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Sanskrit Dictionary

This glossary contains close to 900 common Sanskrit words that a person practicing yoga would come across. We have used diacritical marks in as many words as possible, to help the reader pronounce each word correctly. Please refer to the pronunciation guide below. A list of sources for this glossary is given at the end.

Alphabet	Pronounced as
A	Awe
Ī	Ee
Ū	Oo
Chh	Hard - midway between ch & sh - as in chaw
ḥ	Haw
Jñ	Gaw with g nasal
ā	Ah
E	Eh
Ch	In chosen

Alphabet	Pronounced as
ḍ	Rh (r hard)
ṁ&ṅ	Ong as in song
ṇ	Naw as in gnaw
ṛ	Rhi
T	Th (soft)
v	Wa
Ś orṣ	Sh as in shilling
ṭ	Taw (hard)
y	Yaw

Abhaya - Freedom from fear

Abhikalpanā - Cogent anticipatory conception which is necessary in the initial stages for forming an idea of the principles which are beyond ordinary conception. E.g. puruṣa and prakṛti.

Abhimāna - Sense of I; mutative ego; conception of one’s ego which gives rise to feelings like ‘I am the body’ , ‘I am wealth (or poor), etc.

AbhiniveŚa - Determination. Fear of death or of non-existence of self which is really immortal; a type of afflicton.

Ābhoga - Engrossed attachment of mind to one thing

Abhyāsa - Practice

Achala - Immovable

Achalatā - Immovability Āchārya - Preceptor, Teacher

Achit - That which is not chit

Adarana - Non-awareness; lack of discernment

ĀdiŚeṣa - The primeval serpent, said to have a thousand heads, and represented as forming The couch of viṣṇu or as supporting the entire world on his head.

Adharma - Impiety; vice

Adhibautika - Caused by living beings; relating to animate objects

Ādhidaivika - Brought on by nature

Adhomukha - Downward-facing

Adhomukha paṣchimottanāsana - Downward-facing intense west stretch

Adhomukha ṣvā nā sana - Downward-facing dog posture

Adhomukha svastikā sana - Downward-facing cross-legged posture

Adhomukha vīrā sana - Downward-facing hero posture

Adhyāsa - A case of mistaken identity

Ādhyā tmika - Relating to self; spiritual

Adhyā tma prasā da - Purity of the inner instruments of reception, especially of Buddhi

Adṛṣṭa - Unseen. Fate

Adṛṣṭaphala - Not caused by Karma of the present life or not fructifying in the present life

Advaita - Non duality of the universal spirit

āgama - - Written or verbal instruction or testimony of a trustworthy person directly transmitted to the mind of the listener; traditional doctrine; sacred knowledge

Agni - Fire or digestive faculty

Agrya buddhi - Buddhi which brings about realization of the puruṣa principle; highest form of intellect

Aham - Ego

Aham vṛtti - The thought 'I am' as opposed to thoughts about objects, feelings etc

Ahaṁkāra - Mutative ego; sense of I

Ahiṁsā - Harmlessness; non injury; abstaining from killing or giving pain to other by thought, word or deed

āhuti - Offering an ablation to a deity, any solemn rite accompanied with oblations

ājñā chakra - The nervous plexus situated between the eyebrows, the set of command

ākāŚa - Vacuity; free space; void; ether; substratum of the property of sound. One of the gross elemental principles

Akliṣṭa - Not marred; unimpaired. Non-afflictive

Alinga - That which has no cause; prakṛti.

Alabhdah bhūmikatau - Failure to attain firm ground or continuity in practice, feeling that it is not possible to see reality

ālambusā nāḍḹ - One of the nā ḍḹs that is said to connect the mouth and the anus. Nā ḍḹs are tubular organs in the subtle body through which energy flows.

ālasya - Idleness, sloth, apathy

Anābhoga - Opposed to ā bhoga. Not engrossed in an object

Anāhata chakra - The nervous plexus situated in the cardiac region

Anāhata nāda - Spontaneous unstruck sound heard by Yogins as emanating from within the body

ānanda - Bliss, joy

ānandamaya koŚa - The sheath (koŚ a) of joy (ā nanda) enveloping the soul

Ananta - Boundless; infinite; eternal, where time and space are not applicable, e.g. puruá¹£a

Anavasthitattva - Inability to continue the practices, feeling that it is no longer necessary, since the aspirant believes he has reaced the highest state of samÄdhi

Aṅgamejaytattva - Instability of the body

Anna - food

Annamaya koŚa - The gross material body, the sthūla (gross) Śarḹra (frame), which is sustained by food, and which is the outer vesture or wrapper or sheath of the soul.

Antaḥ-karaṇa - Inner instruments of reception comprising buddhi, ahaṁkā ra and manas.

Antarā tma - The inmost spirit or soul; the inherent supreme spirit or soul residing in the interior of man

Antara - The interior, inside, internal

Antara kumbhaka - Suspension of breath after full inhalation

Anubhava - Experience, realization

Anuloma Prāṇāyāma - In anuloma prāṇāyāma, inhalation is done through both nostrils and exhalation is done alternately through either nostrils.

Anusandhanā - Close scrutiny, examination; also suitable connection

AnuŚāsana - Instruction; precept; explanation

Ap - A gross elemental principle; water

Apāna - One of the five prāṇas that governs excretion of wastes from the body

Apā na vā yu - One of the vital airs which move in the sphere of the lower abdomen and control the function of elimination of urine and faeces

Aparigraha - Abstinence from avariciousness; not to possess more than what is required for bare subsistence

Apavarga - Liberation (of puruṣa) in relation to the knowables; termination of functioning of Buddhi

Apsarā - Celestial damsel

āpta - A person who is worthy of credence; reliable; trustworthy

Apuṇya - Impiety; with painful results

ārambhā vasthā - The state of commencement. This is the first state of prāṇāyāma mentioned in the Śiva samhitā .

Araṇyakā - Vedic forest texts or writings

Ardha - Half

Ardha Chandrāsana - Half moon posture

Arjuna - The pÄndava prince, the mighty bowman and hero of the epic mahÄbhÄrata

āroha - Ascent, rising, elevation

Artha - Wealth. Meaning of words. Objectivity of the guṇas in relation to draŚ tā .

Artha bhāvanam - A feeling of devotion or faith arising as a result of contemplation upon the meaning of a mantra or name of the lord

Artha Śāstra - The science of wealth. Political economy and finance

ārya - Wise man

Asamprajñāta - A kind of samādhi (intense concentration) surpassing samprajnāta.

Asampramoṣa - Non-acquisition of objects or ideas not one's own

AŚaṁsakta - Indifferent to praise or revilement

āsana - Posture, the 3rd stage of rāja yoga and hatha yoga.

Asat - Non existence, unreal

āsih - Desire for self-welfare

Asmitā - Sense of I; Mutative ego. Type of affliction

Asmitā mātra - Pure I-sense

āŚrama - One of the four life-stages of a spiritual seeker; the dwelling of a sage and his followers

AŚta - Eight

AŚtānga yoga - Literally means the yoga with eight limbs. Rāja yoga is also sometimes referred to as aŚtānga yoga because there are eight stages in it.

AŚvini mudrā - A posture in which one contracts the anal sphincter

Asteya - Non-covetousness

AŚūnya - Not empty

Asura - Demon

AŚvamedha - Horse sacrifice

Atha - A term expressing beginning, doubt, interrogation, condition

Artharva Veda - "Knowledge of Incantations", the fourth veda

ātmā huti - An oblation of oneself. Self-sacrifice

ātma jñāna - Self knowledge, spiritual knowledge, knowledge of the soul or the supreme spirit. True wisdom

ātman - Soul

ātmānjali mudrā - Folding the palms in front of the chest in salutation to the soul within

ātmavichāra - Reflection or examination upon the ā tman, the self.

ātmḹyata - The feeling of oneness

āuṁ - This Sanskrit word means 'all', and conveys the concepts of omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence

Avadhūta - An elightened being who lives in a sate beyond body consciousness

āvaraṇa - The veiling power of māya.

Avasthā - State or condition of the mind

Avatār - Literally 'descents', incarnation of God

Avidyā - Misapprehension; wrong knowledge; type of affliction

Avirati - Sensuality

Avyasana - Absence of attachment

āyāma - Lengthy, expansion, extension. It also conveys the idea of restraint, control and stopping

āyurveda - Ancient Indian medical sciences

āyus - Span of life

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