अंशक (aṃśaka) M.

“having a share (=a relative)”, Gaṇeśa

(GS2). अंिशका (aṃśikā) F.

अक मष (akalmaṣa) M. “without faults”, Hanumān (HS).

अक मषा (akalmaṣā) F.
अकामा (akāmā) F. “free from lust or [evil] desires”, Yamunā
(YS). अकाम (akāma) M.

अकाय (akāya) M. “without a [mortal] body”, Rāma (RS1),

Hanumān (HS). अकाया (akāyā) F.

अकोप (akopa) M. “without anger”, one of Daśaratha’s

ministers (VR). अकोपा (akopā) F.

अ रू (akrūra) M. “not cruel”, Rāma (RS1), Narasiṃha (NS).

अ ूरा (akrūrā) F. Bhavānī (BS).
अ ोध (akrodha) M. “free from anger”, Kṛṣṇa (KS1). अ ोधा
(akrodhā) F.

अ ोधन (akrodhana) M. “without anger, free from anger”, a

king (VāP). अ ोधना (akrodhanā) F.

अ न (akṣaghna) M. “the slayer of Akṣa (a son of Rāvaṇa)”,

Hanumān (HS). अ नी (akṣaghnī) F.
अ री (akṣarī) M. “having akṣara (=OM), reciting OM”, the
highest yogī (VāP).

अ ोय (akṣobhya) M. “he who cannot be perturbed”, Viṣṇu

(VS1), Narasiṃha (NS). अ ो या (akṣobhyā) F. Gaṅgā (GS3).
अिख (akhinna) M. “not tired, indefatigable”, Sūrya (SS1).
अगद Sunāma अ नवण
अिख ा (akhinnā) F.
अगद (agada) M. “free from [physical and mental] disease”,
Rāma (RS1). अगदा (agadā) F.
अगाधा (agādhā) F. “very deep, unfathomable”, Annapūrṇā
(AS), Bhavānī (BS). अगाध (agādha) M.

अगो ा (agotrā) F. “without an origin”, Sītā (SS2), Pārvatī (PS).

अगो (agotra) M.
अि नका (agnikā) F. “she who radiates like Agni”, daughter of
the gandharva leader Vikrānta (VāP). अि नक (agnika) M.

अि नतेज (agnitejas) MF. “having the tejas (brilliance) of

Agni, resplendent”, a ṛṣi (ViP).

अि नद (agnida) M. “he who gives the fire (=jñānāgni, the fire

of knowledge)”, Śiva (ŚS3). अि नदा (agnidā) F.

अि नभा (agnibhās) MF. “having the brilliance or brightness

of Agni”, a deva in Cāriṣṇava manvantara (VāP).

अि नमा (agnimān) M. “possessing Agni”, one who maintains

the sacred fire (MaP). अि नमती (agnimatī) F.
अि निम (agnimitra) M. “a friend of Agni (one who performs
yajñas)”, a king (BhP), a ṛṣi (BhP). अि निम ा (agnimitrā) F.
अि नवच (agnivarcas) MF. “having the brilliance like that of
Agni”, a ṛṣi (ViP).

अि नवण (agnivarṇa) M. “having the complexion (brilliance)

of Agni”, ancestor of Rāma (VR). अि नवणा (agnivarṇā) F.
16
हिव णु Sunāma ांशु

हिव णु (haviṣṇu) MF. “offering oblations [to Agni in a yajña]”,

son of Aṅgiras (VāP).

हिव मा (haviṣmān) M. “possessing (=offering) oblations [to

Agni]”, a ṛṣi (BhP). हिव मती (haviṣmatī) F. Kāmadhenu (BhP),
daughter of Aṅgiras and Subhā (MBh).

ह या (havyā) F. “worthy of being invoked”, Durgā (DS3). ह य

(havya) M.

ह ीश/ह ी र (hastīśa/hastīśvara) M. “the lord of the

elephant”, Śiva (ŚS1). ह ीशी/ह ी री (hastīśī/hastīśvarī) F.
हाटकी (hāṭakī) F. “golden, made of gold”, a river (BhP).
हाटकेश (hāṭakeśa) M. “the lord of gold, a form of Śiva”,
similar to the name hāṭakeśāna of Mṛtyuñjaya (MS1). हाटकेशी
(hāṭakeśī) F.

ताि न (hutāgni) M. “he who offers oblations to Agni”, a

performer of agnihotra (MS2).

ताशन (hutāśana) M. “eater of oblations”, Agni (MBh).

दयालु (hṛdayālu) MF. “kind-hearted, affectionate”, cited in
PMB.

िदक (hṛdika) M. “kind-hearted”, name of a king (BhP). िदका

(hṛdikā) F.

ेवी (hṛddevī) F. “goddess of the heart”, a goddess (BrP). ेव

(hṛddeva) M.

ांशु (hṛdyāṃśu) MF. “having pleasant rays”, the moon

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 खा Beautiful Sanskrit Names ािदनी

(VK2).

ेखा (hṛllekhā) F. “the goddess of the heart”, Lakṣmī (LS3).

षेयु
(hṛṣeyu) MF. “desiring happiness”, son of Bhadrāśva
(MaP).

हेतुक (hetuka) M. “a logician, causing [something good]”, a

Bhairava (BrP). हेतुका/हेतुकी (hetukā/hetukī) F.

हेमकर (hemakara) M. “creator of [the jāmbūnada] gold”, Śiva

(ŚS1, ŚS5). हेमकरी (hemakarī) F.

हेमवा (hemavān) M. “possessing [the brilliance of] gold”, a

mountain (MaP). हेमवती (hemavatī) F.

हेमाभा (hemābhā) F. “resembling gold, bright like gold”, used

for Sītā (VR). हेमाभ (hemābha) M.

हो क (hotraka) M. “assistant hotṛ (priest)”, son of Kāñcana

(BhP). होि का (hotrikā) F.
होि य (hotriya) M. “beneficial for yajña”, Agni (BrP). होि या
(hotriyā) F.

ीमती (hrīmatī) F. “modest”, Lalitā (LS1). ीमा (hrīmān) M.

ािदनी (hlādinī) F. “full of delight, delighting, pleasing”,

Lakṣmī (LS2). ादी (hlādī) M.

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Abbreviations
Note: There are two Śiva-sahasranāmas each in the Liṅga-
Purāṇa and the Mahābhārata. In the below list, book and
chapter numbers are shown only for the abbreviations used
for these four sahasranāmas in order to distinguish them.

AgP Agni-Purāṇa
AK Amara-Koṣa
AS Annapūrṇā-Sahasranāma (Rudrayāmala-Tantra)
AVP Atharvaveda (Paippalāda-Saṃhitā)
AVŚ Atharvaveda (Śaunaka-Saṃhitā)
BD Bṛhaddevatā
BG Bhagavad-Gītā
BhP Śrīmadbhāgavata-Purāṇa
BK Bhaṭṭikāvya
BrP Brahmāṇḍa-Purāṇa
BVP Brahmā-Vaivarta-Purāṇa
BS Bhavānī-Sahasranāma (Rudrayāmala-Tantra)
DS1 Durgā-Sahasranāma (Kulārṇava-Tantra)
DS2 Dattātreya-Sahasranāma (Dattātreya-Purāṇa)
DS3 Durgā-Sahasranāma (Tantrarāja-Tantra)
DS4 Durgā-Sahasranāma (Skanda-Purāṇa)
DSS Durgā-Saptaśatī (Mārkaṇḍeya-Purāṇa)
GS1 Gaṇeśa-Sahasranāma (Rudrayāmala-Tantra)
 Sunāma

GS2 Gaṇeśa-Sahasranāma (Gaṇeśa-Tantra)

GS3 Gaṅgā-Sahasranāma (Skanda-Purāṇa)
GS4 Gāyatrī-Sahasranāma (Devībhāgavata-Purāṇa)
GS5 Gaṇeśa-Sahasranāma (Gaṇeśa-Purāṇa)
GS6 Go-Sahasranāma (Svāmī Rāmabhadrācārya)
HD Haṃsadūta (Rūpa Gosvāmī)
HK Halāyudha-Koṣa
HS Hanumat-Sahasranāma (Mantra-Mahārṇava)
HV Harivaṃśa
HYP Haṭha-Yoga-Pradīpikā
Kāś Kāśikā (commentary on Aṣṭādhyāyī)
KRM Kṛdanta-Rūpa-Mālā
KS1 Kṛṣṇa-Sahasranāma (Viṣṇudharmottara-Purāṇa)
KS2 Kṛṣṇa-Sahasranāma (Sammohana-Tantra)
KS3 Kālī-Sahasranāma (Bṛhannīla-Tantra)
KS4 Kumārī-Sahasranāma (Rudrayāmala-Tantra)
KYM Kṛṣṇa-Yajurveda (Maitrāyaṇī-Saṃhitā)
KYT Kṛṣṇa-Yajurveda (Taittirīya-Saṃhitā)
LiP Liṅga-Purāṇa
LS1 Lalitā-Sahasranāma (Brahmāṇḍa-Purāṇa)
LS2 Lakṣmī-Sahasranāma (Brahma-Purāṇa)
LS3 Lakṣmī-Sahasranāma (Skanda-Purāṇa)
LTS Lalitā-Triśatī
MaP Matsya-Purāṇa
MāP Mārkaṇḍeya-Purāṇa
MBh Mahābhārata
MK Medinī-Koṣa

168
 Abbreviations

MS1 Mṛtyuñjaya-Sahasranāma (Rudrayāmala-Tantra)

MS2 Manusmṛti
NS Nṛsiṃha-Sahasranāma (Nṛsiṃha-Purāṇa)
PMB Patañjali’s Mahābhāṣya
PS Pārvatī-Sahasranāma (Kūrma-Purāṇa)
RKS Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa-Sahasranāma (Bṛhannāradīya-Purāṇa)
RS1 Rāma-Sahasranāma (Ānanda-Rāmāyaṇa)
RS2 Rādhikā-Sahasranāma (Nārada-Pāñcarātra)
ṚVŚ Ṛgveda (Śākala-Saṃhitā)
SD Sāhitya-Darpaṇa
SS1 Sūrya-Sahasranāma (Bhaviṣya-Purāṇa)
SS2 Sītā-Sahasranāma (Adbhuta-Rāmāyaṇa)
SS3 Sarasvatī-Sahasranāma (Skanda-Purāṇa)
SVR Sāmaveda (Rāṇāyanīya-Saṃhitā)
ŚiP Śiva-Purāṇa
ŚK Śabdakalpadruma-Koṣa
ŚS1 Śiva-Sahasranāma (Mahābhārata 13.17)
ŚS2 Śiva-Sahasranāma (Śiva-Purāṇa)
ŚS3 Śiva-Sahasranāma (Liṅga-Purāṇa 1.98)
ŚS4 Śiva-Sahasranāma (Mahābhārata 12.284)
ŚS5 Śiva-Sahasranāma (Liṅga-Purāṇa 1.65)
ŚYM Śukla-Yajurveda (Madhyāndina-Saṃhitā)
TK Trikāṇḍaśeṣa-Koṣa
VāP Vāyu-Purāṇa
ViP Viṣṇu-Purāṇa
VK1 Vācaspatya-Koṣa
VK2 Vaijayantī-Koṣa

169
 Sunāma

VR Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa
VS1 Viṣṇu-Sahasranāma (Mahābhārata)
VS2 Viṣṇu-Sahasranāma (Nārada-Pāñcarātra)
VS3 Viṣṇu-Sahasranāma (Garuḍa-Purāṇa)
YS Yamunā-Sahasranāma (Garga-Saṃhitā)

170
All parents wish to give a unique and meaningful name to their child.
In India, a Sanskrit name is mostly preferred. Often parents turn to
the Internet, which is replete with misinformation on Sanskrit names.
Popular name websites too mispresent meaning of many Sanskrit
words and sometimes even list names from other languages, presenting
them as Sanskrit names. Some bestselling books on Sanskrit names
also carry such mistakes. Parents are misled by such sources and end
up giving a kunāma (‘a bad name’) to their child.

Each Sanskrit sunāma—or ‘a good name’—has a mathematical

derivation (vyutpatti) and/or a mystical explanation (nirukti). This
work by Sanskrit scholar Nityānanda Miśra is a wonderful collection of
more than 3,000 sunāmas, most of which are rare or unused today. He
studied more than 70,000 names in seventy-seven authentic Sanskrit
texts, including seven Vedic saṃhitās, ten Purāṇas, the Rāmāyaṇa,
the Mahābhārata, seven koṣas, three grammar works and thirty-eight
sahasranāmas for this compilation. Each name entry includes the
Devanagari and IAST spellings, gender, meaning, and the person or
deity to whom the name belongs.

A work of immense dedication and accurate research, this is a must-

have for parents seeking unique names for their child.

Nityānanda Miśra, a scholar of Sanskrit and Hinduism,

is an IIM Bangalore graduate and a finance professional
based in Mumbai. He is a professional onomastician
who provides consultation on Sanskrit names to parents
and business owners. He regularly writes commentaries
on Sanskrit names on Facebook and Twitter.

Cover design: Syed Dilshad Ali

Cover illustration © krupenikova.olga / Shutterstock.com

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