The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering (2 Vols.), page 88
Astra – unearthly weapon.
Asura – demon.
Aswamedha yagna – horse sacrifice.
Aswattha – pipal tree.
Aswins – heavenly twins, known for their beauty.
Atharva – the fourth Veda, concerned with sorcery, spells, etc.
Atman – the individual Soul.
AUM/OM – holy syllable, represents the Ultimate Reality.
Avatara – Incarnation.
Ayudha – weapon.
Bala/atibala – strength, extreme strength.
Bhajan – devotional song.
Bhakti – devotion, worship.
Bhakta devotee.
Bharatavarsha – India. The land of Bharata.
Bhasha – language.
Bhasma – holy ash.
Bhiksha – alms, begging.
Bhoja – a Yadava tribe.
Bhumi – the earth.
Bhutnidevi – Earth Goddess.
Bhuta – ghost, spirit.
Bindu – point; mystic singularity.
Brahma – God of the Hindu Trinity. The Creator.
Brahmachari – a celibate.
Brahmacharya – celibacy.
Brahmahatya – murder of a brahmana.
Brahman – Ultimate Godhead; Holy Sopirit; different from Brahma.
Brahmana – priestly caste, also ‘Brahma’s people’.
Brahmarishi – sage of Brahman.
Brahmavadi – knower of Brahman.
Brahmavidya – knowledge of Brahman.
Brighu – an ancient rishi.
Brihaspati – guru of the Devas. Also the planet Jupiter.
Budha – Mercury.
Chaitra – an auspicious lunar month.
Chaitra – Kubera’s garden.
Chakra – a wheel. In the body, a subtle centre of energy along the spinal column and in the brain.
Chakravaka – a water bird.
Chakravarti – emperor.
Chamara – silken whisk.
Chandala – an untouchable.
Chandra – Moon.
Charana – unearthly being.
Chiranjivi – long-lived, almost immortal.
Chital – a kind of deer.
Chitraratha – king of the gandharvas.
Daksha – Brahma’s son, Sati’s father. A prajapati.
Danava – demon, son of Danu.
Danda – a staff, also punishment.
Daitya – demon, son of Diti.
Dakshina – south.
Dakshinayana – the sun’s southern migration.
Darbha – a kind of grass.
Darbhasana – seat made of darbha grass
Deva – a celestial, elemental, being. A God. Also ‘Being of Light.’ ‘Divya’ is light.
Devaloka – heavenly realm of the Devas.
Devaputra – son of a Deva.
Devi – Goddess.
Dharma – truth, justice.
Dhanu – Sagittarius.
Dhanusha – bow.
Dhanvantari – the original physician, who rose from the sea of milk with the amrita.
Dharma – truth, justice, duty, righteousness.
Dhruva – North Star.
Dhyana – meditation.
Dikpala – lord of a direction.
Diksha – gift/offering for a brahmana.
Dvividha – a vanara.
Dwapara – yuga third great age.
Dwaraka – Krishna’s ocean city, raised for him by the Devas.
Dwarapalaka – gatekeeper.
Ekarnava – the original sea of life.
Gada – mace, club.
Gana – servitor, companion of Siva.
Gandharva – heavenly warrior minstrels. Elf.
Gandharva – vivaha marriage by abduction, elopement.
Garuda – Vishnu’s Eagle.
Gayatri – the mother of all mantras.
Ghee – clarified butter.
Gochara – planetary transit.
Gopa – cowherd. Krishna was raised by gypsy cowherds.
Gopi/gopika – cowherdess.
Gotra – family, clan, lineage.
Graha pravesha – formal entry into a new home.
Grihastha – householder.
Guna – essence in nature. Sattva, rajas and tamas.
Guru – preceptor, master.
Guru dakshina – a formal fee or gift given to a master by his pupil, when tutelage is complete.
Gurukula – stage of life as a student, under a guru.
Gyana – knowledge.
Gyani – a wise man.
Halahala – original poison, which Siva drank.
Hari – Vishnu.
Halya – murder.
Havis – the burnt offering from a sacrifice.
Himavan – Himalaya.
Hiranyagarbha – pregnant with the Golden Egg of the Cosmos.
Homa – ritual worship.
Ikshvaku – Ancestor. A race of the Sun is named after him.
Indra – king of the Devas.
Indradhanush – rainbow.
Ishta devata – personal God.
Jatakarma – caste ritual.
Jambavan – king of bears.
Jambavati – Jambavabn’s daughter. Krishna’s wife.
Janaki – Janaka’s daughter, Sita.
Janardhana – Vishnu.
Janmanakshatra – lunar birth star.
Japam – chant of God’s names.
Jata – dreadlocks like rishis wear.
Jaya – victory.
Jaya vijayi bhava! – Be victorious!
Jitendriya – one who has conquered his senses.
Jivatma – embodied soul.
Kaala – time.
Kadamba – a tree.
Kalakuta/Halahala – Poison churned up from the kshirasagara.
Kali yuga – the fourth, and the most evil, of the ages. Not the black Goddess, Kaali.
Kalpa – cosmic tract of time. 1000 yugas.
Kalyana – marriage.
Kalyanamantapa – marriage hall, enclosure.
Kama – God of Love. Also pleasure, enjoyment.
Kamadhenu – first, sacred, cow of wishes.
Kamandalu – brahmana’s water-pot.
Kama shastra – sacred arts of loving.
Kanchana – golden.
Kanya – virgin, maiden, young woman.
Kapila – great sage. Vishnu’s incarnation.
Karma – action, duty, also the fruit of past deeds.
Karttikeya – Siva’s son.
Kavacha – armour.
Kirita – crown.
Kiriti – Arjuna, after he wore the crown ndra gave him.
Kirtana – devotional song.
Kohl – black substance used to line the eyes.
Koyal – cuckoo.
Krita yuga – first of the four ages; the purest, most pristine yuga.
Krodhagraha – chamber of anger.
Krosa – about 2 miles, a fourth of a yojana.
Kshatriya – warrior.
Kshetra – field; also, field of experience, knowledge etc.
Kshirasagara – mythical sea of milk.
Kubera – Lord of treasures. A Deva.
Kula – clan.
Kulaguru – the teacher of a royal family.
Kulapati – head of a clan.
Kundala – earrings, ear-studs.
Kurma – tortoise: Vishnu’s second Avatara.
Kushti – wrestling.
Kutila – hut.
Lagna – ascendant, rising sign.
Lakshmi – Goddess of fortune. Vishnu’s consort.
Linga – phallus, phallic emblem, Siva’s.
Madhurpaka – sweet offering to a guest: usualy, honey and milk.
Maha – great or powerful.
Maharathika – great warrior.
Mahavishnu – second God of the Hindu Trinity. The Preserver.
Mahima/anima – the occult siddhis to grow big and small.
Mahodadi – great sea.
Mahodara – consumption
Malaya – of a mala, a mountain.
Manasa sarovara – holy lake on the Himalaya that Brahma made from his mind.
Mandala – dimension, galaxy.
Mangala – Mars.
Mantapa – pavilion.
Mantra, mantram – sacred incantation.
Manu – ancestor, law-giver.
Margasirsa/Mrigasirsa – an auspicious Hindu lunar month.
Markka – demon who turned himself into a golden deer in the Ramayana.
Marma – a vulnerable place in the body.
Marut – divine companion of Vayu, the Wind God. There are 49 Mauts.
Mathura – city of the Yadavas.
Matrihatya – matricide.
Matsya – fish: Vishnu’s first Avatara.
Matsya yantra – a fish device.
Maya – illusion, cosmic illusion; as different from the Reality of God. Also, sorcery.
Maya – Goddess of illusion.
Mayaa – great demon builder and king.
Mayavi – sorcerer.
Meru/Sumeru – sacred, golden mountain north of the Himalayas, from which the continents are said to have unfurled. Heart of the world.
Mlechcha – alien, untouchable.
Mohini – enchantress: Vishnu as a woman.
Moksha – liberation, salvation.
Mowna – silence.
Mrityu – death.
Mrityunjaya homa – a ritual to keep death away.
Mudra – hand-sign, gesture of occult power.
Muhurta – a small measure of time, esp. an auspicious moment to begin a new enterprise.
Muni – seer, rishi. Silent one, knower of minds.
Musth – elephant’s season/rut.
Naga – great serpent; also magical, serpentine beings.
Nakshatra – asterism in lunar Hindu astrology. They are 27 stellar goddesses, wives of the Moon.
Nandana – Indra’s garden.
Naracha – fiery missile.
Narada – a great rishi. Brahma’s son, born from his mind. A devotee of Vishnu.
Naraka – hell.
Narasimha – manticore incarnation of Vishnu’s.
Narayana – the Sleeper on eternity’s waters, which are called the Naara. Vishnu.
Nilakanta – blue-throated One: Siva.
Nilgai – a species of deer.
Nirvana – moksha, liberation.
Nishada – untouchable.
Nritya – dance.
OM, Omkara – the primal, holy syllable, which represents Godhead. AUM. Pranava.
Oshadhi – healing herb.
Paapa – sin.
Paasa – noose.
Paativratya – fidelity.
Padadhuli – lit. ‘dust from feet’. A spiritual emanation from a holy person or elder’s feet.
Padma – lotus.
Padmanabha – lotus-navelled. Vishnu. Brahma is born in the lotus that sprouts from Vishnu’s navel.
Padmasana – lotus-posture.
Padya – water for washing the feet.
Panchabhuta – the five elements.
Parabrahman – Brahman. The ultimate, undifferentiated Godhead.
Paramatman – Supreme Soul, God.
Parasurama – brahmana incarnation of Vishnu. Axe-bearer.
Parivrajaka – mendicant, holy man.
Parthiva linga – an earthen phallic symbol.
Parvati – Siva’s wife, lit. mountain-daughter.
Pasupati – lord of animals: Siva.
Patala – under-world, nether world.
Pativrata – a devoted wife.
Paurnima/Purnima – full moon.
Payasa – a liquid sweet.
Phalasruti – a description of the fruit, results to be had from listening to or reading a holy text.
Pipal – holy tree.
Pisacha – evil spirit.
Pitama/Pitamaha – grandfather.
Pitr – ancestor. Lit. father.
Pitriloka – realm of the manes.
Pradakshina – circumambulation, in worship, respect.
Pradyumna – Krishna’s son.
Prahlada – son of the Asura Hiranyakashyipu, but Prahalada was a great Vishnu bhakta.
Prajapati – a lord of the first races of men.
Prakriti – nature. Ying. Feminine principle.
Pralaya – the Deluge.
Prana – life breath.
Pranava – AUM.
Prayatna – difficult endeavour.
Prayaschitta – penance.
Prayopavesha – fasting for a cause, or a boon.
Preta – a spirit.
Prithvi – the Earth.
Puja/Pooja – ritual worship.
Punnaga – a tree.
Punya – virtue, merit.
Purana – ancient legend, revelation. Also, collections of such legends about the Gods and their lives and deeds.
Puranika/Pauranika – a raconteur, expert on the puranas.
Purohit – priest.
Purusha – the masculine principle. Yang. Also, soul as opposed to the feminine prakriti, or nature.
Purushottama – ‘best among men’, Vishnu.
Pushkara – lake sacred to Brahma.
Pushpaka vimana – sky chariot. UFO!
Putrakama yagna – sacrifice for the birth of a son.
Putrasneha – attachment/love for one’s children.
Raga, raaga – special combination of musical notes.
Raghuvamsa – the clan of Raghu, an ancient king.
Rahu – dragon’s head, a demon.
Rajarishi – a king who is a sage.
Rajas – the second guna: active, energetic.
Rajasuya – an imperial sacrifice.
Raksha – protection, amulet of protection.
Rakshasa – demon.
Rakshasi – demoness.
Ratha – chariot.
Rathika – expert charioteer.
Rekha – line of power.
Rik/Rig Veda – the first Veda.
Rishahha – the second note of the scale. Re.
Rishi – sage.
Ritvik – priest.
Rohini – asterism, goddess, the Moon’s favourite wife.
Rudra/Siva – also a class of fierce beings associated with Siva.
Rudraksha – holy beads; lit. Siva’s tears/eyes.
Rukmini – Krishna’s wife.
Sabha – court, hall.
Sachi – Indra’s queen.
Sairandhri – flower girl to a queen.
Sakhi – female companion.
Sama – a Veda.
Samadhi – absorption in the Soul/God. Mystical trance.
Sambur – a species of deer.
Samsara – the world of illusion. This life of appearances.
Sanatkumara – one of four original sages, born from Brahma’s mind.
Sandhi – conjunction, cusp.
Sandhya – twilight.
Sankara – Siva.
Sannyasa – asceticism, renunciation.
Sannyasi – hermit.
Saptarishi – seven sages, born from Brahma’s mind.
Sarabha – great mythical bird.
Saras – lake.
Sarasa – water bird.
Saraswati – Goddess of learning. Brahma’s consort.
Sarathy – charioteer.
Saringa – Krishna’s Bow.
Sati – Daksha’ daughter. Siva’s first wife, who immolated herself, and was then born as Parvati.
Sati – when a widowed woman kills herself by sitting on her husband’s pyre.
Sattva – the first, pure guna.
Satyabhama – Krishna’s wife.
Senapati – general; lit., lord of an army.
Shastra – scripture.
Shimshupa – a tree.
Siddha – a self-realized being.
Siddhi – occult power.
Sirasasana – yogic posture, headstand.
Sishya – pupil, disciple.
Siva – third God of Hindu Trinity. The Destroyer.
Shavasana – corpse-like yogic posture.
Skanda – Siva’s son, Karttikeya.
Sloka – sacred verse.
Soma – the Moon God. Also, lunar nectar.
Srarddha – death ceremony.
Sruti – tone, sacred recitation, text.
Sruva – ladle.
Stamba – post, pole.
Sudarshana Chakra – Vishnu’s weapon, a blazing disc.
Sudharma – Indra’s court in Amravati.
Sudra – fourth Hindu caste, the servitors.
Sukra – Venus, guru to the Asuras.
Sukshma/sthula – Subde/gross. Incorporeal/corporeal.
Surya – Sun God.
Suryanamaskara – yogic ritual for worshipping the sun at dawn.
Suta – bard, charioteer.
Sutaputra – son of a suta.
Swamini – female of swami, saint.
Swapna – dream.
Swarga – heaven.
Swayamvara – the ceremony at which a princess chooses her own husband.
Taala – rhythm, beat.
Tamas – the third and grossest guna in Nature.
Tandava – Siva’s dance of dissolution.
Tapasya – penance, long meditation or austerity.
Tapasvin – one performs tapasya.
Tapovana – grove of worship.
Tarpana – offering of water for the dead.
Tilaka – auspicious mark made on forehead.
Timmingala – mythical whale-eater, possibly giant squid.
Tirtha – holy place of pilgrimage.
Tirtha yatra – pilgrimage.
Treta yuga – the second great age.
Trikalagyani – one who knows the 3 times.
Trimurti – trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Siva.
Tripathaga – of three paths.
Tripura – three sky cities, built by Mayaa, which Siva brought down with a missile of fire.
Trisula – trident.
Ucchaisravas – horse of the Sun.
Upanishad – holy book, dealing with the Brahman, the formless God.
Usanas – Sukra. A male God, guru to the Asuras, as Brihaspati, Jupiter is to the Devas. Greatest of poets.
Uttara Phalguni – a nakshatram.
Uttarayana – the northern migration of the sun.
Vaastu – land, property, house etc. also, the sacred science of these and building. Ancient Indian feng shui.
Vaastu shanti – rite for peace in a new dwelling.
Vaikunta – Vishnu’s celestial city.
Vairagya – detachment, relinquishment. Vaisya – third Hindu caste; the traders. Vajra – Indra’s thunderbolt.
Valkala – fabric made of tree-bark, worn by hermits.
Vamana – dwarf: Vishnu’s fifth Avatara.
Vana – jungle, forest.
Vana devata – forest god.
Vanara – ancient, magical race of monkeys. Lit. dwellers in the vana.
