Kashinirdagdhanayaka (काशीनिर्दग्धनायक, IAST: Kāśīnirdagdhanāyaka) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “Leader who thoroughly burned or destroyed Kashi”. From kāśī (the sacred city), nirdagdha (thoroughly burned or consumed), and nāyaka (leader or chief), this epithet recalls a Puranic episode in which a divine act of consuming fire—through Vishnu's will—came upon Kashi as an expression of supreme divine power.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The compound joins kāśī (काशी, the city of light and one of India's most sacred sites), nirdagdha (निर्दग्ध, thoroughly burned, from dagdha, burned), and nāyaka (नायक, leader, hero, or chief). While Kashi is universally revered as the city of moksha, certain Puranic narratives recount divine episodes of destruction tied to cosmic cycles or transgressions, and this epithet situates Vishnu as the sovereign agent of such profound transformation. Even the most sacred of spaces operates within the Lord's absolute will.

This epithet of Vishnu in the Sahasranama is deeply contextual and points to Puranic narratives that may require specialized commentary for full understanding; needsReview is marked accordingly. As a personal given name this compound is entirely inappropriate; it is purely a liturgical title of reverence.

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Scriptural source

Kashinirdagdhanayaka 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, Kashinirdagdhanayaka aligns with the Mrigashira nakshatra, under the Mithuna rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 4.