The Way Flashcards
acharya
teacher
adhyaksha
superintendent/government official of importance
adivasi
the indigenous inhabitant - now used sometimes for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) of India
agnikula
ruling families claiming ancestry from a hero who sprang out of a sacrificial fire
agrahara
donation of land or village to brahmans, usually by royalty
ahimsa
non-violence
Alvika
a heterodox sect of the time of the Buddha
Alvar
Vaishnava poets and composers of hymns belonging to the Tamil devotional movement
amatya
designation of a high official
anuloma
literally, in the direction of the body hair, therefore observing the caste hierarchy even in marriages across castes
apsara
celestial woman/nymph
aranya
forest/wilderness
artha
livelihood/economy
aryavarta
the land inhabited by aryas
ashrama
hermitage/refuge; also used with reference to the four stages or ashramas of the human life-cycle - brahmacharin/studentship, grihastha/householdership, vanaprastha/initiating renunciation, samnyasa/asceticism
ashtakula-adhikarana
administrative body
ashvamedha
sacrifice performed by those desirous of being accorded royal status, and by kings
atman
soul
ayukta
official designation
banjaras
generally cattle pastoralists who were also carriers of goods exchanged in trade
banya
member of a trading community
Bhagavata
associated with the worship of Vishnu
bhakti
devotion, a characteristic feature of what modern historians have called the Bhakti movement, focusing on devotion to a deity
bhogta
one who enjoys: used by extension for those who enjoyed revenue rights over certain lands
bhukti
administrative unit
bodhisattva
one who works for the welfare of the world and voluntarily postpones release from rebirth; also refers sometimes to an incarnation of the Buddha prior to his own birth in the world
brahmacharin
celibate studentship, the first of the four stages of the ideal life-cycle
brahmadeya
village or land donated to a brahman, who received the revenue that came from it
brahma-kshatra
the claim to an ancestry associated with both brahman and kshatriya
brahman
the first in rank among the four varnas of Hindu society, frequently translated as caste, but in some contexts should more correctly be translated as ritual status; the brahman was primarily a ritual specialist and also provided the structures for formal education in Sanskrit
Brahmanas
Vedic exegetical texts for rituals
brahmi
the earliest deciphered script of India and dating to historical times
chaitya
a sacred enclosure - later took the form of a hall and became an essential focus of Buddhist worship together with the stupa
chakravartin
universal monarch
chandala
a group from among the outcast section of society, gradually regarded as untouchable
Chandravamsha
the lunar lineage, indicative of royal status
chetti
merchants
daivaputra
literally, the son of a deity; a royal title
dakshina
sacrificial fee; the southern direction
dana
donation/votive offering
danda
force/coercion/punishment
dasa
initially ‘the Other’ of the arya - later a slave or servant
desha
territory or an administrative unit; a region
devadana
usually land or revenue donated to a temple
devadasi
female slave of the gods, used with reference to women dedicated to the temple
devanagari
the later, evolved form of the brahmi script, also used for some modern Indian languages
Dhammaldharma
piety, morality, ethics, virtue/the social and religious order
Dharma-shastra
texts attempting to codify the social and ritual duties, and obligations of the members of the four varnas and the relationship between them
Digambara
literally, ‘sky-clad’, one of the two main Jaina schools
digvijayin
the conqueror of the four quarters
dinara
a coin based on the Roman denarius
doab
the land between two rivers
dronavapa
a measure of grain
dvija
literally, the twice-born, refers to either the highest varna or the three upper varnas of Hindu caste society, where the first birth is the physical birth and the second is the initiation into varna status
eripatti
land from which the revenue was used to maintain irrigation tanks
gahapati
a landowner
gana-rajya
oligarchy/chiefdom
garbha-griha
literally, the womb-house, the sanctum sanctorum of the Hindu temple
gavunda
categories of landowners; could be a member of a local administrative committee
ghatika
an educational centre often attached to a temple
ghi
clarified butter
grama
village
guru
teacher or guide
heggade
a term used in the peninsula for a landowner
Hinayana
The Lesser Vehicle, a major school of Buddhism
itihasa-purana
sections of texts claiming to refer to events of the past
jana
people, subjects, tribe, clan
janapada
literally, where the clan or tribe places its foot; the territory initially occupied by a clan and which could evolve into a state
jati
caste; a social segment identified by membership through birth, marriage circles, occupation, custom and location
jyestha
elder, as in the guild-like organization of the shreni
kahapanal/karsapanal/pana
widely used coin series, often silver
kakini
copper coins
Kalamukha
a Shaiva sect
kaliyuga
the fourth and final age of the great cycle of time, the mahayuga
kalpa
a frame of time-reckoning
kama
desire
Kapalika
a Shaiva sect
karma
action or deed, and also used in the theory of future births being conditioned by the deeds of the present life
kassaka
a cultivator, not as well-off as the gahapati
kayastha
a caste, chiefly of scribes
kharoshthi
a script used in north-west India and derived from the Aramaic script
kshatrapa
associated with the administrative title of satrap, and used specifically for some rulers of western India
kshatriya
the second in rank among the four varnas; included a warrior aristocracy, landowners and royalty
kshetra
field
kula
family
kuladevi
clan goddess
kulyavapa
a winnowing basket
kumaramatya
a title of honour, often used for a prince
kutumbi
householder
lingam
the phallic symbol, associated with the worship of Shiva
mahadanas
great gifts/donations
maharajadhiraja
great king of kings
mahasamanta
ruler or governor but subordinate to an overlord
mahasammata
‘the great elect’, the person elected to rule and signifying the origin of government in Buddhist theory
mahasenapati
commander-in-chief of the army
mahattara
head of the village
Mahayana
the Great Vehicle, a major school of Buddhism
mana
a large unit of weight
mandala
a cosmogram, projecting the universe in a geometric pattern, often concentric with indications of cardinal points and sometimes square; also refers to a theory of interstate relations where the king desirous of victory is at the centre and the pattern lays out potential allies and enemies
mandalam
an administrative unit
manigramam
a formal association or guild of merchants
mantra
sounds, words, verses associated with magical and religious connotations
marga
the path/mainstream
matha
a hospice or a monastery attached to a temple and often a centre of education
matsyanyaya
a political theory where a parallel is drawn between a condition of drought when tanks dry up with the big fish eating the small fish, and a condition of political anarchy when the strong devour the weak
maya
illusion
mlechchha
outside the pale of caste society/impure
moksha
liberation from rebirth
nadu
a territorial unit in south India
nagarashresthin
the chief merchant of the city
nataka
dance, mime, drama
Nayanars
Shaiva poets of Tamil devotionalism
nigama
a market or a ward of a city
nirvana
release from the cycle of rebirth
nishka
a unit of value, later used for a coin
paan
betel-leaf
Pali
an Indo-Aryan language in which the Buddhist Canon of the Theravada sect was recorded
palli
a hamlet, sometimes also a small market centre
panchakula
administrative body
panchayat
an administrative body, said to be a council of five
Pashupata
a Shaiva sect
pipal
ficus religiosa tree
pradesha
an administrative unit
pratiloma
literally, against the direction of the body hair, therefore against the hierarchy of castes in relation to marriage
purohita
priest and mentor, especially in families of status
rajadhiraja
royal title
rajasuya
sacrifice performed to enhance royal or chiefly status
rajuka
official designation
ranaka
rank or status given to a landed intermediary
rasa
a mood or an emotion evoked in creative literature, music and dance
rashtra
country/administrative unit
sabha
an assembly, usually small and of special persons
samanta
initially a term used for a neighbour; later it referred to a landed intermediary subordinate to the king
samiti
an assembly
samnyasi
ascetic
samsara
used most commonly to refer to the cycle of transmigration
sangha
frequently used to indicate the organizational Order in the Shramanic religions and more commonly in Buddhism
sankirna jati
mixed caste
sarthavaha
caravaneer
sati
a virtuous woman; one who has immolated herself on the funeral pyre of her husband
setthi
merchant
shakti
power
Shangam
assembly; more specifically the earliest literary corpus of Tamil poems
shastra
texts on various subjects viewed as authoritative
shatamana
coin
shikhara
tower surmounting the sanctum of the temple
shraddha
worship of the ancestors at a particular time of the year
shreni
formal association of members of a profession; a guild
shudra
the fourth and lowest varna
shunya
the zero
Shvetambara
literally, clad in white, one of the major Jaina schools
soma
the plant from which the juice was prepared and drunk in a ritual context during some Vedic sacrifices, and thought to be a hallucinogen
stri-dhana
the wealth of a woman given specifically to her for her own use
stupa
tumulus-like Structure containing relics of the Buddha or others and worshipped by Buddhists
Suryavamsha
solar lineage
suvarna
literally, of good colour and another name for gold
svyamavara
the ceremony at which a princess chose her husband from among an assembly of suitors
thakkura
the rank or status of a landed intermediary
Theravada
an early Buddhist sect
tirtha
literally a ford, more frequently a place of pilgrimage
tirthankara
literally, a ford-maker; the teachers of Jainism
ur
village assembly in south India
vaishya
the third status in the varna hierarchy concerned theoretically with raising livestock, cultivation and trade
valanadu
administrative unit in south India
vana
forest
varna
literally, colour; used for the four castes often as ritual statuses; the reference was not to skin pigmentation since in one text the four colours listed are white, yellow, red and black
varna-ashrama-dharma
upholding a society organized on the basis of varna and the social and sacred duties that this entailed
velala
peasants or landowners of various categories
vihara
Buddhist monastery
vina
lyre
vishaya
an administrative unit
vishti
forced labour or labour in lieu of a tax, often compared to the corvee
vratya
initially referring to those who were thought not to conform to orthodoxy, it came to mean degenerate forms in various categories
yaksha
a demi-god
yoni
female organs of generation
yuga
a period of time
ziarat
a place of pilgrimage
Sabaras
Non-Aryan Tribe
Atelier
a workshop or studio, especially one used by an artist or designer.
