Nistraigunya (निस्त्रैगुण्या, IAST: Nistraiguṇyā) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She who transcends the three qualities of nature”. Nis- is a prefix meaning without or beyond, and traiguṇya refers to the triad of sattva, rajas, and tamas that constitute all of material existence; Lalitā as Nistraiguṇyā stands entirely beyond their sway.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The Bhagavad Gītā (3.45) famously instructs the seeker to rise above the three guṇas; by bearing this name, the Goddess is identified as the very state of transcendence the Gītā points toward. She is not coloured by luminosity, passion, or inertia because She is the pure, unconditioned awareness prior to all modification. Devotion to Her is therefore a path of liberation from the relentless cycling of guṇas.

This philosophically rich epithet is used in the Śrīvidyā tradition to affirm Lalitā's identity with the Brahman of the Upaniṣads; pronounced nis-trai-gu-NYAA, four syllables, with the retroflex ṇ softened in most regional pronunciations.

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Scriptural source

Nistraigunya 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, Nistraigunya aligns with the Anuradha nakshatra, under the Vrischika rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 6.