maṇḍala
of the
Ṛ
g Veda and one hynm of the tenth
muṇḍala
arabhṛtha
Ritual bath
aratāra
Descent; a periodic apparition, under a different form on each occasion, of Vi
ṣ
ṇ
u upon earth. The most widely accepted list gives the ten main
aratāras
as follows: Matsya, K
ū
rma, Var
ā
ha, Narasi
ṃ
ha, V
ā
mana, Para
ś
ur
ā
ma, R
ā
macandra, K
ṛ
ṣ
ṇ
a, Buddha, Kalkin
Avimukta
Cremation ground in K
ā
ś
ī
Awakened One
The Buddha
Awakening One
The
brahman
, according to the
Maitri Upaniṣad
, 6.4
Ā
yus
Life’s duration; son of Pur
ū
ravas and Urva
ś
ī
Badar
ī
A place of pilgrimage, sacred to Vi
ṣ
ṇ
u, in the upper Ganges valley on the slopes of the Him
ā
laya
Bad Creation
Creation of Ahriman in Avestic theology
Bahu
ś
ruta
He who has heard much; epithet of
Ā
nanda
Balbec
A seaside town where certain episodes of Proust’s
Recherche
take place
Balzac
Honoré de Balzac, 1799–1850
bandhu
Connection
Banyan Park
Nyagrodh
ā
r
ā
ma, a park in Kapilavastu
Baudh
ā
yana
Traditionally recognized as the founder of the school of the “black” Yajur Veda (Taittir
ī
ya school), author of numerous S
ū
tras
Bear
Ursa major; ṛkṣāḥ
; residence of the Saptar
ṣ
is
Bengal
A region in northeast India
Betelgeuse
A star in the constellation Orion
Bhaga
Dispenser of riches; one of the
Ā
dityas. brother of U
ṣ
as
Bhairava
The Tremendous One; epithet of
Ś
iva
bhakti
Devotion
bhaṇgā
Cannabis indica
Bharadv
ā
ja
One of the Saptar
ṣ
is. to whom are attributed a number of hymns of the sixth, ninth, and tenth
maṇḍala
of the
Ṛ
g Veda
Bharata
Author of the
Nātyaśāstra
; may have lived in the third or fourth century
A.D.
Bh
ā
rhut
Place in Madhya Pradesh holy to Buddhism
Bh
ā
ru
ṇ
ḍ
a
Mythical birds who live in Uttarakuru
Bhava
Existence; one of Rudra’s names
bheda
Lesion, fracture, difference
Bh
ī
ma
One of the P
ā
ṇ
ḍ
avas, born of the union between V
ā
yu and Kunt
ī
, first wife of P
ā
ndu, his putative father
Bh
ī
ṣ
ma
Terrible; son of
Ś
ā
ṃ
tanu and Ga
ṅ
g
ā
Bh
ṛ
gu
A
ṛṣi
, head of one of the clans founded by a
ṛṣi
Bh
ū
mi
Earth;
śakti
of Vi
ṣ
ṇ
u
B
ī
bhatsu
He-who-feels-repugnance; epithet of Arjuna
Bihar
Region in east India, bounded by Bengal, Orissa, and Nepal
bilra
Aegle marmelos
, tree sacred to
Ś
iva
Bindusaras
Lake of Drops; formed from drops of Ga
ṅ
g
ā
fallen to earth
Black One
K
ā
l
ī
Black One
K
ṛ
ṣ
ṇ
a; also an epithet of
Ś
iva
Blessed One
Epithet of the Buddha
Boar
Var
ā
ha; the third
aratāra
of Vi
ṣ
ṇ
u
bodháyanti
The Awakening One
Bodhgay
ā
The name of the place (near Gay
ā
) where the awakening (
bodhi
) of the Buddha took place
bodhi
Awakening
Bodhisattva
A being destined to the awakening; the name used for those destined to become Buddhas as well as for those who have chosen not to reach the state of Buddha immediately, out of compassion for other beings. Before achieving awakening, Siddh
ā
rtha Gautama is a Bodhisattva
Born-in-a-reed-marsh
Ś
aravanodbhava
Boy
Kum
ā
ra; one of the names of Rudra
Brahm
ā
All the unresolved disputes that revolve around the term
brahman
can equally well be applied to the meaning of this name. His antecedent is Praj
ā
pati
brahmacārin
He who behaves according to brahman; the name of those in the first stage of human life, that of a pupil under the guidance of a
guru
, characterized by chastity and the observance of special rules
Brahm
ā
haty
ā
Fury of the Bralunanicide; a girl who pursues those who have killed a brahman
brahman
The St. Petersburg Dictionary (Böhtlingk-Roth) offers seven meanings in the following order: prayer, magic formula, sacred discourse, sacred knowledge, sacred way of life, the absolute, the caste of the brahmans. The debates over this word have gone on since the beginning of Indological studies. Each of the seven meanings has its supporters, who believe it to be prevalent. Numerous hybrid meanings have also been proposed, as have further translations, for example, “connective energy compressed in enigmas” (Renou); “power of language” (Staal); “powerful word” (Kramrisch); “link between life and death” (Heesterman). A whole literary genre, the Br
ā
hma
ṇ
as, was given over to the interpretation of
brahman
In the
Atharva Veda
, 10.8.37, we read: “He who knows the thread of the thread knows the great essence of
brahman
”
Br
ā
hma
ṇ
as
Prose texts of ritual exegesis, written between 800 and 600
B.C.
brahmodya
A dispute through enigmas