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 |
|