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GLOSSARY
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Acharya |
Teacher |
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Advaita |
Hindu philosophy of Monism or Non-dualism |
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Agiari |
Zoroastrian fire-temple |
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Ahimsa |
Nonviolence ; in its positive aspect-love for all living things |
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Allah |
Muslim name of God |
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Amanitvam |
Humility |
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Aparigraha |
Non-possession |
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Arati |
Blessing with lights |
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Ardhangana |
Woman; the better half |
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Ashram |
Abode of spiritual teacher; place for disciplined community living; stage of life |
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Asoka |
Indian monarch of 3rd century B.C. famed for his renunciation of empire and conquest and for his rock-edicts embodying Buddhist dharma |
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Asthis |
Burned bones collected from a funeral fire |
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Atman |
Soul |
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Atishudra |
One lower than the Kshudra, the fourth caste at the bottom of Hindu social hierarchy; ‘untouchable’ |
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Avatar |
Literally’ a ‘descent’ : incarnation of a deity, especially of Vishnu in the Hindu Trinity |
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Bamboo flute as of the divine cowherd, Sri Krishna |
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Bapu, Bapuji |
Father, term of affection used for Gandhi |
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Bardoli |
Gujarat village, connected with the Civil Disobedience Movement |
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Bhagwadgita |
(see ‘The Gita’) |
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Bhakti |
Devotion |
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Bhangi |
Scavenger, sweeper |
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Bharat Mata |
Mother India |
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Bibhishan |
Brother of Ravana, in the Ramayana, known for his wise counsel |
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Bhogabhumi |
Land of Enjoyment |
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Boodan Yajna |
Land Gift |
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Brahma |
Hindu name of God the Creator, one of the Trinity |
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Brahmachari |
A Celibate; one who observes Brahmacharya |
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Brahmacharya |
Celibacy; code of conduct involving strict observance of chastity or continence in the pursuit of learning, philosophy and God Member of the first of the four castes, whose first duty is the study and teaching of the Vedas and the performance of sacrifices and other religious rituals |
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Buddha |
The Founder of Buddhism, b. about 563, d. about 483 B. C. ; also known
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Shawl |
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Chaintanya |
Bengali religious reformer of the 15th century A.D., WHO IS WORSHIPPED BY HIS FOLLOWERS as an incarnation of Sri Krishna |
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Chakki |
Grinding wheel or mill |
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Chapati |
Thin flat cakes made of flour; unleavened bread |
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Charkha |
Spinning wheel |
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Dal |
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Dandi March |
March undertaken by Gandhiji from March 12 to April 5, 1930, from his Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal village of Dandi, about 100 miles distant, with a view to breaking the Salt Law by picking up natural salt from the sea-shore. His arrest at Dandi was followed by a country-wide movement of Civil Disobedience famous as the Salt Satyagraha. |
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Damayanti |
Damayanti |
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Daridranarayana |
God in the form of the poor and the destitute |
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Darshan |
The vision of the sanctity |
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Dasharatha |
King of Ayodhya, father of Rama, in the Ramayana |
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Devanagri |
The alphabet usually employed in writing Sanskrit, as well as various vernacular languages of central, western, and northern India |
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Dayanand |
Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-83), founder of the Arya Samaj |
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Dharma |
Religion; law of one’s being; righteousness; Hindu code of religion and morals or religious and moral duty |
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Dharmaja |
One born from a sense of duty |
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Dharmayuddha |
War fought for a righteous end by righteous means and methods |
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Dheds |
A community in Gujarat traditionally treated as ‘untouchable’ |
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Dhoti |
The long cloth worn by Indians from the waist |
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Dhurna |
‘Sit-down’ strike; an early and crude form of Satyagraha |
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Dnyandev |
Boy poet-saint of Maharashtra of the 13th century A. D., AUTHOR OF DYANESWARI, A Marathi commentary on the Gita; also spelt as Dnyaneshwar or JNANESHWAR |
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Draupadi |
Consort of the Pandava PRINCES, IN THE Mahabharata |
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Dublas |
A backward shudra community of Gujarat |
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Duryodhana |
Head of the Kaurava Princes, in the Mahabharata |
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Dyer |
British General who fired on an unarmed assembly in Jallianwala Bagh,
Amritsar on
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Founder of religious system known as Zoroastrianism. He is also known as Zoroastrianism. He is also known as Zarathustra or Zerdusht. The Parsis of India, who are emigrants from Persia, are followers of this prophet. |
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The Sacred river Ganges of Northern India |
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Ganja |
Narcotic from the flower of Indian hemp |
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Ghani |
Village oil mill |
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Gita |
The ‘Song Celestial’; a Hindu scriptural work in Sanskrit verse, composed some centuries before the Christian era, in which Sri Krishna sums up the essence of Hindu religion and philosophy. |
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Ghee |
Clarified butter |
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Gokhale |
Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915), Indian politician, member of the Servants of India Society, whom Gandhiji acknowledged as his political guru. |
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Goonda |
A rowdy or hooligan |
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Goondaism |
Rowdyism |
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Gopal |
Cowherd; a name of Sri Krishna |
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Gur |
Jaggery, indigenous form of sugar molasses |
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Guru |
Teacher; Preceptor |
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Goseva |
Service of the cattle; cow-protection |
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Gram Panchayat |
Village tribune or 'Council of five' |
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Gramseva |
Village service |
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Gram sevak |
Person employed in village service |
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Granth Saheb |
The sacred book of the Sikhs |
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Practitioner of indigenous form of medicine |
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Hanuman |
The ‘Monkey-God’ who serves Rama in the Ramayana |
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Harijans |
Literally, children of god |
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Hartal |
Strike, suspension of normal business |
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Hooghli |
Westernmost branch of the River Ganges in the banks of which Calcutta is situated. |
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Ancient Indian religion, one of the cardinal principles of which is non-violence |
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Jains |
Followers of Jainism |
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Janak |
Philosopher-king of Videha, foster-father of Sita, in the Ramayana |
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Poet-saint of northern India, who lived in the 15th century A.D. and who in his devotional songs, dwelt on the essential oneness of the Godhead and the harmony between Hinduism and Islam. |
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Kama |
lust |
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Kamaja |
One born of lust |
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Karmabhumi |
Land of duty |
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Karmayogi |
One who has devoted his life to action in the selfless service of others |
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Khaddar, khadi |
Hand-spun and hand-woven cloth |
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Khilafat |
The Caliph is the spiritual leader of Muslims. The Khilafat refers to his office |
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Kisan |
Peasant |
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Koran |
Muslim scripture |
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Krishna |
Divine hero and central figure of the epic, Mahabharata, who is worshipped by the Hindus as the 8th incarnation of God. |
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Kshatriya |
Member of the second (warrior) caste among Hindus |
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Kukri |
Curved knife or sword |
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Wooden pole, usually iron-tipped |
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Lila, leela |
Divine play or sport; the creation is often explained by the Vaishnavas as the leela of God, a conception that introduces elements of spontaneity and freedom into the universe. |
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Lok Sevak Sangh |
Society or association for the service of the people |
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The Hindu epic having for its theme the story of the great war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, princes of the Lunar race who were cousins, rival claimants to the throne of Hastinapur, (ancient Delhi) |
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Mahatma |
Great soul, title given to Gandhiji |
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Mahavir |
24th Tirthankar or Prophet of Jainism (b. about 540, d. about 468 B.C.) who is popularly regarded as its greatest promulgator, originally named Vridhamana |
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Mahayajna |
The great sacrifice or ritual of propitiation |
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Mantra, Mantram |
Sacred or magical incantation |
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Manushya |
Man |
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Maulana |
Title of respect given to learned Muslims |
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Maulvi |
Religious teacher |
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Maya |
Illusion; in Hindu philosophy Maya is the divine power which has created the cosmos |
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Meerabai |
Rajput princess of the 16th century A.D., who was a great devotee of Sri Krishna and who composed and sang innumerable songs in the praise of Him which have since become popular all over India. |
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Moksha |
Liberation from earthly bondage |
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Muni |
Sage; ancient seer |
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Literally, ‘new education’, name given to basic or craft education |
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Namaskar |
The Indian salute with folded hands |
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Namaz |
Founder of Sikhism (b. 1469—d. 1538 or 1539 A.D.) |
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Nirvana |
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The five; the communal tribune or ‘council of five’ |
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Panchayat Raj |
Rule of the Panchayat |
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Pandavas |
The five brothers, princes of the Lunar Race, who were the victors in the Mahabharata war. |
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Pandit |
Scholars |
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Pinjrapoles |
Institutions for looking after old and disabled cattle |
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Poorna Swaraj |
Full-self-government or complete independence |
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Prahlad |
Son of Hiranyakashipu, a mythological demon-king; Prahlad’s worship of Vishnu led to persecution by his father who was ultimately slain by Narasimha, the ‘Man-Lion’ avatar of Vishnu. |
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Pritam |
Pritamdas, Gujarati poet of the 16thcentury A.D., who composed numerous devotional songs |
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Raj |
Kingdom, rule, regime |
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Rajachandra |
Raychandbhai Jain Saint and Philosopher, contemporary of Gandhiji, whom the latter acknowledged as his spiritual guru. He died in 1900. |
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Ram, Rama |
Hero of the epic, Ramayana, who is regarded as an ideal man and king, and worshipped as the 7th incarnation of God. |
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Ramakrishna |
Bengali saint (1836-86 A.D.) who was the guru of Swami Vivekananda and who taught the oneness of the Godhead and the basic harmony of all religions. The Ramakrishna Mission is named after him. |
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Ramanama |
Literally, kingdom of Rama; and ideal system of government |
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Ramayana |
The Hindu epic narrating the story of the abduction of Sita, wife of Rama; prince of Ayodhya, by Ravana, demon-king of Lanka (Ceylon), and her rescue after the conquest of Lanka by the armies led by Rama and the death of Ravana at the hands of Rama. |
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Ramdhun |
A song made up of repetitions of God's name |
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Ramji Mandir |
Rama’s temple |
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Ravana |
The demon-king of Lanka, whose abduction of Sita, led to his destruction at Rama’s hands, in the Ramayana. |
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Charity |
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Sadhu |
Ecstasy, and by extension the place where a great |
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Sahadharmini |
Wife |
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Samadhi |
Ascetic |
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Samagra Gramseva |
All-round village service |
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Samskaras |
Innate tendencies inherited from past life; religious customs |
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Sanatanist |
Faithful follower of ancient Vedic religion |
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Sannyas |
Abandonment of all worldly ties with view to fixing the mind on the Supreme Being |
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Sannyasi |
One who has taken to sannyas |
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Sarvodaya |
Welfare of all |
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Satvika |
Tending of truth |
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Satya |
Truth |
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Satyagraha |
Nonviolence Civil Disobedience or Recourse to truth-force or soul-force or passive resistance. |
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Satyagrahi |
One who practices Satyagraha |
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Savitri |
Wife of Satyavan who, according to legend, reclaimed his life from the God of Death |
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Shankara |
Hindu philosopher of the 8th century A.D., who was one of the foremost exponents of Non-dualism of the Vedanta school of philosophy |
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Shastras |
The Hindu Scriptures |
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Shloka |
Metrical verse or composition |
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Shudra |
Member of the fourth or menial caste among Hindus |
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Sita |
Wife of Rama |
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Smritis |
The Codes, bases on recollection of the Shastras |
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Sthitaprajna |
Literally, ‘one of steadfast mind’; a soul unaffected by extremes of joy and sorrow |
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Sudama |
The indigent boyhood friend and associate of Sri Krishna, whom the latter honours, in the Bhagavata |
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Surdas |
Blind Hindi poet of northern India who lived in the 16th century A.D.; his poetical work, Sursagar, narrating the story of Krishna, is immensely popular with Hindi-speaking Hindus |
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Swadeshi |
Belonging to or made in one’s country |
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Swaraj |
Self-rule |
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Swargarohan Parva |
The name of the last of the eighteen sections of the epic Mahabharata which describes how, when Yudhisthira, the eldest of the five Pandava brothers , retired to the Himalayas, towards the close of his life, and lost his wife and four brothers one after another , Indra appeared in his chariot to take him in the flesh to his (INDRA’S) Swarga, i.e., his heaven where mortals after death enjoy the results of their good deeds on earth. |
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Jaggery prepared from the juice of palmyra fruit |
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Tapascharya |
Penance |
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Tilaks |
Caste-marks on the forehead |
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Tonga |
Two-wheeled horse-driven cart |
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Tukaram |
Poet-saint of Maharashtra who lived in the 17th century A.D. and who composed thousands of devotional songs |
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Tulsidas |
Hindi poet of Maharashtra who lived in the 17th century A.D. AND who composed, among other works, Ramacharitamanasa, (lit. The Holy Pool of the Life of Rama), retelling the epic story of the highest veneration by all Hindi-speaking Hindus |
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Ancient Hindu philosophical treaties, appended to the Vedas and regarded as equally authoritative as the Vedas |
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Urdu |
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Practitioners of Ayurveda system or indigenous medicine |
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Vaishnava |
A votary of the cult of Vishnu |
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Vaishyas |
Members of the third (cultivator and mercantile) class among Hindus |
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Vakil |
Lawyer |
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Valmiki |
First of Sanskrit poets and author of the Hindu epic, Ramayana |
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Varna |
Color; one of the four divisions of the Hindu society (i.e., Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra) based on hereditary occupations |
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Varnashram |
Four-fold divisions of Hindu society |
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Vedanta |
A system of philosophy springing from the Upanishads |
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Vedas |
Most ancient Hindu scriptures, composed of hymns to various deities. There are four collections of theses hymns, known as Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharveda |
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Vidyapith |
Vidyapith |
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Vidura |
The low-born but ‘wise one' in the Mahabharata honoured by Sri Krishna |
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Ritual or religious sacrifice |
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Yoga |
Hindu system of contemplation for effecting union of the human soul with the Supreme Being |
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Yogi |
One who practices yoga |
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Yudhishthira |
Eldest of the Pandava Princes, celebrated for his right conduct |
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Landholder |
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Zend Avesta |
Zoroastrian scriptures |
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