Roberto Calasso - Ka

A.D.

Licchavis

The dominant clan in the city of Vai

ś

ā

l

ī

līlā

Game

liṇga

Sign, token, phallus

Lucke

John Locke, 1632–1704

Loug

Dighanikāyu

, “group of long [discourses]”: name of one of the five sections into which the

Suttapitaka

, one of the Three Baskets of the Buddha’s discourses, is divided

Long Discourses

The doctrine of the Buddha expounded in long treatises

Lop

ā

mudr

ā

Wife of Agastya

Lord of the Animals

Ś

iva

Lord of the Creatures

Praj

ā

pati

Lord of the Herds

Pa

ś

upati

Lord of the Mountain

Parvata, Himavat

Lord of the Ornament

Ś

ubháspá

ū

s

Lord of the Residues

Vastupa; epithet of

Ś

iva

Lumbin

ī

The place M

ā

y

ā

gave birth to the Buddha, a small wood on the road between Devadaha and Kapilavastu: identified with a village in Ter

ā

i (Nepal) not far from Gorakhpur (India), now known as Ruminindei

Mada

Intoxication; a demon

madhu

Honey

madhura

Sweet

Madhurasvar

ā

Name of an Apsaras

mādhurya

Sweetness

madhuvidyā

Doctrine of the honey

M

ā

dr

ī

Second wife of P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

u, who, by her union with the A

ś

vins, gives birth to Nakula and Sahadeva

Magadha

Ancient name for the present southern Bihar

Mahābhārata

Epic poem attributed to Vy

ā

sa, said to have been written down sometime between the third century

B.C.

and the third century

A.D.

Mah

ā

deva

Great God; one of the names of Rudra

mahaduktha

Great recital; chants intoned by the

hotṛ

on the day of the

mahāerata

, during the midday squeezing of the

soma

Mah

ā

k

ā

ś

yapa

Great Turtle; one of the first sixteen

arhats

, led the Buddhist community after the death of the Buddha

Mah

ā

ko

ś

ī

A river that rises in the Him

ā

laya

mahāvira

A clay pot made during the

pravargya

rite, used for heating milk

mahāvrata

Great vow; a ceremony that forms part of a

sattra

lasting a year; at its center is the

mahaduktha

mahiṣī

Consecrated One; the first in rank of the king’s wives; she who married him first

Main

Name of the region around Frankfurt, where the Main flows

Maitrey

ī

Wife of Y

ā

jñnavalkya

Maitri Upaniṣad

An Upani

ṣ

ad in which the sage Maitri appears

Mallas

At the time of the Buddha, the dominant clan in the north of Bihar

manas

Mind; Latin:

mens

mānasaputras

Sons born of the mind

maṇḍala

Circle; the books that make up the

Ṛ

g Veda are known as

maṇḍalas

Mandara

A mountain used by the Devas and Asuras for the churning of the ocean

Man-Lion

Narasimha, fourth

avatāra

of Vi

ṣ

ṇ

u

mantra

Incantatory formula, metric unit; the hymns of the

Ṛ

g Veda are composed of

mantras

Manu

Son of Vivasvui and Sa

ṃ

j

ñ

a. progenitor of men, who are thus known as

mānaras.

Or the son of Brahm

ā

and

Ś

atar

ū

p

ā

M

ā

ra

Killer; prince of demons, enemy of the Buddha

Marcel

Name of the narrator in Proust’s

Recherche

M

ā

rga

ś

ī

r

ṣ

a

Head of the Antelope: the month corresponding to November-December

Mar

ī

ci

A

ṛṣi

of the second list

M

ā

rt

ā

ṇ

ḍ

a

Dead Egg; the name of the Sun, shapeless son of Aditi

Maruts

Darting Ones; Rudra’s children, born “from the laugh of the lightning” (

Ṛg Veda

, 1.23. 12)

Maskarin Go

ś

ā

l

ī

putra

Philosopher at the time of the Buddha

M

ā

tali

Charioteer and messenger of Indra

Mathur

ā

A city of Uttar Pradesh, on the Yamun

ā

River; birthplace of K

ṛ

ṣ

ṇ

a

Maudgaly

ā

yana

A disciple of the Buddha

māyā

Enchantment; also illusion, deception, magic; from the root the

mā

-, “to measure”

M

ā

y

ā

Mother of the Buddha

Memory

Smara

Men

ā

Wife of Himayat, mother of P

ā

rvat

ī

and Gañg

ā

Menak

ā

Name of an Apsaras

Meru

The mountain that is also the axis of the world

meru

Spine

Middle-length

Majjhimanikāya

, “group of middle-length”; the name of one of the five sections into which the

Suttapiṭaka

, one of the Three Baskets of the Buddha’s discourses, was subdivided

Middle Way

Madhyamā pratipad;

term used to define the teaching of the Buddha and the Eight-fold Path he preached

Milky Way

Flow of celestial wuters: the whitish band that crosses the celestial vault, including about 100 billion stars; identified with Ga

ṅ

g

ā

Mi

ś

rake

ś

ī

Name of un Apsaras

Mitra

Friend; one of the

Ā

dityas: a divinity who has a dual relationship with Varu

ṇ

a

Mixed

Saṃyuttanikāya

, “mixed group”; the name of one of the five sections into which the

Suttapiṭaka

, one of the Three Baskets of the Buddha’s discourses, was divided

Mohenjo-daro

A city in the Indus valley; center of the eponymous civilization, which flourished between 2500 and 1700

B.C.

Mohin

ī

Enchantress, She who deceives; celestial courtesan, female manifestation of Vi

ṣ

ṇ

u

Moon

Soma; one of the ratnas, “gems,” that appeared during the churning of the ocean

Mother of the Universe

P

ā

rvat

ī

Mountain Girl

P

ā

rvat

ī

M

ṛ

ga

Antelope; name of the constellation Orion

M

ṛ

tyu

Death; sometimes male, sometimes female

muhūrta

A unit of time, equivalent to about forty-eight minutes

mūlādhāra

First of the

cakras

, “wheels.” through which Dev

ī

Ku

ṇ

ḍ

al

ī

n

ī

ascends the body: situated at the base of the spine

Mural

ī

K

ṛ

ṣ

ṇ

a’s flute

N

ā

gas

Snakes; name of the sons of Kadr

ū

and Vinat

ā

and of all snakes

Nak

ṣ

atras

Houses of the Moon

Nakula

One of the five P

ā

ṇ

ḍ

avas. twin brother of Sahadeva, whose parents were N

ā

satya, one of the A

ś

vins, and M

ā

dr

ī

P

ā

ṇ