Sanskrit Dictionary
Here at TYS, our understanding of Sanskrit changes as we change and grow. The more we clear the clutter from our minds, the more we can understand. Often, English can not truly convey the meaning of the Sanskrit word, so we remind ourselves that we have a working dictionary that changes and evolves as we do. Welcome to our working definitions. Check back often as our understanding grows and we find better ways to define this beautiful spiritual language.
A
Adho is downward
Ahamkara is the I-maker, the sense of I-am-ness; this is the faculty of the mind that you worship, glorify, and revere; it is the ego.
Ahimsa, the practice of noninjurious thoughts, words, and actions, is a concept and a practical tool that can guide our interactions with ourselves and others. It is the highest of all observances that can lead us to our spiritual goal. Practice: Ask yourself at the end of every day if your thoughts, speech, and actions have been injurious to any being, and commit to being better the next day.
Ananda is the ever-new bliss that transcends all understanding, the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Anga is limb
Angustha is thumb
Asana often translated as pose or posture; the yoga sutra translates it as a steady, comfortable seat, which helps when practicing meditation. Swami Rama has said there are 84 principal asanas but infinite variations, so there are asanas for all beings.
Ashva is a horse. The horse is seen as a symbol of the life force.
Asteya is non-stealing; this prohibits us from taking for ourselves what rightfully belongs to another. We take not just concrete objects but are notorious for stealing emotional favors and energy from others out of our sense of being incomplete and unhappy.
Atman is the pure self or the soul. Its nature is satchidananda (existence, consciousness, and bliss). It remains above all mundane pleasures and pains. Atman is the true Self, beyond change and indestructible. Pure consciousness, the witness, maintains an unchanged awareness of itself. The Kingdom of Atman is within and created in God's image.
The Bhagavad Gita states about the atman, the Self:
"He is never born nor does He die, nor having been, does He ever again cease to be. Unborn, eternal, perennial, this ancient One is not killed when the body is killed. He who knows this is imperishable, eternal, unborn, unalterable…
"As a man taking off worn-out garments later puts on new ones, similarly the owner of the body, abandoning the worn-out body, dons another new one…
"Weapons do not cleave Him, fire does not burn Him, the waters do not wet Him, nor does the wind dry Him.
"He is uncleavable, unburnable, cannot be made wet, nor can He be made dry, the eternal, all-permeating, absolute, and unmoving; he is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. He is the ancient One."
HH Sri Swami Rama
Sacred Journey, Living Purposefully and Dying Gracefully
B
Baka is a crane, stork; the asana pose bakāsana.
Bheka is a frog; the asana pose bhekāsana.
Bhujanga is a serpent cobra; the asana pose bhujaṅgāsana.
Bija Mantra is a seed sound, a concentrated form of potential spiritual energy. Om is the most well-known of all the bija mantras.
Buddhi is the discerning portion of the mind that discriminates, decides, and knows—the part that assigns value and meaning to an experience. One must calm the manas so that the discerning aspect of the buddhi can provide a more refined examination of awareness.
Brahmacharya means walking in God-consciousness, turning the mind inward, supervising the senses, and releasing dependencies, cravings, and desires. When we manage our senses, we free ourselves from chaos and lessen the depletion of prana.
C
Chakra
A spinning wheel of energy resides in the subtle body along the spinal axis, where consciousness manifests in human form.
Chamunda or Chamundi
A characteristic of Maa Durga in the Devi Mahatmyam, so named for destroying the demons Chanda (aggression) and Munda (egoism).
"Because You Have Overpowered caṇḍa and muṇḍa And Delivered them To Me, You, O Devī, Will Henceforth Be Known In The World As Maa Cāmuṇḍā."
The Devi Mahatmya, 7.27
Chitta is the unconscious depository of past thoughts and experiences from this life and all previous lives. The chitta collects all impressions and combines them with your present mind images, which gives us our understanding and places value on an experience.
D
Dakshina South; payment of fees, right hand
Dakshina Marga The right-handed path of Kaula Tantra
The right-handed path of Kaula Tantra
Devi is the feminine aspect of the Divine, aka the Divine Mother or Goddess.
Dharana is concentration
Dhyana is meditation
Durga The form of Divine Mother she is the power of will, knowledge, and effort.
Salutations to the Lion Rider, the one with resplendent magnificence. The one who is benevolent to those seeking the truth and pure destruction to those who would harm those seekers of truth.
E
F
G
Garuda is the king of the birds; the asana pose is garuḍāsana.
Gayatri Mantra is a mantra in the Rig Veda, whose seer is Sage Visvamitra. Gayatri manifests the wisdom of the whole Vedic revelation. Gayatri can be translated as she who protects the singer. Gayatri is a name for the Divine Mother; the Divine Mother is the cause of bondage and the giver of liberation.
I meditate upon the effulgent source and origin of the three worlds. The most venerable and radiant light of Savitri, May that brilliant one guide me to illumination.
Go is a cow; the asana is gomukhāsana.
H
Hasta is hand
I
Ishavara pranidhana is often translated as surrender to God, but what are we surrendering? We can only surrender after putting in all our efforts, and God's grace appears. Surrender does not imply defeat or laziness; it requires total effort and is the giving of our little self to the greater Self.
J
Janu is knee
Japa muttering: the practice of mantra repetition.
K
Kali Yuga, the present age, is the last in the cycle of four yugas. The kali yuga is the darkest age, filled with licentiousness and confusion. Swami Rama says, “A confused mind is not fit for any path.”
Kapota is a pigeon or dove; the asana is kapotāsana.
Karma means action and is the law of cause and effect; as ye so, so shall ye reap. Karma is the countenance that everything in the universe is just and righteous. Karma is not punishing; karma does not have favorites. It is simply the law of the universe that every act produces results; the results of karma can be immediate or delayed (by lifetimes) but always inescapable.
Krauncha is a heron. The asana name is krauñcāsana.
Kukkuta is a rooster. The asana name is kukkuṭāsana.
Kurma is a tortoise. The asana name is kūrmāsana.
L
M
Mahamrtunjaya Mantra is a mantra in the Rig Veda and is attributed to Sage Vasistha.
The translation is as follows: Let us honor the three-eyed One, the divine fragrance of the flower of life. We ask for liberation from attachment, disease, and death. Guide us so that we remember our immortality.
Makara is a huge mythological sea monster. The asana name is makarasana.
Manas is your conscious mind's coordination of the senses and mental pictures, where your thoughts create images and feelings for you. When the senses control the manas, it is turbulent, and meditation helps to calm the mind.
Mantra is a divine sound the sages have received in a deep state of samadhi (spiritual absorption). It is a condensed form of spiritual energy, a compact prayer used to communicate with the absolute reality. The mantra nourishes and protects the mind.
Marga The path or way to self-realization.
Matsya is a fish. The Asana name is matsyāsana.
Mayura is a peacock. the asana name is mayūrāsana.
Mukha is face
Mulabandha
An important bandha that controls downward-flowing pranic energy is commonly referred to as the root lock.
N
Nabhi is navel
Netra is eye
Nidra is to sleep; yoga nidra is the yogi’s sleep.
niyamas are the disciplines that improve our personality; they are the observances and disciplines that move us toward the goal. The niyamas help us cultivate contentment and self-confidence, give us direction, and keep us focused on our spiritual direction. The niyamas are saucha, santosha, tapas, svadhaya, and Ishvara pranidhana.
O
Om is the primordial sound or vibration from which everything is manifested. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the Word was God"; this is denoted by OM or AUM (A-waking, U-dreaming, M-deep sleep) in yoga.
P
Pada is foot/leg
Parsva is sideways
Pascima is west or posterior
Parivritta is revolved
Prana is the life force. Pra means first, and ana means vibration, motion, and animation; prana is energy combined with consciousness. We arrive with a limited amount of prana, and when we pervert it, squander it, or abuse we run out of it quicker.
Pranayama is a set of breathing practices and techniques used to control the breath and expand the first unit of energy (prana pra means first, ana means vibration, and ayama means expansion). The ancients said that without breath, there was no yoga. Yoga is mastery of the mind, and how do we master the mind? For the yogi, pranayama is the golden ticket to understanding the mind's incredible powers. Pranayama is the fourth rung on the ladder of raja yoga (please see raja yoga).
Prasarita is spread
Prathyara means control of ahara, which is food; we must think of everything we consume as food. We have physical food, impressions, and sensations that can nourish the mind and the subtle elements or disturb them. The third is our relationships and how they nourish or dissipate us. Pratyahara removes the wrong food, impressions, and relationships while opening ourselves up to the correct food, impressions, and relationships.
Purva is East or anterior
Q
R
HH Sri Swami Rama One of the greatest adepts, teachers, writers, and humanitarians of the 20th century, Swami Rama (1925–1996), was born in northern India and raised by the Himalayan sage from early childhood Bengali Baba. Under the guidance of his master, he traveled from monastery to monastery and studied with various Himalayan saints and yogis.
Raja Yoga is the eight limbs of yoga, also known as Ashtanga yoga, codified by Patanjali in the yoga sutras.
The eight limbs are:
Yama (self-observation)
Ahimsa (non-harming)
Satya (truthfulness)
Asteya (non-stealing)
Brahmacharya (moderation of the senses)
Aparigraha (non-grasping or possessiveness)
Niyama (self-discipline)
Saucha (cleanliness)
Santosha (contentment)
Tapas (self-discipline)
Svadhyaya (self-study)
Ishvara Prandihana (Surrender to God)
Asana (yoga postures)
Pranayama (expansion of the life force)
Pratyahara (to disentangle our senses from the world)
Dharana (concentration)
Dhyana (meditation)
Samadhi (spiritual absorption)
Rishi a seer, saint, a self-realized sage, and also the name of my oldest son ; )
S
Salabha is a locust. The asana name is salabhāsana.
Sasa is a rabbit. THe asana name is sasangasana.
Simha is a lion. The asana name is siṁhāsana.
Sirsa is head
Sthiti is standing
Sthiti is standing
Svana is a dog. Two poses use svana, Ūrdhva mukha śvānāsana (upward facing dog), and adho mukha śvānāsana (downward facing dog).
T
Tapas suggests effort, and its literal definition is heat. Tapas is heat that builds during sustained periods of effort. It is welcomed as it is known to bring about change; this could be replacing a harmful habit, losing weight, improving concentration, or moving toward spiritual goals rather than worldly goals. Asana, pranayama, and meditation are all forms of tapas when practiced for an extended period with sustained effort, dedication, and sincerity.
Titibha is a water bird. The yoga asana is Ṭiṭṭibhāsana.
U
Uddiyana Bandha, the Upward flying lock, is a contraction and upward drawing of the abdomen. It is one of three essential bandhas in hatha yoga ( jalandhara bandha, uddiyana bandha, and mulabandha). These locks connect energy from the pelvic and heart centers.
Upavista is seated
Urdhva is upward
Ustra is a camel. The yoga asana name is uṣṭrāsana.
Uttana is stretched out
Utthita is extended
V
Vama Marga is the left-handed path of Kaula Tantra.
Vishnu is the divine force of nourishment and preservation, the preserver in the Hindu Trinity. The ten avatars of Vishnu are Matsya (the fish), Kurma (the tortoise), Varaha (the boar), Narasimha (the lion), Vamana or Trivikrama (his first human avatar), Parashurama (a Brahmin), Lord Rama (the perfect man), Krishna (the divine leader), Balarama (Krishna's elder brother), and Kalki (the mighty warrior).
W
X
Y
Yamas are considered constraints or moral disciplines. They are the first five commitments on the self-discipline ladder, and when followed, they change our attitudes and conduct. When adhered to, the yamas guide our relationships and interactions with our brothers and sisters so that we can live more skillfully. The yamas are ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, and aparigraha.
Yuga a division of time, there are four yugas; Satya, Treta, Dwarpa, and Kali.