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Indian Glossary ( Religion )
Click Here For: [ Glossary Jain Religion ]
[ Typical Indian Glossary ]
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J
| K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
The following terms are used when speaking
of country of India, its people, castes and languages. These definitions were
collected from many books, both inside and outside of India, If you have corrections
or wish to add more, please let us know, by By Email
A
Ashram:
- A hermitage or settlement of a holy person.
Avatara:
- A partial or fully empowered incarnation of God who comes to the world for a particular
mission.
B
Baksheesh:
- A tip, donation, or bribe.
Bhakti:
- Devotional service to God.
Bhang:
- Leaves of the intoxicating Indian hashish (Cannabis indica).
Brahma:
- The god of creation and usually portrayed sitting on a lotus sprouted from Lord Vishnu's
naval. He has four heads and is the father of Lord Siva. His consort is the goddess
Saraswati.
Brahmin:
- A teacher, a member of the highest order in Vedic society according to the occupational
divisions.
Buddhism:
- In the 5th Century BC, Buddha revolted against a certain kind of Hinduism called, the
Vedic religion, or known as Brahmanism. The Buddhism religion is based on non-violence and
simple living instead of ritualism. Buddha is also thought to be the ninth incarnation of
Lord Vishnu.
C
Caste:
- There are about 3000 castes in India marked by a set of socio-cultural characteristics.
Usually caste implies a collection of families or groups of families bearing a common
name, having a common descent (human or divine), and following what they think is their
hereditary calling. These groups are also divided into sub-groups. The caste system
perhaps maintains its strength in Indian society by conditioning the consciousness of the
lower castes (those below Brahmin) in accepting their inferior status in the ritual
hierarchy as a part of the natural order.
Chai:
Chapati:
Chappels:
- Sandals traditionally worn by Indians.
Cows:
- Cows are sacred because they are very dear to Lord Krishna. The cow supplies milk and is
considered to be one of the mothers of mankind.
Crore:
- Ten million. Written as 1,00,00,000
Curd:
D
Dal:
- Lentil soup, often used to mix with plain rice and eaten with chapati.
Dalit Movement:
- A protest against untouchability and aims to lift Dalits into a non-untouchable
category.
Dalits:
- People, regardless of caste or sub-caste, against whom others discriminate on the
grounds that they are untouchable.
Devdasis System:
- Female servants of God. The girls were dedicated to sing and dance before the idols.
They then became "sacred" prostitutes at the temples.
Dharma:
- The law of being. Every living creature has taken up its form and has come into the
world of objects for one great purpose, which is to gain an exhaustion of its existing
mental impressions.
Dhobi:
- A person who washes clothes.
Dosas:
- A very large, thin pancake made of fermented rice flour. They are often wrapped around a
spiced potato filling and then called masala dosa.
Dowry:
- Refers to movable and immovable property that a bride brings with her at the time of
marriage to her husband and/or his parents/guardians, often on their explicit and
occasionally on their implicit demands.
E
F
Forehead markings:
- Vertical markings mean devotees of Lord Vishnu; horizontal markings mean devotees of
Lord Siva.
G
Ganja:
- An intoxicating Indian hemp.
Ghee:
- Clarified butter used for cooking.
Gita, The:
- Also known as the Bhagavad-gita or song of God. This is the Hindu bible. It teaches that
you are not your body but an eternal spirit soul temporarily encased within a material
body.
Guru:
- A spiritual master or spiritual instructor.
H
Hinduism:
- A main characteristic of Hinduism is the doctrine of an eternal soul and its rebirth.
One can find four main schools of thought: Vaishnavas (those who worship Lord Vishnu and
Krishna), Shaivites (who worship Lord Siva), Shaktas (who worship the goddess Durga), and
Smartas (who worship Vishnu, Siva, Shakti, Ganesha, and Surya the sun god).
Holy Places:
- Dwarka. West coast of Gujarat where Lord Krishna spent the
later part of his life.
- Varanasi. Town dear to Lord Siva. A boat ride on the Ganges in the early morning is very
interesting.
- Vrindavana and Mathura. Birthplace and childhood home of Lord Krishna.
I
J
Jains (Jainism):
- An Indian religion that arose against Brahmanism and laid stress on right actions and
good deeds instead of sacrifices and prayers.
K
Karma:
- The Hindu thought that whatever someone does will come back at a later date in this life
or in transmigrations. Man attains salvation by worshipping God through performances of
one's own duties (e.g., as a member of a caste system) as decided by the religious
scriptures.
L
Lakh:
- One hundred thousand (100,000). Written as 1,00,000.
Lassi:
- A sweet or salty yogurt drink.
Lorry:
M
Mahal:
Mahatma:
- A great soul or saintly person, e.g., Mahatma Ghandi.
Mandala:
- A territorial unit in India.
Mantra:
Maya:
- In Hindu thought, that which is not, unreality, deception, forgetfulness, material
illusion.
Moghul:
- The Muslim dynasty of the Indian Emperors starting from Babur.
Moksa:
- Liberation, in Hindu thought, from the cycle of re-birth.
Monsoon:
- The rainy season from June to September.
N
Naan:
Nirvana:
- In Hindu thought, freedom from material existence.
O
Other Backward classes (OBC):
- No firm definition exists for this classification although it is commonly used. Usually
it refers to people who are below subsistence level; identified by their low social
position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Hindu society.
P
Paise:
- 100 paise equals one rupee.
Palanquin:
- A seat that can be carried by four men, usually used to transport great personages or
ladies.
Pan:
- Betel leaf (what many chew).
Pradesh:
- Meaning "state." E.g., Andhra Pradesh.
Puja:
- In Hindu practice, an offering of worship to a god or goddess.
Pujari:
Q
R
Rupee:
- The main unit of currency used in India (at the present time, 1996, exchange is at
35/$1)
S
Sadhu:
Sanskrit:
- The Vedas, or India's holy scriptures are written in Sanskrit.
Sari:
- The traditional Indian dress worn by Indian women - six yards long as a rule.
Sati:
- The higher castes believed that the faithfulness of their wives was proved by their
jumping into the funeral fire in which the bodies of their husbands were cremated.
Scheduled Castes (SC):
- An Indian government decision. Before 1935, scheduled castes were known as the
"depressed classes." The Indian Constitution allows the President to draw up the
lists of what castes, classes, or tribes will constitute the Scheduled Castes. Makes up
about 15% of the Indian population. The government maintains these lists to protect and
promote the interests of the Scheduled Castes.
Scheduled Tribes (ST):
- An Indian government decision. A small-scale grouping that displays cultural continuity
as well as unity. Its members have a self-conscious image and recognize affinity with one
another. In India, they are some of the oldest inhabitants of the land, live in relative
isolation of hills and forests, their sense of history is shallow, they have a low level
of techno-economic development, and their cultural ethos stand out from the other sections
of society.
Sikhs:
- From the Sanskrit word meaning disciple. The Sikhs are followers of Guru Nanak Dev and
nine other Gurus. Their teachings are based on the Unity of God, rejection of caste and
ritualism, and brotherhood of man. Most Sikhs live in Punjab and have the family name
Singh.
Social Orders:
- Vedic or Hindu society is usually broken down into four social orders: Brhamins,
teachers or spiritual advisors; ksatriyas, or administrators and warriors; vaisyas, or
farmers and businessmen; sudras, or laborers and craftsmen. In today's India, people are
born into these castes rather than thinking they must function in one of these ways.
T
Tadi:
- Fermented juice of the palm tree.
Temples:
- In many temples throughout India, non-Hindus are not allowed entry. Even though entry
may be permitted, one may not enter the inner sanctum where the deity is located.
U
Untouchable:
- A corollary of the caste system. The notion of external behavior that results in
defilement, pollution, contamination, and the ways and means of getting rid of that
defilement. Later, untouchability became associated with the caste system to distinguish
and to keep the lower caste from the higher caste.
Upanishads:
- 108 philosophical treatises found within the Vedas.
V
Vedas:
- The religious scriptures of the Hindu.
Vedic:
- One who follows the teachings of the Vedas. The Vedic religion refers to that set of
beliefs that follow the teachings found in the Vedas.
W
X
Y
Z
