’s guise asked him for charity, he gave even his own head — without a question, without a condition.

There are many traditions of giving — one gives wealth, one gives time, one gives service. But to give one’s own head — to offer one’s very existence — is the summit of charity. That single moment made Barbarika the deity of the Kali Yuga. The name "Sheesh ke Dani" reminds us that the true test of devotion is surrender, not asking.

"Lakhdatar" means the giver to lakhs. The name points to Baba’s nature of never letting a devotee’s lap go empty.

But its meaning is not limited to material giving. Lakhdatar is the one who gives hope to lakhs, who is a refuge to lakhs of broken hearts, and who sends none of the lakhs who come to the Phalgun Mela away in despair. Giving is his nature — and for one who has already given his own head, what hesitation can there be in giving?

The peacock feathers that adorn Baba’s court and crown are so dear that he is called "Morchhadi Dhari" — the bearer of the peacock-feather wand. Shyam devotees consider it auspicious to offer peacock feathers at his darshan.

Linked to this is another tender name, "Morvi-nandan" — the son of Mother Morvi. This name touches the gentle side of Baba, beyond valour and divinity — the side of a mother’s beloved child. This is the beauty of the names — one name speaks of power, one of compassion, and one of pure tenderness.

"Leele ke Aswar" means the one who rides the blue horse named Leela. In many images and bhajans of Khatu Shyam he is shown seated on his beloved blue steed, a nishan in hand.

This image is, in the devotee’s mind, that of a protector — the warrior who, on his horse, comes running the moment he hears the devotee’s call. The Nishan Yatra of the Phalgun Mela brings this feeling to life, as lakhs of devotees raise Baba’s nishan and walk towards Khatu.

And finally the name that is the essence of all the names — "Hare ka Sahara", the refuge of the vanquished. It was by this very word of Krishna that Barbarika won the boon of being worshipped in the Kali Yuga — that he would be the refuge of whoever loses, breaks, tires.

All the other names speak of Baba’s form, power and leela; this name speaks of the relationship between Baba and the devotee. That is why, in a moment of crisis, this is the first call to rise from a devotee’s lips.

Sheesh ke Dani, Lakhdatar, Morchhadi Dhari, Leele ke Aswar, Hare ka Sahara — all these different names point to a single truth. Just as one sun is seen in different colours at dawn, noon and dusk, so the one Shyam is called by different names according to the devotee’s feeling.

Whatever the name, let the call be true — Baba answers the same to every name.