Hinduism Vocabulary
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46 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Purusha Myth | Mythical charter for caste found in this myth. Lord Brahma, the creator god, "for the prosperity of the worlds" created the four varna- Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra- from his mouth, arms, thigh and feet. Seperate duties were assigned by the creator to each varna. The Brahmans were the "Lords Creation" and the perpetual incarnation of dhamra (scared law). Kshatriya were to be protectors of the people who took political roles. Vaisya were responsible for cattle herding, farming, trade. Sudra were to serve the top 3 varna. From the body of god comes the society itself. |
| Veda | (from the Sanskrit word for 'knowledge') any of the most ancient sacred writings of Hinduism written in early Sanskrit |
| Shruti | "that which is heard": Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads |
| Smriti | "that which is remembered" - refers to Hindu texts written after the Vedas. All other scripture is seen as not shruti. Its function is to bring out the meaning of the shruti and apply it to later ages. Two main epics contribute to smriti, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana |
| Brahmanas | The second of four ancient hymns which deals with directions about performances of ritual sacrifices to deities |
| Brahmin | the highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category |
| Indus Valley Civilization | also known as Harappan civilization,located in India along the Indus River,near the Thar Desert and the Himalayas Mountains |
| Aryan | A group of Indo-European nomadic herders who are believed by many scholars to have migrated to the Indian subcontinent. |
| Harappa | Site of one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilization of the third millennium B.C.E. It was located on the northwest frontier of the zone of cultivation , and may have been a center for the acquisition of raw materials. (p. 48) |
| Mohenjo Daro | Indus Valley city laid out in a grid pattern. Had a complex irrigation and sewer system. |
| Caste System | traditional division of Hindu society into various categories; there are four main varnas; or classes:Brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra; each class contains certain subgroups, resulting in more than three thousand categories. |
| Varna | The four major social divisions in India's caste system: the Brahmin priest class, the Kshatriya warrior/administrator class, the Vaishya merchant/farmer class, and the Shudra laborer class. |
| Mantra | (Sanskrit) literally a 'sacred utterance' in Vedism |
| Puja | Offerings and ritual in honor of a deity |
| Kumbha Mela | Festival that happens every few years; held alternately at four sacred spots where drops of holy nectar supposedly fell |
| Varna Ashrama Dharma | the impersonal structure of personal duty and cosmic law, including caste and life-stage |
| Om | a mantra used in contemplation of ultimate reality |
| Dharma | in Hinduism, the duties and obligations of each caste |
| Upanishads | A group of writings sacred in Hinduism concerning the relations of humans, God, and the universe. |
| Karma | (Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation |
| Atman | the individual soul |
| Brahman | a single spiritual power that Hindus believe lives in everything |
| Maya | cosmic illusion brought about by divine creative power. |
| Samsara | (Hinduism and Buddhism) the endless cycle of birth and suffering and death and rebirth |
| Moksha | The Hindu concept of the spirit's 'liberation' from the endless cycle of rebirths. |
| Yoga | Hindu discipline aimed at training the consciousness for a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility that is achieved through the three paths of actions and knowledge and devotion |
| Rishi | Hindu: a term for the Hindu "seers" who experience altered states of consciousness : These seers were thought to be the original "authors" to whom the Vedas were originally revealed. : Unlike other sages, these ones were thought to speak only truth and never falter |
| Rg Veda | oldest and most sacred, containing 1028 hymns, prayers and myths |
| Sama Veda | Third Veda: Hymn |
| Yajur Veda | a collection of mostly prose sacrificial formulas (yajus) used by the presiding priest in a sacrifice |
| Gayatri Mantra | sacred vedic mantra |
| Vedanta | (from the Sanskrit for 'end of the Veda') one of six orthodox philosophical systems or viewpoints rooted in the Upanishads as opposed to Mimamsa which relies on the Vedas and Brahmanas |
| Agni | (Sanskrit) god of fire in ancient and traditional India |
| Varuna | in Vedism, god of the night sky who with his thousand eyes watches over human conduct and judges good and evil and punishes evildoers |
| Indra | the god of war |
| Yagna | a fire sacrifice |
| Sanskrit | (Hinduism) an ancient language of India (the language of the Vedas and of Hinduism) |
| Ashrama | one of four stages in the Hindu age-based social system. The layers consist of students, householders, retirees, and renouncers |
| Deva | A deity |
| Tat Tvam Asi | "thou art that" - the famous Upanishadic maxim describing the identification of the individual soul with the universal soul |
| Vishnu | A Hindu god considered the preserver of the world |
| Siva | Hindu God - The Destroyer |
| Devi | mother goddess |
| Durga | goddess of war |
| Kali | dark, fierce goddess who symbolizes time and destruction |
| Parvati | One of Shiva's wives. She represents erotic and sensual love, the love of courtship and wooing. She is the mother of Ganesha |
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