Ravanaikashirashchetra (रावणैकशिरश्छेत्र, IAST: Rāvaṇaikaśiraśchhetra) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “Severer of Rāvaṇa's heads, one by one”. From Rāvaṇa + eka (one by one, each single) + śiras (head) + chetra (one who cuts, severs, from the root chit/chhid), this name commemorates the legendary episode in which Rama severed each of Rāvaṇa's ten heads in succession before the final, decisive blow.

Meaning, etymology & significance

One of the most dramatic episodes of the Rāmāyaṇa involves Rama cutting off Rāvaṇa's heads one by one, only to see new ones regenerate — a sign of the near-immortal power of the boon-protected demon king. The epithet eka-śiras-chetra captures this act of systematic, methodical destruction: each head (eka śiras) being severed (chetra) in turn. Theologically, this images the Lord's inexhaustible patience and power in confronting the multi-headed nature of ego and adharma, which repeatedly regenerates until the root is struck.

This vivid epithet belongs to Lord Vishnu-Rama in the Sahasranama tradition and is deeply embedded in the narrative theology of the Rāmāyaṇa; it is too composite for practical use as a personal given name. Pronounced raa-va-nai-ka-shi-rash-chhay-tra.

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Scriptural source

Ravanaikashirashchetra 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, Ravanaikashirashchetra aligns with the Chitra nakshatra, under the Tula rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 6.