As a deity name
Name 459 of the Durga Sahasranāma — Kula Arnava Tantra / Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati
Name 723 of the Gayatri Sahasranāma — Devi Bhagavata Purana, as taught by Sages
Name 779 of the Lakshmi Sahasranāma — Skanda Purana / Sanat Kumara Samhita, as taught by Sages Sanatkumara and Devotees
Name 486 of the Saraswati Sahasranāma — Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Brahma / Sages
As a Hindi name
बाला · noun · feminine
युवती स्त्री । जवान स्त्री । बारह तेरह वर्ष से सोलह सत्रह वर्ष तक की अवस्था की स्त्री · पत्नी । भार्या । जोरू · स्त्री । औरत — Śabdasāgara
बाला · adj
ऊपर की ओर का । ऊँचा — Śabdasāgara
बाला · bālā · s.f.
Female child, girl, young woman (not more than sixteen years of age); woman — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 124
बाला · bālā · adj.
Young, childlike, childish, &c; child, infant, boy, &c. ( = bāl, s.m.) — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 124
बाला · masculine
a type of bracelet
Cited formation "बाला" is बाल + -आ: बाल means "hair", and the suffix -आ forms abstract, agent, action or instrumental nouns (masc.); also past participles. CHD Basic Grammar App. I §8(3) — cited from the extracted rule table
Cited formation "बाला" is बालना + -आ: बालना means "v.a. To kindle, to light (a fire, candle, &c.)", and the suffix -आ forms abstract, agent, action or instrumental nouns (masc.); also past participles. CHD Basic Grammar App. I §8(3) — cited from the extracted rule table — base gloss: Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago
a Hindi word, a tadbhava: evolved from the Sanskrit through Prakrit वालक — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Inherited from Sanskrit वालक (vālaka)” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
vālaka m. the tail of a horse or of an elephant, L.
vālaka m. n. a kind of Andropogon, Kāv.; VarBṛS.; Suśr.
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
a female child, girl, young woman (esp. one under 16 years), &c.
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (5)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "bālā" is the nominative of "bāliman" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
M1 · same meaning "bālā" is the feminine form of "bāla" — the same word with the feminine ending (nominative).
M3 · meaning shifts "bāla" is derived from "bāl" with the aṇ/añ suffix — a related word whose meaning shifts, so both meanings are shown.
bāl ind. onomat. an interjection imitating the sound of a falling body, AV.
bāla mf(ā)n. (cf. vāla) young, childish, infantine, not full-grown or developed (of persons and things), GṛS.; Up.; Mn.; MBh. &c.
newly risen, early (as the sun or its rays), Ragh.
M3 · meaning shifts "bāla" is derived from "bā" with the lac suffix — a related word whose meaning shifts, so both meanings are shown.
bā ind. 1 As, like. 2 Or, either: see vā.
bāla mf(ā)n. (cf. vāla) young, childish, infantine, not full-grown or developed (of persons and things), GṛS.; Up.; Mn.; MBh. &c.
newly risen, early (as the sun or its rays), Ragh.
Related forms
Dictionary citations
bālā (ā), f. a female child, girl, young woman (esp. one under 16 years), Mn.; MBh. &c.
a one year new cow, L.
small cardamoms, L.
Aloe Indica, L.
a kind of metre, L.
bāliman m. childhood, youth, immaturity g. pṛthv-ādi.
bāliman m. Childhood, boyhood, youth.
bāla mf(ā)n. (cf. vāla) young, childish, infantine, not full-grown or developed (of persons and things), GṛS.; Up.; Mn.; MBh. &c.
newly risen, early (as the sun or its rays), Ragh.
bāl ind. onomat. an interjection imitating the sound of a falling body, AV.
bā ind. 1 As, like. 2 Or, either: see vā.
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
Sources contain errors and engines have limits; every claim above carries its citation so you can verify it. This is guidance about names and their sources — not religious or astrological consultation. How we work · Our sources