Paranishtha (परनिष्ठा, IAST: Parāniṣṭhā) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “Supreme devotion; the highest established reality”. From parā (supreme) and niṣṭhā (firm abiding, devotion, ultimate establishment), this name declares that Lalitā herself is the highest ground in which all seeking finds its rest.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Niṣṭhā carries the dual sense of unwavering devotion and the ultimate resting point of all inquiry. When qualified by parā, it reveals the Goddess as both the object of supreme devotion and the absolute reality in which the seeker becomes established. She is the final station of spiritual life, beyond which there is no further to go.

As an epithet of Lalitā, Parāniṣṭhā is cherished in Śākta upāsanā to remind devotees that their highest aspiration finds completion in her alone. Pronounce as pa-RAH-nish-thaa; it makes a dignified, meaningful given name.

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Scriptural source

Paranishtha 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, Paranishtha aligns with the Uttara phalguni nakshatra, under the Kanya rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 9.