Girl · Sanskrit · Hindu
Dakshina
दक्षिणाSay it DUK-shi-naa
- Meaning
- A gift or fee to the priest; an offering to the guru; the south Monier-Williams, p. 465
- Say it
- DUK-shi-naa
- Written
- दक्षिणा
- Other spellings
- Dakshinaa
Dakshina
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Dakshina meaning
Dakshina (दक्षिणा) is a Hindu girl's name of Sanskrit origin.
A gift or fee to the priest; an offering to the guru; the south
Dakshina (दक्षिणा) is a Sanskrit word with a long history in Hindu ritual. Monier-Williams traces it to the Rigveda, where it first meant a good milch cow and then the fee given to the officiating priest, originally a cow. It came to mean any gift or donation, and the offering a student makes to a teacher, still called guru-dakṣiṇā. Dakṣiṇā is also personified as a goddess, the wife of Yajña, "Sacrifice". Because the right hand faces south when one faces the rising sun, the word also means "the south", as in the Deccan. Name lists give "gift", "offering" and "south".
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 465 · entry dakṣiṇā · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, dakṣiṇā, p. 465
Fits your syllable
First sound द
Purva Bhadrapada nakshatra, pada 3 · Kumbh rashi
This exact sound isn't in the table; the closest is दा, which differs only in vowel length. North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.
Spellings
Dakshina · Dakshinaa