Glossary

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A
Abhyudaya	Physical well being.
Aditi	Mother of the celestials known as Adityas. free, unbound. Infinity, the boundless heaven.
Advaita	One without a second; Used in Védánta Philosophy to describe the Supreme Reality.
Agni	Celestial high priest of the ritual.
Ahalya	Princess of the Puru dynasty who was renounced by her husband, the Rishi Gautama for her infidelity.
Ahankára	Ego.
Ahimsa	Non-violence.
Akarma	No action.
Akshara	A syllable.
Anand	Total bliss.
Anga	A limb.
Anitya	The temporary.
Antyéshti	Cremation ceremony.
Apará Vidya	Easy to reach, the path of materialism, intellectual knowledge.
Aparigraha	To renounce, to loosen one's hold.
Arjuna	Third of the Pándavas who led them in the great war.
Artha	The enjoyment of earthly possessions.
Asakti	Attachment.
Asana	Balanced posture.
Asat	Unreal.
Ashoka	Emperor with dominion from Gándhára to Lanka.
Ashrama	Stage of life; hermitage.
Asura	An evil natured being.
Ashtánga-Yoga	The eightfold spiritual path of Raja Yoga.
Astéya	Non stealing.
Atma	The spiritual principle.
Aum	The sacred cosmic sound signifying God.
Avadha	Ráma's capital, Ayodhya.
Avatara	'a descent'; usually attributed to Vishnu.
Avidya	Without knowledge.

B
Bali	King of the daityas and grandson of Prahlad.
Bhagratha	Son of Dilipa and great great grandson of Sagara.
Bhagvad Gítá	The celestial song of Srí Krishna.
Bhakti	Love and Devotion.
Bhakti Yoga	The spiritual path of Love and Devotion.
Bharadvaja	A sage whose hermitage was at Prayaga where he listened to the Story of Ráma as recited by Yajnavalkya.
Bharata	Second son of Raja Dasratha by Kaikeyi; brother of Srí Ráma.
Bhavání	An epithet of Parvatí.
Bhilani	A tribal woman.
Brahma	Supreme spirit as creater.
Brahmání	Epithet of Sarasvatí.
Brahmachárí	Life of celibacy; also one stage in a man or woman's life.
Brahman	The Supreme soul of the universe underlying all existence, all pervading and infinite.
Buddhi	Intellect.

C
Chit	All knowledge.
D
Dandaka	The extensive forest, lying between the Vindhya ranges and the Godávari, where Ráma, Sitá and Lakshmana spent part of their exile.
Dasratha	King of Ayodhya, Father of Ráma.
Dhanurásana	Stringed bow pose.
Dhárana	Concentration.
Dharma	Universal law sustaining the universe in harmony.
Dhímahi	Contemplation.
Dhiyah	Of the intellect.
Dhritaráshtra	Eldest son of Vichitra-Vírya and Ambiká. He was blind and was thus succeeded to the throne of the Kurus by his brother Pandu 'the pale'. The Mahábhárata war was fought between the children of these two brothers.
Dhyána	Meditation.
Diti	Mother of the Asuras.
Draupadí	Princess of Pánchála, daughter of King Drupada and also known as Pánchálí. Queen of the Pandavas.
Durgá	The terrible; consort of Siva; as Durgá She annihilates the Asuras.

E

F

G
Ganésh	Controller of the intellect.
Ganga	Sacred river of pilgrimage.
Garuda	King of the birds.
Gaurí	An epithet of Párvatí, meaning fair-one.
Gáyatrí	Sacred mantra of the Rig Véda by the Rishí Visvámitra.
Govinda	Epithet of Vishnu as Krishna, gained by upliffing the Govardhana mountain.
Grihastya	The life of a married householder. Second stage in life.
Guha	King of the Nishadas.
Guna	The quality of nature.
Guru	Teacher.

H
Hanumána	Hanumána Son of Vayu; Prince of the wind. He was a forest dweller hence, Vanara. (Vana = Forest Nara = Man; Man of the forest). He is the foremost exemplar of bravery and courage in adversity, yet most humble and compassionate.
Hara	An epithet of Siva.
Hari	An epithet of Vishnu meaning beautiful.
Hastinápura	'Elephant City' (from Hastin = Elephant). Capital city of King Santanu for which the Mahábhárata war was fought between his great grandchildren, the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
Hatha Yoga	The material Yoga for tuning the body with the soul.
Hiranya-Garbha	Golden egg or Golden womb; term used in the Rig Véda from which creation was realised.
Hiranya-Kasipu	'Golden dress'. A daitya king who persecuted his own son Prahlad for not accepting him as Supreme. He was finally slain by Vishnu in the incarnation of Nar-Singh.
Harischandra	Celebrated king of the Solar dynasty who is most recognized for his piety and justice.

I
Iisa	Lord Siva; also an Upanishad.
Indirá	Epithet of Lakshmí.
Indra	King of the Celestials; sometimes allEgorically alluded to represent the human mind.
Indrání	Consort of Indra, also called Sachí.
Isána	A name of Lord Siva.
J
Jagannátha	Lord of the world, with especial significance to Vaishnavism.
Jágrata	The wakeful phase.
Jaimini	Founder of Púrva-Mímánsá philosophy. He was a disciple of Vyása.
Jánakí	A patronymic of Sítá whose father was king Janaka of Mithila.
Janárdana	An epithet of Krishna which means "He who stirs up people" or "the adored of mankind".
Japa	Repetition or incantation.
Játavédas	A Védic epithet for Agni to mean all-knowning.
Jiva	Living being; the individual soul.
Jnána	From Jná - to know, higher knowledge, wisdom.
Jnána Yoga	The path of knowledge.
Jyotisha	Astronomy.
K
Kaikéyi	A wife of King Dasratha and mother of his son Bharata who was a loyal brother to Srí Ráma.
Kála	Time, sometimes associated with Siva as Kála Bhairava.
Kali	The age of darkness, Kaliyug.
Kálí	Originally associated with Agni in the Védic Age, Today primarily describes Déví in her fierce and destructive state.
Kalpa	A cosmic day of Brahma.
Káma	Desire, greed, lust.
Kamalá	Epithet of Lakshmi.
Kansa	The tyrannical King of Mathura who was slain by Srí Krishna.
Kapila	A renowned sage who was the founder of the Sánkhya philosophy.
Karma	From Kri - to do, action.
Karma Yoga	The path of selfless action.
Katha	Name of an Upanishad.
Kathá	Story or parable.
Kauravas	Descendants of Kuru, usually applied to the sons of Dhritaráshtra.
Kausalya	Wife of King Dasratha and mother of Srí Ráma.
Kesava	Having lovely hair, an epithet of Krishna.
Kosha	Sheath.
Krishna	Famous avatar of Vishnu, the preserver of the Trimurti, Krishna means beyond the known. Believed by many thinkers to be the unifier of the diverse Hindu religions. Brings an advent of Religious tolerance that still pervades the Religions of Hinduism.
Kriyamána-Karma	An action being performed in the present.
Krodha	Anger.
Kshetra	A field, a sacred place or temple.
Kshetragya	Knower of the field.
Kundaliní	"the sleeping power". A power situated at the base of the spinal cord or Sushumna. It is described as being coiled like a serpent in sleeping which can be awakened by meditation and the practice of Hatha Yoga. When aroused the Kundaliní ascends through the chakras of the sushumna to awaken the higher centres of consciousness.
Kurukshetra	Field of the Kurus where the great war was fought.

L
Lakshman	Son of Dasratha and brother of Srí Ráma who accompanied him in his 14 (fourteen) years of exile.
Lakshmí	Consort of Vishnu and usually viewed as the divine Mother of light.
Leela	A divine play of the Lord.
Lingam	Usually refers to Jyotirlingam, an ethereal column of light with no limbs, hence formless.Indicative of the Nirguna Brahman. God without form. Also symbolic of Spiritual regeneration.
Lobha	Greed.
Loka	A world.

M
Madhava	Epithet of Krishna.
Madhusudana	Slayer of the demon madhu, epithet of Krishna.
Mahábhárata	The great epic which is based on the conflict between cousins, the Pandavas and Kauravas in the house of Kuru. Composed by Vyasa, it is divided into 18 books and contains approximately 220,000 lines. Believed to be the longest poem.
Mánas	The mind.
Mandala	A circle or a division.
Mantra	A sacred formula.
Mathurá	An ancient city on the right bank of the Yamuná which was the birth place of Srí Krishna.
Máyá	Illusion, appearance instead of reality.
Moha	Attachment.
Moksha	Salvation, liberation, illumination.

N
Naraka	The infernal regions where punishment for evil deeds are reaped.
Náráyana	An epithet of Vishnu because the waters were his first of motion.
Nara-Náráyana	Two ancient Rishis who were the sons of Dharma and Ahimsa. Also refers to Krishna and Arjuna. Hence the Bhagvata religion is sometimes called Nara Náráyana Dharma.
Narsingh	An Avatar of Vishnu in which He assumed the form of Half-man and Half beast.
Nirguna - Upasana	Worship of the impersonal God.
Nishkáma-Karmaa	Selfless action.
Nitya	Permanent.
Niyama	Five observances.

O

P
Padma-asana	Lotus posture.
Pándavas	The five sons of Pandu who suffered severe privations at the hands of their cousins the Kauravas.
Pánini	The celebrated grammarian of the Panini Sutras which are the standard authority on Sanskrit grammar.
Párvatí	Daughter of the mountain who is consort to Lord Siva.
Pasu-Pati	Lord of all creatures; a name of Siva.
Patanjali	Founder of the YOGA DARSANA.
Pauravas	Descendant of Puru the sixth King of the Lunar dynasty. Puru was the son of Yayati by Sarmishthá while his brother Yadu was by Yayati and Devayání. Yadu founded the Yadavas.
Prahláda	The daitya prince who was an ardent devotee of Bhagvána Vishnu.
Prajápati	Praja = body, hence Lord of all creatures, creator of all beings.
Prakitri	Matter, nature.
Prána	Vital breath.
Prithiví	"The broad". The earth or wild world.
Punarjanma	Rebirth; where the immortal soul is enmeshed in Samsára.
Purána	"old", hence, ancient legends of which there are eighteen (18).
Purusha	The soul; the vital life principle of every person.
Q

R
Rája Yoga	The Royal Path among four spiritual paths of Yoga.
Rájas	The guna of activity.
Ráma	Avtara of Vishnu, eldest son of King Dasratha of Ayodhyá. His life exemplifies the injunctions and codes of the Vedas and is illustrated in the Rámáyana.
Rámáyana	The adventures of Ráma, written by Valmiki.
Rig-Véda	The oldest of the four Védas.
S
Sádhu	A holy man.
Sakti	Power, The Divine Mother.
Samadhi	Contemplation where consciousness is unified with God.
Sáma Véda	The Veda of songs.
Samsára	The world which is viewed as an ocean of constant life and death.
Sánkhya	One of the six branches of philosophy.
Sat	All pervading.
Sat-Chit-Anand	Truth, consciousness, bliss.
Sítá	Consort of Ráma who suffered together with him while in exile for 14 (fourteen) years.
Siva	Literally meaning auspicious: Lord Siva is the destroyer energy for regeneration, when viewed as a part of the Trimurti.
Sraddha	Faith.
Svadharma	The appropriate Dharma of an individual in the structure of creation.
Svarga	Indra's heaven where the results of good deeds on earth are enjoyed.
T
Tapas	Austerity or ascetism.
Turíya	The fourth state of consciousness.
Tyága	Renunciation.
U
Upanishads	Esoteric books which deal with mystical interpretation to essential hymns of the Védas.
V
Véda	Revealed knowledge; the most ancient sanskrit scriptures.
Vidyá	Knowledge.
Vishnu	The preserver aspect of the Hindu trinity (Trimurti).
Vyása	"The arranger". His correct name was Krishna Dvaipáyana, "Krishna of the Island". He arranged the Védas and was the author of the Mahábhárata.

W

X

Y
Yajur-Véda	One of the four Vedas.
Yoga	A spiritual path for self realisation.
Yogi	A person who practices spiritual disciplines.
Z

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