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शब्दकोश
Bharatiya Knowledge Glossary
Sanskrit and Bharatiya terms that recur across the tradition — with transliteration, simple meaning and context.
The offering of light, usually with a lamp, accompanied by devotional singing.
Commonly concludes a puja.
Ceremonial bathing of a deity's image or linga with sacred substances.
Central to many pujas, especially Shiva worship.
The four stages of life: brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa.
Paired with varna in classical social thought.
The innermost Self or soul, distinct from body and mind.
Its identity with Brahman is taught in the Upanishads.
A descent of the divine into worldly form to restore dharma.
The Dashavatara of Vishnu are best known.
A seed syllable that forms the core of certain mantras.
For example, 'gaṃ' in the Ganesha mantra.
Loving devotion to the divine as a path to liberation.
Elaborated in the Bhagavata Purana.
The infinite, formless ultimate reality underlying all existence.
Central to Vedanta.
A subtle energy centre along the spine in yogic and tantric physiology.
Six or seven principal chakras are described.
Auspicious sight of a deity or holy person; also a school of philosophy.
The six darshanas are the classical systems.
Righteous duty, cosmic law and the path of right living that upholds order.
The central organising idea of the Sanatana tradition.
Meditative attention or contemplation.
A limb of many contemplative practices.
The three qualities of nature — sattva, rajas and tamas.
From Samkhya, woven through the Gita.
A spiritual teacher who dispels darkness and imparts knowledge.
Honoured on Guru Purnima.
An offering made into consecrated fire (Agni).
Also called havan; performed for many occasions.
'Thus it was' — the epic histories, the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
A category of sacred narrative.
Action, and the moral law by which every action bears fruit.
Explored at length in the Bhagavad Gita.
The aniconic symbol of Shiva representing the formless divine.
Worshipped with abhisheka.
A sacred sound, syllable or verse recited with attentiveness.
Found across Vedic and later traditions.
The power that veils reality and gives rise to the world of appearance.
Key to Advaita Vedanta.
Liberation from the cycle of birth and death — the highest human goal.
The fourth and final purushartha.
A symbolic gesture of the hands used in ritual, dance and meditation.
Each mudra carries a specific meaning.
An auspicious division of time chosen for important acts.
Determined through Jyotisha.
Primordial sacred sound, the source of mantra and music.
Nada-brahman is sound as the divine.
Food offered to a deity during worship.
Offered before being shared as prasada.
The Bharatiya almanac of the five limbs of time.
Tithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga and karana.
The vital life-force or breath animating all beings.
Regulated through pranayama.
The sacred syllable Om, regarded as the sound of Brahman.
Meditated upon in the Mandukya Upanishad.
Food or offering that is shared after being offered in worship.
Distributed among participants after a puja.
'Ancient' — a genre of narrative scripture on cosmology and the deities.
Eighteen Mahapuranas are counted.
The four aims of life: dharma, artha, kama and moksha.
A framework for a balanced human life.
The Vedic principle of cosmic and moral order.
Closely linked to the later idea of dharma.
The state of absorbed meditative union, the eighth limb of Yoga.
The culmination of Patanjali's ashtanga.
The continuing cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
Liberation (moksha) is release from samsara.
A sacrament or rite of passage marking a stage of life.
Sixteen samskaras are traditionally enumerated.
A formal statement of intention made before a ritual or observance.
States the time, place and purpose of the observance.
The divine feminine creative power and energy.
Worshipped as the Goddess in her many forms.
'That which is remembered' — texts of human authorship on dharma.
Includes the Dharmashastras and epics.
Disciplined austerity and inner heat generated by spiritual effort.
Practised by rishis and seekers.
A sacred crossing place or pilgrimage site.
Visiting tirthas is tirtha-yatra.
Services or offerings made to a deity during puja (e.g., the sixteen upacharas).
Puja is often structured as a sequence of upacharas.
A religious vow or observance, often involving fasting.
Ekadashi and Navratri vratas are widely kept.
The utterances 'bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ' recited before the Gayatri.
Denote the three worlds in Vedic recitation.
The sacred fire offering and, more broadly, selfless sacrifice.
The heart of Vedic ritual.
A geometric diagram used as a focus for worship and meditation.
The Shri Yantra is the most revered.