Key Terms Flashcards
What is strīdharma?
dharma of woman
What is pativrata?
Ideal for a wife was to be a pativrata – a wife entirely devoted to her husband.
What is Sati?
- “ wife who is faithful” but also refers to the act of a woman joining her deceased husband on his cremation pyre.
- Joining her husband in death was viewed as the supreme proof of this faithfulness.
What is Bhakti?
love, devotion; devotional worship, typically of a personal god.
What is Ramayana?
“story of Rāma”
What is Smrti?
that which was ‘remembered’ or ‘handed down
Who is Vālmīki?
- Author of Ramayana
- the version of the Ramayana attributed to the sage Vālmīki is perhaps the oldest and most popular.
Who is Rama?
hero of the epic (Ramayana); prince of Ayodhyā.
Who is Sita?
Rama’s wife; daughter of King Janaka of Mithilā.
Who is Hanuman?
Monkey warrior; great friend and devotee of Rama.
Who is Laksmana?
Rama’s brother from another mother.
Who is Kaikeyi?
Second wife Daśaratha; mother of Bharata (key character of the Ramayana)
Who is Ravana?
the ten-headed demon (rākṣasa); king of Laṅkā (key character of Ramayana)
Who is Daśaratha?
Rama’s father and king of Ayodhyā; husband of Kausalyā, Kaikeyī’, and Sumitrā (key character of Ramayana)
Who is Bharata?
Rama’s brother; Kaikeyī’s son (key character of Ramayana)
What is Svayaṃvara?
- Svayaṃvara (one‘s own choice).
- Ceremony where a kṣatriya princess might select her own husband.
- Usually involves a skill-testing contest.
What is Mahābhārata?
“The great story of the descendants of Bharata” or “The great war of the Bharatas.”
Who is Vyasa?
- Authorship of the Mahabharata attributed to the sage Vyāsa.
- Name means “the separator”.
What does Bhagavad Gītā mean?
(“Song of the Lord”)
What does marga mean?
Path or approach
What is the Jnana Marga?
The Path of Knowledge
What is the Karma marga?
The Path of Action
What is the Bhakti Marga?
The Path of Loving Devotion
What does Jnana mean?
means “knowledge.”
What is Karmaphalasanga?
- karma = action/act, phal = fruit, results, asanga = without attachment (niṣkāma karma - action without attachment)
- key component of the path of action
What is saguna?
with qualities/attributes
What is nirguna?
god without qualities
What is Visvarupa?
When Krsna showed Arjuna his universal form (viśvarūpa).
What is pantheism?
the belief that God encompasses the creation and yet is greater than it - God is both within and also transcends the creation.
What is puja?
acts of worship paid to a god or goddess, usually in the presence of the divine image at a temple or home shrine. Central religious activity in the lives of many Hindus.
What is Bhajan?
devotional recitation
What is Kirtan?
congregational religious singing
What is Bhakta?
“devotee” or “lover of god”. worship god with form (saguna).
What is sants?
(“holy person” or “truth”– often translated as “saint”)
What is avatāra?
incarnations of gods
What are the Mahāpurāṇas?
great or major Purāṇas
What are the Upapurāṇas?
lesser Purāṇas
What are the two different types of Brahmins?
Śrauta Brahmins (continued to adhere to most orthodox practices as described in the śruti literature) and Smārta Brahmins (followed the teachings in the smṛti literature).
What are mala?
prayer beads
What is a vahana?
Mount / vehicle
What is Hamsa?
A goose, which is Brahma’s mount
What is a tilaka?
Devotees of Siva wear a tilaka (forehead marking made with colored powder, paste, or ash) that consists of 3 horizontal lines.
What is nandi?
Siva’s Vehicle is a Bull (Nandi).
What is linga?
- Siva is often worshipped in an aniconic form (liṅga).
- mark” or “sign”; representation of Śiva.
- Vertical cylindrical stone – male component – Śiva.
- Circular horizontal base called “yoni” (source; womb) or “pīṭha”(a seat) – female component – Śakti.
Who is Naṭarāja?
One iconic form of Siva is Naṭarāja (Lord of the Dance) – dance that brings about destruction of cosmos.
What is Ardhanarīśvara?
Union of Śiva and Pārvatī sometimes depicted as Ardhanarīśvara (the Lord who is half woman).
What is mūśika?
Ganesa’s vehicle is a mouse (mūśika)
What are Vaiṣṇavas?
Devotees, called Vaiṣṇavas, wear a u-shaped tilaka.
What is a Sankha?
a conch, one of the items that Vishnu holds
What is a Cakra?
a discus, one of the items that Vishnu holds
What is a gada?
mace (gada), one of the items that Vishnu holds
What is a padma?
a lotus, one of the items that Vishnu holds
What are daśāvatāras?
the 10 descents/incarnations of Vishnu
What are gopis?
Krsna was an attractive young man who gained the love of all of the gopīs (cowherd women).
What is devi or mahadevi?
The Goddess (Devī ) or Great Goddess (Mahādevī) is Absolute Divinity, the supreme source of everything (Brahman).
What is Sakti?
power that animates the cosmos; the feminine aspect of the Divine.
What are Śāktas?
Worshippers are called Śāktas.
What is Devī Māhātmya?
(7th or 8th century CE) – “Glorification of the Great Goddess”; text which articulates the conception of the a Great Goddess. Devī central in Tantric literature.
What is pūrṇa-kalaśa?
carrying a jar
What is the great tradition?
- Sanskritic
- Āryan
- Brahmin male-dominated
- Northern
- Elite culture.
- Generally wields political influence –use this to articulate the dominant worldviews and value systems.
What is little tradition?
- Non-Sanskritic
- Non-Āryan (Dravidian, village, tribal)
- Non-Brahmin
- Southern,
- Popular culture
- Made up of broader masses.
- Wields power in its own areas of influence.
What is puja?
the ritualized form of devotional worship
What is Murti and Yantra?
- Most Hindus offer pūjā to a mūrti (image; form; deity that is embodied in a material form).
- May be a printed image or statue or a symbolic icon or a cosmological diagram (yantra).
What is Darśana?
seeing or viewing; implies an exchange of vision. God/goddess acknowledges the presence and devotion of the devotee.
What are arti and Dipa?
High point of worship is ārti - priest ignites lamp(dīpa – flame)and offers it to the deity.
What is Prasāda?
Prasāda (divine blessing) is distributed to the devotees present.
What is Vrata?
- vowed ascetic observance (vrata)
- Worshippers may also be performing pūjā as part of a vrata to attain personal power and auspiciousness.
What is Śālagrāma?
ammonite; natural form of Viṣṇu
What is Bana liṅga?
natural form of Śiva
What are Padukas?
Footprints (pādukas) – Viṣṇu or a saint
What is murti?
- A form, body, figure; an embodiment, incarnation, manifestation
- More than a likeness, it is the deity itself taken form.
What is Vigraha?
body, from vi + grah “to grasp, to catch hold of” – that form which enables the mind to grasp the nature of God.
What is Nagara?
Northern or Nāgara style, one of the main types of temples
What is Dravida?
Southern or Drāviḍa style, one of the main types of temples
What is vāstu-puruṣa-maṇḍala?
A hindu temple is configured according to a sacred diagram - vāstu-puruṣa-maṇḍala maps the primordial being (puruṣa) to the temple’s ground plan.
What is garbhagṛha?
- Inner sanctum - garbhagṛha (“home of the embryo“ or “womb“).
- Dimly lit, cool, dark space.
- Leave behind mundane world – towards the source of all creation.
What is Sikhara?
Soaring spire – śikhara – marks the top of the inner sanctum.
What are Gopuras?
Ornate gateways seen in southern style temples
What is Pujari?
a priest who conducts the rites of worship at a temple
What is Yatra?
Pilgrimage
What is Tirtha?
Holy sites called tīrṭha (ford or crossing place) – locations where it is believed to be easier to cross from profane to sacred realms.
What is Kumbha Melas?
Major pilgrimage gatherings, occur every three years rotating between four locations
What does Tantra mean?
Tantra - “loom” or “organizational grid.”
What is Sadhana?
Liberation attained not through mere pleasure but through ascetic practice (sādhana)
What are Siddhi?
Acquisition of powers (siddhi)
What are Siddhas?
highly accomplished Tantric practitioners.
What is Sadhaka?
the practitioner (sādhaka)
what is a mantra?
sacred sounds
What is Japa?
recitation of God’s name
What are mandalas?
cosmic diagrams
What is Vamamarga?
Left-handed path (vāmamarga) considered appropriate for only advanced practitioners– centered on ritual performance of activities forbidden in everyday life.
What are Mudras?
Sacred gestures (mudrā – “seal” ).
What is Prana?
vital energy
What is Nadi?
pathways (e.g., prana nadi, vital energy pathway)
What are Yantras?
- Yantra means machine.
- Yantras – from root ‘yam’ meaning to sustain or hold.
- Geometric design composed of basic shapes – tool or instrument designed to hold fast or embody a divine power.
- Meditation devices.
- Symbols of the God/Goddess as well as the universe.
What is Bhairava?
Parama-śiva is known as Bhairava (The Terrifying).
What is golu?
Figurines are arranged in an elaborate display (golu).
What is Ramlila?
- Nine nights and ten days that Rāma battled Rāvaṇa.
- In some cities it is celebrated by acting out the story of the Rāmāyaṇa in a play called Rāmlīla.
What Vijaya Dasami and Dussehra?
- A festival, for some it commemorates the day when Durgā slew the Buffalo demon, Mahiṣa.
- For others it is Dussehra - marks the day that Rāma killed the ten-headed demon Rāvaṇa.
What is Mahāśivarātri?
“Great night of Śiva”; one of Śiva’s most celebrated festivals.
What are kolams?
elaborate diagrams drawn by women ( kolams) to decorate the entrances to their homes during the festival, Pongal
What is religious syncretism?
Religious syncretism began to appear in North India as a result of the interaction between Muslims and Hindus.
What was the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?
tipping point.
Who was Ram Mohan Roy?
Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833)
- Approach to reform – synthesize a new tradition that drew from Christianity and Hinduism that also favored Western science and its values.
- He envisioned a religion that fused the ancient teachings of Hinduism with Western rationality.
- Founded Brāhmo Samāj (Society of the Absolute) in 1828.
Who is Swami Dayānanda Sarasvati (1824-1883)?
- a Gujarati Brahmin.
- Approach to Christian influences was to encourage a return to Hindu fundamentals.
- Essence of Hinduism was in the Vedas.
- Rejected the Purāṇas and Tantras, polytheism, image worship, and the concept of avatāras.
- Founded the Ārya Samāj (Society of Noble Ones) in 1875.
Who is Ramakrishna?
- (1836-86)
- Represented traditional Hindu beliefs and spiritual techniques.
- Devotee of Kālī but also worshipped other deities in an attempt to discover their special blessings.
- Experimented with different Hindu approaches (Tantra, Vedānta ).
- Disciples formed the Ramakrishna Order in 1897.
- Emphasizes service to humanity as an expression of religious activity.
What is satyagraha?
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi used the Gita as the foundation for his teaching and technique of satyagraha (holding to the truth).
What is ahisma?
Non-violence (ahiṃsā) was an intrinsic feature of India’s religious heritage.
What is the Rashtriya Swamyamseval Sangh?
- Concept of Hindutva became the ideological foundation of the Rashtriya Swamyamseval Sangh (Community of Volunteers for the Nation) (RSS).
- Pressed for a distinctively Hindu state – without partitioning the country.
- Other religions would recognize themselves as Hindu under the cultural category of Hindutva.
- RSS was then banned by Nehru (Member of the Congress Party), the first Prime Minister of India – was firmly committed to making India a country whose political secularism showed no partiality towards any religious denomination.
What is the Bharatiya Janata Party?
- In 1980, a new political party formed - the BJP, Bharatiya Janata Party (Party of the People of India).
- Had roots in the RSS and the VHP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
- United Hindus from differing regions, caste groups under a religious symbol of dharmic government - Rām-rājya - the rule of the god-king Rāma.
What is the vedanta society?
Swami Vivekananda Instituted plans for centers to be set up in the West to foster the teachings and practices of Hinduism (called vedanta society)
What is the Transcendental Meditation (TM) Movement?
- Maharishi Mahesh Yo Founder of Transcendental Meditation (TM) Movement.
- TM consists of mantra repetition performed in 2 20 mins sessions per day.
- Presented as a simple technique to reduce stress and promote mental tranquility.
What is the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness (ISKCON)?
- Swami Bhaktivedanta founder of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness (ISKCON).
- Attracted disciples – public chanting (kīrtana) of the Vaiṣṇava’s mahāmantra resulted in them being called Hare Kṛṣṇas.
What is Brahmo Samaj?
Society of the absolute. Founded by Ram Mohan Moy in 1828
What Arya Samaj?
Society of noble ones. Founded by Swami Dayānanda Sarasvati in 1875
Who are the two most well-known leaders in the independence movement?
- Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
