Prāṇadātrī (प्राणदात्री, IAST: Prāṇadātrī) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She who bestows the gift of life-breath”. From prāṇa ('vital breath') + dātrī ('she who gives'), Prāṇadātrī names the Goddess as the generous source who actively endows each creature with the precious breath of life.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The word dātrī, the feminine agent noun from the root dā ('to give'), carries a warmth of active generosity — not merely possessing but freely bestowing. Combined with prāṇa, this name celebrates the Goddess as the inexhaustible giver of vital energy, whose compassion breathes life into every being at birth and sustains it at every moment. This epithet sits in beautiful complementary relationship with Prāṇeśvarī: one declares her sovereignty over life, the other her loving generosity with it.

In the Lalitā Sahasranāma, Prāṇadātrī honors the Mother's role as the ultimate source of the living breath without which no creature can exist for even a moment. The name is pronounced prā-ṇa-dā-trī and may be simplified to Pranadatri in modern usage.

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Scriptural source

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