[Chaturamnaya] Giving a Sahasranama Name to a child

[S Jayanarayanan]

While selecting a suitable name for a child, the practice usually followed is to take the name of the
family (or favorite) Deity, or that of a grandparent/ancestor, or ask a Swamiji to recommend one,
or pick an appropriate name from a Sahasranama (or Ashtottara). Here are some points to bear in mind
if deciding to take the last route.
 
Firstly, the Sahasranama (or Ashtottara) should preferably be from a notable Itihasa or Purana.
For example, the Vishnu Sahasranama in the Mahabharata is a popular choice for selecting a boy's name.
Likewise, the Lalita Sahasranama in the Brahmanada Purana is typically scanned for girls' names.
 
The key criterion required for the child's name is:
 
*** The name should read well even without the need for additional words or extra commentary. ***
 
Considering the Vishnu Shasranama for instance, one of the names therein is "Shunya", which literally
means "void". Sankara's commentary says that the Lord being Nirguna or devoid of qualities, appears like
the Void. Practically no one names their child "Shunya", since it doesn't read well without adding the
words "appears as" or "because of" to clarify what the word actually means in the context of the
Sahasranama.
 
Similarly, the name "Janardana" translates as, "The Tormentor of men". Sankara in his commentary again
adds the word "evil" in-between to explain that the Lord is "The Tormentor of (evil) men". If this word
is not added, the meaning of the name can be interpreted as something very terrible! The name "Janardana"
nowadays is quite uncommon among Smarta Brahmins for this very reason, although it is common among
Vaishnavas.
 
Of course, the names such as "Ashok", "Vijay", "Uma" etc. that appear in the Sahasranamas are perfectly
fine for naming a child, as they read well by themselves, requiring no extra words to render the meaning
more comprehensible.
 
Regards,
Kartik