Glossary of Sanskrit terms

Sanskrit terms are kept in the original throughout this site because the English substitutes shift the meaning. This is what each one carries.

Adhikāraअधिकार

Fitness or eligibility, earned by preparation. Admiration for a path is not adhikāra for it.

Ahiṁsāअहिंसा

Non-injury in act, speech and thought. Called the highest dharma.

Ātmanआत्मन्

The Self — not the personality or the mind, but the consciousness in which both appear.

Āgamaआगम

The revealed tantric stream: Śaiva, Śākta and Vaiṣṇava manuals of temple, image, initiation and mantra.

Āśramaआश्रम

A stage of life; also a hermitage. Four in a lifetime.

Bhaktiभक्ति

Devotion; from bhaj, to share or partake. Not merely emotion but participation.

Brahmanब्रह्मन्

The absolute; that from which everything arises, in which it exists, and into which it returns.

Darśanaदर्शन

A seeing; a philosophical system; also the sight of a deity in a temple.

Dharmaधर्म

From dhṛ, to hold. That which upholds a thing in its own being.

Guṇaगुण

Quality; specifically sattva, rajas and tamas — the three modes in which anything appears.

Jātiजाति

Birth-group; the community one is born into. Distinct from varṇa, and what 'caste' actually names.

Jñānaज्ञान

Knowledge — not information, but direct knowing.

Karmaकर्म

Action, and the residue it leaves. Three kinds: sañcita, prārabdha, kriyamāṇa.

Mokṣaमोक्ष

Release — from saṁsāra, and from the misidentification that sustains it.

Nigamaनिगम

The Vedic stream of revelation, as distinct from Āgama.

Prakṛtiप्रकृति

Nature; the principle of manifestation. Active but not conscious.

Pramāṇaप्रमाण

A means of valid knowledge. Six are recognised in Advaita, four in Nyāya, one in Cārvāka.

Puruṣaपुरुष

Consciousness; the witness. Conscious but not active.

Puruṣārthaपुरुषार्थ

An aim of human life. Four: dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa.

Ṛtaऋत

The cosmic order, prior to all authority over it. Dharma is ṛta applied to conduct.

Saṁsāraसंसार

The round of repeated becoming; literally 'flowing together'.

Saṃskāraसंस्कार

A refinement; a rite performed at a life-juncture; also an impression left on the mind.

Smṛtiस्मृति

'Remembered' — the human-authored, revisable body of texts.

Śrutiश्रुति

'Heard' — the Veda, held to be apauruṣeya, not of personal authorship.

Svadharmaस्वधर्म

One's own duty, following from one's own nature.

Tattvaतत्त्व

'That-ness' — a principle or level of reality. Twenty-five in Sāṅkhya, thirty-six in Trika.

Varṇaवर्ण

One of four inherent natures, identified by guṇa and karma. Not jāti.

Yajñaयज्ञ

Offering; the fire rite, and by extension any act done as offering.

Yogaयोग

From yuj, to yoke. Union; and the disciplines that reach it.

Last revised 2026-08-16. Corrections are welcome — see how this site is written.