GCSE Epic Civilization Terms Flashcards
आश्रम
A stage of life. There are four main divisions: brahmacārin (ब्रह्मचारिन्), gṛhastha (गृहस्थ), vānaprastha (वानप्रस्थ), sannyāsin (सन्न्यासिन्)
श्रीमद् भागवतम्
The most famous Purāṇa, dealing especially with the life and exploits of Kṛṣṇa.
अक्रोध
Absence of anger
अग्नि
God of fire.
अग्नि or तेजस्
Fire, the third great element with its property form or beauty rūpa (रूप)
अन्तःकरण
Inner organ of mind
अप्सरस्
A beautiful heavenly nymph
अभयम्
Fearlessness
अर्थ
Wealth, prosperity
अवतार
Incarnation of Viṣṇu when dharma is transgressed
अविद्या
Ignorance. The belief that māyā is the true reality.
अव्यक्त
Unmanifest nature.
अस्तेयम्
Abstention from theft
अहङ्कार
The organ that identifies the ātman with something in creation.
अहिंसा
Harmlessness of thought, speech and action
आकाश
Space, or ether, the first great element with its property sound śabda (शब्द)
आत्मन्
The Self. The one Self in all.
आरण्यक
‘Forest discussions’ of the veda’s inner meaning.
इन्द्र
Lord of the minor gods. Universal mind, lord of the elements
इन्द्रियाणि
Senses
उपनिषद्
Philosophical discussions of the identity of the ātman with the brahman.
ऋषि
Sage
कर्मन्
The principle that actions create an effect in the future.
कर्मेन्द्रियाणि
Senses of action – speaking, grasping etc.
कलियुग
The Iron Age: 432, 000 years
कल्प
14 manvantaras, a day of Brahmā
काम
Desire and sensual enjoyment
कृतयुग / सत्ययुग
The Golden Age: 1, 728, 000 years
क्षत्रिय
The class of warriors, kings and statesmen
गन्धर्व
A celestial musician
गुणाः
The three consituents of the universe: sattva, rajas and tamas.
गृहस्थ
The householder stage
चित्त
The part of the causal body called the heart where the deposits of actions are stored.
जल
Water, the fourth great element with its property taste, rasa (रस)
ज्ञानेन्द्रियाणि
Senses of knowledge – seeing, hearing etc
ज्ञान
True knowledge. The knowledge that brahman is reality.
तपस्
Disciplined action that purifies and enhances energy
तमस्
The quality of dullness and inertia.
त्रेतायुग
The Silver Age: 1,296,000 years.
दम
Control of mind, speech, senses and body
दया
Compassion
दानम्
Generosity
देव
‘Shining one.’ A universal power or deity
देवी
A female deity or goddess.
द्वापरयुग
The Bronze Age: 864, 000 years
धर्म
Virtue. ‘That which upholds,’ the system of duties, rewards, punishments etc., which is the will of the Absolute. Universal justice which ensures happiness for all who follow the law of their own nature.
धातु
Seed of a word.
ध्यान
Meditation
नाग
Serpent being
पाणिनि
Author of the 4000 or so sūtras comprising the vyākaraṇa. In this science all words are shown to derive from a few simple dhātus and an even simpler system of pratyayas (endings.)
पाप
Sin, the essence of bad deeds.
पार्वती
Consort of Śiva, the power of law
पितृ
Ancestors or forefathers
पुण्य
Merit, the essence of a good deeds
पुराण
‘The ancient teachings’. Eighteen works by Vyāsa that deal with creation and dissolution, kings, sages, incarnations, etc.
पुरुषार्थ
The aspiration and purpose of human life. This has four aspects: kāma (काम), sensual enjoyment; artha (अर्थ), wealth; dharma (धर्म), virtue; and mokṣa (मोक्ष), liberation
पुरुष
Spirit, whose reflection is prakṛti.
पृथिवी
Goddess of the Earth
पृथिवी or भूमि
Earth, the fifth great element with its property smell gandha (गन्ध)
प्रकृति
Primal nature, where everything is stored in seed or causal form, which can be thought of as the reflection of the puruṣa. Also known as avyakta.
प्रत्यय
The endings of word. A Sanskrit grammatical term.
प्रलय
Dissolution. Presided over tamas.
प्राण
Vital breath that divides into various functions: prāṇa, the breath in the mouth and the nose, apāna, the breath that excretes, vyāna, the breath that permeates the whole body, udāna, the breath that leaves the body at death, and samāna, the breath that digests.
बुद्धि
Reason, the organ of discrimination, reflecting the light of the ātman.
ब्रह्मचारिन्
The student stage of chastity, study and obedience
ब्रह्मन्
The ultimate reality underlying all phenomena.
ब्रह्मा
The god responsible for creating the creation. Represents rajas.
ब्राह्मण
The class of priests and teachers
भगवद्गीता
The ‘Song of the Lord,’ found in the Mahābhārata, records the spiritual discourse between Krishna and the great warrior Arjuna.
मनस्
Mind, the lower level that thinks and deliberates
मनुस्मृति
Also called dharmaśāstra . The Laws of Manu sets out the laws of human life according to the universal system of dharma.
मन्त्र
A special magic word.
मन्वन्तर
71 Mahāyugas supervised by one Manu (Lawgiver)
महाभारत
The world’s longest epic, by Vyāsa , telling the story of the battle between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas and the events leading to it.
महाभूतानि
The five great subtle elements
महायुग
One cycle of the four yugas - 4, 320, 000 years
माया
Illusion. The magic that makes the universe seem to be here.
मोक्ष
Liberation from bondage in saṃsāra (संसार). One of the four puruṣārthas.
यक्ष
Guardian spirit
यज्ञ
Sacrifice. This can be a complicated ritual or dedicated action. Five sacrifices are enumerated in Manu: devayajña, (to the gods), ṛṣiyajña (to the sages), pitṛyajña (to the ancestors), manuṣyayajña (to human beings) and bhūtayajña (to the lower creatures).
यम
Death, controller and ender of all.
युग
An age
योगसूत्राणि
A text outlining the principles of yoga. Attributed to Patañjali.
रजस्
The quality of activity and passion
राक्षस
Night wandering ogre or demon
रामायण
The story of Rāma and his battles with the demons, by the sage Vālmīki.
लक्ष्मी
Consort of Viṣṇu, the power of increase and property
वर्ण
Class or caste of men. There are four main divisions: brāhmaṇa (ब्राह्मण), kṣatriya (क्षत्रिय), vaiśya (वैश्य), and śūdra (शूद्र)
वानप्रस्थ
The forest-dweller stage
वायु
Air, the second great element with its property touch sparśa (स्पर्श)
वायु
God of wind
विकल्प
Doubt, conflicting idea
विष्णु
The god responsible for maintaining the creation. Maintains order by incarnating himself with avatāras. Represents sattva.
वेदाङ्ग
‘The support of the veda.’ Six sciences which preserve the proper understanding and recitation of the veda. Their subjects are śikṣā (pronunciation), chandas (metre), vyākaraṇa (grammar), nirukta (meaning of words), jyotiṣa (astronomy), and kalpa (ritual).
वेदान्त
The teaching of the Upaniṣads (literally the ‘final part’ or ‘goal’ of the veda.)
वेद
Thought to be the oldest Sanskrit literature, the veda is a collection of hymns compiled into four sections. These are: Ṛk, Sāman, Yajus, and Atharva. Traditionally, the veda is considered to be the eternal, non-human knowledge that shapes the creation.
वैश्य
The class of merchants, producers and farmers
व्यष्टि
The individual acting as a single unit
व्याकरण
Science of grammar. One of the vedāṅgas.
व्यास
Vyāsa means ‘compiler.’ Traditionally, he is considered to be the sage who compiled the veda into four sections and who also composed the Mahābhārata, Purāṇas and the Brahmasūtra.
शक्ति
The power or force of a deva, considered as his consort.
शान्ति
peace
शास्त्र
Scripture, methodology, teaching.
शिव
The god responsible for destroying creation. Represents tamas.
शूद्र
The class of servants and labourers
शौचम्
Cleanliness
श्रुति
‘What has been heard,’ i.e. Vedic literature. This is considered to be of the highest authority.
संकल्प
Mental construction, resolve, belief
संसार
Transmigration. The process of continual rebirth.
संस्कार
Traces or deposits from past actions that create conditions for rebirth.
सत्त्व
The quality of purity, intelligence, brightness.
सत्यम्
Unfailing truthfulness in speech
सन्न्यासिन्
The stage of complete renunciation as a wandering mendicant.
समष्टि
The universe as a single person or whole
सरस्वती
Consort of Brahmā, the power of wisdom
सूत्र
A very terse statement which is part of a complete system explaining a science.
सूर्य
God of the sun
सृष्टि
Creation. Presided over by rajas.
स्थिति
Sustenance. Presided over by sattva.
स्मृति
‘What has been remembered.’ The teachings of the great sages. Second in authority to the śruti (श्रुति).
स्वाध्याय
Regular study of the scriptures
