Glossary
Every Sanskrit term glossed inline across the chart, gathered in one place.
Practice with flashcards- aiśvarya
- eye-SHVAHR-yuh
- Majesty — the mood of reverent awe at the Lord's opulence.
- akṣauhiṇī
- uk-shau-hih-NEE
- A full army division — its chariots, elephants, cavalry and infantry in fixed proportion.
- akṣauhiṇīs
- uk-shau-hih-NEEZ
- Full army divisions — chariots, elephants, cavalry and infantry in fixed proportion.
- artha
- AHR-thuh
- Prosperity and resources, as a legitimate human aim.
- aśvamedha
- USH-vuh-MAY-duh
- The horse sacrifice, performed to mark and purify a completed reign.
- āvaraṇa
- ah-vuh-RUH-nuh
- A concentric circle or covering, used to structure the Vaikuṇṭha city diagram.
- āvaraṇas
- ah-vuh-RUH-nuhz
- Concentric circles or coverings, used to structure the Vaikuṇṭha city diagram.
- avatāra
- uh-vuh-TAH-ruh
- A descent of the Supreme into the material world for a purpose.
- avatāras
- uh-vuh-TAH-ruhz
- Descents of the Supreme into the material world for a purpose.
- āveśa
- ah-VAY-shuh
- A form empowered by the Lord for a specific role, without full identity.
- bhakti
- BHUCK-tee
- Devotional service and loving surrender to the Supreme.
- Bhārata-varṣa
- BAH-ruh-tuh VUR-shuh
- The region within Jambūdvīpa noted as ideal for spiritual effort.
- Bhū-maṇḍala
- BOO-mun-duh-luh
- The traditional cosmography of seven islands and seven oceans.
- Brahma-saṁhitā
- BRAH-muh sahm-hee-TAH
- A foundational Gauḍīya scripture describing Kṛṣṇa's abode and nature.
- Brahmajyotir
- brah-muh-JYOH-tir
- The formless spiritual effulgence radiating from the Lord's body.
- brāhmaṇa
- BRAH-muh-nuh
- A member of the priestly and learned class in the old social order.
- brāhmaṇas
- BRAH-muh-nuhz
- Members of the priestly and learned class in the old social order.
- brahmāṇḍa
- bruh-MAHN-duh
- A single material universe, pictured as a cosmic egg.
- Brahmāstra
- bruh-MAHS-truh
- A supreme divine weapon, called up by mantra and answerable only to another of its kind.
- Caitanya-caritāmṛta
- chai-TUN-yuh chuh-ree-TAHM-ri-tuh
- The principal biography and theology of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu within the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition.
- Catur-vyūha
- CHUH-toor VYOO-huh
- The four original personal expansions: Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha.
- dāsya
- DAHS-yuh
- The mood of devoted service — relating to Kṛṣṇa as servant to master.
- dāsya-rasa
- DAHS-yuh RUH-suh
- The mood of devoted service — relating to Kṛṣṇa as servant to master.
- dhāma
- DAH-muh
- An eternal spiritual abode or realm.
- dharma
- DHAR-muh
- Duty and right order.
- Gāṇḍīva
- GAHN-dee-vuh
- Arjuna's divine bow, given to him at the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest.
- Gauḍīya
- GOW-dee-yuh
- The Bengal Vaiṣṇava tradition founded on Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teachings.
- gopa
- GOH-puh
- A cowherd companion of Kṛṣṇa in Vraja.
- gopas
- GOH-puhz
- Cowherd companions of Kṛṣṇa in Vraja.
- gopī
- GOH-pee
- A cowherd woman of Vraja, devoted to Kṛṣṇa in intimate love.
- gopīs
- GOH-peez
- Cowherd women of Vraja, devoted to Kṛṣṇa in intimate love.
- guṇa
- GOO-nuh
- One of the three qualities (sattva, rajas, tamas) structuring material nature.
- guṇas
- GOO-nuhz
- The three qualities (sattva, rajas, tamas) structuring material nature.
- Hastināpura
- hus-tih-NAH-poo-ruh
- The Kuru dynasty's capital, ruled by Dhṛtarāṣṭra and claimed by both sets of cousins.
- hlādinī-śakti
- lah-dee-NEE SHUCK-tee
- The Lord's internal potency of divine love and bliss, embodied by Rādhā.
- Indraprastha
- IN-druh-prus-tuh
- The city the Pāṇḍavas raised on the wilderness half of the kingdom given to them.
- Jambūdvīpa
- jum-BOO-dvee-puh
- The central island of Bhū-maṇḍala, containing Bhārata-varṣa.
- jīva
- JEE-vuh
- The individual eternal soul or conscious self.
- kalpa
- KUL-puh
- A single day of Brahmā — a vast cosmic time cycle.
- kāma
- KAH-muh
- Desire — one of the traditional four human aims, not mere craving.
- kṣatriya
- KSHUH-tree-yuh
- A member of the warrior and ruling class in the old social order.
- Kurukṣetra
- koo-rook-SHAY-truh
- The sacred plain north of Delhi where the Mahābhārata war was fought.
- līlā
- LEE-lah
- Divine pastime — Kṛṣṇa's activities, understood as play rather than obligation.
- mādhurya
- MAH-dhoor-yuh
- Sweetness; the mood of intimate, romantic love with Kṛṣṇa.
- mādhurya-rasa
- MAH-dhoor-yuh RUH-suh
- A deeply intimate, romantic mood of relating to Kṛṣṇa, exemplified by Rādhā and the gopīs.
- mahat-tattva
- muh-HUT TUT-vuh
- The total material principle from which the cosmic manifestation unfolds.
- manvantara
- mun-VUN-tuh-ruh
- A cosmic time period governed by a Manu.
- mokṣa
- MOHK-shuh
- Liberation from material bondage.
- nāma-saṅkīrtana
- NAH-muh sun-KEER-tuh-nuh
- Congregational chanting of the Lord's holy names.
- pradhāna
- pruh-DHAH-nuh
- Unmanifest material nature in its potential, not-yet-active form.
- prakṛti
- PRUH-kri-tee
- Material nature, functioning through the three guṇas.
- prema
- PREH-muh
- Complete, purified loving devotion — the goal of bhakti.
- puruṣārtha
- poo-roo-SHAHR-thuh
- One of the four traditional human aims: dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa.
- puruṣārthas
- poo-roo-SHAHR-thuhz
- The four traditional human aims: dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa.
- Rājasūya
- rah-juh-SOO-yuh
- The great royal sacrifice by which a king claims recognition as emperor over other kings.
- rākṣasa
- RAHK-shuh-suh
- A powerful, shape-shifting, often man-eating being of the epics.
- rākṣasas
- RAHK-shuh-suhz
- Powerful, shape-shifting, often man-eating beings of the epics.
- rasa
- RUH-suh
- A specific flavor or mood of loving relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
- rasas
- RUH-suhz
- The distinct flavors or moods of loving relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
- sakhī
- suh-KHEE
- A close female companion of Rādhā in Kṛṣṇa's intimate circle.
- sakhīs
- suh-KHEEZ
- Close female companions of Rādhā in Kṛṣṇa's intimate circle.
- sākhya
- SAHK-yuh
- The mood of friendship — relating to Kṛṣṇa without formality.
- sākhya-rasa
- SAHK-yuh RUH-suh
- The mood of friendship — relating to Kṛṣṇa without formality.
- śānta
- SHAHN-tuh
- Peaceful; the mood of appreciation without active exchange.
- śānta-rasa
- SHAHN-tuh RUH-suh
- The mood of peaceful appreciation, without active exchange.
- Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
- SHREE-mud bah-guh-VAH-tum
- A major Purāṇic text central to many Vaiṣṇava traditions, focused on Kṛṣṇa's pastimes.
- svayaṁ-rūpa
- svuh-YUM ROO-puh
- Kṛṣṇa's own original form, not derived from any other.
- svayaṁvara
- swuh-yum-VUH-ruh
- A ceremony at which a princess, or a contest she sets, chooses her own husband.
- Śvetadvīpa
- shvay-tuh-DVEE-puh
- The quadrangular region surrounding Goloka's central lotus, divided into four symbolic sections.
- tad-ekātma-rūpa
- tud-eh-KAHT-muh ROO-puh
- A form identical in essence to Kṛṣṇa, differently manifested.
- vātsalya
- VAHT-sul-yuh
- The mood of parental love toward Kṛṣṇa as one's own child.
- vātsalya-rasa
- VAHT-sul-yuh RUH-suh
- The mood of parental love toward Kṛṣṇa as one's own child.
- vimāna
- vi-MAH-nuh
- A celestial aerial palace or vehicle described in the tradition.
- vimānas
- vi-MAH-nuhz
- Celestial aerial palaces or vehicles described in the tradition.
- Virajā
- vi-ruh-JAH
- The river marking the boundary between spirit and matter.
- viśva-rūpa
- VISH-vuh-ROO-puh
- The universal form — all worlds, gods and beings seen at once within a single body.
- Vraja
- VRUH-juh
- The pastoral setting of Kṛṣṇa's most intimate, informal pastimes.
- vyūha
- VYOO-huh
- A personal expansion-grouping of the Lord, such as the Catur-vyūha.
- yakṣa
- YUK-shuh
- A nature-spirit, usually the guardian of a place, a lake, or a hidden treasure.
- yogapīṭha
- YOH-guh-PEE-tuh
- The sacred central platform where Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa's intimate pastimes occur.