Why are the names of Vedic personalities characteristic of their personalities?

In Srimad Bhagavatam we see many ‘names’ of the personalities symbolically represent their activities. Some examples are Hiranyaksha- whose eyes made of gold, Hiranya kasipu- who is after gold and soft bed, Dhrtarastra- who encroaches others land, Sunithi- who gives good advice, Suruchi etc.

Did their elders gave names to these personalities by predicting their future activities. Or Because of their activities they got these symbolic names? (eg: Duryodhana-who fights for the wrong cause, original name was Suyodana).

Transcript

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Question by Shrikanth Prabhu. In Srimad Bhagavatam, we see many names of the personalities symbolically represent their activities. Some examples are Hiranyaksha, whose eyes made of gold.
Hiranyakashipu is after gold and soft bed. Hrithirashtra, who enroaches others’ land. Sulati, who gives advice.
Suruchi, etc. So, did the elders give names to these personalities by predicting their future activities? Or because of their activities, they got this thing, all these names? Example, Duryodhana, who fights for the wrong cause. Original name was Suryodhana.
Good question. Yes, this nomenclature is one of the reasons that has led many people to the idea that these names are primarily symbolic. And all these characters are just mythological.
However, that is not the Acharya’s understanding. And that is not the only way to understand the symbolic names. The important point is that in the Vedic culture, the nomenclature was not random, dependent on the whims of the parents and the religious, but it was based on astrology, an understanding of the nature of the person and the character of the person.
So, therefore, the names were given in a way that would gel with that person’s personality. Now, in and of itself, all the names that we are talking about are not necessarily negative. Hrithirashtra, one way we can say is that one who is very attached to Rashtra, Dhrita, holds very tightly, Rashtra.
So, it means that one who is very attached to the kingdom. But that same Hrithirashtra can also mean Dhrita. One of the names of Lord Vishnu is Dhritaatma, Niyamo Yamaha, in the Vishnu Sastrana.
So, he is the maintainer of all the worlds. So, Dhritarashtra can in a positive sense mean one who maintains the world. So, therefore, that also is a positive name and that positive name is given an indication that actually those people had those positive characteristics, that he would become a great maintainer, sustainer of the kingdom.
Similarly, now Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu are also not negative names. Yes, one who has golden eyes and so that is a valid name. Some Lord Vishnu is called as Pushkaraksha, he has lotus eyes.
So, somebody may have had eyes which were like gold or it was hoped that that person would earn a lot of gold in the future. He would have a special eyes for gold just like Parikshit was the name given. Now, how did Parikshit get the name? We know the past time he saw the Lord in the heart, in the womb.
But then when he came out, how was it that Yudhishtira and others gave him that name? Well, the astrologers were there and the astrologers indicated that this could actually be the driving destiny or the driving purpose and ultimate destiny of Parikshit’s life and so accordingly with astrological guidance he was given this name. Similarly, if you look at the name Hiranyakashipu, if you look at the name Hiranyakashipu, it is also indicative. A Kshatriya is considered wealthy.
For a Kshatriya to have a lot of wealth is considered glorious and therefore it is not wrong for a Kshatriya to be a possessor of gold and Kashipu in a negative way can be interpreted as an attachment to sense gratification. But in a positive way, it can also be understood as the person who gets a lot of progeny because the bed is not just a place for enjoyment, it is also the place for reproduction and to have a lot of progeny is considered very auspicious. So, all these names were given by the elders based on astrological predictions and they indicated the positive traits of their personality.
So, even the name Suryodhana, even when we consider it to be Duryodhana, Duryodhana itself is not a negative name necessarily. Duryodhana means that one who makes arrangements in such a way, who fights in a way that is impossible to defeat or very difficult to defeat. Dushyatana can mean one whose administration is very bad or it can also mean one whose administration is very difficult to usurp.
So, the important point here is that these names necessarily don’t indicate negative characteristics. They can indicate positive characteristics also. So, Suniti and Suruchi.
So, Suniti is one who is morally very good. Suruchi is one who is physically beautiful, who is tasteful. Now, for a woman to be intelligent and for a woman to be beautiful aesthetically, both are good qualities.
So, therefore, these are not…that the names indicate the characteristics of a person doesn’t prove that the whole story is mythological. But it proves the validity and the veracity of the elder’s wisdom based on astrological inputs in giving names that reflected the person’s characteristics. Thank you.