Lesson 2 -- Part 5 -- jyotiS-saMskRtam dictionary

[Guest guest]

Namaste, Guru Solaiji,

 

Thank you very much for your kind words of support and encouragement, and I

appreciate the extra time you have allowed me to finish this lesson. I have

finally finished researching and compiling definitions for all the terms in

the lesson (at least I think I got them all). I welcome any correction and

addition to the definitions I have found by everyone in SJVC. Please review

them when you have time.

 

I have placed the terms I couldn't find any definition for at the top of the

list under the '** ? **' heading. I've also placed extra thoughts/guesses

for extended/deeper meanings for some of the terms; these will be in

parentheses with a question mark next to a term's definition in the

dictionary. I would welcome commentary on these, too, as they warrant.

 

Grace to all the gurus and sisyas,

Beau

 

OM GURUBHYO NAMAH

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SJVC LESSON 2 -- Creation

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shiSya: Beau Binder

2001-DEC-06

 

5. Make a list of all Sanskrit terms in this Lesson under different

starting letters and prepare your personal dictionary of Jyotish/Sanskrit

terminology.

 

I will use the following modified Harvard-Kyoto transliteration scheme

(using 'sh' instead of 'z' for the palatal sibilant) for Sanskrit terms:

 

a A i I u U R RR lR lRR

e ai o au

M H

k kh g gh G

c ch j jh J

T Th D Dh N

t th d dh n

p ph b bh m

y r l v

sh S s

h

 

 

Terms I couldn't find a definition for:

** ? **

 

shRImad bhagavatam -- The Grand Divine story?

'vyam' in 'vyaM vyAsadevAya namaH' -- possibly 'vayam' meaning 'we'?,

so that the phrase is 'vayaM vyAsadevAya namaH' -> 'We (give)

reverance to God (in the form of vyAsa)'?

 

** a **

 

aum -- see 'om'.

agni -- fire, appetite.

atharvan -- a priest who instituted the worship of fire and offering

of soma and prayers.

atharvaveda -- the 4th veda authored by atharvan.

ananta -- infinite; the divine serpent.

arjuna -- the white or clear; shRI kRSNa's disciple in the Bhagavad gItA.

avatAra -- an incarnation of God.

avidyAmAyA -- ignorance due to lack of knowledge.

ashvattha -- The holy fig tree.

asura -- a demon.

asuraguru -- teacher of the asurAH, i.e., shukra.

 

** A **

 

AkAsha -- clear space, sky, ether, vacuum.

AcArya -- preceptor, teacher, spiritual guide.

Atma(n) -- the Soul; the Self; the conscious self.

AtmakAraka -- signifier of the Self; 'Atma' + 'kAraka'.

 

** I **

 

Isha -- God ( mahAviSNu in the highest and imperceptible form and shRI

kRSNa in the perceptible form ).

 

** u **

 

uddhava -- friend and devotee of shRI kRSNa.

upadesha -- instruction, specification, teaching.

 

** R **

 

Rgveda -- 'The Veda of praise'; 'Hymn-veda'; 'Rg' is a form of 'Rc'

after saMdhi, 'Rc' + 'veda' -> 'Rgveda'

Rc -- praise, verse, a sacred verse.

 

** o **

 

om ('a' + 'u' + 'm') -- The name and symbol of the Absolute.

 

** k **

 

karma(n) -- action, fate.

kAraka -- 'one who causes'.

kArttikeya -- a super powerful son of shiva and the kRttikA; aka skanda.

kAla -- time.

kAlapuruSa -- Universal form of God. (The Self of Time?) (The form of

God which causes time? or displays time? The Heavens?)

kAlIyuga -- Age of Darkness; the current age. (Age of the goddess kAlI?)

kurukSetra -- 'Field of the Kurus'; a plain near Delhi.

kusha -- a sacred type of grass.

kRttikA -- The Pleades; the third nakSatra.

kRSNa -- the perceptible form of mahAviSNu; an avatAra of viSNu.

 

** g **

 

gaGgA -- 'The one who goes swiftly'; the sacred river Ganges, a

manifestation of the goddess of knowledge.

gati -- gait, way, direction.

gaMdharva -- a celestial musician.

gItA -- 'Song of God'.

guNa -- excellent, quality, virtue; quality of nature.

 

** j **

 

jala -- water, liquid.

jIva -- the principle of life; life; a creature.

jIvAtma -- the conscious self with the deeds of karma/karman attached

to it.

jyoti -- light

jyotiS -- the light of knowledge

jyotiSa -- one who possesses jyotiS and puts it to use for dharma.

 

** t **

 

tattva -- element, essential nature.

tapasya -- to practice penance.

tamas -- darkness, ignorance, inertia.

 

** d **

 

dAs/dAsa -- servant; a knowledgable person.

diti -- mother of the rAkSasAH.

deva -- a deity.

dharma -- Support, virtue, divine duty.

 

** dh ** --------------------------------

 

dhI -- intellect, mind, thought.

dhI shakti -- shakti manifested as intellect, intellect.

 

** n **

 

namaH -- reverence.

nArad(a) -- son of brahmA, a devarSi known for devotion to viSNu; a

contributor to the Rgveda.

nArAyaNa -- viSNu.

naisargika -- natural, innate.

 

** p **

 

paramAtma -- the supreme conscious self, pure Atma.

purusha -- The Supreme Soul; paramAtma.

pRthivI -- earth, solid.

prakRti -- Nature.

prashna -- area of jyotiS predicting the immediate future based on the

heavenly configuration of moment.

prahlAda -- Great devotee of viSNu; son of diti and hiraNyakashipu.

 

** b **

 

bRhaspati -- Jupiter.

brahman -- the Absolute, the Supreme Spirit.

brahmajJAna -- divine knowledge, wisdom.

brahmA -- the first born of brahman.

brahmin -- belonging to, or relating to, brahmA; a caste.

 

** bh ** --------------------------------

 

bhakti -- devotion.

bhagavan -- Divine, holy.

bhRgu -- 'The Glittering'; one of the Rgveda authors; a mahArSi.

 

** m **

 

manu -- 'The Thinking'; son of sUrya; the first man.

mantra -- 'mind protector'; a sacred set of syllables/words.

mahA -- prefix meaning 'Great'.

mahAbhArata -- the epic poem about the descendants of bharata.

mahArSi -- 'Great seer'.

mahAviSNu -- the highest and imperceptible form of God.

mAyA -- the illusory power of God.

mArga -- path, way, track, trace.

maitreya -- 'The Friendly'; a sage, taught by parAshara, who went to

shiva to receive veda.

mUla -- the root; origin.

meru -- The central mountain of the universe; (the prime axis?)

 

** y **

 

yakSa -- a demi-god.

yajurveda -- 'The sacrificial veda'; 'yajus' + 'veda' -> 'yajurveda'.

yajus -- term for mantrAH recited at a worshipful sacrifice.

yama -- 'The Restrainer'; god of death, son of sUrya, brother of manu.

yuga -- an age.

 

** r **

 

rajas -- passion, creative force.

rAma -- 'The Blissful'; 'The Deiightful'; an avatAra of viSNu.

 

** v **

 

vasiSTha -- a mahArSi; an contributor to the Rgveda.

vAsudeva -- 'The indwelling God'; a name of viSNu and kRSNa.

vAyu -- wind, air, gas.

vidura -- 'The Wise', a sage.

vidyAmAyA -- having veda, knowledge of the Self.

viSNu -- 'The All-Pervading'; God.

veda -- pure, unadulterated knowledge.

vedaMga -- a part/limb of the vedas.

vedAMta -- a particular school of philosophy.

vyAsa -- The mahArSi who compiled the vedAH.

vyaM vyAsadevAya namaH -- '

 

** sh ** --------------------------------

 

shakti -- divine energy, power.

shatarupA -- the woman; wife of the first man; 'She who has a hundred

forms.'

shiva -- 'The Pure', 'The Auspicious'; another name for God.

shukra -- Venus.

shukrAcArya -- shukra as preceptor/teacher

shRI -- sacred, holy, full of light; honorific, reverential title.

shRImad bhagavatam -- The Grand Divine (story)?

shRImat -- grand, wealthy, famous.

 

 

** s **

 

saMjIvAnI -- Life-giving, animating.

saMjIvAnIrmantra -- Life-giving mantra possessed by shukra.

sanatkumAra -- 'always a youth (virgin?)'; a son of brahmA.

sAma(n) -- a metrical hymn.

sAmaveda -- 'sAma' + 'veda'; 'The veda of sAmAni'.

sattva -- virtue, purity, tranquility, goodness.

sUrya -- Sun.

sthAvara -- stationary.

 

** h **

 

hare -- vocative form of hari, 'The Remover of sins, bondage, and

ignorance.'

himAlaya -- The abode of snow. A range of mountains in Asia.