Roberto Calasso - Ka

gārhapatya

, “belonging to the sacrificer,” a domestic fire, and the

dakṣiṇāgni

, “fire of the south.” The

āhavanīya

is lit, with a flame taken from the

gārhapatya

ahiṃsā

Not to wound; nonviolence toward living beings. A lizard defined it as “the supreme law of all creatures that breathe” (

Mahābhārata

, 1.11.12)

Air

ā

vata

Born of the ocean: a white elephant ridden by Indra

Ajita Ke

ś

akambalin

Philosopher who lived at the time of the Buddha

Ak

ū

p

ā

ra

Cosmic turtle, immersed in the waters

Alakanand

ā

River that rises in the Him

ā

laya and flows into the Ganges

Albertine

A character in Proust’s

Recherche

Aldebaran

A star in the Taurus coustellation; it corresponds to Rohin

ī

All-gods

Vi

ś

ve Devas

amāgadho

māgadhavākyah

Man-not-from-the-Magadha called man-from-the-Magadha

Amar

ā

vat

ī

Indra’s celestial city

Amb

ā

A princess of K

ā

ś

ī

, carried off by Bh

ī

ṣ

ma with her sisters, Ambik

ā

and Amb

ā

lik

ā

amba

Mother

Amb

ā

lik

ā

A princess of K

ā

ś

ī

, marries Vicitrav

ī

rya, mother of P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

u through her union with Vy

ā

sa

ambālikā

An affectionate form of

amba

, “mother”

ambhas

Water, billow

Ambik

ā

A princess of K

ā

ś

ī

, marries Vicitrav

ī

rya, mother of Dh

ṛ

tar

ā

ṣ

ṭ

ra through her union with Vy

ā

sa

ambikā

An affectionate form of

amba

, “mother”

Ā

mrap

ā

l

ī

Guardian of the Mango Trees, courtesan of Vai

ś

ā

l

ī

Ā

mrava

ṇ

a

Park of the Mango Trees, one of the Buddha’s favorite parks

amṛta

Immortal; liquid of eternal life, drunk by the gods, which surfaces during the churning of the ocean (

amṛtamanthana

) and coincides with the substance that men call

soma

A

ṃ

ś

a

Portion; one of the

Ā

dityas

aṃśa

Portion. The gods can descend into certain human beings with a part of themselves. Thus, of the P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

ava brothers, Bh

ī

ma has a portion of V

ā

yu, Yudhi

ṣ

ṭ

hira of Dharma, Arjuna of Indra, Nakula and Sahadeva of the A

ś

vins

ānanda

Joy, beatitude

Ā

nanda

Joy; Buddha’s cousin

Ā

nandavardhana

A poet and writer of treatises, author of the

Dhranyāloka

, “The Light of Poetical Suggestion,” perhaps the most important Indian work of literary criticism; lived in Kashmir in the ninth century

A.D.

Ananta

Infinite; another name of the snake

Ś

e

ṣ

a

ananta

Infinite, without limit

Anas

ū

y

ā

Without envy; daughter of Dak

ṣ

a and V

ī

rin

ī

, wife of Atri

anattā

Non-Self; a P

ā

li term of Buddhist doctrine (equivalent to the Sanskrit

anātman

) that denies the existence of a Self,

ātman

Andrée

A character in Proust’s

Recherche

A

ṅ

giras

A group of

ṛṣis

, their guide is also called A

ṅ

giras

anirukta

Inexpressible, unexpressed, implicit; describes those verses and rites in which the divinity of whom one is speaking is not named; also describes formulas that are murmured or pronounced mentally

Annap

ū

r

ṇ

ā

Full of food; a peak in the Him

ā

laya

Antelope

M

ṛ

ga, name of the constellation Orion

Antelope Park

Mrgad

ā

va, park of the king of V

ā

r

ā

ṇ

as

ī

Anumati

Consent; daughter of A

ṅ

giras; also the fifteenth day of the lunar cycle, when the gods look favorably on sacrificial offerings

Anuruddha

A Buddhist monk present at the Council of R

ā

jag

ṛ

ha

Anyata

ḥ

plak

ṣ

ā

A pond in Kuruk

ṣ

etra where Urva

ś

ī

appears with her following of Apsaras

āpaḥ

Waters, from

āp-

, “to pervade”

aparimita

Boundless

apauruṣeya

Not from man; of nonhuman origin

Apollo

Son of Zeus and Leto, twin brother of Artemis

Apsaras

Flowing in the waters; celestial nymphs

apuṃścalū

puṃścalūvākyā

“Not-whore called whore”

araṇī

A twig of

aśvattha

with which the ritual fire is kindled and with which Pur

ū

ravas first unleashed fire in the world

Arati

Dissatisfaction; a daughter of M

ā

ra

Archer

Ś

arva; one of Rudra’s names

arhat

Worthy; the fourth level of sanctity in Buddhist terminology; refers to those who have freed themselves from

karman

Arjuna

White One; one of the P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

avas, born of the union between Indra and Kunt

ī

, first wife of P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

u, his putative father

arka

Brilliant;

Asclepias gigantica

; a hymn of praise; the mystic name of the holy fire in the

agnicayana

and the

aśramedha

Ā

rtabh

ā

ga

A brahmanic master, contemporary with Y

ā

jñavalkya

Artemis

Daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo

Aru

ṇ

a

Son of Ka

ś

yapa and Vinat

ā

, S

ū

rya’s charioteer

Arundhat

ī

One of the K

ṛ

ttik

ā

s, wife of Vasi

ṣ

ṭ

ha

Aryaman

One of the

Ā

dityas, an ancestor of the

Ā

ryas

Ā

ryas

Noble Ones; used by the Vedic texts to refer to members of the three upper

castes

as

-

To gain

A

ś

ani

Flash (of lightning); one of Rudra’s names

asat

That which is not (

a-sat

), the unmanifest

āśrama

Hermitage

Asuras

Gods, the first-born sons of Praj

ā

pati; when they oppose the Devas, the gods per excellence, they become antigods

aśva

Horse

Aśvajit

One of the first five companions of the Buddha

A

ś

vala

Priest (

hotṛ

) of King Janaka

aśvamedha

Sacrifice of the horse

aśvattha

Ficus religiosa, peepul tree

A

ś

vins

Divine twins, sons of Vivasvat and Sara

ṇ

y

ū

atirikta

Overflowing

ātman

Self

Atri

Devourer: one of the Saptar

ṣ

is, to whom are attributed a number of the hymns of the fifth