Shadvinshaka

Shadvinshaka (षड्विंशक, IAST: Ṣaḍviṃśaka) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “The twenty-sixth; lord of twenty-six cosmic principles”. From ṣaṭ (six) + viṃśa (twenty) + -ka (suffix), meaning 'the twenty-sixth,' this epithet identifies Viṣṇu as the transcendent twenty-sixth principle who stands beyond the twenty-five tattvas enumerated in Sāṃkhya philosophy.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Sāṃkhya philosophy enumerates twenty-four cosmic principles (tattvas) from Prakṛti down to the five elements, with the individual Puruṣa as the twenty-fifth; Viṣṇu, as Paramātman, is hailed as the Ṣaḍviṃśaka—the transcendent twenty-sixth—who encompasses and surpasses all of them. This numerical epithet is therefore a profound philosophical statement rather than a mere ordinal, declaring the Lord's ontological superiority to the entire Sāṃkhyan scheme. Śaṅkarācārya and Rāmānuja both address this name in their Sahasranāma commentaries, though they interpret the count of twenty-six slightly differently.

This is a distinctly philosophical epithet of Viṣṇu found in the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma and Mahābhārata traditions; as a given name it is almost entirely unused due to its numerical and technical character, making it a very rare choice. Pronunciation: ṣaḍ-viṃ-śa-ka, with the retroflex initial ṣa.

Scriptural source

Shadvinshaka 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, Shadvinshaka aligns with the Hasta nakshatra, under the Kanya rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 1.