Boy · Sanskrit · Hindu
Harsh
हर्षSay it HURSH
- Meaning
- Joy, pleasure, happiness; bristling of the hair in rapture Monier-Williams, p. 1292
- Say it
- HURSH
- Written
- हर्ष
- Other spellings
- Harsha
Harsh
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Harsh meaning
Harsh (हर्ष) is a Hindu boy's name of Sanskrit origin.
Joy, pleasure, happiness; bristling of the hair in rapture
Harsh (हर्ष) is Sanskrit harṣa. Monier-Williams gives it first as the bristling of the hair in a thrill of rapture or delight, and then as "joy, pleasure, happiness", the sense found in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad and the Mahābhārata, where joy is personified as a son of Dharma. The dictionary also lists Harṣa as a son of Kṛṣṇa in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Baby-name lists agree on "joy" or "happiness", matching the dictionary. Harsh is the north Indian spoken form of Harsha, the name of the emperor Harsha, or Harshavardhana, who ruled a large empire in northern India from Kannauj between 606 and 647. Despite the spelling, the name has nothing to do with the English word "harsh".
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 1292 · entry harṣa · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, harṣa, p. 1292 · Britannica, Harsha
Famous namesakes
- Harsha (Harshavardhana), 7th-century emperor of northern India
Fits your syllable
First sound ह
Punarvasu nakshatra, pada 3 · Mithun rashi
This exact sound isn't in the table; the closest is हा, which differs only in vowel length. North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.
Spellings
Harsh · Harsha