Midterm 1 Terms Flashcards

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1
Q

Aditi

A
  • mother of the Gods and all beings
  • mother of Adityas (generic name for gods/sons of Aditi), including Surya (sun), Vamana, Indra
  • wife of Kashyapa
  • feminized form of Brahma
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2
Q

Agni

A
  • God of fire, fire incarnate
  • acceptor of sacrifices for other deities : messenger bw humans and deities via ritual sacrifice
  • 2 heads: life and immortality : present at altar and immortal bc fires are relit every day
  • priestly figure
  • 3 forms:fire, lightning, and the Sun
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3
Q

Aśvins

A
  • divine twin horsemen
  • doctors of the Gods, deities of Ayurvedic medicine
  • revived rishi Chyavana (he specialized in herbal rejuvenation and was feeble before these two helped)
  • known as Nasatya and Dasra
  • sons of Saranyu (God of clouds)
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4
Q

Asat

A
  • asat/sat binary:
    1) asat= nonbeing/not real, dishonst, negation of all existence
    2) sat=being/real/existing, honest
  • asatoma satgamaya (shanti mantra [also upanishad verse] lead me from unreal to real, from darkness to light)
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5
Q

Asura

A

-demons, half brothers to Gods, negative connotation, sons of Diti
-opposite is Sura (aka God aka Deva)
-good Asuras are called Adityas and are led by Varuna, while the malevolent ones are called Danavas and are led by Vritra
-cognate with old Iranian Asura (the great beneficent deity)
-without booze (sura=alc, asura=w/o alc)
asura - demons, sons of diti, half brothers to gods,
- in earliest usage, characterizes older Gods like Varuna, Agni, lords of breath/life/potential force

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6
Q

Atharva Veda

A

-4th veda
-Earthly type spells to make people do things (sinister)
For ex. make people kill other people, make people fall in love, black magic, etc.

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7
Q

Ātman

A
  • the true self/soul;not just of an individual but of the universe, unchanging, self-knowledge
  • only thing truly sat is atman (acc to upanishads[it’s central here] and vedantas)
  • Liberation of cycle of rebirth and death revolves around idea of true self-atman
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8
Q

Ṛg Veda

A
  • oldest of 4 Vedas
  • Rg=stanzas, Veda of stanzas/verses
  • lots of hymns praising gods
  • other ancient prayers for life, prosperity, etc
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9
Q

ṛta

A
  • vedic term meaning ‘order of the universe’
  • holistic: cosmological & human component that people must adhere to, rules of righteousness
  • displaced later by the concept of dharma
  • Gods supervise this but Varuna (had all seeing power over who/what adheres/violates) thought to have originally, making sure that the world adheres to it
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10
Q

Brahman

A

-supreme being identified by self of universe
-‘Brah’: powerful, big, expansive
- principle devoid of anything but purity, bliss, and consciousness
-similar to atman
Elaboration and Difference: Atman is immortal and eternal. Brahman is “world soul” or “cosmic soul.” It is the eternal essence of the universe and the ultimate divine reality.

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11
Q

Brahmā

A
  • personified deity of Brahman (originally vishakarman, then to prajapati, then to brahma the classical creator)
  • part of big 3
  • 4 heads: each created a Veda
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12
Q

Bṛhaspati

A
  • advisor to the Gods, lord of sacred speech

- assists Indra through prayers & weapons (both counsels and fights battles on a spiritual plane)

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13
Q

Brāhmaṇa

A

2 meanings

  1. Brahmin- traditionally the highest, priestly class of people
  2. text about the sacrifice in Vedic religion; culmination of sacrificial ritual in mythology
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14
Q

Cyavana

A
  • rishi AKA sage
  • aged and feeble person whose youth and strength was restored by the twin Ashvini Kumar brothers
  • known for his rejuvenation through a special herbal paste known as Chyawanprash
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15
Q

deva

A

-standard term for Gods, sons of Aditi
-also known as sura (opposite of asura)
Additional: have control of liquor-gods of booze

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16
Q

Dyaus

A
  • “Sky Father”
  • masculine, deity of the sky, counterpart to Pritvi (mother earth)
  • loses power, no longer see many of his hymns in literature, less prominent figure
  • Indra replaces him
  • cursed and born as Bhishma in Mahabarata to live a full life on earth (born to Ganga and Shantanu)
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17
Q

Harappa

A
  • one of the first sites excavated in the 20th century

- part of the Indus Valley Civilization, big urban site

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18
Q

Hiraṇyagarbha

A
  • golden womb/embryo/egg of creation
  • preceded creation
  • mystic creative principle in Rg Veda
  • epithet applied to brahma (God of creation)
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19
Q

Indo-Aryan

A

-ancient linguistic family that is Indian in origin but connected to Indo-European tradition, usually North India & neighbors
Examples: Punjabi, gujrati, Nepalese, bengali, Orissa

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20
Q

Indo-European

A
  • Great complex linguistic family
  • spread across Eurasian landmass, languages have closely affiliated sets of origins
  • large group
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21
Q

Indra

A
  • King of Gods
  • sky god, chief object of soma sacrifice, quaffer of soma, wielder of thunderbolt, great warrior god
  • Chavana story in Mahabharata (Chyavana able to create monster that almost kills indra)
  • inferior to humans/brahmans who have empowered themselves through religious practices
  • not all-powerful, loses some prestige because he is weaker and foolish
  • most hymns in Rg Veda to him, he has a lot more power earlier and then digressed from being v powerful to v foolish
22
Q

Kṣatriya

A
  • 2nd of 4 hierarchical social classes
  • protector/warrior caste
  • created from the arms of Purusha
  • often used word Rajanya , soon Kshatriya replaces it
23
Q

Mantra

A
  • hymn/stanza of vedas
  • powerful utterance of vedic verse that contains power
  • can open the mind, make something wonderful occur
  • secret doctrines handed down in schools
24
Q

Maruts

A
  • Storm gods associated w/ indra

- Indra’s posse lol

25
Q

Mitra

A
  • minor deity associated w/ Varuna

- deity of contracts

26
Q

Śūdra

A
  • One of four varnas or social orders (described in purusa sukta of the Rg Veda)
  • ->in the moral & social universe, unquestionable authority of vedas on dictating social order and hierarchy
  • feet of primordial person and thus relegated to lower occupations & social positions; marginalized group
  • they are outside of the charmed circle of the three higher classes
  • ->brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya- who all have authorization for vedic rites of passage, marriage and funerary ceremonies
  • —->sudras excluded from rituals and Vedas, almost like they have a 2nd birth
27
Q

Pṛthivī

A
  • mother Earth goddess
  • associated with Dyaus “father sky”
  • one of the wives of Vishnu
  • ongoing battle between gods and demons
  • -> earth suffers from the degradation of the asuras and therefore goes to the gods for help
  • ->Varaha story: earth sinks in the primordial ocean and Vishnu becomes a boar and lifts the earth with his tusks
28
Q

Prajāpati

A
  • becomes stock creator figure
  • patriarchal creator god seen in brahmana literature as being the first and only person in the universe but becomes lonely and creates others to inhabit the world
  • one theory is he splits into one male and female and mates with himself
  • another theory is that he has a daughter and pursues her while she shifts through different animal forms
  • prajapati eventually morphs into Brahma (Creator divinity) , also teaches Gods and such moral lessons and whatnot
29
Q

purohita

A
  • “placed first”
  • 1st ritual priest
  • every king and god has one: household priest
  • specific class of Brahmins associated w/ class of kings
  • the god’s household priest =brhaspati
30
Q

Puruṣa Sūkta

A
  • creation hymn (purusa=man, sukta=well-spoken) to create primordial man
  • elaborate story of creation of universe with sacrifice etc
  • carries on to be attached to Vishnu(Purushotama) in post-vedic times because of the creations of his avatars
31
Q

Rudra

A
  • Friend of prjapati
  • “Roarer”, ferocious, destructive
  • Lord of Marutas
  • Benevolent healer, lord of medicinal herbs
32
Q

Rta

A
  • The natural order that regulates/controls the universe and everything in and around it
  • Physical order of the universe
  • It is where all disorders and chaos come to equilibrium
33
Q

Sat

A
  • The truth
  • Describes an essence that is pure and timeless
  • Opposite of sat
34
Q

Surya

A
  • Considered Sun god and sun
  • Depicted as sitting on a chariot with a horse that has 7 heads or 7 horses (different people tell it differently)
  • Father of Manu, Yama, Asvins, Karna, Sugriva
35
Q

Soma

A
  • Multiple identities: as a plant, as a juice of a plant, and as a deity
  • Moon God
  • Plant soma
  • Invigorating, inspiring beverage craved by Vedic Gods, particularly Indra
36
Q

Sama Veda

A
  • Musical veda

- Emphasis is placed on different chants

37
Q

Savitr

A
  • Aspect of the sun

- Inspiring creatures to action

38
Q

Tvastr

A
  • Creator god and sun-good

- Son was killed by Indra

39
Q

Usas

A
  • Goddess figures of the dawn,
  • some of the most beautiful poetry dedicated to dawn, sunrise,
  • daughter of dyaus
  • affiliated with cow
40
Q

Upanisad

A
  • Final stratum of vedic literature (Vedanta) teaches about the self and soul and atman .
  • Moves critical thinking of vedic religion to the realm of knowledge. Know your true nature and then you are free from your bondage of eternal creation.
  • Earliest texts that show modern hinduism
41
Q

Vaisya

A
  • 3rd class of varna
  • 3rd caste: merchants, landowners, farmers
  • Twice born
42
Q

Vajra

A
  • Weapon of Indra
  • Powerful weapon made out of very hard material
  • In sanskrit, vajra means diamond
  • Indra split Vrtra (serpentile) using Vajra
43
Q

Varuna

A
  • Early vedic: supreme deity over the celestial ocean
  • Kind of equivalent to Poseidon
  • God of rta
  • Indra, Agni, Soma eclipsed over Varuna in importance
44
Q

Vayu

A
  • Wind God
  • Associated with Indra and, like Indra, enjoys Soma
  • Rides a chariot - number of horses corresponds to severity of wind strength
  • Chariot announces arrival with loud roar (thunder?)
45
Q

Vrtra

A
  • Brahmanical figure, although evil
  • Kills Indra, but feels the pain of killing a Brahman
  • When Indra kills Vrtra, Indra becomes possessed by a feminine spirit and becomes comatose
46
Q

Visvakarman

A
  • Creator God
  • Fashions world out of pre-existing “wood”
  • Architecture God
47
Q

Visvarupa

A
  • Universal form of God
  • Vaguely demonic, vaguely Brahmanic
  • Revelation of God as Vishnu is referred to as Visvarupa
48
Q

Vishnu

A
  • Companion/helper of Indra; little brother of Indra
  • Priest asks Vishnu to step forth in aid of helping Indra slay the demons
  • “Vishnu is the sacrifice” - identify Vishnu with the sacrifice
49
Q

Vac

A
  • Speech
  • Critical organ of language, expression
  • Vac is not just speech, it is a
    person (“language girl” –> vac)
  • There are two elements for a successful Vedic:
    1. Sacrifice (physical offerings into the fire)
    2. Mantra (form of vac/speech)
  • In the possession of the asuras
50
Q

Yajna

A

Vedic sacrifice

51
Q

Yajur Veda

A
  • Veda of ritual formulae
  • Largely in prose
  • Has two distinct sub-branches: the white and the black
  • Widely disseminated among South Indian Brahmans
52
Q

Yama

A
  • Lord of the dead; Guardian/gatekeeper of the underworld
  • The first mortal
  • Son of the sun
  • Aditi gives birth to the Gods and goes to heaven, takes 7 sons. Leaves 8th son behind –> Aditya: father of yama
  • Incarnation of dharma