Abhaya (अभय, IAST: Abhaya) is an Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “The fearless one who bestows fearlessness”. From a- (without) and bhaya (fear), Abhaya speaks to Vishnu's nature as both utterly fearless and the supreme refuge who removes fear from all who approach Him.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The name unites the negative prefix a- with bhaya, derived from the root bhī (to fear), signifying the complete absence of fear in the Divine. Vishnu is Abhaya because no force in creation — neither time, nor death, nor chaos — can unsettle His sovereign being. He extends that fearlessness to His devotees, His upraised hand forming the iconic abhayamudrā, the gesture of protection.

Abhaya is an epithet found in multiple Vaishnava texts and is also used as a name for noble figures in the Purāṇas; it is pronounced uh-BHY-uh, with the aspirated bh clearly sounded.

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Scriptural source

Abhaya 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, Abhaya aligns with the Krittika nakshatra, under the Mesha rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 2.