B
ṛ
haspati
Lord of the sacred discourse; the chief priest,
purohita
, of the Devas
Brilliant
Vivasvat
Buddha
Awakened; the Buddha
Ś
ā
kyamuni, Siddh
ā
rtha Gautama, son of
Ś
uddhodana and M
ā
y
ā
; according to Visnuite tradition, the ninth
avatāra
of Vi
ṣ
ṇ
u. The dates of his life are still a matter of controversy, but usually considered as straddling the sixth and fifth centuries
B.C.
Buddha K
ā
ś
yapa
The Buddha who precedes the Buddha
Ś
ā
kyamuni
Buddha Maitreya
The Buddha of the future, who appears after the Buddha
Ś
ā
kyamuni
Buddha
Ś
ā
kyamuni
Siddh
ā
rtha Gautama, the Buddha
Bušyanst
ā
Avestic demon of morning-time inertia
cakra
Wheel; in Tantrism, the name of the centers through which Dev
ī
Ku
ṇ
ḍ
alin
ī
ascends; also referred to as lotuses (
padmas
). Their number varies with the traditions; in the
haṭha yoga
there are seven
Cape Comorin
Southernmost extremity of the Indian subcontinent
Castle, The
Franz Kafka’s novel
Celestials
The Devas, the Apsaras, and the Gandharvas
chandas
Meter
Chāndogya Upaniṣad
Together with the
Bṛhad Āranyaka
, the oldest and most important of the Upani
ṣ
ads
Ch
ā
y
ā
Shadow; another name for Sa
ṃ
j
ñ
ā
cit
-
To think intensely
citi
Brick
Citrasena
A Gandharva and music and dance master in Indra’s heaven
Coomaraswamy
Ā
nanda K. Coomaraswamy, indologist, 1877–1947
Cow of Desires
K
ā
madhenu, magic cow possessed by Vasi
ṣ
ṭ
ha; one of the gems,
ratnas
, that appeared during the churning of the ocean
Cows
Go
; a term in the language of enigmas: cows have twenty-one secret names
Craftsman
Tva
ṣ
ṭ
ṛ
Creator
Brahm
ā
Cyavana
A
ṛṣi
of the Bh
ṛ
gu clan
Dadhikr
ā
van
In the
Ṛ
g Veda, the name of a regal horse
Dadhyañc
Son of the primordial priest Atharvan; knows the
pravargva
, a ceremony incorporated in the cult of the
soma
Daityas
Sons of Ka
ś
yapa and Diti, enemies of the Devas
daiva
Fate
Dak
ṣ
a
Skillful (
dexter
); born from Brahm
ā
’s right thumb. Also “Dak
ṣ
a was generated by Aditi and Aditi was generated by Dak
ṣ
a” (
Ṛg Veda
, 10.72.4); father of Sat
ī
Dakṣiṇā
Ritual fee
D
ā
navas
Demonie beings, enemies of the Devas, sons of Ka
ś
yapa and Danu
Danu
Daughter of Dak
ṣ
a, wife of Ka
ś
yapa, mother of the D
ā
navas
darbha
Grass frequently used in sacrifices
Dark
K
ā
l
ī
; epithet of the Goddess and of K
ṛ
ṣ
ṇ
a
darśana
Vision
Daughter
U
ṣ
as
Daughter of the
Mountain
P
ā
rvat
ī
Daughter of the Sun
S
ū
ry
ā
, daughter of S
ū
rya
Dawn
U
ṣ
as
Dawns
uṣ
saḥ
Dead Egg
M
ā
rt
ā
ṇ
ḍ
a
Death
M
ṛ
tyu
Delphi
Sanctuary of Apollo
Desire
K
ā
ma
Devas
Gods, younger brothers of the Asuras
Devavrata
One who observes a divine vow; the first name of Bh
ī
ṣ
ma
Devi
The Goddess, of whom P
ā
rvat
ī
and Sat
ī
are manifestations
Dev
ī
Ku
ṇ
ḍ
alin
ī
Twisted Goddess;
śakti
, the “power” of
Ś
iva coiled around the base of the spine
Devourer
Agni
dexter
Able; Dak
ṣ
a
Dhanvantari
Physician of the gods; one of the
ratnas
, “gems,” that appear during the churning of the ocean
Dhany
ā
Fortunate; sister of Men
ā
Dharma
Law; the god who fathers Yudhi
ṣ
ṭ
hira with Kunt
ī
; name of the dog of Yudhi
ṣ
ṭ
hira
dharma
Law, order; in the Buddhist lexicon also means “element”
Dharmasūtras
Ancient works of jurisprudence attributed to various founders of the Vedic schools
Dh
ā
t
ṛ
Ruler; one of the
Ā
dityas
Dhenuka
Full of cows; a place of pilgrimage in India
Dhi
ṣ
a
ṇ
ā
Hymn, prayer, intelligence; the cup that contains the
soma;
also the goddess who brings wealth and fortune
Dh
ṛ
tar
ā
ṣ
ṭ
ra
Blind son of Vy
ā
sa and Ambik
ā
, father of the Kauravas
dhrani
Poetic suggestion
dīkṣita
Initiate; one who submits himself to the rites of the
dīkṣā
, “consecration”
Dinkas
A Nilotic tribe
D
ī
rghatamas M
ā
mateya
Long Darkness, son of Mamat
ā
; the
ṛṣi
to whom hymns 140–164 of the first book of the
Ṛ
g Veda are attributed
Disorder
Adharma