Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

by Swami Sivananda

T

Taapatraya: Sufferings or afflictions of three kinds, to which mortals are subject, viz., (1) those caused by one's own body (Adhyatmika), (2) those caused by beings around him (Adhibhautika), and (3) those caused by Devas (Adhidaivika).
Tadakara (or Tadrupa): Of that form, i.e., of the same form as That, viz., Brahman.
Tadatmya: Identity; of the nature of that.
Tadatmyasambandha: Identical relation, e.g., iron becomes fire, water becomes white when mixed with milk.
Taijasa: A name used in Vedanta philosophy for an individual in the subtle state (as in dream) when the Supreme Reality is veiled and coloured by an individual's subtle body.
Tailadhara: Continuous flow of oil; parallel used to denote the continuous flow of one thought in meditation, as well as the unbroken current of love of the devotee to his Beloved, God.
Talatala: A nether region.
Talumula: Root of the palate.
Tamas: Ignorance; inertia; darkness; perishability.
Tamasahankara: The lowest or grossest type of egoism characterised by delusion, inertia and deep arrogation.
Tamasika Tapas: Extreme austerity of an unnecessary, fearful and dire type; self-torture practised by an ignorant person mistaking it for real Tapas.
Tandra: Drowsiness; half-sleepy state; an obstacle in meditation.
Tanmatra: Atom; rudimentary element in an undifferentiated state before Panchikarana or quintuplication.
Tanmayata: State of absorption into.
Tantra: A manual of or a particular path of Sadhana laying great stress upon Japa of a Mantra and other esoteric Upasanas.
Tantrika: Pertaining to Tantra; a Hindu sect worshipping God as the Divine Mother in a particular form.
Tanu: Body; thin.
Tanu-avastha: Thinned state of mind.
Tanumanasi: Thread-like state of mind; the third of the Jnana-Bhumikas.
Tapana: Burning.
Tapas: Purificatory action; ascetic self-denial; austerity; penance; mortification.
Tapasvi: Ascetic; one who is practising Tapas.
Tapoloka: One of the higher worlds, just below Satya Loka.
Taptapinda: Heated ball.
Tara: Name of God as the Divine Mother in a particular form.
Tarakajnana: The knowledge that leads to Moksha.
Tarana: Liberation; crossing over Samsara.
Taranga: Wave.
Tarka: Logic.
Tarpana: Libation of water for gratifying the manes.
Tat-tvam-asi: That thou art; one of the four Mahavakyas; this is found in the Chhandogya Upanishad of the Sama Veda; this is the Abheda-bodha-vakya or the sentence which reveals non-difference between the Self and Brahman; this is Upadesa-vakya or Instruction given by the Self-realised sage to the disciple.
Tatastha-lakshana: An indirect notion of what a thing is; in Vedanta it is the accidental definition of Brahman, as given by the definition that Brahman is the cause of creation, preservation and destruction of the universe.
Tatastha-vritti: A Vritti of indifference; neutrality wherein there is neither attraction nor repulsion.
Tattva: Reality; element; truth; essence; principle.
Tattvadarsi: One who sees the subtle nature of things; a sage; Sukshmadarsi.
Tattvajnana: Knowledge of Brahman; same as Brahma Jnana.
Tattvatita: Beyond the elements.
Tattvavit: Knower of the essence of things; sage or Brahmajnani.
Tavaivaham: I am Thine alone.
Tejas: Brilliancy (specially spiritual); the element of fire; Agni; heat.
Tejomaya: Full of light; resplendent.
Tirobhava: Veiling.
Tirtha: Holy waters; place of pilgrimage; sacred place usually containing a bathing place; also, a name of a Dasanami Sannyasin belonging to the Dvaraka Matha.
Titiksha: Bearing with equanimity the pairs of opposites, heat and cold, pleasure and pain, and respectful and disrespectful treatment; endurance.
Tivra: Intense; keen; sharp.
Tivravairagya: Intense dispassion.
Trataka: Steady gazing; the process of fixing the gaze on a small dot, point, etc. In Hatha Yoga, the Yogi gazes without winking at some minute object until tears flow profusely from his eyes; by this the celestial vision is acquired.
Trigunamayi: A connotative name of God as the Divine Mother suggesting that She possesses the three Gunas.
Trigunatmika: Characterised by three Gunas, viz., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas; of the cosmic energy or the divine power.
Trikaladarsi: Seer of the three periods; by the knowledge acquired by Yoga, the Yogi sees everything in the past, present and future.
Trikalajnana: Knowledge of the three periods.
Trikalajnani: One who knows the past, present and the future.
Trikuta: The space between the eyebrows.
Tripti: Satisfaction
Triputa: The triad (seer, sight, seen).
Trishna: Thirsting (for objects); internal craving (for sense-objects).
Trisula: Trident; weapon wielded by Lord Siva.
Triveni: The place where three holy rivers meet; the space between the eyebrows.
Trivritkarana: Triplication; intermixture of three visible elements, viz., fire, water and earth, for the formation of bodies.
Tryanuka: Combination of three atoms; consisting of three atoms.
Tuccha: Trifling; mean.
Tulasi: The Indian (holy) basil plant, sacred to Lord Vishnu, and venerated by the Vaishnavas as most divine.
Tulya: Equal.
Turiya: Superconscious state; the noumenal Self of creatures which transcends all conditions and states; oneness.
Tushnimbhuta-avastha: A state of the mind where there is neither attraction nor repulsion; the state of being silent.
Tushti: Contentment; satisfaction.
Tvach: Skin.
Tyaga: Renunciation (of egoism and Vasanas, and the world).

U

Ubhayatmaka: Belonging to both.
Ucchvasa: Outgoing breath; breathing out.
Udanavayu: One of the five vital airs functioning in the human body.
Udarata: Magnanimity; generosity; expansion.
Udaravastha: Expanded state.
Udaravritti: Generous nature; expanded state of psychosis.
Udasina: Indifferent.
Udasinata: Indifference (to objects and sense-attractions); state of being indifferent.
Udbhijja: Born from seeds; a plant.
Udbhuta: Such as can be comprehended by the senses; born (out of the elements).
Udbodhaka: Stimulus; awakener.
Uddharsha: Excessive joy.
Uddiyana: A Hatha Yogic Kriya; it is a Yogic exercise for raising the diaphragm; it starts with a complete exhala tion; the muscles of the abdomen are then fully relaxed and pushed well under the ribs.
Udgatri: The priest who recites Sama Veda.
Udghata: Awakening of the Kundalini Sakti that is lying dormant in the Muladhara Chakra.
Udgita: Pranava; sonorous prayer, prescribed in the Sama Veda to be sung aloud; Om.
Umadevi: Consort of Lord Siva; She imparted knowledge to Indra.
Unmadana: Intoxication.
Unmanibhava: Mindlessness.
Unmani-avastha: Mindless state of Yogia.
Upadana: Material.
Upadana-karana: Material cause as the clay for making the pot. This is termed Samvayakarana in the Nyaya philosophy.
Upadhi: A superimposed thing or attribute that veils and gives a coloured view of the substance beneath it; limiting adjunct; instrument; vehicle; body; a technical term used in Vedanta philosophy for any superimposition that gives a limited view of the Absolute and makes It appear as the relative. Jiva's Upadhi is Avidya; Isvara's Upadhi is Maya.
Upadhi-dharma: Charastistic of the limiting adjunct.
Upadrashta: Supervisor.
Upaharana: Bringing near; fetching; taking; seizing.
Upahitachaitanya: Intelligence associated with Upadhis; individual soul.
Upakrama: Beginning; commencement.
Upakrama-upasamhara-ekavakyata: The unity of thought in the beginning as well as in the end; the first of the Shad-lingas.
Upakurvana: One who will become a householder after religious study.
Upakurvana-brahmachari: A student who takes the 'vow of continence for a limited period only.
Upalabdhi: Perception; knowledge; attainment.
Upalabdhri: The perceiving or knowing subject.
Upamana: Comparison; simile.
Upamsu-japa: Japa done with a humming sound; semi-verbal repetition of a Mantra.
Upanishat: Knowledge portion of the Vedas; texts dealing with the ultimate truth and its realisation. Upanishads are mainly 108 in number, of which 10 are regarded most important.
Upapataka: A minor sin.
Upaprana: One of the five minor vital breaths.
Uparama: Satiety; Vairagya; renunciation of actions.
Uparamata: Calmness of mind; cessation of action.
Uparati: Satiety in the enjoyment of sense-objects; surfeit; discontinuance of religious ceremonies following upon renunciation; absolute calmness; tranquillity; renunciation.
Upasaka: One who does Upasana; worshipper.
Upasana: (lit.) Sitting near; worship or contemplation of God or deity; devout meditation.
Upasanamurti: That form of God chosen for worship.
Upasarga: Obstacle.
Upastambhaka: Instrumental cause; supporting; encouraging.
Upastha: Genital.
Upasya: Fit to be worshipped.
Upaya: Means or device.
Upeksha: Indifference.
Urdhvaretoyogi: The Yogi in whom the seminal energy flows upwards.
Urmi: A wave; an evil; reference is often made to six evils; they are hunger and thirst, old age and death, grief and delusion or loss of consciousness.
Utkarsha: Superiority; eminence.
Utkranti: Departure of the soul from the body.
Utpatti: Origin; creation.
Utpattinasa: Beginning and destruction.
Utsaha: Cheerfulness; enthusiasm.
Utsava: Festivity.
Uttama: Best.
Uttamakoti-adhikari: Qualified person of first degree.
Uttamapurusha: Highest person; God.
Uttamarahasya: Highest secret of things.
Uttarayana: The six months of the year, corresponding approximately to the time from 15th January to 15th July; six months of the northern solstice.
Utthana: Rising (from the ground).

V

Vaasudeva: The name of Bhagavan Narayana; Sri Krishna; etymologically the term means a god who abides in all things and in whom all things abide.
Vach: Speech.
Vacharambhana: Ornament of speech (like pot in the mud) existing in speech only; not real. Mud is the truth; pot is only an ornate expression. Gold is the reality; ornament is only an expression.
Vachya: That which is denoted by speech.
Vachyartha: Literal meaning.
Vada: Discussion.
Vahnisara: A form of Antardhauti in which the navel is made to touch the spinal column.
Vaidhi: According to a set code of injunctions; formalistic.
Vaidhi bhakti: Formalistic devotion (at the initial stage on the Path of Love); practice of devotion through a set code of rituals, as a preparatory course for developing intense love for God.
Vaijayanti: The name of the garland on Lord Vishnu.
Vaikhari: Articulate form of sound.
Vaikhari japa: Articulate or loud repetition of a Mantra.
Vaikriti: Modification.
Vaikuntha: The abode of Lord Vishnu; the highest world presided over by Lord Vishnu, destined for persons of final emancipation.
Vairagya: Indifference towards and disgust for all worldly things and enjoyments; dispassion.
Vaishamyavastha: A state wherein the equilibrium of the three Gunas is disturbed; a state opposite to Samyavastha which is a state of equilibrium of the three Gunas.
Vaishnava: Worshipper of Lord Vishnu, the preserver, one incarnation of Whom is Krishna; a Hindu sect worshipping God Vishnu; a member of this sect; the Saivas are the worshippers of Lord Siva, the destroyer, while the Saktas are the worshippers of Sakti or energy, the consort of Siva; the worshippers of Lord Krishna are mainly found in Brindavan in Mathas.
Vaishnavasastra: The scripture treating of Vishnu.
Vaishnavi: The Sakti or the divine power of Vishnu.
Vaisvanara: The god of fire; the digestive fire; the gastric fire; the sum-total of the created beings; Brahma in the form of the universe; Virat-purusha.
Vaisvanaravidya: The process of meditation on Brahman, taking the digestive fire of the animal body as the symbol; method of meditation on the Virat.
Vaitarani: A fearful river for the sinful to cross.
Vaitrishnya: Non-attachment; cravinglessness.
Vajra: Adamantine firmness; thunderbolt.
Vaksamudaya: The collection of speech or words.
Vaksiddhi: Perfection in speech, in which state whatever one speaks turns out to be true; the result of observance of truthfulness.
Vamanadhauti: Cleaning the throat and stomach by drinking water and vomiting.
Vanamala: The picturesque garland worn by Lord Vishnu.
Vanaprastha: Forester; one who leads the third stage of life.
Vanchana: Cheating.
Vandhyaputra: Barren woman's son; a symbol of non-existence.
Vanhi: Fire
Varaha: One of the incarnations of God, according to Hindu mythology; the Boar, the third incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Varisara: A form of Antardhauti by which the body is filled with water which is then evacuated by the anus.
Varna: A form of letter; colour; caste.
Varnasrama: Related to the four primary groups and the four stages of Hindu life; the laws of the caste and stage of life.
Varnatmakasabda: Lettered sound which has meaning.
Varuna: The divine intelligence presiding over the element of water.
Varunabija: The syllable "Vam".
Varunaloka: The world of the Lord of Waters.
Vasana: Subtle desire; a tendency created in a person by the doing of an action or by enjoyment; it induces the person to repeat the action or to seek a repetition of the enjoyment; the subtle impression in the mind capable of developing itself into action; it is the cause of birth and experience in general; the impression of actions that remains unconsciously in the mind.
Vasanakshaya: Annihilation of subtle desires.
Vasanarahita: Without subtle desires.
Vasanatyaga: Renunciation of subtle desires.
Vasikara: Control; highest stage of lower Vairagya.
Vasitva: One of the eight Siddhis by which the Yogi gets control over everything.
Vastu: Object; substance; Brahman.
Vata: Wind; one of the three humours of the body; rheumatism.
Vatasara: A form of Antardhauti or inner cleansing by which air is drawn into the belly and then expelled.
Vatsalya: The attitude of a devotee expressing parental relationship with God, looking upon Him as a child.
Vayu: The Wind-god; air; vital breath; Prana.
Vayubhakshana: Eating air; this is a means of subsisting without food, practised by Hatha Yogis.
Vayudharana: Concentration on a particular vital air; one of the five modes of concentration in Hatha Yoga.
Vayutattva: Principle of air.
Veda: The highest authority among the Aryans of India; it is held that this was never written by anyone and it is, therefore, free from the imperfections to which human productions are subject. When it is forgotten, it is reproduced by Rishis by doing meditation. As the sounds forming the text of the Veda occur in the same order and are pronounced in the same manner, it is said to be eternal; it teaches who and what Brahman is, and how He should be worshipped. Smritis, Itihasas and Puranas only amplify its teaching. It is the most ancient, authentic scripture of the Hindus.
Vedana: Feeling; sensation; knowledge; percept (a Buddhistic terminology).
Vedanasakti: Power of cognition or sensation.
Vedanaskandha: Group of feeling (a Buddhistic term).
Vedanga: An auxiliary to the Vedas. The Vedangas are six in number: 1. Siksha The science of proper articulation and pronunciation. 2. Kalpa Rituals and ceremonies. 3. Vyakarana Grammar. 4. Nirukta Etymological explanation of different Vedic words. 5. Chhandas The science of prosody. 6. Jyotisha Astronomy.
Vedanta: (lit.) The end of the Vedas; the Upanishads; the school of Hindu thoughts (based primarily on the Upanishads) upholding the doctrine of either pure non-dualism or conditional non-dualism; (the original text of this school is Vedanta-darsana or Uttaramimamsa or the Brahma-sutras compiled by sage Vyasa.)
Vedanti: One who follows the path of Vedantic Sadhana.
Vega: Momentum; force.
Vibhaga: Division.
Vibhu: All-pervading; great.
Vibhuti: Manifestation; divine glory and manifestation of divine power; pervasion; the special forms in which the Lord exhibits Himself.
Vicchinnavastha: Hidden state (of Vasanas).
Vichara: Enquiry into the nature of the Self, Brahman or Truth; ever-present reflection on the why and wherefore of things; enquiry into the real meaning of the Mahavakya Tat-tvam-asi; discrimination between the Real and the unreal; enquiry of Self.
Vicharasakti: Power of enquiry.
Videha: Bodiless.
Videhakaivalya: Disembodied salvation.
Videhamukti: Disembodied salvation; salvation attained by the realised soul after shaking off the physical sheath as opposed to Jivanmukti which is liberation even while living.
Vidhi: Injunction; method; rule.
Vidhipurvaka: In accordance with the scriptural injunctions.
Vidvan: A knowing person; the term is particularly applied to one that knows the real nature of the Self as distinct from the body.
Vidvatsannyasa: Renunciation after the attainment of the knowledge of Brahman.
Vidya: Knowledge (of Brahman); there are two kinds of knowledge, Paravidya and Aparavidya; a process of meditation or worship.
Vidyadhara: One of a class of celestials.
Vidyut-loka: The region of lightning.
Vighna: Obstacle.
Vighnesa: The god who removes obstacles; same as Ganesa, son of Lord Siva.
Vijara: Ageless; without old age.
Vijnana: The principle of pure intelligence; secular knowledge; knowledge of the Self.
Vijnanamayakosa: One of the sheaths of the soul consisting of the principal intellect or Buddhi.
Vijnanaspandita: Movement of consciousness.
Vijnanatma: Cognitional Self; soul; intellectual Self.
Vikalpa: Imagination; oscillation of the mind.
Vikara: Modification or change, generally with reference to the modification of the mind, individually or cosmically.
Vikarshanasakti: Power of repulsion.
Vikasa: State of expansion, as in the evolution of the world.
Vikrita: Changed; modified; ready or prone to create.
Vikriti: Change; derivative products of Prakriti, as Mahat, Buddhi, mind, the senses and the Tanmatras.
Vikshepa: The tossing of the mind which obstructs concentration.
Vikshepasakti: The power of Maya that projects the Universe and causes movement and superimposition.
Vikshipta: Distracted; scattered; not collected.
Vimarsha: Dissatisfaction, displeasure; impatience.
Vinasa: Destruction.
Vinasi: Perishable.
Vinaya: Humility or sense of propriety; manners; education; mental culture and refinement.
Viniyoga: Application.
Viparita: Contrary; perverted.
Viparitabhavana: Wrong conception, such as conceiving the body as the Self; perverted understanding or imagination.
Viparitata: Dissimilarity in objects; reversion.
Viparyaya: Wrong knowledge; wrong cognition; distraction of mind.
Virachara: A Tantric course of discipline for the heroic type of devotees.
Viraha: Burning agony due to the separation from the Lord.
Viraja: Free from Rajas or passion; a river which has to be crossed before the world of Brahma is to be reached and which only eminent and saintly men, devoid of passion and desire can cross.
Virakti: Same as Vairagya.
Virasa: Without essence.
Virat: Macrocosm; the physical world that we see; the Lord in His form as the manifested universe.
Viratpurusha: The deity presiding over the universe; the cosmic or universal aspect of the deity.
Virya: Seminal energy; strength; power.
Visadrisaparinama: A change different from the original, like that of milk into curd; one relation of the Gunas changes into another different from it and so on.
Visarjana: Removal; the final item in Upasana or worship by which the worshipper devotedly prays to the divine presence invoked in the idol, to return to its original abode.
Visesha: Special; distinctive qualification.
Viseshaguna: Special quality.
Viseshajnana: Special knowledge; detailed knowledge.
Viseshana: Attribute; property; an invariable and distinguishing attribute; specification.
Viseshavastha: Differentiated condition.
Viseshavijnana: Special knowledge; knowledge of the Self, as opposed to the knowledge of phenomenal science.
Vishada: Sadness; dejection.
Vishaya: Object of perception or enjoyment.
Vishayabhoga: Sensual enjoyment.
Vishayachaitanya: Consciousness as objects; the object known; the consciousness determined by the object cognised.
Vishayakara: Of the form of the objects perceived; the condition of the mind in perception.
Vishayasakti: Attachment to sensual objects.
Vishayasamsara: Objective or sensual world.
Vishayavritti: Thought of sensual objects.
Vishayavrittipravaha: The continuous thought-current of worldly objects; the flow of objective thinking.
Vishnugranthi: The knot of ignorance at the Manipura Chakra.
Vishnumaya: Illusion wielded by the Supreme Lord so that the unreal seems real; the illusory form of Lord Vishnu usually conceived of as a female deity which makes the universe appear as real.
Vishnuvrata: A vow to propitiate Vishnu.
Visishta: Complex; qualified.
Visishtadvaitavada: The doctrine of conditioned non-dualism (of a Vedantic school upholding that the One actually becomes many).
Vismriti: Loss of memory; forgetfulness.
Vistara: Expansion.
Visuddhachakra: One of the centres in the Yogic system located in the region of the throat.
Visva: Cosmos; a name of the Jiva in the waking state.
Visvarupa: Cosmic form; multiform having all forms.
Visvasa: Faith.
Visvataijasaprajna: Jiva in the waking, dreaming and deep sleep states respectively, in the individual aspect.
Visvedeva: A class of divine beings operating as medium in funeral ceremonies between the granter and the grantee of the oblations.
Vitanda: Cavilling; idle carping; a frivolous or fallacious argument or commentary.
Vitaraga: One who has abandoned desire.
Vitarka: Discussion; counter-argument.
Vivarta: Illusory appearance; a doctrine of the non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy explaining creation as an illusory appearance of the Absolute; apparent variation; illusory manifestation of Brahman; apparent or unreal or seeming change; superimposition; appearance.
Vivartasrishti: Creation where the original reality remains what it is and yet apparently brings about the effect, according to Advaita school of thought.
Vivartavada: Phenomenalism. (See Vivarta.)
Vivartopadana: A material cause which does not undergo the slightest substantial change in the production of the effect, but presents an inseparable phenomenal effect. It is opposed to Parinami-Upadana, which is actually transformed into the effect. Brahman is Vivartopadana of the universe according to Sri Sankara. A piece of rope is mistaken for a snake. This is an example of Vivartopadana. A fictitious material cause is Vivartopadana.
Viveka: Discrimination between the Real and the unreal, between the Self and the non-Self, between the permanent and the impermanent; right intuitive discrimination; ever-present discrimination between the transient and the permanent.
Viveki: A man of discrimination.
Vividisha-sannyasa: Renunciation with the intention of knowing Brahman.
Vrata: A resolution to carry out a particular vow under strict rules, as to food, sleep, bath, and the like.
Vratya: Unpurified one; supremely purified one.
Vrishadhvaja: Lord Siva, Whose banner is of the Bull.
Vritti: Thought-wave; mental modification; mental whirlpool.
Vrittijnana: Secular science; knowledge obtained through the mind; experience of the world.
Vrittilaya: Dissolution of the mental modification.
Vrittisahita: Associated with thought.
Vrittivyapti: The mind assuming the form of objects perceived; pervasion of the psychosis.
Vyabhicharini bhakti: Wavering, unsteady devotion.
Vyadhi: Disease of the body.
Vyahriti: The sacred syllables, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah.
Vyakhyana: Explanation and commentary.
Vyakta: Manifested.
Vyaktitva: Personality.
Vyakti-upasana: Meditation on manifested God.
Vyana: One of the five functions of Prana, i.e., circulation of blood; one of the five vital forces that pervades the whole body.
Vyapaka: All-pervading.
Vyapakatma: All-pervading Soul.
Vyapi: One who pervades.
Vyasa: The name of a great sage who wrote the Brahma Sutras, etc.; Rishi Krishnadvaipayana.
Vyashti: Individual; microcosm.
Vyatireka: Separate; negation.
Vyavahara: Worldly activity; relative activity as opposed to Absolute Being; phenomenal world; worldly relation.
Vyavaharapeksha: With a view to the world of appearance or relativity.
Vyavaharika: Practical; phenomenal; empirical; relative.
Vyavaharikasatta: Empirical reality.
Vyavasaya: Settled concentration and perseverance; application; cultivation.
Vyavasayatmika: One with resolution and determination.
Vyoma: Ether.
Vyuha: The name of three forms in which Bhagavan Narayana appears, for the creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe. As Sankarshana, He destroys; as Pradyumna, He creates; as Aniruddha, He sustains. The Lord appears in five forms. The form in which He appears in the highest heaven for the enjoyment of its residents is known as Para and He is then known as Vaasudeva. Reference has been made to the Vyuha forms. The Avatara or the Vibhava fat ins are those in which He comes to the universe and appears as a Neva, a human being or a beast; the other form is that in which He appears in the heart of every intelligent being capable of doing meditation. It is of the size of one's thumb and the Lord in this form is referred to as Antaryamin. The Archa form in which He appears as images which have been consecrated, is worshipped by His devotees. It is of the same size as the image; the indweller is the all-pervading Lord.

Y

Yajamana: The performer of a sacrifice; the master of a sacrifice.
Yajna: A sacrifice.
Yajnopavita: Sacred thread worn by a twice-born.
Yajus: The Mantra of Yajur-Veda.
Yaksha: A being controlled by Kubera, the god of wealth.
Yama: The God of Death and dispenser of justice; the first limb of Raja Yoga; restraint.
Yasas: Fame.
Yatamana: One who attempts to disallow the mind from running in the sensual grooves; a state of Vairagya.
Yathartha: Real.
Yatharthasvarupa: Essential nature.
Yati: An ascetic or a Sannyasin or a monk.
Yatra: Pilgrimage.
Yava: Barley, usually used for oblations in all sacrifices.
Yoga: (lit.) Union; abstract meditation or union with the Supreme Being; the name of the philosophy by the sage Patanjali, teaching the process of union of the individual with the Universal Soul: union with God; any course that makes for such union; unruffled state of mind under all conditions. Yoga is mainly of four types: Karma, Bhakti, Raja and Jnana.
Yogabhrashta: One who has fallen from the high state of Yoga.
Yogabhyasa: Practice of Yoga.
Yogadanda: A wooden stick of about 2 ft. in length, with one end of 'U' shape, used for the regulation of breath.
Yogadarsana: Yoga philosophy; Yoga view of seeing the Reality.
Yogadrishti: Yoga-vision.
Yogamaya: (The power of) divine illusion.
Yogamudra: The symbol of Yoga. The word Mudra means 'symbol'. This exercise awakens the spiritual forces dormant in man. It is specially useful in liberating the serpent power called Kundalini.
Yoganidra: A state of half-contemplation and half-sleep; light Yogic sleep when the individual retains slight awareness; state between sleep and wakefulness, particularly the sleep of Vishnu at the end of a Kalpa.
Yogarudha: One who is established in Yoga.
Yogavasistha: A monumental work on Vedanta.
Yogayukta: One who is established in Yoga or linked up through Yoga.
Yogesvara: Lord of Yoga; a Name of Lord Krishna.
Yogi: One who practises Yoga; one who strives earnestly for union with God; an aspirant going through any course of spiritual discipline; one going particularly through the scheduled course of Raja Yoga; a spiritually advanced person with a perfectly unruffled mind under all conditions; a Siddha.
Yogigamya: Attainable only by a Yogi.
Yogyata: Fitness.
Yojana: A measure of distance said to be equivalent to 8 or 10 miles.
Yoni: Source; womb.
Yonimudra: That Mudra in which one closes the ears, eyes, nose and mouth with the thumbs and fingers of the hands to enable one hear the Anahata sounds.
Yuga: See Kalpa. One of the divisions of time. There are four Yugas, known as Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. All the four together are known as a Chaturyuga, the duration of which is twelve thousand divine years, a divine year being equivalent to three hundred and sixty human years. Krita is four times as long as the Kali age; Treta is three times as long; and Dvapara twice as long.
Yukti: Skill; cleverness; device; also union or Yoga.