Indragopa-parikshipta-smaratuna-bhajangika (इन्द्रगोपः परिक्षिप्तस्मरतूणाभजङ्घिका, IAST: Indragopa-parikṣipta-smaratūṇābha-jaṅghikā) is an Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She whose calves resemble Kāma's quiver set with scarlet indragopa insects”. Indragopa (a small scarlet velvet mite associated with Indra), parikṣipta (scattered around, adorning), smara (Kāma, god of love), tūṇa (quiver for arrows), ābha (resemblance, lustre), and jaṅghikā (the calves of the legs) produce an image of the Goddess's calves gleaming red like Kāma's love-arrow quiver decorated with ruby-red insects.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The indragopa is a tiny bright-red velvet mite that appears on the earth after monsoon rains and is celebrated in Sanskrit poetry for its jewel-like colour; it was associated with Indra because it was thought to emerge from his rain. By scattering these across the imagery of the calves, the poet equates the Goddess's legs with the quiver of Kāmadeva, the god of desire — the instrument that holds the flower-arrows of love. The metaphor thus links the Goddess's body with the divine force of cosmic attraction.

This remarkably vivid simile is one of the most celebrated compound images in the Lalitā Sahasranāma, praised by commentators such as Bhāskararāya for its layered beauty. Indragopā is a rare but lovely girl's name that can be drawn from this epithet, evoking the brilliant crimson of the sacred velvet mite.

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Scriptural source

Indragopa-parikshipta-smaratuna-bhajangika appears in the Lalitha Sahasranama, among the sacred names of Lalitha.