Vamakeshi (वामकेशी, IAST: Vāmakeśī) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “She with beautiful, flowing locks of hair”. From vāma (beautiful, charming, left-side) + keśī (she of the hair), Vāmakeśī celebrates Lalitā's lustrous, magnificent tresses, which are described in the stotra as surpassing the beauty of the dark night sky.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The word vāma holds the dual resonance of 'beautiful' and 'left,' the latter connecting to the Vāmācāra (left-handed) Tāntric tradition in which Lalitā is supreme. As Vāmakeśī, the Goddess is worshipped for the unrivalled splendour of her dark, fragrant hair, celebrated in dhyāna verses as adorned with flowers and jewels. This name is both an aesthetic appreciation and a devotional acknowledgement of her complete, glorious form.

Vāmakeśī is a distinctively Śākta epithet found in tantric and stotric literature celebrating the physical majesty of the Goddess. Pronounced vā-ma-ke-śī, it makes a lyrical and devotionally rich given name for a girl.

Advertisement

Scriptural source

Vamakeshi 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, Vamakeshi aligns with the Rohini nakshatra, under the Vrishabha rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 1.