Tryambaka (त्र्यम्बका, IAST: Tryambakā) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She who has three eyes, all-seeing mother”. From tri (three) and ambaka (eye, from ambā meaning mother or source of light), Tryambakā names the Goddess as the three-eyed one whose vision encompasses the past, present, and future.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The three eyes of the divine are traditionally interpreted as the sun, moon, and fire — the illuminators of day, night, and the inner realm — or as wisdom of the three times (past, present, future), revealing the Goddess's omniscient perception that nothing can elude. The word ambaka also carries the meaning of mother, making Tryambakā simultaneously the three-eyed seer and the three-fold mother of creation, preservation, and dissolution. Though most commonly associated with Śiva, in the Lalitā Sahasranāma this title belongs to the Goddess, affirming her unity with the supreme.

Tryambakā is an epithet of Lalitā in her identity with the absolute, as well as of Durgā and other forms of the Devī. Pronounced tri-YUM-ba-kaa, it is a somewhat unusual but spiritually resonant choice as a girl's name.

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Scriptural source

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