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GLOSSARY OF SANSKRIT TERMS


Adhvā:


Advaita:


Āgama:

Ahaṁkāra:

Anāhata:

Ānanda:

Antaḥkaraṇa:


​Anunāsika:
​
Apāna:

Asamprajñāta:

Āsana:

Asmitā:

Aṣṭāṁga:

Ātman:

Avidyā:
​
Bhairava:

Bhairavī:

Brahmacarya:

Brahmā:

Brahman:


Buddhi:

Caitanya:

​Cakra:


Cit:

Dharma:

Deva:

Dvādaśānta:

​​
Guṇa:

Guru:

Hari:

​Hiraṇyagarbha:

​Hṛdaya:

​Indriyas:


​
Īśvara:

Japa:

Jīva:

​Jñāna:

​Jñānendriya:

Kaivalya:

Karma:


Karmendriya:

Kleśa:

Kośa:

Kṛṣṇa:
​​
​Kuṇḍalinī:

​
Mahat:
​
Mala:

Mantra:

Māyā:

Mokṣa:

Mudra:

Nāda:

Nāda-bindu:

​Nāḍī:


Netra Tantra:

​Nirvāṇa:


Nirvikalpa:

Niyama:

Oṁ:

Para:

Parādevi:

Paramātma:


Prājña:

​Prakṛti:


Prāṇa:

Prāṇāyāma:

Prārabdha:

Puruṣaḥ:

Rajas:

Rudra:

Sadāśiva:


Sādhanā:

Samādhi:

Samāna:

Saṁkalpa:

Sāṁkhya:

Saṁnyāsa:

​Saṁnyāsin:


Saṁprajñāta:

Saṁsāra:

​Saṁskāra:

​Saṁyama:


​
Sat:

Satcitānanda:

Sattva:

Savikalpa:

Siddha:

​Siddhi:


Suṣumnā:

Sūtra:

Śaiva:

Śakti:

Śambhu:

Śaṅkara:

​Śāntā:

Śiva:

Śrī:


Taijasa:

Tamas:


Tanmātra:

​Tantra:

Tat:

Tattva:

Trika:

​Tripura:

Triśirobhairava Tantra:

Turīya:

​
Turya:

Udāna:

Upādhi:

Upaniṣad:


Vaiśvānara:

Varṇa:

Vāsanā:

Vāsudeva:
​
​Veda:

Vedānta:

Vicāra:

Vijñāna:

Vikalpa:

​
Virāṭ:

Visarga:

​
​Viṣṇu:

​Vitarka:
​
Vyāna:

Yama:

Yoga:
literally: "course"; specifically the six courses, which is the Śaiva concept of how creation manifests. For a detailed explanation of this concept, go here

non-dual, without duality; peerless, sole

sacred text considered to come directly from Śiva

literally: "I-making"; the making of self, ego, the conception of self, self-conceit

unbeaten, produced without striking

bliss

literally: "inner organ"; mind consisting of thinking mind (manas) ego (ahaṁkāra) and intellect (buddhi); the seat of thought and feelings

The nasal sound designated by the crescent and dot as in the word Oṁ 

inhalation; vital air or energy associated with elimination

without cognitive knowledge

posture for meditation

the sense of I-ness; egoism; I-sense; one of the mental afflictions

literally: "eight limbs"; eight divisions or aspects; eightfold

Self; mind; nature

ignorance; mistaking non-self for the Self

The Highest Reality, Śiva, God

Śaktī; the energy, manifestation, and I-consciousness of Bhairava
​

the lifestyle of a spiritual or religious student; celibacy

God as the creator; one of the three major Hindu deities

​The Absolute Reality; God

intellect; spiritual wisdom; insight, reason; the first evolute of Prakṛti

absolute consciousness; being-awareness

literally: "wheel"; centers of prāṇic energy located along the center channel (suṣumnā)

pure awareness; consciousness; intelligence

righteousness, ethical conduct; virtue; duty; law; practice; religion

divine; celestial; effulgent; a god or supreme being

literally: "end of 12"; the length equal to the width of 12 fingers. Dvādaśānta is a point of concentration, usually one of three: the chest, between the eyebrows, and the crown of the head

characteristic, quality; one of the three constituents of physical nature: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas

teacher, guide; a venerable person

Viṣṇu, God

​literally:
 "the golden womb"; the Vedic source of the universe; cosmic mind

the heart center; the seat of consciousness; the Self

five cognitive functions: seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling and the five active functions: speaking, handling, locomotion, excreting, and procreating - making ten in all
​
lord, master; God, supreme being

literally: "whispering"; repetition of prayer, mantra, or sacred text

individual soul or person; limited being

knowledge, wisdom

organ or function of knowledge: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell

complete detachment; discrimination between non-self and Self; liberation

action; work, labor, activity; a religious act or rite; consequences of one’s actions; fate

​organ or function of action: speech, handling, locomotion, elimination, and procreation

literally: "affliction", "pain"; mental fluctuations that lead to bondage and hinder spiritual growth

sheath, cover; one of the five sheaths (Food, Prāṇa, Mental, Knowledge, and Bliss) that surround the Self.

literally: "black"; the teacher of the Bhagavad Gītā, considered to be an incarnation of Viṣṇu

creative energy that rests at the base of the spine like a coiled snake. Through certain Yoga practices, this energy unfolds, energizing the cakras, as it rises to the point at the crown of the head

​
intellect; the first evolute of Prakṛti; (usually Mahat is macro and Buddhi is micro)

impurity; limitation

literally: "instrument of thought"; speech; a sacred formula; mystical verse; incantation; prayer; hymn

illusion, the veiling and projecting power of Brahman

liberation, freedom; spiritual emancipation

Yoga posture used to aid concentration and bring about higher levels of consciousness

to sound, bellow, thunder; the divine sound

literally: "seed sound"; the primal sound; Oṁ

​a subtle channel through which prāṇa flows

​Agama that describes nine mantras that correspond to the nine elemental principles from Śiva to Prakṛti

blown or put out, as in a lamp or fire; extinguished; liberated from existence; extreme joy, bliss

literally: "without vikalpa" (see below); freedom from difference or dichotomizing thoughts

observance

the sound form of Brahman, pronounced AUM

higher, superior; supreme

​literally: "supreme goddess"; Śakti

the Supreme Self

literally: "consciousness"; the Self in the state of deep sleep

matter; physical nature; the unmanifest universe

breath, vital air; life force; exhalation; specific vital air or energy associated with respiration

the Yoga practice of controlling the breath

literally: "destiny"; that portion of ​one's karma that is currently bearing fruit

the Self; soul; spirit

passion, activity, restlessness; one of the three constituents of physical nature

literally: "Howler"; God as the destroyer (of the ego and the world at the end of time); Śiva

Śiva as divine grace and goodness. The third of 36 tattvas in the Shaivite system; Sadāśiva tattva is dominated by willpower and I-consciousness

spiritual or devotional practice

absorption concentration; the state of union of mind and Self

vital air or energy associated with digestion and assimilation
​

conception, idea, or notion formed in the mind; will, volition; desire; purpose; intention

literally: "calculation" or "discrimination"; wisdom; one of the three major philosophical systems in classical India

renunciation; throwing down; abandonment

one who renounces all worldly concerns; an ascetic, religious mendicant

with cognitive knowledge

transmigratory existence; the cycle of birth, growth, death, and rebirth

latent mental impressions of thoughts, words, and actions

literally: "bound together"; Integrated Meditation; the practice of concentration, meditation, and samādhi on a single object

being, existence; truth

Being-Awareness-Bliss; the nature of Brahman

reality, goodness, purity, harmony; one of the three constituents of physical nature

with vikalpa (see below)

perfected; accomplished; a sage or holy person; a mystic or magician; a semi-divine being

perfection; attainment; supernatural or mystic power attained through Yoga practice

channel in the center of the spine in which prāṇa flows

string, thread, line; aphorism, precept; rule, decree

literally: "pertaining to Śiva"; Shaivism, the system or worship of Śiva

literally: "power", "energy"; dynamic form and I-consciousness of the Absolute

Granter of Happiness; Śiva

​the giver of happiness or prosperity; Śiva


appeased, pacified; tranquil, undisturbed; peaceful

Auspicious One; God; static form of the Absolute; one of the three major Hindu deities

splendor; beauty; prosperity; majesty; an honorific prefix to names of deities and eminent persons


​literally: "bright"; the Self in the dream state

darkness; inertia, stupor; one of the three constituents of physical nature

​the five subtle elements: sound as-such, touch as-such, color as-such, flavor as-such, and odor as-such


scripture or sacred text; doctrine, science; system

that, often used to refer to the Supreme Reality

literally: "thatness"; truth; reality; nature; a fundamental element of both the cosmos and the individual 

​non-dual Śaiva philosophy. Name means threefold, referring to the trinity of Śiva, Śakti, and Nara (human)

literally: "three cities"; the three states of consciousness: wakefulness, dream, and deep sleep

​Tantric scripture that summarizes manifestation under three categories: Śiva, Śakti, and Nara (human)

literally: "fourth"; the fourth state of consciousness, the state of Being-Awareness-Bliss of the Self

​same as "Turīya" above

vital air or energy associated with speech

an ajunct, substitute; phantom; limitation; deception

​literally: "to sit down near"; teaching, esp. secret or mystical teachings; Vedic scriptures that expound the unity of Brahman and the Self

literally: "universal"; universal consciousness, the Self in the wakeful state

letter; the practice of listening to Nāda (divine sound)

subliminal impressions of experiences that create latent tendencies

(vāsu: the spirit within all beings; deva: divine) Divine Self

name of the four scriptures that form the basis for Hindu beliefs and practices

literally: "end of the Vedas"; the philosophy of the Upaniṣads

subtle thought; thought without words; perception; intuition; distinction

comprehending, understanding; realized knowledge; science

difference in perception; distinction; an idea as different from another, dichotomizing thought; thought-construct; imagination, fantasy

the macrocosm; the universal body; the physical universe personified

​literally: "sending forth"; the sanskrit character "ḥ" or ":" at the end of a word or mantra and pronounced as a short aspiration

God as the maintainer and protector; one of the three major Hindu deities

gross though; thought with words; argument, reasoning; inference; conjecture

vital air or energy associated with circulation

restraint; self control

literally: "union"; to yoke, join; the system by which the individual self is united with the Absolute

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