Midterm 1 Terms Flashcards
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
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
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)
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)
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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)
13
Q
Brāhmaṇa
A
2 meanings
- Brahmin- traditionally the highest, priestly class of people
- text about the sacrifice in Vedic religion; culmination of sacrificial ritual in mythology
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
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
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)
17
Q
Harappa
A
- one of the first sites excavated in the 20th century
- part of the Indus Valley Civilization, big urban site
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)
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
20
Q
Indo-European
A
- Great complex linguistic family
- spread across Eurasian landmass, languages have closely affiliated sets of origins
- large group
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
