Panchavaktra (पञ्चवक्त्रा, IAST: Pañcavaktrā) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She who has five faces”. From 'pañca' (five) and 'vaktra' (face, mouth), this majestic name describes the Goddess as the five-faced sovereign whose countenances preside over the five directions and the five elements of existence.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The five faces of the Devī correspond to the five cosmic functions — creation, preservation, dissolution, concealment, and grace — as well as to the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether). This iconographic attribute is shared with Śiva as Sadāśiva and with the Goddess in her supreme, all-encompassing aspect. Each face radiates a distinct quality of divine consciousness, together forming the complete circle of universal power.

Pañcavaktrā is an epithet of Lalitā Mahātripurasundarī, whose five faces reflect her sovereignty over the entire manifest and unmanifest cosmos. 'Panchavaktra' is phonetically accessible and occasionally used as a devotional given name, though it is more familiar as a divine epithet.

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Scriptural source

Panchavaktra 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, Panchavaktra aligns with the Uttara phalguni nakshatra, under the Kanya rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 3.