Nilesh (sometimes also spelled as Neelesh) is an Indian name based on one of two
deities, Vishnu or Shiva, in
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...
, depending on which of its two
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
pronunciations are used. 'Nilesh' means 'the Blue God', and is one of the alternate names for
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...
, "The Preserver." Later, the name was also used to refer to
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
, "The Destroyer of Evil", "The King." The name is a combination (''
sandhi
Sandhi ( sa, सन्धि ' , "joining") is a cover term for a wide variety of sound changes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries. Examples include fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of one sound depending on near ...
'') of two words: Neel ("blue") and Ish ("Lord" or "God"). Ish or Esh is also a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
word for head. Hence, the name can also be interpreted as 'Blue Head,' which refers to Lord Shiva.
Nilesh also refers to a third deity:
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...
. Krishna is also referred to as the Blue God because of the darker skin which is always displayed in pictures and statues in the colour blue.
Notable persons with this name include:
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Nilesh Cabral, Indian politician
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Nilesh Chaudhary (born 1983), Indian cricketer
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Nilesh Girkar, Indian scriptwriter
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Nilesh Gupta
Nilesh Gupta (born 1974) is an Indian businessman, the managing director (MD) of Lupin Limited since September 2013.
Early life
He is the only son of Desh Bandhu Gupta
Desh Bandhu Gupta (8 February 1938 – 26 June 2017) was an Indian bil ...
(born 1973/74), Indian businessman, managing director of
Lupin Limited
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Nilesh Kulkarni
Nilesh Moreshwar Kulkarni (born 3 April 1973) is a former Indian cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprisi ...
(born 1973), Indian cricketer
*
Nilesh Limaye
Nilesh Limaye ( mr, नीलेश लिमये, translit=Nilesh Limye) is an Indian celebrity chef. He has successfully worked as a tv host, author and contributor to various magazines and a restaurant consultant. He is nicknamed "Sindbad ...
(born 1972), Indian chef
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Nilesh Moharir, Indian music director
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Nilesh Narayan Rane (born 1981), Indian politician
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Nilesh Parmar
Nileshkumar Narottambhai "Nilesh" Parmar ( gu, નિલેશ પરમાર; born 27 December 1970) is a former Indian-born cricketer who played for the Oman national cricket team between 2007 and 2013. He played as a right-handed middle-order ...
(born 1987), Omani cricketer
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Nilesh Patel
Nilesh Patel is a Canadian director and producer of films.
Early life
Patel was raised in Prince George, British Columbia and attended Duchess Park Secondary School, where he was first exposed to the ''Brocket 99'' audio tape. He attended the c ...
, Canadian director and film producer
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Nilesh Prabhudesai
Nilesh Keshav Prabhudesai (born 13 May 1967 in Margao, Goa) is an Indian first-class cricketer who plays for Goa.
References
External links
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1967 births
Living people
Indian cricketers
Goa cricketers
Cricketers from Goa
{{In ...
, Indian politician
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Nilesh Sable
Nilesh Sable is a Marathi television show host and film actor from Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a subst ...
(born 1986), Indian television show host and actor
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Nilesh Sahay
Nilesh Sahay is an Indian Film Producer, Writer and Director.
Sahay made his film debut in Ganesh Acharaya's 2011 film '' Angel''. He later turned film maker/ producer and started shooting ''Squad'', his directorial debut, in september 2019 a ...
(born 1983), Indian actor
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Nilesh Samani
Sir Nilesh Jayantilal Samani (born 19 July 1956) is a British physician who is professor of Cardiology at the University of Leicester, consultant cardiologist at Glenfield Hospital in the city, and Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation ...
(born 1956), British medical doctor
{{given name
Indian masculine given names