Sahasrapada (सहस्रपदा, IAST: Sahasrapadā) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She of a thousand feet, pervading all existence”. Built from 'sahasra' (thousand, limitless) and 'pada' (foot, step, also abode or word), this name images the goddess as one whose footsteps pervade every corner of the created universe.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Like the thousand heads and thousand eyes, the thousand feet of the cosmic Puruṣa in the Puruṣasūkta symbolise total pervasion: no place exists where divinity has not set foot. Applied to Lalitā, the name affirms her immanence — she is not a distant transcendent deity but one intimately present in every particle of creation. 'Pada' also means a word or a sacred verse, so the name carries the secondary resonance of one whose very speech fills all space.

This epithet completes a triad with Sahasraśīrṣavadanā and Sahasrākṣī, drawing directly on Vedic Puruṣasūkta imagery to declare Lalitā the supreme cosmic person. Pronounced 'Sa-has-ra-pa-daa', it has a stately sound and is occasionally given as a name, though 'Sahasra' alone is more practical.

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Scriptural source

Sahasrapada 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, Sahasrapada aligns with the Shatabhisha nakshatra, under the Kumbha rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 3.