Girl · Sanskrit · Hindu
Chitralekha
चित्रलेखाSay it CHI-truh-LAY-khaa
- Meaning today
- Beautiful picture, an apsara
- Original meaning
- "a picture, portrait; an Apsaras skilled in painting" Monier-Williams, p. 397
- Say it
- CHI-truh-LAY-khaa
- Written
- चित्रलेखा
- Other spellings
- Chitrlekha, Chithralekha
Chitralekha
Stays on your phone. A family name is never required.
Chitralekha meaning
Chitralekha (चित्रलेखा) is a Hindu girl's name of Sanskrit origin.
A picture, portrait; an Apsaras skilled in painting
Also used to mean: beautiful picture
Chitralekha (चित्रलेखा) joins citra, "bright, a picture", and lekhā, "a line, a drawing". Monier-Williams gives citra-lekhā as "a picture, portrait" and as the name of an Apsaras skilled in painting. In the Bhagavata Purana, Chitralekha, daughter of the minister Kumbhanda, paints portraits of young princes so that her friend Usha can recognise the man of her dreams, Aniruddha, and then brings him to her by magic. Baby-name lists give the name as "beautiful picture" or an Apsara. Bhagwati Charan Verma's Hindi novel Chitralekha was twice filmed.
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 397 · entry citra-lekhā · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, citra-lekhā, p. 397 · Wikipedia, Chitralekha (Hinduism)
Famous namesakes
- Chitralekha, Usha's friend in the Bhagavata Purana
Fits your syllable
First sound चि
Revati nakshatra, pada 4 · Meen rashi
This exact sound isn't in the table; the closest is ची, which differs only in vowel length. North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.
Spellings
Chitralekha · Chitrlekha · Chithralekha