Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
| acharya | a Hindu teacher or learned man. |
| adharma | unrighteousness (the opposite of DHARMA). |
| ahimsa | in Hindu philosophy, the principle of non-injury to living beings. |
| ajiva | inanimate matter. |
| alaap alap alapa | in Indian music, the introductory section of a RAGA. |
| amreeta amrita | a drink which bestows immortality in Hindu mythology. |
| amritattva | immortality. |
| ananda | extreme happiness. |
| anata anatman | the doctrine that there is no such thing as the individual self. |
| anga | a yoga practice. |
| anicca | the belief that everything is impermanent and constantly changing. |
| apsaras | a divine water sprite > APSARASES. |
| arhat | a Buddhist who has attained nirvana. |
| asana | a yoga posture. |
| ashram ashrama asrama | the dwelling of a Hindu religious philosopher. |
| ashtanga astanga asthanga | a form of yoga aiming to synchronize breathing and posture. |
| asura | a Hindu demon. |
| atma atman | the universal soul. |
| avatar | an incarnation of the god Vishnu; an electronic image that represents and is manipulated by a computer user (as in a computer game or an online shopping site). |
| ayurveda | the traditional system of Indian medicine. [Skr. 'knowledge of life']. |
| bahuvrihi | a class of compound words where the first element describes the second but cannot substitute for it, e.g. turncoat. |
| bhakta bhakti | spiritual love, devotion. |
| brinjal | the aubergine or egg-plant. |
| buddha | a statue or picture of the Buddha. |
| calpa kalpa | one of the Brahmanic eons, a period of 4,320,000,000 years. At the end of each kalpa the world is annihilated. |
| chakra | in yoga, one of the seven centres of spiritual energy. |
| deva | a god; a deity; a divine being. |
| devanagari nagari | the character in which Sanskrit is usually printed. |
| devi | a Hindu goddess. |
| dharma dhamma | custom or law regarded as duty; the basic principles of cosmic or individual existence. |
| dhyana | profound meditation. |
| dosha | each of three energies believed in Ayurveda to circulate in the body. |
| duhkha dukkha | suffering due to the desire for permanence. |
| dvandva | a compound word in which neither element is subordinated to the other, e.g. tragicomedy. |
| garuda | a Hindu demigod, part man, part bird. |
| gat gath | the second section of a raga. |
| gopura gopuram | in Southern India, a pyramidal tower over the gateway of a temple. |
| harijan | in India, a member of the untouchable caste. |
| hatha | as in hatha yoga, a form of yoga. |
| jalebi jallebi | an Asian snack of deep-fried dough covered with syrup. |
| jambolan jambu jambul jambool jambolana | the rose-apple tree of Malaysia. |
| jhala | in Hindu music, part of the second movement of a RAGA. |
| jnana | spiritual knowledge. |
| jor | in Hindu music, the second movement of a RAGA. |
| juggernaut | derives from one of the names under which Vishnu, in his incarnation as Krishna, is worshiped by the Hindus. [Skt. Jagannatha, f. jagat world + natha lord, protector.] |
| kama | earthly desire. |
| karma | the moral quality of actions regarded as determining the nature of a future existence. [Skr. karma, act] |
| karmic | relating to KARMA, the moral quality of actions regarded as determining the nature of a future existence. |
| kathak | a dance of N. India. |
| kirtan | devotional singing, usually accompanied by instruments. |
| kundalini | in yoga, spiritual energy that lies dormant at base of spine until the brain is enlightened. |
| linga lingam | the phallic symbol under which Siva is principally worshipped in his character of the creative and reproductive power. |
| lohan | a Buddhist who has attained nirvana, an ARHAT. |
| maha | great, as in maha yoga. |
| maharaja maharajah | a king or prince in India ranking above a rajah, especially the sovereign of one of the former native states. |
| maharishi | a Hindu teacher of mysticism and spiritual knowledge. |
| mahatma | a religious adept, a sage. [Skr mahatman, (great-souled)]. |
| mandala | a design symbolic of the universe, used for meditation. |
| mantra mantram | a sacred word or syllable. |
| maya | in Buddhist philosophy, the power to produce illusions. |
| moksha | freedom from the endless cycle of transmigration. |
| moorva murva | bowstring hemp. |
| mridamgam mridanga mridang mridangam | a two-headed Indian drum, one head being larger than the other. |
| mudra | a sealing movement in Yoga. |
| murti | a religious image which is itself considered divine once consecrated. |
| naga | in Indian mythology, a member of a race of semi-divine creatures, half-snake and half-human, that are the genii of rain, rivers, etc. |
| namaste namaskar | a traditional salutation, a slight bow with the palms pressed together. |
| nirvana | freedom from the endless cycle of birth and death and related suffering, in Hindu and Buddhist religions. [Skr. nirvana (blowing out, extinguishing, extinction), from nis-(out) + vati (it blows). The word wind derives from the same root.] |
| padma | the sacred lotus. |
| pandit pundit | a Hindu learned in Sanskrit. [Skr. pandita learned, conversant with.] |
| pooja poojah puja pujah | a Hindu act of worship or prayer. |
| prajna | wisdom considered as the goal of Buddhist contemplation |
| prana | in yoga, vital energy present in air and sunlight. |
| pranayama | the discipline of yogic breathing. |
| purana | one of a class of sacred Hindu poetical works in the Sanskrit language which treat of the creation, destruction, and renovation of worlds, the genealogy and achievements of gods and heroes. |
| puranic | like a PURANA. |
| raga | an Indian musical form. [Skr. raga, colour, tone]. |
| ragini | a modified RAGA. |
| rakshas rakshasa | an Hindu mythology, an evil spirit. |
| rishi | a sage or poet. |
| sadhu | an ascetic Indian holy man. [Skr. sadhu, pious]. |
| samadhi | a state of oneness with the infinite. |
| samsara | the never-ending cycle of birth, death and rebirth. |
| samskara | a Hindu purification ceremony. |
| sandhi | the modification of a sound of a word by its context, e.g. the difference in pronunciation of the in 'the house' and in 'the other house' is an example of sandhi. |
| sati suttee | the act of a Hindu widow willingly being cremated on the funeral pyre of her husband. [Sanskrit sati, a true wife]. |
| satsang | a sacred gathering in Hinduism. |
| satyagraha | the policy of passive resistance inaugurated by Mohandas Gandhi in 1919 as a method of gaining political and social reforms. [Skr. 'reliance on truth']. |
| shanti shantih | peace. |
| shaster shastra sastra | a treatise for authoritative instruction among the Hindus; a book of institutes; especially, a treatise explaining the Vedas. [Skr. from a root to teach]. |
| shri sri | a title of respect, sir. [Skr. shri, majesty]. |
| siddha sidha | one who has obtained occult powers. |
| siddhi | in Buddhism, the supernatural powers that come with meditation. [Skr. siddhi, fulfilment]. |
| smriti | one of a group of sacred writings. |
| soneri | a cloth of gold. [Hindi sona, gold]. |
| sraddha shraddha sradha | an offering to the manes of an ancestor. |
| stupa | a mound or monument commemorative of Buddha. |
| sundari sundra sundri | an E. Indian tree. |
| sutra sutta | a precept; an aphorism; a brief rule. [Skr. sutra thread, string, rule]. |
| svarabhakti | development of a vowel between consonants. |
| svaraj swaraj | self-government, home rule. |
| svastika swastika swastica | a Greek cross with arms bent at a right angle. |
| tala | a traditional rhythmic pattern in Indian music. [Skr. 'hand-clapping']. |
| tantra | Hindu or Buddhist religious writings concerned with mysticism and magic. |
| tathata | the ultimate nature of things in Buddhism. |
| tatpurusha | a class of compound words in which the first element modifies the second by standing to it in various types of relation e.g. goatskin, fieldmouse. |
| trisul trisula | the trident of Shiva. |
| vahana | a vehicle in Sanskrit myth. |
| vanaspati | a hydrogenated vegetable fat used as a butter substitute. [Skr. 'lord of the forest']. |
| varna | one of the four great Hindu castes. [Skr. varna, class]. |
| veena vina | an Indian stringed instrument. |
| vihara | a Buddhist or Jain temple or precinct. |
| vimana | in the Indian subcontinent, the central tower enclosing the shrine in a temple. |
| vipassana | meditative practice in Buddhism, aimed at obtaining a true metaphysical picture of reality, which means dissolving the stable categories of substance and self in favour of the evanescent. |
| yantra | a geometrical diagram used in meditation. |
| yoga | a system of Hindu philosophy. |
| yogi | a male practitioner of yoga. |
| yogini | a female practitioner of yoga. |
| yoni | a representation of the female genitals. |
| yug yuga | one of the four Hindu ages of the world. |