Mahapadmatavi Samstha (महापद्माटवीसंस्था, IAST: Mahāpadmāṭavīsaṃsthā) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She who dwells in the great lotus forest”. From mahā (great), padma (lotus), āṭavī (forest, grove), and saṃsthā (one who abides therein), this name situates Lalitā in the vast celestial lotus grove described in Śrī Vidyā cosmology as surrounding Her innermost sanctum.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The great lotus forest (Mahā-padmāṭavī) is a specific sacred zone described in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa's account of Śrī Nagara — a boundless grove of divine lotuses surrounding the Goddess's palace, each lotus a world of beauty and spiritual power. The lotus (padma) is the supreme symbol of purity, spiritual unfoldment, and divine grace in Hindu thought, and a forest of them multiplies this symbolism infinitely. Lalitā's dwelling within this grove affirms that She is the innermost essence of all purity and beauty that the lotus represents.

This evocative cosmological epithet of Lalitā Mahātripurasundarī is recorded in the Lalitā Sahasranāma and is best appreciated as a sacred image for meditation. As a given name the full compound is cumbersome, though Padmāṭavī or simply Padmāvī could serve as lyrical shorter forms.

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Scriptural source

Mahapadmatavi Samstha 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, Mahapadmatavi Samstha aligns with the Magha nakshatra, under the Simha rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 8.