This blog is going to be teeming with words that maybe foreign to several people, whether they have lived in Bhaarat for 20 years, or are completely new to this marvelous world of Indic-Culture. Many of these terms are in Sanskrit, an ancient language, thought to be one of the oldest in the world. A large number of the terms are also in Tamizh (given that it is my mother tongue). Depending on the kshetra that we maybe visiting, the post may also be peppered with a generous dose of words from the local vernacular.
In order to make it easy for first-time visitors, unfamiliar fellow-countrymen, and any other person who may need help with a term, here is a running glossary of words that you may come across, together with their meanings. This page is updated after every post, adding any new term that maybe appropriate. Have fun and let me know if I have missed out a word or two!
Aavani - The fifth month of the Tamizh Solar Calendar, roughly running from mid-August to mid-September.
Abhisheka - The act of bathing the statues/sculptures of deities with fragrant waters, fruit pulp, and sandalwood among other items.
Amaravati - The capital city of the Devas
Amrutha - The nectar of ever-youthfulness, virility, and strength.
Ashrama - A vedic system that divides life into 4 time periods - of learning and celibacy (brahmacharya), marriage and family (grihastha), handing over rsponsibilities to the next generation and gradual withdrawal (vanaprastha), and complete renunciation (sanyaasa)
Ashrama - A vedic system that divides life into 4 time periods - of learning and celibacy (brahmacharya), marriage and family (grihastha), handing over rsponsibilities to the next generation and gradual withdrawal (vanaprastha), and complete renunciation (sanyaasa)
Ashtabhuja - Eight Handed
Asura - Often wrongly thought to be demons, Auras are powerful demigods or demons with good or bad qualities. They good ones are led by Varuna and are called Adityas (born of Aditi), and the bad ones are called Danavas (born of Danu), and led by Vritra.
Chaturthi - Fourth-day of the waxing or waning moon.
Chozha - One of the four powerful empires that once controlled most of what is present-day Tamizh Nadu.
Darshana - The act of seeing and praying to the icon of God/or God himself.
Deva - The (comparatively) better celestial beings, led by Indra.
Dwadasi - Twelfth day of the waxing or waning moon.
Dwajasthambha - the flag staff present before all temples. The flag of the presiding deity is hoisted on this dwajasthambha during important temple festivals.
Gaayathri - The queen of all chants, composed of 24 syllables, religiously offered to the Sun-God by the learned brahmanas thrice a day.
Garbha-Griha - Sanctum Sanctorum that houses the main-image of the presiding deity of the temple.
Gopuram - Trapezoidal tower often found atop the main gateways of temples.
Grahas : Planets which affect the life of every person born on earth. The positions of these planets at the time of ones birth is believed to decide the destiny of the child, including career, marriage, children, fame etc.
Grihastha - In the ashrama system, it is the second stage of life involving the observances of marital duties, the establishment of a family, and the bringing up of children.
HalaHala - A terrible poison that came from the Ksheerabdi.
Kalyanam - the celebratory act of Marriage.
Ksheerabdi - An ocean of milk on which MahaVishnu resides.
Kshetra - A place of pilgrimage with an established temple, sacred water body, hills, hermitages, or the memorials dedicated to great saints.
MahaMagham - A festival, famous in the town of Kumbakonam, celebrated in the month of Maasi (February-March) once in 12 years. It is similar to the Kumbha Mela and witnesses large crowds taking a dip in the MahaMagham tank over the course of the ten-day spectacle.
Maharishi - Great seers, keepers, and teachers of Vedic knowledge. The are often though to have perceived the Vedas from the Cosmos, and put it down in a written form.
Mandapa - A hall, often grand and decorative, with ornamental pillars, sculptures, and lamps, with a central stage.
Mantra - Vedic chants, utterances, syllables, sounds, or groups of words which are capable of controlling (tra) the wandering nature of the mind (manas). Each mantra has a deity to which it is addressed, a seer who gave the mantra to this world, and a meter for chanting.
Meru - A massive mountain which is considered to the center of the physical and the spiritual universe. It home to several devatas, and is said to be of a golden hue.
Mitra - A friend.
Modaka - A sweet dumpling with a delicious jaggery-coconut-dal filing wrapped around in a rice-flour dough. It illustrates the concept of Aatmanivedanam (complete offering of the body and the soul to the Lord), the outer shell being the gross body and the inner sweet stuffing being the atma/soul, offered as a whole to Him, representing the offering of both our body and soul to be engaged in His services. It is because that the stuffing represents the atma, that we call it to be 'poornam' or 'the complete'.
Muivar - Tamizh word for Maharishi or any hermit, ascetic, or saintly person.
Murti - A consecrated statue or icon of a particular deity. Once consecrated, the murti is no longer considered to be just a material stone/wood/metal sculpture, but verily becomes the deity to whom ritual worship can be offered.
Naivedyam - The act of offering food to a deity. The offered food is also referred to as naivedyam.
Pillaiyar Suzhi - A single character, often written at the top of manuscripts, as a sign of obeisance to Ganesha. It is believed to have been developed as a method to test the integrity of palm-leaves for writing on them, since the Pillaiyar Suzhi contains all possible strokes that occur while writing the Tamizh alphabets.
Pooja - The act of offering worship. It can be as simple as offering a single prayer, or elaborately grand involving several people over several hours.
Sakkara Pongal - A sweet dish made from jaggery, rice, ghee, and green gram.
Shivaalaya - A temple dedicated to Shiva
Shloka - A poetic verse, often consisting of 32 syllables, that forms the basis of many works in Hinduism.
Sthala Puranana - A set of stories associated with a particular kshetra or sthala, as to how the kshetra came into existence, the etymology behind the name of the kshetra, the people who were blessed with a vision of the presiding deity, the experience of kings, saints, and commoners alike etc.
Utsava - A celebratory festival, which could take place within temples, one's home, or in the public
Utsava Murti - The statue of the deity which is carried outside the temple during the celebration of utsavas. It is often a replica of the deity within the sanctum sanctorum, and is seen as a representative of the presiding deity to people who may not be able to come to the temple.
Vaikuntha - The abode of MahaVishnu, attaining which is considered to be the goal for several practicing Hindus.
Vizha - Tamizh word for festival or utsava.
Yatra - the act of travelling as well as the travel itself. In this blog it is often used to mean the act of going on a pilgrimage to kshetras.
Mandapa - A hall, often grand and decorative, with ornamental pillars, sculptures, and lamps, with a central stage.
Mantra - Vedic chants, utterances, syllables, sounds, or groups of words which are capable of controlling (tra) the wandering nature of the mind (manas). Each mantra has a deity to which it is addressed, a seer who gave the mantra to this world, and a meter for chanting.
Meru - A massive mountain which is considered to the center of the physical and the spiritual universe. It home to several devatas, and is said to be of a golden hue.
Mitra - A friend.
Modaka - A sweet dumpling with a delicious jaggery-coconut-dal filing wrapped around in a rice-flour dough. It illustrates the concept of Aatmanivedanam (complete offering of the body and the soul to the Lord), the outer shell being the gross body and the inner sweet stuffing being the atma/soul, offered as a whole to Him, representing the offering of both our body and soul to be engaged in His services. It is because that the stuffing represents the atma, that we call it to be 'poornam' or 'the complete'.
Muivar - Tamizh word for Maharishi or any hermit, ascetic, or saintly person.
Murti - A consecrated statue or icon of a particular deity. Once consecrated, the murti is no longer considered to be just a material stone/wood/metal sculpture, but verily becomes the deity to whom ritual worship can be offered.
Naivedyam - The act of offering food to a deity. The offered food is also referred to as naivedyam.
Pillaiyar Suzhi - A single character, often written at the top of manuscripts, as a sign of obeisance to Ganesha. It is believed to have been developed as a method to test the integrity of palm-leaves for writing on them, since the Pillaiyar Suzhi contains all possible strokes that occur while writing the Tamizh alphabets.
Pooja - The act of offering worship. It can be as simple as offering a single prayer, or elaborately grand involving several people over several hours.
Sakkara Pongal - A sweet dish made from jaggery, rice, ghee, and green gram.
Shivaalaya - A temple dedicated to Shiva
Shloka - A poetic verse, often consisting of 32 syllables, that forms the basis of many works in Hinduism.
Sthala Puranana - A set of stories associated with a particular kshetra or sthala, as to how the kshetra came into existence, the etymology behind the name of the kshetra, the people who were blessed with a vision of the presiding deity, the experience of kings, saints, and commoners alike etc.
Utsava - A celebratory festival, which could take place within temples, one's home, or in the public
Utsava Murti - The statue of the deity which is carried outside the temple during the celebration of utsavas. It is often a replica of the deity within the sanctum sanctorum, and is seen as a representative of the presiding deity to people who may not be able to come to the temple.
Vaikuntha - The abode of MahaVishnu, attaining which is considered to be the goal for several practicing Hindus.
Vizha - Tamizh word for festival or utsava.
Yatra - the act of travelling as well as the travel itself. In this blog it is often used to mean the act of going on a pilgrimage to kshetras.
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