Boy · Sanskrit · Hindu
Eklavya
एकलव्यSay it ayk-LUV-yuh
- Meaning today
- Self-taught, devoted
- Original meaning
- "name of a Niṣāda king, son of Hiraṇyadhanus, in the Mahābhārata" Monier-Williams, p. 229
- Say it
- ayk-LUV-yuh
- Written
- एकलव्य
- Other spellings
- Ekalavya
- First sound
- ए · Vrishabh rashi
Eklavya
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Eklavya meaning
Eklavya (एकलव्य) is a Hindu boy's name of Sanskrit origin. By its first sound, ए, it is a Vrishabh rashi name (Krittika nakshatra) in the North Indian table.
Meaning today
Self-taught, devoted
Original Sanskrit meaning
"name of a Niṣāda king, son of Hiraṇyadhanus, in the Mahābhārata"
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 229 · entry ekalavya · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
Eklavya (एकलव्य) is the name of Ekalavya, a hero of the Mahābhārata. Monier-Williams records the word only as a proper name, the son of Hiraṇyadhanus and king of the Niṣādas, a forest people. In the Ādi Parva, Droṇa refuses to teach him archery, so Ekalavya makes a clay image of Droṇa in the forest and trains before it until his skill rivals Arjuna's. When Droṇa learns of this he asks for his fee, the thumb of Ekalavya's right hand, and the young archer gives it without hesitation. Baby-name lists translate the name as "self-taught" or "devoted". Those glosses come from the story rather than from the word, which the dictionaries leave unexplained.
References: Monier-Williams, ekalavya, p. 229 · Mahabharata, Adi Parva, section CXXXIV (Ganguli translation)
Famous namesakes
- Ekalavya, the self-taught Nishada archer of the Mahabharata
Fits your syllable
First sound ए
Krittika nakshatra, pada 4 · Vrishabh rashi
North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.
Spellings
Eklavya · Ekalavya