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 p ...
, depending on which of its two
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
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" withi ...
, "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 Hindu ...
, "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 , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
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 one ...
. 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
Nilesh Cabral (born 10 July 1972) is an Indian politician and a cabinet Minister in the Government of Goa headed by Manohar Parrikar. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and represents the Curchorem constituency in the Goa Legislati ...
, Indian politician
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Nilesh Chaudhary
Nilesh Chaudhary (born 20 June 1983) is an Indian former cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and slow left-arm bowler who played for Gujarat. He was born in Surat
Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat ...
(born 1983), Indian cricketer
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Nilesh Girkar
Nilesh Dashrath Girkar is an Indian scriptwriter who works for Hindi and Telugu films. He started his career writing for Ram Gopal Varma's '' Agyaat ''(2009). He has also written Ram Gopal Varma’s '' Department'' (2012) featuring Amitabh Bach ...
, 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, who founded Lupin in 1968. His eldest sister, Vinita D. Gupta, is the CEO.
...
(born 1973/74), Indian businessman, managing director of
Lupin Limited
Lupin Limited is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company based in Mumbai. It is one of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies by revenue globally. The company's key focus areas include paediatrics, cardiovascular, anti-infectives, ...
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Nilesh Kulkarni
Nilesh Moreshwar Kulkarni (born 3 April 1973) is a former Indian cricketer. He is a slow left-arm bowler and left-handed lower order batsman who stood large at 6 ft 6 inches.
Kulkarni was one of the many Mumbai players that got picked fo ...
(born 1973), Indian cricketer
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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
Nilesh Moharir is an Indian music director. He has composed several songs in Marathi. He has composed around 46 title tracks, 15 non-film music albums and 8 movies in Marathi. He is known for his catchy melodious music composition.
Career
...
, Indian music director
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Nilesh Narayan Rane
Nilesh Narayan Rane is an Indian Politician. He is from Maharshtra, a state in Western India.
Family
Nilesh is son of union cabinet minister Narayan Rane. His brother, Nitesh Narayan Rane, represents Kankavli constituency in Maharashtra Leg ...
(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 cit ...
, 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
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highl ...
, Indian politician
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Nilesh Sable
Nilesh Sable is a Marathi television show host and film actor from Maharashtra, India. He is the host of the Marathi TV show ''Chala Hawa Yeu Dya''.
Early life
He has completed his secondary school from Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya, Dahiwadi and ...
(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 (born 1956), British medical doctor
{{given name
Indian masculine given names