Note: the Hindi and Sanskrit paths disagree here — the Hindi dictionary reading is negative (“fearful, painful”) while the Sanskrit reading is not. Both are shown below; read them together before choosing.
As a deity name
Name 569 of the Vishnu Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Bhishma to Yudhishthira on his deathbed
As a Hindi name
Note: the Hindi and Sanskrit paths disagree here — the Hindi dictionary reading is negative (“fearful, painful”) while the Sanskrit reading is not. Both are shown below; read them together before choosing.
दारुण · adj
भयंकर । भीषण । घोर · कठिन । प्रचंड । विकट । दुःसह · विदारक । फाड़नेवाला — Śabdasāgara
दारुण · noun · masculine
चित्रक वृक्ष । चीते का पेड़ · भयानक रस · रौद्र नामक नक्षत्र — Śabdasāgara
दारुण · dāruṇ · adj.
Hard, harsh, rough, severe (as speech, &c.), austere; cruel, pitiless, heart-rending; terrible, terrific, frightful, fearful, dreadful, shocking; agonizing, painful — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 500
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
and dāruṇa, āī hard, harsh (opp. mṛdu)
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (6)Why this matches what you typed
The spelling you confirmed, दारुण, is itself a dictionary headword — no grammatical transformation stands between what you typed and the meaning above.
Gender counterpart
The kosha attests this stem in the feminine, the masculine, and the neuter — the same name serves without alteration.
Dictionary citations
dāruṇa and (Uṇ. iii, 53) dāruṇa, mf(ā, once ī)n. hard, harsh (opp. mṛdu), ŚBr.; MBh.; Suśr.
rough, sharp, severe, cruel, pitiless
dreadful, frightful
intense, violent, Mn.; MBh.; R.; Śak.; Pañc. &c.
(in comp. or ˚am before a vb. to express excellence or superiority, cf. g. kāṣṭhādi)
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