Roberto Calasso - Ka

maṇḍala

of the

Ṛ

g Veda and one hynm of the tenth

muṇḍala

arabhṛtha

Ritual bath

aratāra

Descent; a periodic apparition, under a different form on each occasion, of Vi

ṣ

ṇ

u upon earth. The most widely accepted list gives the ten main

aratāras

as follows: Matsya, K

ū

rma, Var

ā

ha, Narasi

ṃ

ha, V

ā

mana, Para

ś

ur

ā

ma, R

ā

macandra, K

ṛ

ṣ

ṇ

a, Buddha, Kalkin

Avimukta

Cremation ground in K

ā

ś

ī

Awakened One

The Buddha

Awakening One

The

brahman

, according to the

Maitri Upaniṣad

, 6.4

Ā

yus

Life’s duration; son of Pur

ū

ravas and Urva

ś

ī

Badar

ī

A place of pilgrimage, sacred to Vi

ṣ

ṇ

u, in the upper Ganges valley on the slopes of the Him

ā

laya

Bad Creation

Creation of Ahriman in Avestic theology

Bahu

ś

ruta

He who has heard much; epithet of

Ā

nanda

Balbec

A seaside town where certain episodes of Proust’s

Recherche

take place

Balzac

Honoré de Balzac, 1799–1850

bandhu

Connection

Banyan Park

Nyagrodh

ā

r

ā

ma, a park in Kapilavastu

Baudh

ā

yana

Traditionally recognized as the founder of the school of the “black” Yajur Veda (Taittir

ī

ya school), author of numerous S

ū

tras

Bear

Ursa major; ṛkṣāḥ

; residence of the Saptar

ṣ

is

Bengal

A region in northeast India

Betelgeuse

A star in the constellation Orion

Bhaga

Dispenser of riches; one of the

Ā

dityas. brother of U

ṣ

as

Bhairava

The Tremendous One; epithet of

Ś

iva

bhakti

Devotion

bhaṇgā

Cannabis indica

Bharadv

ā

ja

One of the Saptar

ṣ

is. to whom are attributed a number of hymns of the sixth, ninth, and tenth

maṇḍala

of the

Ṛ

g Veda

Bharata

Author of the

Nātyaśāstra

; may have lived in the third or fourth century

A.D.

Bh

ā

rhut

Place in Madhya Pradesh holy to Buddhism

Bh

ā

ru

ṇ

ḍ

a

Mythical birds who live in Uttarakuru

Bhava

Existence; one of Rudra’s names

bheda

Lesion, fracture, difference

Bh

ī

ma

One of the P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

avas, born of the union between V

ā

yu and Kunt

ī

, first wife of P

ā

ndu, his putative father

Bh

ī

ṣ

ma

Terrible; son of

Ś

ā

ṃ

tanu and Ga

ṅ

g

ā

Bh

ṛ

gu

A

ṛṣi

, head of one of the clans founded by a

ṛṣi

Bh

ū

mi

Earth;

śakti

of Vi

ṣ

ṇ

u

B

ī

bhatsu

He-who-feels-repugnance; epithet of Arjuna

Bihar

Region in east India, bounded by Bengal, Orissa, and Nepal

bilra

Aegle marmelos

, tree sacred to

Ś

iva

Bindusaras

Lake of Drops; formed from drops of Ga

ṅ

g

ā

fallen to earth

Black One

K

ā

l

ī

Black One

K

ṛ

ṣ

ṇ

a; also an epithet of

Ś

iva

Blessed One

Epithet of the Buddha

Boar

Var

ā

ha; the third

aratāra

of Vi

ṣ

ṇ

u

bodháyanti

The Awakening One

Bodhgay

ā

The name of the place (near Gay

ā

) where the awakening (

bodhi

) of the Buddha took place

bodhi

Awakening

Bodhisattva

A being destined to the awakening; the name used for those destined to become Buddhas as well as for those who have chosen not to reach the state of Buddha immediately, out of compassion for other beings. Before achieving awakening, Siddh

ā

rtha Gautama is a Bodhisattva

Born-in-a-reed-marsh

Ś

aravanodbhava

Boy

Kum

ā

ra; one of the names of Rudra

Brahm

ā

All the unresolved disputes that revolve around the term

brahman

can equally well be applied to the meaning of this name. His antecedent is Praj

ā

pati

brahmacārin

He who behaves according to brahman; the name of those in the first stage of human life, that of a pupil under the guidance of a

guru

, characterized by chastity and the observance of special rules

Brahm

ā

haty

ā

Fury of the Bralunanicide; a girl who pursues those who have killed a brahman

brahman

The St. Petersburg Dictionary (Böhtlingk-Roth) offers seven meanings in the following order: prayer, magic formula, sacred discourse, sacred knowledge, sacred way of life, the absolute, the caste of the brahmans. The debates over this word have gone on since the beginning of Indological studies. Each of the seven meanings has its supporters, who believe it to be prevalent. Numerous hybrid meanings have also been proposed, as have further translations, for example, “connective energy compressed in enigmas” (Renou); “power of language” (Staal); “powerful word” (Kramrisch); “link between life and death” (Heesterman). A whole literary genre, the Br

ā

hma

ṇ

as, was given over to the interpretation of

brahman

In the

Atharva Veda

, 10.8.37, we read: “He who knows the thread of the thread knows the great essence of

brahman

”

Br

ā

hma

ṇ

as

Prose texts of ritual exegesis, written between 800 and 600

B.C.

brahmodya

A dispute through enigmas

B

ṛ

haspati

Lord of the sacred discourse; the chief priest,

purohita

, of the Devas

Brilliant

Vivasvat

Buddha

Awakened; the Buddha

Ś

ā

kyamuni, Siddh

ā

rtha Gautama, son of

Ś

uddhodana and M

ā

y

ā

; according to Visnuite tradition, the ninth

avatāra

of Vi

ṣ

ṇ

u. The dates of his life are still a matter of controversy, but usually considered as straddling the sixth and fifth centuries

B.C.

Buddha K

ā

ś

yapa

The Buddha who precedes the Buddha

Ś

ā

kyamuni

Buddha Maitreya

The Buddha of the future, who appears after the Buddha

Ś

ā

kyamuni

Buddha

Ś

ā

kyamuni

Siddh

ā

rtha Gautama, the Buddha

Bušyanst

ā

Avestic demon of morning-time inertia

cakra

Wheel; in Tantrism, the name of the centers through which Dev

ī

Ku

ṇ

ḍ

alin

ī

ascends; also referred to as lotuses (

padmas

). Their number varies with the traditions; in the

haṭha yoga

there are seven

Cape Comorin

Southernmost extremity of the Indian subcontinent

Castle, The

Franz Kafka’s novel

Celestials

The Devas, the Apsaras, and the Gandharvas