THE MAHABHARATA: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1 (87 page)
Read THE MAHABHARATA: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1 Online
Authors: Ramesh Menon
emperor. | |
Chamara | silken whisk. |
Chandala | an untouchable. |
Chandra | Moon. |
Charana | unearthly being. |
long-lived, almost immortal. | |
Chital | a kind of deer. |
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. |
the sun’s southern migration. | |
Darbha | a kind of grass. |
seat made of darbha grass | |
Deva | a celestial, elemental, being. A God. Also ‘Being of Light.’ ‘Divya’ is light. |
heavenly realm of the Devas. | |
son of a Deva. | |
Devi | Goddess. |
Dharma | truth, justice. |
Dhanu | Sagittarius. |
bow. | |
the original physician, who rose from the sea of milk with the amrita. | |
Dharma | truth, justice, duty, righteousness. |
Dhruva North Star.
Dhupa/dhoop | heavy, smoky, incence. |
dhyana | meditation. |
Dikpala | lord of a direction. |
Diksha | gift/offering for a brahmana. |
Dvividha | a vanara. |
Dwapara yuga | third great age. |
Dwaraka | Krishn’a ocean city, raised for him by the Devas. |
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. |
Hatya | murder. |
Havis | the burnt offering from a sacrifice. |
Himavan | Himalaya. |
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. |
rainbow. | |
Ishta devata | personal God. |
caste ritual. | |
king of bears. | |
Jambavabn’s daughter. Krishna’s wife. | |
Janaki | Janaka’s daughter, Sita. |
Vishnu. |
Janma nakshatra 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 chruned 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. |
Kalyana mantapa | marriage hall, enclosure. |
Kama | God of Love. Also pleasure, enjoyment. |
first, sacred, cow of wishes. | |
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 | armor. |
Kirita | crown. |
Kiriti Arjuna, after he wore the crown ndra gave him. Kirtana devotional song. Kohl collyrium. Koyal cuckoo. Krauncha crane. 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. |
sweet offering to a guest: usualy, honey and milk. |
Maha | great or powerful. |
great warrior. | |
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. Meru, Sumeru sacred, golden mountain north of the Himalayas, from which the conti
Maricha | 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. |
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. |
nents 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. |
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 enter |
prise. | |
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. |
