Bonus/ Sanskrit Lesson

Question 1

Ahiṃsā

Answer 1

/əˈhɪmsɑː/, अहिंसा – derived from the Sanskrit root hiṃs, meaning to strike; hiṃsā is injury or harm, while a-hiṃsā, its opposite, is non-harming or nonviolence.

Question 2

Astēya

Answer 2

/əˈsteəʳjɑː/, अस्तेय – a compound derived from Sanskrit language, where “a” refers to “non-” and “steya” refers to “practice of stealing” or “something that can be stolen”. Thus, asteya means “non-stealing”.

Question 3

Satyā

Answer 3

/sʌtjɑː/, सत्य – ‘virtue’. It also refers to a virtue in Indian religions, referring to being truthful in one’s thought, speech and action

Question 4

Brahmacharya

Answer 4

/ˌbrɑːməˈtʃɑːrjə/, ब्रह्मचर्य – the word brahmacharya stems from two Sanskrit roots: Brahman (Universal Conciousness) is what god is called in the Vedas, and carya (चर्य), which means “occupation with, engaging, proceeding, behaviour, conduct, to follow, moving in, going after”. This is often translated as activity, conduct, or mode of behaviour.

In ancient and medieval era Indian texts, the term brahmacharya is a concept with a more complex meaning indicating an overall lifestyle conducive to the pursuit of sacred knowledge and spiritual liberation.

Question 5

Aparigraha

Answer 5

/ʌpʌrɪgrɑ:hʌ/, अपरिग्रह – Parigraha means ‘to amass’, ‘to crave’, ‘to seek’, ‘to seize’, and ‘to receive or accept’ material possessions or gifts from others. Aparigraha is a compound in Sanskrit, made of “a-” and “parigraha”. The prefix “a-” means “non-“, so “aparigraha” is the opposite of “parigraha”, so aparigraha is speech and actions that oppose and negate parigraha.