Pralambaghn (प्रलम्बघ्न, IAST: Pralambaghn) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “Slayer of the demon Pralamba”. A compound of 'Pralamba,' the asura who infiltrated the divine cowherds' sport, and 'ghna' (slayer), this name commemorates Balarama's heroic destruction of that demon during the Vrindavana pastimes.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The demon Pralamba disguised himself as a cowherd boy to abduct and kill Balarama during a game of leapfrog among Krishna's companions. Balarama, recognizing the deception, struck Pralamba's head with his mighty fist, slaying him instantly—an act celebrated as proof of Balarama's supreme strength even in childhood. The suffix 'ghna,' from the root 'han' (to strike or slay), appears in many Vaishnava epithets denoting the Lord's protective destruction of evil.

This epithet is applied to Balarama and, through him, to Vishnu as the source of all divine strength; it is rarely used as a standalone given name due to its compound structure. Pronounced pra-lam-ba-gna, with the 'gh' as a voiced aspirate.

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Scriptural source

Pralambaghn appears in the Vishnu Sahasranama, among the sacred names of Vishnu.