Sahasrashirshanadana (सहस्रशीर्षवदना, IAST: Sahasraśīrṣavadanā) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She who possesses a thousand heads and faces”. From 'sahasra' (a thousand, innumerable), 'śīrṣa' (head), and 'vadanā' (having a face, countenance), this name declares the goddess's universal form to encompass every conceivable direction and aspect of existence.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The image of a thousand heads descends from the Puruṣasūkta of the Ṛgveda, where the cosmic Puruṣa is described as sahasraśīrṣā, extending in all directions beyond measure; by using this very imagery for Lalitā, the Sahasranāma boldly identifies her with that primordial cosmic being. Each face looks simultaneously in every direction and into every soul, emphasising her omniscience and her maternal watchfulness over all. The number 'sahasra' in Sanskrit idiom means not merely one thousand but countless, infinite.

Through this epithet, Lalitā is enshrined as the feminine counterpart of the Vedic cosmic Puruṣa, affirming the Śākta tradition's claim that the goddess is the supreme absolute. Pronounced 'Sa-has-ra-sheer-sha-va-da-naa', this compound is a devotional epithet rather than a personal name.

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Scriptural source

Sahasrashirshanadana 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, Sahasrashirshanadana aligns with the Shatabhisha nakshatra, under the Kumbha rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 8.