Glossary

abhidheya: the means to the end.

acharya: learned, vernerable preceptor who teaches by example.

achintya-bhedabheda-tattva: the principle of inconceivable oneness and difference.

Adhoksaja: a name of the Supreme Lord; that witch is above sense perception.

adhyatmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika: pertaining to the psycho-physiological or to the self; pertaining to other beings or elements; pertaining to natural phenomea or the functions of the demigods.

Aditi: mother of the Adityas and other demigods, daughter of Daksa and wife of Kasyapa, and mother of Lord Visnu in His dwarf incarnation of Vamandev.

Aditya(s): Vamandev; the solar gods.

Agni: the fire-god.

ananya-bhakti: exclusive devotion.

Aryan: an inhabitant of Aryavarta; nobleman/person.

astanga-yoga: meditational yoga performed in eight steps: yama, niyama, asan, pranayam, pratyahara, dharana, dhyan, and samadhi, viz., self-control, mental restraint, posture, breath-control, restraint of the senses, steady mental control, meditation, and meditational trance centered on Lord Visnu. Generally impractical in the present age.

Asvini Kumaras: the twin sons of Asvini, the wife of the sun-god.

Bhagavan: the personal and highest aspect of the Absolute.

bhajan: internal devotion; service.

bhakti-yoga: devotional connection with the Supreme Lord.

Bhisma: son of Santanu to Ganga. A lifelong celibate, he became the, guardian of both the Kauravas and the Pandavas. In the battle of Kuruksetra, he was the great genereal who headed the army of the Kauravas.

Bhisma-parva: the sixth book of the epic Mahabharata.

Brahma (Lord): demigod-creator of the universe and the presiding deity of the mode of passion. In another capacity, he takes the position of an Acharya.

brahmachari: celibate spiritual student.

Brahmaloka: (i) the abode of Lord Brahma, Satyaloka, (ii) Brahma, above the mundane plane, yet below the plane wherein devotional service to the Lord begins, i.e., Vaikuntha.

Brahma: the Absolute; the impersonal aspect of the Absolute; the Supreme Spirit; the spiritual effulgence of the Lord, spirit.

brahman: a knower of Brahma; person of the priestly class.

buddhi-yoga: theistic wisdom.

Chaitanya-charitamrta (Sri): the pastimes and teachings os Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami.

Chandra: the demigod of the moon; the moon.

Chandrayan: a type of penance performed by eating only fifteen mouthfuls of food on the full-moon day, reducing one’s food by a day, and then increasing by one mouthful daily during the moon’s waxing up to the next full moon.

chatur-yuga: see yuga.

dasya (rasa): divine relationship of servitude to the Supreme Lord.

demigods, gods: celestial beings.

Devaki: Krishna’s mother in Mathura.

dham: abode.

dharma: nature; religion; duty.

Dhrstadyumna: a son of Drupada and brother of Draupadi; he acted as commander-in-chief of the Pandavas’ forces.

Dhrtarastra, King: the brother of Pandu. He was disqualified from occupying the throne due to his blindness and tried to establish his eldest son Duryodhan as the emperor. Father of one hundred sons (Kauravas).

dhyan: meditation.

Draupadi: the daughter of Drupada, the wife of the Pandavas.

Dronacharya, Drona: the son of the sage Bharadvaja and the millitary preceptor of both the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

Drupada: a king of the country known as Panchalas, the father of Dhrstadyumna and Draupadi.

Duryodhan: the eldest son of Dhrtarastra.

Ekadasi: fasting day on the eleventh day of the lunar forthnight.

Gandhari: the wife of Dhrtarastra.

Gandharva: celestial singer or musician.

Gaudiya sampradaya: the divine succession following Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Gauranga (Sri): the golden Lord, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

gayatri: sacred mantra chanted by brahmans; Vedik metre.

goswami: sense-controlled ascetic.

gopi(s): cowherd girl; wife of a cowherd; the most intimate associates beloved of Lord Krishna in madhura-rasa, in the pastimes of Vrndavan.

Govinda: Lord Krishna: the object of the Vedas and the Lord of the cows, the earth, the Vedas, and the senses; cowherd.

grhastha: married person.

guhya-guhyatara-guhyatama: hidden, more hidden, and most hidden.

guna: quality, mode (of material nature); rope.

Guru, Gurudev: spiritual master.

Hanuman: the most devoted and loyal servitor of Lord Ramachandra; he is the ideal of dasya-rasa.

Hiranyagarbha: Lord Brahma.

hladini-sakti: the divine ecstasy potency of the Lord, Srimati Radharani.

Iksvaku: a king of the solar dynasty, the son of Vaivasvata Manu.

Indra: the demigod who is king of the heavenly plane.

Jagannatha Puri: the holy city in Odisha, India, where Lord Krishna is worshiped as Lord Jagannath, the Lord of the universe.

Janaka (King): the father of Sita Devi, the consort of Lord Ramachandra.

Jiva Goswami (Srila): one of the six goswamis, apostoles of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In his writings, he illustrated the supremacy of the Krishna conception on the authority of the revealed scriptures.

jiva, jivatma: soul, self.

jnan: knowledge; knowledge of Brahma; knowledge of the supremacy of the Supreme Lord; knowledge of one’s divine relationship (sambandha) with the Lord; knowledge of pure devotion for the Lord.

jnana-sunya-bhakti: noncalculative devotion or attraction to the Lord and His service by natural affinity.

jnana-yoga: the way of knowledge.

jnani: learned person.

Kali-yuga: the age of quarel, the present age. The present Kali-yuga began on the 28th chatur-yuga of Vaivasvata Manu (about 5,000 years ago). The battle of Kuruksetra was fought at this time.

Karanarnavasayi Visnu: Karanodakasayi Visnu, Mahavisnu. The first four-armed plenary expansion of Lord Krishna, from whose pores the innumerable universes emanate.

karma: action; wordly action; good or bad actions; fruitive action; moral duty.

Karma-kanda: the department of the Vedas externally advocating ceremonial and sacrificial rites which reward one with piety and attainment of haven.

karma-yoga: the path of dutifulness, the way of action.

karmi: fruitive worker; fruitive religionist; active person.

Karna: the son of Kunti by the sun-god. He became the most intimate friend of Duryodhan.

Kaunteya: Arjuna, the son of Kunti.

Kauravas: the sons of Dhrtarastra; descendants of Kuru.

kevala-bhakti: ananya-bhakti.

kirtan: singing or narrating the glories of the Lord.

krsna: the all-attractive Supreme Lord, the Lord of love; the male aspect of the Godhead.

krsna-katha: transcendental narrations about Krishna.

ksatriya: warrior, a person of the warrior class.

ksetra: field; the field of action as the habitat of the conditioned soul.

ksetrajna: the knower of the field; the soul; the Supersoul.

Kubera: the god of riches, the presiding deity of the northern quarter and half.brother of Ravana, he is the king of the Yaksas and Kinnaras and a friend of Rudra. He resides in Kailas.

Kunti: Prtha, the first wife of Pandu, and mother of Yudhisthir by the god Yama, Bhima by the god Vayu, and Arjuna by the god Indra. Mother of Karna by the god Surya.

Kuru(s): a place at the location of modern Delhi; name of the kings of this land.

Kuruksetra: a holy plain near Delhi, the scene of the great war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

lila: divine pastimes.

loka: plane of life; world; people.

madhura (rasa): the highest of all divine relationships with the Lord, the relationship of consorthood.

Madhusudan: Krishna, the slayer of the demon Madhu.

Mahabharata: the great scripture which describes the saga of the history of the Kauravas and Pandavas, composed by Srila Vyasadev in eighteen parvas or books.

mantra: a sacred incantation which delivers one through meditation upon it.

Manus: the fourteen progenitors of mankind who appear successively within one day of Lord Brahma. The present Manu is Vaivasvata Manu.

Mayapur: the holy land in the centre of Nabadwip, West Bengal, place of the advent of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Nanda Maharaj: Krishna’s father in Vrndavana-lila.

Narayan: Visnu, Krishna’s four-armed plenary expansion.

Navadvipa, Nabadwip (coll.), (Dhama, Dham [coll.]): the holy abode of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, manifest in this world in West Bengal.

Nimai: a name of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, due to His advent under the Nimba tree.

niskam: desireless.

niskam karma-yoga: the yoga or path of selfless action or duty.

Om, Omkara: the sacred monosyllable, sound representation of the Absolute Truth.

pancha-mahayajna: five types of daily sacrifices preformed by brahmans as mentioned in the scripture Manu-samhita: (i) Brahma-yajna: study of the Vedas; (ii) Ptr-yajna: offering obsequial oblations to one’s ancestors; (iii) Deva-yajna: offering clarified butter to the gods through the Vedic fire sacrifice; (iv) Bhuta-yajna: offering food to other beings, and (v) Nr-yajna: honouring guests.

pancha-suna: fivefold sin inadvertantly committed in a household by killing living beings in the course of (i) cooking; (ii) grinding (spices, etc.); (iii) sweeping; (iv) husking grain, and (v) washing.

Pandavas: the five sons of Pandu: Yudhisthir, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul, and Sahadev.

Parabrahma: the Supreme Brahma; the Supreme Lord.

Paramatma, Paramatma: The Supersoul, Ksirodakasayi Visnu, the aspect of the Supreme Lord present within the hearts of all living beings.

Parasuram: the incarnation of the Lord who admonished the ksatriya race with his axe.

Patanjala (-yoga): the yoga system taught by Patanjali.

prana: air of the body, ten kinds: prana — outgoing; apana — descending; vyana — contracting and expanding (respirational); samana — digestive; udana — rising; naga — belching; kurma — opening of the eyes, awakening; krkara — sneezing; devadatta — yawning; and dhananjaya — always pervading the body, wether alive or dead (Sri Sridhar Swamipad).

prayojan: aim, objective.

prema, krsna-prema: divine love for Krishna.

prema-bhakti: devotional service in divine love.

Prtha: Kunti.

Radharani (Srimati): The female aspect of the Godhead.

raga-marg: the path of divine love.

raja-guna: the material mode of passion.

rasa: divine ecstasy; divine relationship with the Lord, the five primary relationships of tranquillity, servitude, friendship, parenthood, and consorthood.

Rasa-lila: the divine dance of love, conducted by Lord Krishna and the gopis in Vrndavan.

rsi: seer, sage.

Rupa Goswami (Srila): the eternal associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, recognised in the Gaudiya sampradaya as the foremost authotity of the teachings of Sri Chaitanya.

Sachi Devi (Srimati): the mother of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

sadhana: religious or spiritual practice.

sadhu-sanga: association of saints or devotees of the Lord.

sakhya (rasa): divine relationship of friendship with the Lord.

sambandha: relationship.

Sanjaya: the charioteer of Dhrtarastra.

sankhya: knowledge of the soul; the Vedanta scriptures.

sankirtan: congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord.

sannyas: renunciation; the renounced order.

sannyasi: a person of the renounced order.

santa (rasa): divine relationship of tranquillity.

sattva-guna: the mode of goodness, the chief of the three modes of material nature.

Satyaloka: the abode of Lord Brahma.

SB: Srimad Bhagavatam.

Siva (Lord): the demigod of the mode of ignorance and of universal annihilation.

smaranam: devotional remembrance of the Lord.

smrti: that which is remembered; that which is authored; book of civil or religious law such as the Manu-smrti or Manu-samhita.

sraddha: faith in devotion.

sravanam: devotional practice of hearing the glories of the Lord.

Srimad Bhagavatam (Mahapurana): one of the eighteen Puranas, a holy scripture exclusively on the subject of Lord Krishna, Srila Vyasadev’s own commentary on Vedanta.

sruti: that which is heard or known by revelation; the Vedas.

sudra: labourer.

Supersoul: see Paramatma.

Surya: the demigod of the sun, the sun-god, Vivasvan; the sun.

Syamasundar: Lord Krishna of beautiful, charming humanlike feature, whose body is of a blackish hue like a soft raincloud.

tama-guna: the material mode of ignorance.

Upanisads: the conclusions of the Vedas, giving knowledge of the Supreme Spirit; Vedanta.

Vaikuntha: plane of the spiritual world (above the heavenly planes, and above Viraja and Brahmaloka). In Vaikuntha, the Lord is worshipped in His Narayan or Visnu expansions. Above Vaikuntha is Goloka.

Vaisnava: a devotee of the Supreme Lord, Visnu.

vaisya: farmer, merchant.

Vaitarani: river of hell, river of death.

vanaprastha: the retired order of life.

varnasram, daiva-varnasram: the God-centered socio-religious system consisting of four social orders or varnas (brahman, ksatriya, vaisya, and sudra) and four religious orders or asrams (brahmacharya, grhastha, vanaprastha, and sannyas). When the system is adulterated by atheistic tendencies it is known as asura-varnasram.

Varuna: the demigod of the ocean and the Western direction.

Vasudev: the father of Lord Krishna when He appears in Mathura.

Vasudev: Krishna, the son of Vasudev.

vatsalya (rasa): divine perenthood of the Lord.

Veda: (i) knowledge; (ii) the holy scriptures Rg-, Yajur-, Sama-, and Atharva Vedas.

Vedanta: the conclusion of the Vedas; an Upanisad.

Vedanta-sutra: Brahma-sutra, the aphorisms of Vedanta philosophy by Srila Vyasadev.

vijnan: science; relalised knowledge; spiritual knowledge.

Viraja (River): the passive plane, above the material plane but below Brahma.

Visnu: the all-pervading Supreme Lord: (i) the four-armed plenary expansions of Lord Krishna who preside over each of the innumerable Vaikuntha planes situated in the spiritual sky above the impersonal Brahma; (ii) Karanarnavasayi Visnu or Mahavisnu; (iii) Garbhodakasayi Visnu, who expands from Mahavisnu and enters into every universe; (iv) Ksirodakasayi Visnu, who expands from Garbhodakasayi Visnu and enters into the hearts of all living beings as the Supersoul, and who maintains the universe by the mode of goodness.

Vraja, Vrndavan (Dham): the Supreme Abode of Lord Sri Krishna. The highest abode in the spiritual realm, Goloka Vrndavan, which is situated above Vaikuntha; in this world it is manifest as (Gokula) Vrndavan in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, North India (coll. Vrindaban.)

Vyasadev: Vedavyas; the great eternal sage empowered by the Supreme Lord to compile the Vedas and reveal the Puranas, Mahabharata, Vedanta-sutra, Srimad Bhagavatam, etc.

vibhuti: power; expansion; opulences.

Yasoda: Lord Krishna’s mother in Vrndavan-lila.

yoga: (i) yoking, uniting, connecting; (ii) path, way, course, means, mode.

Yudhisthir: the eldest of the Pandavas and rightful heir to the throne of Hastinapur; he was crowned emperor after the defeat of the Kauravas in the battle of Kuruksetra.

yuga: an age of the world. The four ages are Krta or Satya, Treta, Dvapar, and Kali, the duration of each being 1,728,000, 1,296,000, 864,000, and 432,000 years respectively. They are also known as the Golden, Silver, Copper, and Iron Ages. With each successive age, there is a gradual decline of moral and religious qualities. The four ages together comprise one chatur-yuga.

yukta-vairagya: detachment from the mundane, attained by the devotee who offers everything in the service of the Lord.