As a deity name
Name 154 of the Rama Sahasranāma — Padma Purana / Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati
Name 480 of the Shiva Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Sage Tandi to Sage Upamanyu
Name 170 of the Vishnu Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Bhishma to Yudhishthira on his deathbed
As a Hindi name
महामाय · noun · masculine
शिव · विष्णु · एक असुर का नाम — Śabdasāgara
महामाय · adj
मायावी — Śabdasāgara
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
having great deceit or illusion
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (4)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "mahāmāya" is the vocative of "mahāmāyā" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
Gender counterpart
The kosha attests this stem in the feminine, the masculine, and the neuter — the same name serves without alteration.
Dictionary citations
mahā—māya mf(ā)n. having great deceit or illusion, R.
practising gr˚ d˚ or ill˚ very illusory, R.; Kathās.
mahā—māya m. N. of Viṣṇu, Pañcar.
of Śiva, MBh. (RTL. 106)
of an Asura, Kathās.
mahā—māyā f. gr˚ deceit or illusion, the divine power of ill˚ (which makes the universe appear as if really existing and renders it cognizable by the senses), the illusory nature of worldly objects personified and identified with Durgā, Pur.
N. of a wife of Śuddhodana, Buddh.
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