Roberto Calasso - Ka

ṛ

a, mother of the Kauravas

Gandharvas

Celestial demons

Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. 1869–1948

G

ā

ṇ

ḍ

ī

va

A prodigious bow, given to Arjuna by Agni

Ga

ṇ

a

ś

a

Lord of the Trops; son of P

ā

rvat

ī

: has an elephant’s head

Ga

ṅ

g

ā

Sister of P

ā

rvat

ī

: the river Ganges

G

ā

rg

ī

Woman theologian of the Kuru-Pa

ñ

c

ā

las

gārhapatya

Belonging to the sacrificer; domestic fire; one of the three sacrificial fires. It is from the circular

gārhapatya

that one takes the flame to light the

āharanīya

Garu

ḍ

a

Immense eagle, son of Ka

ś

yapa and Vinat

ā

Gaur

ī

Name of an Apsaras

Gautama

Name of the clan into which the Buddha was born

Gav

ā

ṃ

pati

A

ṛṣi

contemporary with the Buddha

Gay

ā

A place in the Bihar region near which the awakening of the Buddha occurred

G

ā

yatr

ī

Daughter of Brahm

ā

gāyatrī

A Vedic meter made up of three lines of eight syllables

Geldner

K.F. Geldner, indologist, 1853–1929

Gemini

A constellation between Canis Major and Orion

Genie

Yak

ṣ

a

Genies

Ones who drink words; R

ā

k

ṣ

asas

Genies

Following

Ś

iva: Ca

ṇ

as

Gh

ṛ

t

ā

c

ī

Name of an Apsaras

Gilda

The protagonist of

Gilda

by Charles Vidor, 1946

Goddess

Dev

ī

Gokula

A village near Mathur

ā

Good Creation

Creation of Ohrmazd, in Avestic theology

Gop

ā

Wife of Siddh

ā

rtha Gautama, the Buddha

gopī

Cow girl

Gotama

Or Gautama; one of the Saptar

ṣ

is, author of hymns 74–93 of the first

maṇḍala

of the

Ṛ

g Veda

Grace-Done-to-

Antelopes

Became the name of King V

ā

r

ā

ṇ

asi’s Antelope Park after the Buddha, in one of his earlier lives, passed through it in the form of an antelope

grāma

Village; temporary settlement of nomad shepherds

grāvastut

Praiser of stones; officiant in the rite of the

soma

Great Bear

Or Great Chariot; a northern constellation of seven stars

Great Black One

Mah

ā

k

ā

la; epithet of

Ś

iva

gṛhapati

Leader, guide of the officiants who takes the place of the sacrificer.

yajamāna

, in the

sattra

G

ṛ

tsamada

A

ṛṣi

attributed with the authorship of the second

maṇḍala

of the

Ṛ

g Veda

Guardian of the

Mango Trees

Ā

mrap

ā

l

ī

Guardians

Phūlakes

; to whom Plato entrusts control of the city

Guñg

ū

The new moon

Harappa

With Mohenjo-daro, one of the two main centers of civilization in the Indus valley, which flourished between 2500 and 1700

B.C.

Hastin

ā

pura

A city of the P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

avas and the Kauravas, near the present Delhi

Head of the Antelope

M

ā

rga

ś

ī

r

ṣ

a; mouth corresponding to November-December

Hegel

G.W.F. Hegel, 1770–1831

He-who-came-thus

Tath

ā

gata, the Buddha

He-who-feels-

repugnance

B

ī

bhatsu; epithet of Arjuna

He-who-has-the-

blue-neck

N

ī

laka

ṇ

ṭ

ha; epithet of

Ś

iva

He-who-holds-

the-bowl

Kap

ā

lin; epithet of

Ś

iva

Him

ā

laya

Himavat

Himavat

Him

ā

laya; father of P

ā

rvat

ī

hiṃs

-

To wound

Hindukush

A mountainous region between Afghanistan and the west of India (Pakistan and Kashmir)

Hipparchus

Hipparchus of Nicea, second century

B.C

., astronomer who identified and described the precession of the equinoxes

Hoffmann

Karl Hoffmann, indologist, 1915–

hotṛ

He who pours the oblation; one of the four main officiating priests, whose duty is to recite hymns and ritual formulas

Hradecak

ṣ

us

Eye of the Pond; one of the six Apsaras who escort Urva

ś

ī

hṛdyá samudrá

The ocean of the heart

Hr

ī

Modesty

I

Aham

idam

This

iduṃ sarram

All this

India

The Island of the Jamb

ū

Indo-Aryans

Ā

ryas

Indra

King of the Devas and one of the

Ā

dityas

Indr

ā

n

ī

Indra’s wife

Indraprastha

A city of the P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

avas, corresponds to the present Delhi

Indus

Sindhu

Iran

Ē

r

ā

nšahr, “Land of the

Ā

ryas”

Ī

ś

ā

na

Lord; one of the names of Rudra

Island of the Jamb

ū

Jamb

ū

dv

ī

pa; ancient name of the Indian subcontinent

ira

“In a certain sense”; “so to speak.” “The particle

ira

stresses indetermination, evokes latent values” (L. Renou and L. Silburn, “

Nirukta

and

ánīrukta

,” in

L. Sarup Memorial Volume

, Hoshiarpur, 1954, p. 76)

jagatī

A Vedic meter made up of three lines of twelve syllables

Jamadagni

Devouring fire; a

ṛṣi

, descendant of Bh

ṛ

gu, according to some traditions, one of the Saptar

ṣ

is; introduced the

rirāj

meter

jambū

Rose-apple tree,

Eugenia jambos

; Island of the Jamb

ū

, Jamb

ū

dv

ī

pa, is the ancient name of India

Janaka

Generator; king of Videha

Janamejaya

One who makes men tremble; son of Par

ī

k

ṣ

it

Janapadakaly

ā

ṇ

ī

The beauty of the land: girl betrothed to

Ā

nanda (or, according to some, to Nanda)

jaráyantī

Awakening, making one grow old

Jay

ā

Maid of P

ā

rvat

ī

Jayadratha

One who has victorious chariots; king of Sindhu, ally of the Kauravas against the P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

avas

Jena

City in Germany

Jetavana

One of the Buddha’s favorite parks

Jina Mah

ā

v

ī

ra

A spiritual master at the time of the Buddha, founder of Jainism

K.

Josef K. in

The Trial

and K. in

The Castle

, novels by Franz Kafka

Ka

Who? Secret name of Praj

ā

pati

Kadr

ū

Daughter of Dak

ṣ

a, sister of Vinat

ā

, mother of a thousand N

ā

gas; according to the

Śatapatha Brāhmana

, 3.2.4.1, she and Vinat

ā

were

māyās

, “magic forms,” evoked by the Devas to win the