key words

Question 1

ātman

Answer 1

“self”

or self existence essence of individuals

Question 2

avatāra

Answer 2

“descent”

descent forms or incarnations of visnu but more widely to any manifestation of a deity in a particular physical form

Question 3

Bhagavadgītā

Answer 3

An episode of seven hundred verses embedded in book six of the great Sanskrit poem Mahābhārata

Question 4

bhakti

Answer 4

“worship”. “devotion”, “participation”

religious attitudes and practices predicated on total devotion to a supreme deity

Question 5

Brahmā

Answer 5

Brahma is a Hindu god, referred to as “The Creator” within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva. He is associated with creation, knowledge and Vedas.

Question 6

brahman/brāhmaṇa

Answer 6

Brahman is a supreme, universal spirit that is eternal and unchanging and is displayed as being present throughout the entire universe
- all living beings carry a part of Brahman within them. This divine spark is known as the atman , or soul, and it is immortal.

Question 7

darshan

Answer 7

form of hindu worship and central to any extended form of puja
meeting of devotee and dietys eyes

Question 8

dharma

Answer 8

‘truth’ ‘order’ ‘duty’ ‘order’

Question 9

Durgā

Answer 9

A name given to the most prominent, fierce form of Devī,

warrior goddess

Question 10

Kālī

Answer 10

name of fierce and terrible form of Devi

master of death, time and change

Question 11

Kṛṣṇa (Krishna)

Answer 11

one of major hindu gods, regarded by his devotees as the supreme diety
some scholars refer to as the ‘composite’ god

Question 12

Liṅga

Answer 12

mark, sign, phallus of siva

most often rendered today as a cylindrical form, set into an oval, round, or square base.

Question 13

Mahābhārata

Answer 13

one of two ancient Indian/sanskrit epics

Question 14

Mīmāṃsā

Answer 14

Mīmāṁsā is a Sanskrit word that means “reflection” or “critical investigation” and thus refers to a tradition of contemplation which reflected on the meanings of certain Vedic texts
one of six systems of `Indian philosophy

Question 15

mokṣa

Answer 15

ultimate soteriological goal of an individual’s ritual, ethical, or devotional striving/ various forms of enlightenment, liberation/emancipation

Question 16

prakṛti

Answer 16

the female of the two fundamental principles which constitute reality
ultimate cause of all material existence

Question 17

prasād(a)

Answer 17

free choice or action of a deity to favour a devotee with the means to liberation or liberations itself

food and water offered to a deity during worship
belief deity partakes of and returns offering by consecrating it

Question 18

pūjā

Answer 18

‘worship’

‘pūjā’ denotes the ritual worship of a deity in the form of an image

Question 19

Purāṇas

Answer 19

huge body of narrative religious texts
contain narratives from creation to destruction
some are discourses on cosmology

Question 20

puruṣa

Answer 20

male person/ supreme being

totality of things/essence of the individual

Question 21

Rāmāyaṇa

Answer 21

What is Ramayana in Hinduism?
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic which follows Prince Rama’s quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an army of monkeys.

Question 22

renouncer (saṃnyāsin)

Answer 22

member of the three higher varnas and has renounced external Vedic ritual and the life of the householder in order to dedicate himself to the pursuit of moksa

Question 23

Śakti (Shakti)

Answer 23

‘energy’/ ‘power’ personified as a feminine principle

either as male consort or independent goddess or devi

Question 24

Sāṃkhya

Answer 24

One of six darshans (philosophies) intimations of a fundamental dualism between male spirit and female matter
dualism of matter (prakriti) and the eternal spirit (purusha).

Question 25

Śiva

Answer 25

One of the three great deities of medieval and subsequent Hinduism; destroyer

Question 26

mūrti

Answer 26

The image, icon, or concrete form of a deity

Question 27

Upaniṣads

Answer 27

The Upanishads are the philosophical-religious texts of Hinduism
fourth layer of vedic literature

Question 28

Vaiśeṣika

Answer 28

one of six darshanas

foundational texts attempts to identify the fundamental constituents of the material universe.

Question 29

varṇa

Answer 29

The principle by which, according to Brahmanical ideology, society is ideally ranked in a complementary hierarchy of four ‘classes’ or varṇas (brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras), differentiated by particular social functions assigned by birth

Question 30

Vedānta

Answer 30

one of six darshanas
Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, the speculations and philosophies contained in the Upanishads, specifically, knowledge and liberation

Question 31

Vedas

Answer 31

primary sacred text

body of sanskrit texts

Question 32

Viṣṇu (Vishnu)

Answer 32

One of the three great deities of medieval and subsequent Hinduism
preserver and protector of the universe

Question 33

yoga

Answer 33

one of six darshanas
usually paired with samkhya
goal is the state of blissful liberation
closer to brahman

Question 34

yoni

Answer 34

A stylized representation of female genitalia, representing the Goddess and/or female power (śakti)
consort of shiva

Question 35

Nyāya

Answer 35

one of six darshanas

‘reasoning’ , ‘logic’, ‘method’

Question 36

Pārvatī

Answer 36

Hindu goddess of power, nourishment, harmony, devotion, and motherhood. She is Devi in her complete form.