The Way Flashcards
1
Q
acharya
A
teacher
2
Q
adhyaksha
A
superintendent/government official of importance
3
Q
adivasi
A
the indigenous inhabitant - now used sometimes for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) of India
4
Q
agnikula
A
ruling families claiming ancestry from a hero who sprang out of a sacrificial fire
5
Q
agrahara
A
donation of land or village to brahmans, usually by royalty
6
Q
ahimsa
A
non-violence
7
Q
Alvika
A
a heterodox sect of the time of the Buddha
8
Q
Alvar
A
Vaishnava poets and composers of hymns belonging to the Tamil devotional movement
9
Q
amatya
A
designation of a high official
10
Q
anuloma
A
literally, in the direction of the body hair, therefore observing the caste hierarchy even in marriages across castes
11
Q
apsara
A
celestial woman/nymph
12
Q
aranya
A
forest/wilderness
13
Q
artha
A
livelihood/economy
14
Q
aryavarta
A
the land inhabited by aryas
15
Q
ashrama
A
hermitage/refuge; also used with reference to the four stages or ashramas of the human life-cycle - brahmacharin/studentship, grihastha/householdership, vanaprastha/initiating renunciation, samnyasa/asceticism
16
Q
ashtakula-adhikarana
A
administrative body
17
Q
ashvamedha
A
sacrifice performed by those desirous of being accorded royal status, and by kings
18
Q
atman
A
soul
19
Q
ayukta
A
official designation
20
Q
banjaras
A
generally cattle pastoralists who were also carriers of goods exchanged in trade
21
Q
banya
A
member of a trading community
22
Q
Bhagavata
A
associated with the worship of Vishnu
23
Q
bhakti
A
devotion, a characteristic feature of what modern historians have called the Bhakti movement, focusing on devotion to a deity
24
Q
bhogta
A
one who enjoys: used by extension for those who enjoyed revenue rights over certain lands
25
bhukti
administrative unit
26
bodhisattva
one who works for the welfare of the world and voluntarily postpones release from rebirth; also refers sometimes to an incarnation of the Buddha prior to his own birth in the world
27
brahmacharin
celibate studentship, the first of the four stages of the ideal life-cycle
28
brahmadeya
village or land donated to a brahman, who received the revenue that came from it
29
brahma-kshatra
the claim to an ancestry associated with both brahman and kshatriya
30
brahman
the first in rank among the four varnas of Hindu society, frequently translated as caste, but in some contexts should more correctly be translated as ritual status; the brahman was primarily a ritual specialist and also provided the structures for formal education in Sanskrit
31
Brahmanas
Vedic exegetical texts for rituals
32
brahmi
the earliest deciphered script of India and dating to historical times
33
chaitya
a sacred enclosure - later took the form of a hall and became an essential focus of Buddhist worship together with the stupa
34
chakravartin
universal monarch
35
chandala
a group from among the outcast section of society, gradually regarded as untouchable
36
Chandravamsha
the lunar lineage, indicative of royal status
37
chetti
merchants
38
daivaputra
literally, the son of a deity; a royal title
39
dakshina
sacrificial fee; the southern direction
40
dana
donation/votive offering
41
danda
force/coercion/punishment
42
dasa
initially 'the Other' of the arya - later a slave or servant
43
desha
territory or an administrative unit; a region
44
devadana
usually land or revenue donated to a temple
45
devadasi
female slave of the gods, used with reference to women dedicated to the temple
46
devanagari
the later, evolved form of the brahmi script, also used for some modern Indian languages
47
Dhammaldharma
piety, morality, ethics, virtue/the social and religious order
48
Dharma-shastra
texts attempting to codify the social and ritual duties, and obligations of the members of the four varnas and the relationship between them
49
Digambara
literally, 'sky-clad', one of the two main Jaina schools
50
digvijayin
the conqueror of the four quarters
51
dinara
a coin based on the Roman denarius
52
doab
the land between two rivers
53
dronavapa
a measure of grain
54
dvija
literally, the twice-born, refers to either the highest varna or the three upper varnas of Hindu caste society, where the first birth is the physical birth and the second is the initiation into varna status
55
eripatti
land from which the revenue was used to maintain irrigation tanks
56
gahapati
a landowner
57
gana-rajya
oligarchy/chiefdom
58
garbha-griha
literally, the womb-house, the sanctum sanctorum of the Hindu temple
59
gavunda
categories of landowners; could be a member of a local administrative committee
60
ghatika
an educational centre often attached to a temple
61
ghi
clarified butter
62
grama
village
63
guru
teacher or guide
64
heggade
a term used in the peninsula for a landowner
65
Hinayana
The Lesser Vehicle, a major school of Buddhism
66
itihasa-purana
sections of texts claiming to refer to events of the past
67
jana
people, subjects, tribe, clan
68
janapada
literally, where the clan or tribe places its foot; the territory initially occupied by a clan and which could evolve into a state
69
jati
caste; a social segment identified by membership through birth, marriage circles, occupation, custom and location
70
jyestha
elder, as in the guild-like organization of the shreni
71
kahapanal/karsapanal/pana
widely used coin series, often silver
72
kakini
copper coins
73
Kalamukha
a Shaiva sect
74
kaliyuga
the fourth and final age of the great cycle of time, the mahayuga
75
kalpa
a frame of time-reckoning
76
kama
desire
77
Kapalika
a Shaiva sect
78
karma
action or deed, and also used in the theory of future births being conditioned by the deeds of the present life
79
kassaka
a cultivator, not as well-off as the gahapati
80
kayastha
a caste, chiefly of scribes
81
kharoshthi
a script used in north-west India and derived from the Aramaic script
82
kshatrapa
associated with the administrative title of satrap, and used specifically for some rulers of western India
83
kshatriya
the second in rank among the four varnas; included a warrior aristocracy, landowners and royalty
84
kshetra
field
85
kula
family
86
kuladevi
clan goddess
87
kulyavapa
a winnowing basket
88
kumaramatya
a title of honour, often used for a prince
89
kutumbi
householder
90
lingam
the phallic symbol, associated with the worship of Shiva
91
mahadanas
great gifts/donations
92
maharajadhiraja
great king of kings
93
mahasamanta
ruler or governor but subordinate to an overlord
94
mahasammata
'the great elect', the person elected to rule and signifying the origin of government in Buddhist theory
95
mahasenapati
commander-in-chief of the army
96
mahattara
head of the village
97
Mahayana
the Great Vehicle, a major school of Buddhism
98
mana
a large unit of weight
99
mandala
a cosmogram, projecting the universe in a geometric pattern, often concentric with indications of cardinal points and sometimes square; also refers to a theory of interstate relations where the king desirous of victory is at the centre and the pattern lays out potential allies and enemies
100
mandalam
an administrative unit
101
manigramam
a formal association or guild of merchants
102
mantra
sounds, words, verses associated with magical and religious connotations
103
marga
the path/mainstream
104
matha
a hospice or a monastery attached to a temple and often a centre of education
105
matsyanyaya
a political theory where a parallel is drawn between a condition of drought when tanks dry up with the big fish eating the small fish, and a condition of political anarchy when the strong devour the weak
106
maya
illusion
107
mlechchha
outside the pale of caste society/impure
108
moksha
liberation from rebirth
109
nadu
a territorial unit in south India
110
nagarashresthin
the chief merchant of the city
111
nataka
dance, mime, drama
112
Nayanars
Shaiva poets of Tamil devotionalism
113
nigama
a market or a ward of a city
114
nirvana
release from the cycle of rebirth
115
nishka
a unit of value, later used for a coin
116
paan
betel-leaf
117
Pali
an Indo-Aryan language in which the Buddhist Canon of the Theravada sect was recorded
118
palli
a hamlet, sometimes also a small market centre
119
panchakula
administrative body
120
panchayat
an administrative body, said to be a council of five
121
Pashupata
a Shaiva sect
122
pipal
ficus religiosa tree
123
pradesha
an administrative unit
124
pratiloma
literally, against the direction of the body hair, therefore against the hierarchy of castes in relation to marriage
125
purohita
priest and mentor, especially in families of status
126
rajadhiraja
royal title
127
rajasuya
sacrifice performed to enhance royal or chiefly status
128
rajuka
official designation
129
ranaka
rank or status given to a landed intermediary
130
rasa
a mood or an emotion evoked in creative literature, music and dance
131
rashtra
country/administrative unit
132
sabha
an assembly, usually small and of special persons
133
samanta
initially a term used for a neighbour; later it referred to a landed intermediary subordinate to the king
134
samiti
an assembly
135
samnyasi
ascetic
136
samsara
used most commonly to refer to the cycle of transmigration
137
sangha
frequently used to indicate the organizational Order in the Shramanic religions and more commonly in Buddhism
138
sankirna jati
mixed caste
139
sarthavaha
caravaneer
140
sati
a virtuous woman; one who has immolated herself on the funeral pyre of her husband
141
setthi
merchant
142
shakti
power
143
Shangam
assembly; more specifically the earliest literary corpus of Tamil poems
144
shastra
texts on various subjects viewed as authoritative
145
shatamana
coin
146
shikhara
tower surmounting the sanctum of the temple
147
shraddha
worship of the ancestors at a particular time of the year
148
shreni
formal association of members of a profession; a guild
149
shudra
the fourth and lowest varna
150
shunya
the zero
151
Shvetambara
literally, clad in white, one of the major Jaina schools
152
soma
the plant from which the juice was prepared and drunk in a ritual context during some Vedic sacrifices, and thought to be a hallucinogen
153
stri-dhana
the wealth of a woman given specifically to her for her own use
154
stupa
tumulus-like Structure containing relics of the Buddha or others and worshipped by Buddhists
155
Suryavamsha
solar lineage
156
suvarna
literally, of good colour and another name for gold
157
svyamavara
the ceremony at which a princess chose her husband from among an assembly of suitors
158
thakkura
the rank or status of a landed intermediary
159
Theravada
an early Buddhist sect
160
tirtha
literally a ford, more frequently a place of pilgrimage
161
tirthankara
literally, a ford-maker; the teachers of Jainism
162
ur
village assembly in south India
163
vaishya
the third status in the varna hierarchy concerned theoretically with raising livestock, cultivation and trade
164
valanadu
administrative unit in south India
165
vana
forest
166
varna
literally, colour; used for the four castes often as ritual statuses; the reference was not to skin pigmentation since in one text the four colours listed are white, yellow, red and black
167
varna-ashrama-dharma
upholding a society organized on the basis of varna and the social and sacred duties that this entailed
168
velala
peasants or landowners of various categories
169
vihara
Buddhist monastery
170
vina
lyre
171
vishaya
an administrative unit
172
vishti
forced labour or labour in lieu of a tax, often compared to the corvee
173
vratya
initially referring to those who were thought not to conform to orthodoxy, it came to mean degenerate forms in various categories
174
yaksha
a demi-god
175
yoni
female organs of generation
176
yuga
a period of time
177
ziarat
a place of pilgrimage
178
Sabaras
Non-Aryan Tribe
179
Atelier
a workshop or studio, especially one used by an artist or designer.
