Chandanadrava Digdhangi (चन्दनद्रवदिग्धाङ्गी, IAST: Candanadravadīgdhāṅgī) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She whose body is anointed with liquid sandalwood paste”. From candana (sandalwood), drava (liquid, melted), digdha (anointed, smeared), and aṅgī (one who has a body; 'she of the limbs'), this epithet reveals Lalitā's divine form as perpetually adorned with cool, fragrant liquid sandalwood — a supreme mark of royal and sacred beauty.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The anointing of a deity or sovereign with liquid sandalwood paste (candanadrava) is one of the most ancient and fragrant acts of Indian ritual aesthetics, representing purity, coolness, and the soothing of cosmic heat. Digdha, from the root dih ('to anoint, to smear'), also carries connotations of protection — the paste covers and shields the body. For Lalitā, this is no external ritual act but a description of her very being: her limbs (aṅgī) are naturally and eternally glistening with this sacred unguent.

This compound epithet is evocative in liturgical context within the Sahasranāma but functions poorly as a standalone given name due to its length and descriptive nature. The simple name Chandana ('sandalwood'), however, is a lovely, widely used girl's name that captures the fragrance of this epithet.

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Scriptural source

Chandanadrava Digdhangi appears in the Lalitha Sahasranama, among the sacred names of Lalitha.

Astrology — nakshatra, rashi & numerology

By the standard Vedic correspondence between a name’s first syllable and the lunar mansion, Chandanadrava Digdhangi aligns with the Revati nakshatra, under the Meena rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 3.