Daridryananashini (दारिद्र्यनाशिनी, IAST: Dāridryānāśinī) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “Destroyer of poverty and destitution”. Composed of dāridrya (poverty) and nāśinī (feminine of destroyer), this epithet proclaims Lakshmi as the powerful force who annihilates all forms of lack and want.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Dāridrya, derived from the root dā and secondary formation, refers to destitution and poverty in both material and spiritual senses, while nāśinī comes from naś (to perish, to be destroyed), in its causative sense meaning she who causes destruction. As Dāridryānāśinī, Lakshmi is invoked specifically to remove all forms of poverty, whether of wealth, health, spiritual merit, or inner peace. This is among the most devotionally potent epithets in the ashtottara, beloved by those praying for relief from hardship.

This compound epithet is primarily used in temple liturgy and personal prayer, especially on Fridays and during Diwali worship; it is too lengthy for comfortable everyday use as a given name. It is pronounced daa-rid-rya-naa-shi-nee, with the accent naturally settling on the naa syllable.

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Scriptural source

Daridryananashini appears in the Lakshmi Ashtottaram, among the sacred names of Lakshmi.

Astrology — nakshatra, rashi & numerology

By the standard Vedic correspondence between a name’s first syllable and the lunar mansion, Daridryananashini aligns with the Pushya nakshatra, under the Karka rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 7.