Roberto Calasso - Ka

soma

Kafka

Franz Kafka, 1883–1924

Kail

ā

sa

A mountain in western Tibet on whose slopes the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahm

ā

putra rivers all flow

Kakuda K

ā

ty

ā

yana

A philosopher at the time of the Buddha

K

ā

la

Time; one of the names of

Ś

iva

K

ā

lak

ū

ṭ

a

The poison of the world, drunk by

Ś

iva during the churning of the ocean

K

ā

landakaniv

ā

pa

Offered to the squirrels; one of the Buddha’s favorite parks

Kal

ā

vat

ī

Sister of Men

ā

kali

When playing dice the losing throw, “the dog’s throw,” which gives a remainder of one; in the sequence of the

yugas

, it comes after the

kṛtayuga

, the

tretāyuga

, and the

drāparayuga

K

ā

l

ī

Black One, Dark One; an epithet of Dev

ī

, and hence of P

ā

rvat

ī

K

ā

lid

ā

sa

An Indian poet and playwright who lived between the fourth and fifth centuries

A.D.

kaliyuga

Age of the Losing Throw

kalpa

A cosmic cycle corresponding to a day of Brahm

ā

; divided into four aeons,

yugas

, it ends with the

pralaya

, “dissolution,” also known as the “night of Brahm

ā

”

K

ā

ma

Desire, son of Brahm

ā

kāma

Desire

K

ā

mar

ū

pa

Form of desire; ancient name of Assam

K

ā

ñ

c

ī

A city in Tamil Nadu

kapāla

Bowl

Kap

ā

lin

He-who-holds-the-bowl; epithet of

Ś

iva

Kapilavastu

The Buddha’s birthplace; presumably corresponds to Pipr

ā

w

ā

, in Uttar Pradesh

K

ā

rapacava

A bend in the Sarasvat

ī

River

Karko

ṭ

aka

Name of a Snake, son of Kadr

ū

karman

Action; initially, sacrificial action

Kar

ṇ

a

Son of S

ū

rya and Kunt

ī

abandoned at birth, adopted by Adhiratha and R

ā

dh

ā

kārṣāpana

A coin of the Bihar

K

ā

rttika

Month of the K

ṛ

ttik

ā

s, the Pleiades; October — November

kāśā mádhumatī

Honey whip; used by the A

ś

vins

K

ā

ś

ī

The Splendid; ancient name of V

ā

r

ā

ṇ

as

ī

(Benares)

Ka

ś

yapa

Turtle; one of the Saptar

ṣ

is. He always has two wives — either Aditi and Diti or Kadr

ū

and Vinat

ā

Or he marries thirteen of Dak

ṣ

a’s daughters, including Aditi, Diti, Kadr

ū

, and Vinat

ā

Kaṭha Upaniṣad

An upani

ṣ

ad almost entirely in verse; contains the instructions given by Yama to a young brahman, Naciketas

K

ā

ty

ā

yan

ī

Epithet of Durg

ā

, the Inaccessible One; manifestation of Dev

ī

K

ā

ty

ā

yan

ī

Wife of Y

ā

jñavalkya

Kauravas

Descendants of Kuru; the name usually used for the hundred sons of Dh

ṛ

tar

ā

ṣ

ṭ

ra and G

ā

ndh

ā

r

ī

, cousins of the P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

avas

Kau

ś

ik

ī

River in Bihar, frequently called Kosi

Kaustubha

Gem that appeared during the churning of the ocean

kari

Poet

K

ā

vya U

ś

anas

Chief priest of the Asuras

Khy

ā

ti

Daughter of Dak

ṣ

a and V

ī

ri

ṇ

í

Kosala

A principality of the Bihar region

Kratu

Will; a

ṛṣi

of the second list

K

ṛ

ś

ā

Gautam

ī

Companion of the Buddha in his youth; in P

ā

li: Kis

ā

Gotam

ī

Kr

ś

ā

nu

A footless archer, guardian of the

soma

K

ṛ

ṣ

ṇ

a

Black One, Dark One; Obscure One; son of Vasudeva and Devaki, adopted by Nanda and Ya

ś

od

ā

; eighth

avatāra

of vi

ṣ

ṇ

u

K

ṛ

ṣ

ṇ

a

Black One; epithet of Draupad

ī

kṛta

A winning throw when playing dice; a number divisible by four, leaving no remainder; name of the perfect age

krtakrtya

He who has done what must be done

K

ṛ

ttik

ā

s

The Pleiades, the wives of the Saptar

ṣ

is: six of them carry Skanda in their wombs and give birth to him

K

ṣ

am

ā

Daughter of Dak

ṣ

a and V

ī

ri

ṇ

ī

kṣatriya

Warrior; noble; the second of the four castes

Kum

ā

ra

Boy; one of the names of Rudra

kumāraka

Boy

Kumbhayoni

He whose womb was a pot; epithet of Vasi

ṣ

ṭ

ha, born together with Agastya from the sperm simultaneously squirted into a pot by Mitra and Varu

ṇ

a upon seeing Urva

ś

ī

Kunt

ī

Adopted daughter of Kunt

ī

bhoja; mother of Kar

ṇ

a by S

ū

rya; wife of P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

u, mother of Yudhi

ṣ

ṭ

hira by Dharma, Bh

ī

ma by V

ā

yu, and Arjuna by Indra

Kuntibhoja

King of the Kunt

ī

and the Bhoja peoples; adoptive father of Kunt

ī

K

ū

rma

Turtle; second

avatāru

of Vi

ṣ

ṇ

u

Kuruk

ṣ

etra

Field of the Kurus; about a hundred and fifty kilometers north of Delhi; place where the gods made sacrifices; site of the battle between the P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

avas and the Kauravas narrated in the

Mahābhārata

Kuru-Pa

ñ

c

ā

las

Collective name of the Kuru and Pa

ñ

c

ā

la peoples, who settled in the “middle region” (

madhyadeśa

), brahmanic par excellence, in the northwestern part of the Ganges plain. The territory of the Kurus was the Kuruksetra

Kurus

Inhabitants of the Kuru-Pa

ñ

c

ā

la region

Ku

ś

inagara

Capital of the Malla people; in a wood near Ku

ś

inagara the complete extinction (

parinirvāṇa

) of the Buddha took place

Lake of Drops

Bindusaras

lakṣaṇa

Token of perfection; the Buddha has thirty-two

lakṣaṇas

that distinguish his body from those of other beings

Laksm

ī

Consort and

śakti

of Vi

ṣ

ṇ

u

Last

Uttar

ā

Law

Dharina

Laws of Manu

Manusmṛti

; according to tradition, a text in which the

ṛṣi

Bh

ṛ

gu described the institutions of the sacred law as proclaimed by Manu; believed to have been written down between the second century

B.C.

and the second century