Kotyashvamedhapapaghna (कोट्यश्वमेधपापघ्न, IAST: Koṭyaśvamedha-pāpaghna) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “Destroyer of sins equal to ten million Ashvamedha sacrifices”. Composed of koṭi, aśvamedha (the royal horse sacrifice, the most meritorious of Vedic yajñas), and pāpaghna (destroyer of sin), this name proclaims that Vishnu's grace annihilates sins as completely as ten million of the greatest sacrifices combined.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The aśvamedha was the highest Vedic sacrifice, performed by sovereign kings to establish universal dominion and earn supreme spiritual merit; its completion was believed to expiate even the gravest transgressions. Pāpaghna, from pāpa (sin, demerit) and the root han (to slay), denotes the absolute destroyer of accumulated karmic debt. By multiplying even this supreme rite ten-million-fold, the epithet asserts that a single act of sincere devotion to Vishnu surpasses any amount of ritual performance in its power to liberate the soul.

This name powerfully encapsulates the bhakti teaching that surrender to Vishnu is the ultimate purifier, transcending all sacrificial action. Pronunciation: KOH-tyash-vah-MEH-dhah-PAA-pag-nah; the hyphen in the source text suggests a compound break for recitation clarity.

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Scriptural source

Kotyashvamedhapapaghna 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, Kotyashvamedhapapaghna aligns with the Punarvasu nakshatra, under the Mithuna rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 9.