Sanskrit Lesson Flashcards
Yāmas
/ˈjɑːmʌs/, यम – ‘self-restraint’, especially from actions, words, or thoughts that may cause harm.
Niyāmas
/’nējɑːmʌs/, नियम – ‘restraining rule’, ‘law’, ‘precept’. A favorable restriction of law or determination, virtuous habits, behaviors, and observances, the ethical principles.
Āsana
/ˈɑːsənə/, आसन – ‘posture’ or ‘seat’. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define asana as a position that is steady and comfortable.
Prāṇāyāma
/ˌprɑːnʌˈjɑːməː/, प्राणायाम – there are some popular meanings:
prāṇa ‘breath’ + āyāma ‘restraint’. The suspension of breath
prāṇa ‘energy’ + ayām ‘expansion’. Expansion of individual energy into cosmic energy
Pratyāhāra
/pɹatjəˈhɑːɹə/, प्रत्याहार – derived from two Sanskrit words: prati and ahara, with ahara meaning anything taken into ourselves, and prati, a preposition meaning away or against. Together they mean “weaning away from ahara” or “withdrawal of the senses”. It is the bridge between the external and internal aspects of Ashtanga yoga.
Dhāraṇā
\ ˈdärənə \, धारणा – this term is related to the verbal root dhri to hold, carry, maintain, resolve. Dharana is the noun. It may be translated as “concentration”, “single focus”, or “collection or concentration of the mind”
Dhyāna
\ dēˈänə, ˈdyä- \, ध्यान – the root of the word is dhi, which in the earliest layer of the text of the Vedas refers to “imaginative vision” and associated with goddess Saraswati with powers of knowledge, wisdom and poetic eloquence.
This term developed into the variant dhya- and dhyana, or “meditation”, an uninterrupted state of mental concentration upon a single object, higher contemplation.
Samādhi
\ səˈmädē \, समाधी – from sama, ‘together’, ā, a prefix, and dhā, ‘to place’. There are several possible meanings, like ‘putting or joining together’, ‘to acquire integration or wholeness, or truth’, ‘even, detached intellect’, ‘perfect consciousness’, and ‘equanimous intellect’.
