Glossary

Plain-language definitions of recurring Sanskrit and study terms.

Ācāra: conduct, observance or mode of practice; classification varies by text.
Āgama: “that which has come down”; a revealed scripture or scriptural class, especially in Śaiva, Śākta and Vaiṣṇava settings.
Āmnāya: transmission, sacred current or directional revelation; often used in lineage-specific schemes.
Bhairava: a formidable and transcendent form/name of Śiva central to several tantric traditions.
Bhakti: devotion, loving participation or relationship with the divine.
Bīja: “seed”; a condensed mantra syllable associated with a deity or power. Many uses are initiation-specific.
Cakra: wheel, circle or center; in subtle-body maps, one of several possible lotus-like centers. Systems vary.
Darśana: seeing and being seen by the sacred; also a philosophical viewpoint or system.
Devī: Goddess; “the shining/divine one.”
Dīkṣā: initiation or consecration that authorizes and transforms a practitioner's relationship to a path.
Guru: a teacher of spiritual weight or authority; the role does not remove ethical accountability.
Guhya: hidden, secret, inward, protected or esoteric.
Jñāna: knowledge, insight or liberating understanding.
Kaula: a wide family of tantric currents associated with *kula* (“family,” “totality,” “embodied group”), interpreted differently across sources.
Kālīkula: families of Goddess traditions centered on Kālī and related forms.
Kuṇḍalinī: “coiled one”; a transformative power described differently in yogic and tantric systems.
Maṇḍala: a structured sacred field, circle, domain or diagram used in ritual and contemplation.
Mantra: a consecrated sound-form, syllable, name, phrase or verse used within a defined tradition.
Mudrā: seal, gesture or embodied configuration; meaning depends on artistic and ritual context.
Nāḍī: channel in subtle-body maps; not identical with a nerve or blood vessel.
Nyāsa: ritual “placing” or installation, often of mantra or deity aspects in the body; detailed sequences may be restricted.
Pāñcarātra: a major Vaiṣṇava scriptural and ritual tradition associated with Nārāyaṇa/Vāsudeva worship.
Prāṇa: life-breath or vital process; meanings extend beyond ordinary respiration.
Pratyabhijñā: recognition; especially associated with nondual Śaiva philosophy of recognizing consciousness's universal nature.
Pūjā: worship through offerings, attention and hospitality to divine presence.
Purāṇa: a broad class of Sanskrit narrative and religious texts involving cosmology, genealogy, sacred places, deities and devotion.
Sādhana: disciplined practice oriented toward realization or a religious goal.
Sampradāya: transmitted religious community, teaching lineage or tradition.
Śaiva: related to Śiva or Śaiva traditions.
Śākta: related to Śakti/Devī or Goddess traditions.
Śakti: power, capacity or divine energy; also the Goddess as ultimate reality in Śākta traditions.
Śrīcakra: sacred diagram central to Śrīvidyā; not generic decorative geometry.
Śrīkula: Goddess traditions oriented toward Śrī/Tripurasundarī, commonly contrasted with Kālīkula in broad classifications.
Siddhi: accomplishment, perfection or extraordinary capacity; pursuit of powers is ethically and spiritually contested.
Tantra: depending on context, a scripture, system, doctrine or the broad family of traditions discussed in this collection.
Tattva: principle, reality-category or constituent used to map manifestation and experience.
Upaniṣad: a diverse body of texts concerned with ultimate reality, self, knowledge, death, ritual interiorization, devotion and later yogic ideas. There is no single count: a traditional list names 108; a principal (mukhya) group of about ten to thirteen is most often studied.
Vajrayāna: “Diamond/Thunderbolt Vehicle”; a broad name for tantric Buddhist paths, internally diverse.
Veda: the ancient, layered Sanskrit revelation. There are four Vedas: Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda and Atharvaveda, each with associated Saṃhitā, Brāhmaṇa, Āraṇyaka and Upaniṣad strata.
Yantra: instrument or sacred diagram whose identity belongs to a specific deity, text and use.