Mridani (मृडानी, IAST: Mṛḍānī) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She who grants bliss; wife of Mṛḍa (Śiva)”. From mṛḍa (one who bestows happiness, an epithet of Śiva) with the feminine suffix -ānī denoting consort or feminine power, Mṛḍānī names Lalitā as the bliss-granting beloved of Śiva and the source of all divine joy.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Mṛḍa comes from the root mṛḍ — to be gracious, to grant happiness — and is among the gentlest epithets of Śiva, the compassionate bestower. Mṛḍānī, his feminine counterpart, shares and amplifies that grace; she is the śakti that makes Śiva's bliss-bestowing power possible. This name appears in ancient Vedic contexts in the Śrī Rudram as well, giving Mṛḍānī one of the oldest attestations of the Goddess in the Vedic corpus.

Mṛḍānī is an ancient and revered name of Pārvatī-Lalitā found in both Vedic and Āgamic literature; it is used by devotees in traditional Tamil and Telugu Śākta communities. Pronounced Mri-daa-nee, with care given to the retroflex ḍ.

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Scriptural source

Mridani appears in the Lalitha Sahasranama, among the sacred names of Lalitha.