Girl · Sanskrit · Hindu
Ahalya
अहल्याSay it uh-HUL-yaa
- Meaning today
- Flawless beauty, unploughed
- Original meaning
- "name of the wife of the sage Gautama" Monier-Williams, p. 125
- Say it
- uh-HUL-yaa
- Written
- अहल्या
- Other spellings
- Ahilya, Ahalyaa
- First sound
- अ · Mesh rashi
Ahalya
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Ahalya meaning
Ahalya (अहल्या) is a Hindu girl's name of Sanskrit origin. By its first sound, अ, it is a Mesh rashi name (Krittika nakshatra) in the North Indian table.
Name of the wife of the sage Gautama
Also used to mean: flawless beauty, unploughed
Ahalya (अहल्या) is the wife of the sage Gautama in the Rāmāyaṇa, and Monier-Williams records the name from as early as the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa. The word divides as a-halyā. In the Uttara Kāṇḍa, the god Brahmā says he named her for having no hala, no ugliness, so the epic itself reads it as "flawless". Dictionaries also take halya from hala, "plough", giving "unploughed". In the story, Indra deceives her, Gautama curses her, and Rama frees her. She heads the Panchakanya, five women honoured in a traditional verse. The spelling Ahilya was carried by Ahilyabai Holkar, queen of Malwa.
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 125 · entry ahalyā · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, ahalyā, p. 125 · Wikipedia, Ahalya
Famous namesakes
- Ahalya, wife of the sage Gautama in the Ramayana
- Ahilyabai Holkar, 18th-century Maratha queen of Malwa
Fits your syllable
First sound अ
Krittika nakshatra, pada 1 · Mesh rashi
North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.
Spellings
Ahalya · Ahilya · Ahalyaa