Note: the Hindi and Sanskrit paths disagree here — the Sanskrit dictionary reading is negative (“fearful”) while the Hindi reading is not. Both are shown below; read them together before choosing.
As a deity name
Name 644 of the Durga Sahasranāma — Kula Arnava Tantra / Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati
Name 764 of the Gayatri Sahasranāma — Devi Bhagavata Purana, as taught by Sages
Name 438 of the Saraswati Sahasranāma — Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Brahma / Sages
As a Hindi name
Note: the Hindi and Sanskrit paths disagree here — the Sanskrit dictionary reading is negative (“fearful”) while the Hindi reading is not. Both are shown below; read them together before choosing.
भीमा · noun · feminine
रोचना नाम का गंधद्रव्य · कोड़ा । चाबुक · दक्षिण भारत की एक नदी जो पश्चिमी घाट से निकलकर कृष्णा नदी में मीलती है — Śabdasāgara
भीमा · adj
स्त्री॰ भंयकर । भीषण — Śabdasāgara
भीमा · bhīmā · s.f.
Name of a form of Durgā, the wife of Śiva; a whip — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 200
Cited formation "भीमा" is भीम + -आ: भीम means "terrible, formidable, fearful", 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 "भीमा" is भीम + -आ: भीम means "terrible, formidable, fearful", and the suffix -आ forms 'having' (adjectives). CHD Basic Grammar App. I §9(1) — cited from the extracted rule table
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
a whip
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (2)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "bhīmā" is the feminine form of "bhīma" — the same word with the feminine ending (nominative).
Dictionary citations
bhīmā (ā), f. a whip, L.
a bullock's gall-stone, L.
N. of a form of Durgā, Hariv.
of an Apsaras, R.
of sev. rivers, MBh.
bhīma mf(ā)n. fearful, terrific, terrible, awful, formidable, tremendous, RV. &c. &c. (ibc., fearfully &c.)
bhīma m. Rumex Vesicarius, L.
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