The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Mahā-mantra, is a 16 words and 32 characters Vaishnava Hindu mantra mentioned in the Kali-Santāraṇa Upaniṣad. In the 15th century, it rose to importance in the Bhakti movement following the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This mantra is composed of three Sanskrit names – "Krishna", "Rama", and "Hare".