Name Change!

[Divine Kala]

Namaste!

So! I have settled on the first name I will be taking. I have yet to decide on my last name and would love some help but I thought I should tell everyone the name I chose!

It's Chhaya. It means shadow. My neighbours, who are Indian Hindus, are not too keen on it, saying it has negative connotations but for me Chhaya can only be positive for it is my most sincere wish to be but a shadow of Devi and to live forever in Her shadow. So for me the name has only positive connotations and it is the name that clutched at me.

[Arjuni]

Namasté,

Perhaps others make a negative association because Devi Chhaya is the mother of Lord Śani, and Śani's power is so feared and dreaded...

Children delight in playing with their shadows, hand silhouettes dance and tell stories against walls, and everyone is grateful for shade against blisteringly hot sun. So a shadow can be wonder and refuge, and that which frames and softens the light as well as the obscurer of light...

I think yours is a lovely choice, and anyway, the best meaning for any name is how it resonates within your own heart. :)

Indraneela
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Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[NayaSurya]

Well you know what the fool will say. Being this has been my name most of the year on here.:p


Being my chart is so strongly influenced by Beloved Beloved Lord Shani<3 I thought it only fitting.

I feel mostly like this name and I think it is a very lovely notion.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namast&#233;

A bit more on this name, if there is interest.
chāya छाय (masculine) and chāyā छाया ( feminine ) - is defined as granting shade , it also means shadow. Where this word gets a slight blemish is from 'shadow', like saṃj&#241;ā wife of the sun and mother of the planet saturn. That is, she was daughter of tvaṣṭṛ or viśva-karman and the wife of the sun and mother of manu , yama and yamī. There is some general dis-comfort with saturn or śani , the slow moving one, and yama ( his other name). It also means nightmare, bribe, and small.

Now sometimes people look at this chāya as shading or blending of colors , play of light or colors , luster , light , color of the face , complexion , features.

This word can also mean shelter or protection. It is associated with kātyāyanī. Who is this ? One of the two wives of yāj&#241;avalkya the sage. It can also be a name of ma durgā.

Kātyāyanī is the descendant of kati . The author of several works on ritual & grammar. He is the author of the vārttikas or critical annotations on the aphorisms of pāṇini , of the yajur-veda prātiśākhya , and of the śrauta-sūtras , and is identified with vara-ruci , the author of the prākṛta-prakāśa.

So this name chāya has vast meaning and due to the richness of saṃskṛtam, it has many sides.
praṇām

[JaiMaaDurga]

Namaste Chhaya,

Felicitations on your new name; while your neighbors may be simply giving you a little advance warning about the possibility of some initially raised eyebrows in your future, someone who is taking the step of changing their name to reflect the new direction their life has taken is most likely beyond being easily dissuaded by the opinions of others ;)

Indeed, while it is common to find light being associated with knowledge, clarity, goodness, etc. and darkness being associated with ignorance, obscurity, evil, etc.- as has already been eloquently said, this is certainly not the only way of looking at things... this predisposition has much to do with our biology, in my belief. Our eyes are made to function best during daylight, we are not naturally nocturnal.

Yet our first nine months embodied, still within our mother, all is darkness, there is no fear. Those who have spent time in a desert, or at sea near the equator, know just how dear shade, or a shadow, can be. Just as two-dimensional shadows are cast by three-dimensional objects, some theoretical physicists and mathematicians explore the idea that the entire universe is a four-dimensional "shadow" cast by a higher-dimensional Reality...

So- yes, there are plenty of ways to further your connection with Devi through the many facets of your chosen name- may you continue to share your joy in Her with us, and those you meet on that hot dusty Road :)

JAI MATA DI

[charitra]

Sometimes the hindu mythological lore gives us veryinteresting stories. The story of Samjana and Chaaya is one such. Samjana, the daughter of Tvastr, had been married to Surya, the sun-god. Unable to bear the heat and brilliance of her husband, samjana created her double, chaaya, and left her in Suryaa’s palace and disappeared. Surya lived with chaaya under the false impression she indeed was Samjana. Chaaya bore him two sons and a daughter: Savarni Manu and Saniscara (planet Sani) are the sons. Tapati, the daughter, is none other than the river Tapti in Madhya Pradesh.

So DK tell now tell me who is your ‘original’ ? Let me take a guess, it is your given name at birth , am I right? :)

[Caltha]

Namaste Chhaya,

I'm very happy for you that you found a name that resonates for you, and that you love.

I was reminded of my sister's dearest friend, who doesn't go by her given name, but has always gone by "Shady" instead. When I first heard the name Shady I thought of someone who wouldn't be trustworthy (shady dealings). But my sister's friend Shady is like the best meaning of her name -- a cool, sheltering, refreshing shade. So maybe your neighbors were warning you about something like that. When another friend of mine mentioned her "Aunt Shady" I had immediate warm feelings for the name because of my sister's friend.

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste!

So! I have settled on the first name I will be taking. I have yet to decide on my last name and would love some help but I thought I should tell everyone the name I chose!

It's Chhaya. It means shadow. My neighbours, who are Indian Hindus, are not too keen on it, saying it has negative connotations but for me Chhaya can only be positive for it is my most sincere wish to be but a shadow of Devi and to live forever in Her shadow. So for me the name has only positive connotations and it is the name that clutched at me.

Vannakkam DK: If this resonates with you, then that's all you need to know. After all, it is YOUR name. :) I like the sound of it.

Aum Namasivaya

[Divine Kala]

So DK tell now tell me who is your ‘original’ ? Let me take a guess, it is your given name at birth , am I right? :)

Um... no? I'd say that Chhaya is the original for Casey shall be but a mere shadow of what Chhaya shall endeavour to become.

I felt an immediate connection to the name upon spotting it which tells me that it was meant to be. The name my mother gave me means a lot for me but this new name will, hopefully, mean more.

I have been searching for last names and am thinking of either Lalitha or Sundari, they are both beautiful.

[Arjuni]

Namasté,

Divine Kala, something I forgot to mention in my earlier reply was RV X.121.2.

ya ātmadā baladā yasya viśva upāsate praśiṣaṃ yasyadevāḥ |
yasya chāyāmṛtaṃ yasya mṛtyuḥ kasmai devāyahaviṣā vidhema ||

Part of the second line is sometimes translated as "whose shadow is immortality, whose shadow is death." I actually like Griffith's wording of the verse here, just for the sound:

"Giver of vital breath, of power and vigour, he whose commandments all the Gods acknowledge -
The Lord of death, whose shade is life immortal. What God shall we adore with our oblation?"

I also remember reading of chāyā in S.A. Dange's Images from Vedic Hymns and Rituals; chapter 14 is called "Drum and the Dance of Indra and Chāyā," and explores his idea that Veda depicts two śaktis of Indra: the benevolent and bounteous (Indrāṇī) and the fierce and terrible (Chāyā). I don't have enough knowledge to support or refute the idea on a scholarly level, but it was rather interesting.

Both of your suggested last names are lovely, but the meaning of Sundari seems rather apt when following your first name, and the sound very agreeable besides. :)

Indraneela
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Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[sankar]

Sundari, they are both beautiful.

meaning of Sundari itself is beautiful, lol

[Divine Kala]

meaning of Sundari itself is beautiful, lol

I know! I was like 'hmmm... which one?' but I think I will become Chhaya Sundari. Although I will probably spell it as Chaya, it will be easier for my fellow Westerners to pronounce!

[rainbowlotus]

I just want to say that Chay Sundari is a beautiful name :)

[Ramakrishna]

Namaste DK,

Congratulations, that sounds great.

Jai Sri Ram

[ShriBala]

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