| Click on a letter for a letter
of the glossary |
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| a |
accha: "good, all right, okay"
Agni: Vedic
God of fire
amrit:
nectar of immortality
ananda:
joy, bliss
Anjaneya:
another name for the monkey god Hanuman.
anna: coin, a sixteenth part of a
rupee; no longer in circulation
Arjuna: hero of the Mahabharata,
recipient of Krishna's teachings of the Bhagavad
Gita
Artha:
wealth; pursuit of material gains by lawful means;
one of the four goals of a Hindu's life
arti: worship,
prayer, puja
Aryan:
(lit. Sanskrit: "noble"), people who immigrated
to the North of India three to four thousand years
ago
asana: seated position (religious
connotations, i.e. in Yoga)
ashram: (lit.: "hermitage") spiritual
retreat; home of a religious community
asura / assura: demon (origin: probably
from "Assyrian"); enemies of the Vedic gods
Atharvaveda: the fourth of the four
Vedas
(ancient Hindu scriptures)
auto-rickshaw: noisy, usually fume
spitting three wheeled "taxi"
avataar: incarnation of a deity, such
as "Buddha was the 9th incarnation of Vishnu"
Ayodhya: town in Uttar Pradesh, supposed
birth place of God Ram; site of torn down Babri
Masjid; see Ayodhya
dispute page
ayurveda:
Indian herbal medicine |
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| b |
baba: Indian wandering holy man, also
called a sadhu
babu: suffix which used to be added
to the (usually first) name of a person when addressing
somebody formally
baiji,
bai: professional singer or dancer, a courtesan
baksheesh:
can be a tip, a bribe or a donation to a beggar.
bandh: general strike
banyan: Indian fig tree
Baramaha: name of composition in Guru
Granth Sahib (Sikh holy book), composed by different
Sikh Gurus
Bhagavad
Gita: Hindu "Song of the Divine One"; Krishna's
teachings to Arjuna written as a long poem; part
of the Mahabharata; important religious text in
Hinduism
bhakt: lit. devotee, devoted; see
also Ram
bhakt
bhakti:
mystic devotion
bhang:
narcotic made from cannabis leaves, particularly
popular when mixed with lassi
Bharat:
Hindi name for India
bhatta:
wok shaped metal pans, carried on the head in the
Punjab
bidi: a tiny amount of cheap tobacco
wrapped in a leaf, tied with some string; contains
hardly any nicotine but hideous amounts of tar
bindi: forehead mark worn by Hindus
bodhi tree: the
fig tree beneath which the Buddha gained enlightenment
Bodhisattva: "Essence of enlightenment";
compassionate beings on the threshold of enlightenment
Brahma: Hindu
God, creator, source of all existence
Brahman: absolute truth and universal
soul in Hinduism; spiritual essence underlying all
reality. All gods and the world are aspects of Brahman;
(not to be confused with Brahma, who is one aspect
of Brahman); sometimes spelt as Brahm- or Brahma
Brahmana: one of the four sections
of each of the four Vedas, dealing with the significance
of the hymns within the Vedas
Brahmin: highest of the Hindu caste,
caste of priests
Brahmo
Samaj: "Society of God", movement for religious
and social reform founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy
in 1832, which rejects external rituals but believes
in inner spirituality
Buddha:
"Awakened One", originator of Buddhism (app. 600
BC); by Hindus considered as the 9th incarnation
of Vishnu
bukari: wood and coal burning stove/oven |
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| c |
chai: sugary milky tea. The best is
usually made all milk with no water.
chakra: Vishnu's discus; also wheel
(i.e. from a chariot or as depicted on the India
national flag)
chana
chaat: salad of boiled chickpeas and potatoes
with tomato, onion and spices
chandala:
member of the untouchable caste, who often dispose
of unclaimed dead bodies
Chandi:
another manifestation of Goddess Kali or the Devi
in her war-like aspect
chapati:
flat round unleavened bread
chappals:
sandals
charas:
hash made of the resin of the buds of the female
cannabis plant.
chello
/ chalo: "Go away!" or "Let's go!"
chillum: conical upright pipe to smoke
charas (and sometimes tobacco)
chorten: Tibetan term for stupa
(Buddhist monument or memorial)
choungri: duster for god idol (made
of yak hair)
chowk
: intersection or sometimes town square.
chowkidar: caretaker, watchman
crore: 10 million
crorepatti: millionaire |
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| d |
dacoit: bandit, robber
darshan: viewing of a deity; audience
with someone
deodar: Himalayan cedar
Deva: God
Devta / Devata: village god, local
deity
Devi:
Goddess; respectful suffix to woman's name
dhaba: cheap eating place, often on
the road side
dharamsala:
pilgrim's rest house
dharhachh: metal pot with coals of
sandalwood as incense, locally often translated
as "smoky thing, used during prayer times
dharma: code of morals or behaviour
adhered to by Hindus and Buddhists; righteous living
as one of the four goals of a Hindu's life
dhol: big drum
dhoop: incense, looks like charas
and is sometimes sold as such to unsuspecting tourists
dhoti: cloth wrapped
around the waist and pulled up between the legs,
worn by Hindu men in the South/Plains
didi: elder sister, also used to address
elder woman respectfully (only if on familiar terms
with her)
Diwali:
Hindu festival of light
dosa:
large crispy lentil flour pancake, served with chutney
dowry: money
and presents given at marriage time by a bride's
parent to their son-in-law's family (illegal, but
very often practiced)
dravida:
temple style prevalent in South India
dupatta: scarf for head or shoulders,
worn by women
durbar: court
Durga: Goddess, "the Inaccessible",
another form of Kali, riding a tiger, major goddess
of the Sakti cult
Dussehra
/ Dasshera: Hindu festival in (mostly) October
celebrating God Rama's
victory of good over evil (see Dussehra
2002 article) |
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| e |
| eve-teasing: India’s somewhat polite
and fluffy term for sexual assault or harassment |
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| g |
gaddi: nomadic tribe of hill shepherds
Gadotkatsh: also
Gatotkatsh or Gadhotkatch, God in form of a tree
(in Manali), son of Goddess Hadimba and Bhima (super
strong man in the epic Mahabharata); responsible
for wind and storm
ganara: smallish drum
Gandharva: a supernatural being
Ganesh: God of wisdom
and prosperity; elephant headed son of Shiva and
Parvati
ganja:
marijuana
garbagriha
/ garba-griha: inner sanctum of a Hindu temple
Garuda: mythical bird; Vishnu's vehicle;
also Indonesia's national airline
ghat: slope or flight of steps down
to a river; range of hills
ghatak: marriage broker, matchmaker
ghii / ghi:
clarified butter
Gitanjali:
"Song of offerings", famous poem by Rabindranath
Tagore
gnana: wisdom, perception
gompa: Buddhist monastery
gondi: special bell (and the bell
ringer) which is rung to announce the arrival of
gods (Himachal Pradesh)
gopis:
milkmaids who adore the flute playing Krishna
Granth Sahib: The Sikh holy book which
is also the last Sikh Guru
Gur: person, who can communicate with
god and who acts as the village god's or goddess's
mouthpiece; in Manali always male, the Gur can be
female in other villages. When speaking to the god
or goddess the Gur enters a trance. Could be roughly
translated with medium or shaman.
guru:
teacher (lit. Sanskrit: "goe": darkness, "roe":
to dispel)
Guru Granth Sahib: The Sikh holy book
which is also the last Sikh Guru
Gurudwara: also Gurdwara; Sikh temple
Gurupurabs: Sikh
festivals which mark certain events in the lives
of the Sikh Gurus |
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| h |
Hadimba: Goddess, another form of
Kali; chief Goddess of the Kulu Valley
haj: pilgrimage to Mecca
Hanuman: Hindu monkey god; friend
and helper of Rama in the Ramayana.
Harijan: (lit. "child of God") Gandhi's
term for an Untouchable (somebody from the Scheduled
Caste), now usually called Dalits
Harmandir: or Harimandir, another
name for the (Sikh) Golden Temple in Amritsar
hartaal: general strike
haveli: cluster of houses built around
a central courtyard
henna: herbal or chemical, used for
dying hair (black or red) and for producing intricate
patterns on the palm of the hand and feet of a bride
hijra: eunuch
Hindutva: "Hindu-ness"; a term used
by Indian political parties (such as the BJP, the
current party of Government) and politico - religious
groups (such as the RSS, VHP, Sangh Parivar etc)
to describe their notion of India as a Hindu State.
The concept has been misused by some politicians
to provoke communal violence, and is seen by many
to violate the spirit of India's firmly secular
constitution.
Holi:
Hindu festival of colours, takes place at the beginning
of the spring; people cover each other with coloured
powder or water - dangerous time to be on the road!
HPTDC: Himachal Pradesh Tourist Development
Corporation
hubble-bubble: hookah, water pipe |
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| i |
ICS: Indian Civil Service
idli: South Indian steamed rice dumpling
Id-ul-Fitr:
Muslim festival at the end of Ramadan
Indra: God of rain, thunder, lightning,
war; Vedic chief of all gods. |
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| j |
Jagannath: Lord of the Universe, a
form of Krishna
jalebi:
deep fried very sticky sweets, made of sugar, flour
and syrup
Jamdagni:
a sage or holy man mentioned in the Indian Epics,
in Himachal Pradesh often revered as "Jamlu"
Jamlu: deity in Himachal Pradesh;
see also Jamdagni
jamun:
deep purple fruit, similar to a plum
Janaki: another name for Sita, the
heroine of the Ramayana
-ji: honorific suffix
jyotirlinga: self-manifested Shivalingam;
according to legends lingams self created from pure
light; there are 12 of these in India, the most
sacred one in Varanasi |
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| k |
| kahi:
long slim copper trumpet like instrument (looks
like wood)
Kailash / Kailas: sacred Himalayan
mountain, home of God Shiva
Kali: Goddess, "the Black", recognisable
by her black skin, necklace of skulls and often
the snakes which surround her.
Kalki: tenth incarnation of Vishnu
(still to come)
kalpa: a day for
Brahma, corresponds to several thousand years
on earth
Kalyug / Kali Yuga:
age of speed (according to Indian myth the age
we currently live in); the era (Yuga)
when righteousness and virtue disappear; fear,
distress, anger, hunger prevail and the rulers
care only about their power and riches.
Kama: delight
of the senses; love; one of the four goals of
a Hindu's life
Kama Sutra: "Aphorism
on love", "love formulae" or "treatise on desire";
ancient Sanskrit text in approximately 1250 verses
covering psychological, sociological and physical
aspects of love and sex. Standard work on love
written sometime between the 1st and 6th century
AD by Vatsyayana,
1883 translated into English by Sir Richard Francis
Burton, although in heavily edited form due to
rigid Victorian morals.
Kanyakumari: "Virgin Maiden", another
name for Durga; town at the south tip of India
karma: cause and
effect principle of totting up good and bad deeds
affecting your next incarnation. The Hindu or
Buddhist equivalent of Judgement day
karnali / karnaali:
big ceremonial trumpet of North India, also called
in some areas nirkali
kar sewa: lit. "to do service", religious
service done by volunteers as a religious duty,
i.e. "Sikh kar sewa" temple water tank cleaning
[see
Sikh kar sewa photo gallery]
Kartikeya: son of Shiva and Parvati,
worshipped as a warrior god; also known as Skanda
Kaur: Sikh female surname, meaning
princess
kilta: conical
basket of the North, carried with shoulder straps
on the back, used for transporting cow fodder,
apples, grass, fire wood, manure etc
kirtan: Sikh religious
songs
Krishna: 8th incarnation
of Vishnu, often blue, Arjuna's teacher in the
Bhagavad Gita
Krittivasa: Bengali
medieval poet who translated the epic Ramayana
from Sanskrit into Bengali
kshatriya: warrior class; one of the
major four caste divisions
kumkum: South Indian term for sindoor,
red vermillion powder applied by married women
to their forehead or parting of their hair |
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| l |
lakh: 100,000
Lakshmana, Laxman: brother of Rama;
human incarnation of the Great Serpent Adisesha,
in whose coils the God Vishnu rested
Lakshmi, Laxmi: Goddess of beauty
and wealth/fortune, consort of God Vishnu
lama: senior Buddhist monk
langar: Sikh communal kitchen, serving
free food for all devotees in Gurdwaras
lassi: yogurt drink
lathi: stick, used by the police
lingam: phallic
emblem of the God Shiva
Lok
Sabha: lower house of the Indian Parliament
lungi: loosely wrapped loincloth,
worn by men |
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| m |
madrasa / madrassa: school for teaching
of Islam. Controversial in recent times due to the
implied connection between some madrasas and Islamic
extremism
Maghnad:
son of Ravana
Mahabharata:
ancient Vedic/Sanskrit poem describing the battle
between the Pandavas and Kauravas; with about 10,000
verses the world's longest work of literature; composed
around the 1st millennium BC
Maharaja:
(lit. "Great ruler"), King or prince
mahatma: lit.: great soul
Mahavishnu: Supreme God; divides himself
into the trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva)
Mahishasura: demon killed by Durga;
half buffalo & half man
mahout: elephant rider/minder
maidan: flat piece
of ground; grassy area in a town
mala: necklace made of beads, used
for meditation (counting the beads during praying)
mandala: circle, symbolises the universe
in Hinduism and Buddhism
mandir: Hindu or Jain temple
mangal
sutra: necklace worn by married women, made
of black beads
Manmatha: god of love
mantra: a sacred formula or verse;
sacred chant used in meditation
Manu: first man on Earth
mark: (hindi) silver mask of god idol
masala: mix (usually
spices)
masjid:
mosque, lit. "place for prostration"
mata: mother
Matrika: Mother Goddess
maya: illusion
mela: religious festival, a fair
Meru: Himalayan
mythical mountain
minaret:
tower attached to a mosque; used by muezzin to call
faithful Muslims to prayer - or nowadays often attached
with a loudspeaker to do the same job
moksha: salvation
momo: Tibetan pasta wrapped around
vegetable or meat, vaguely similar to big Ravioli
without the sauce
monal:
pheasant; protected in HP
monsoon:
rainy season; originates from Arabic for "season"
more: silver mask of god idol, (Kulvi
language lit.: "face")
mormuth: duster for god idol (made
of peacock feathers)
mudras: hand gestures of Hindu gods
and the Buddha, to depict different moods, activities
and meanings
muezzin:
somebody who calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret
of the mosque (now very often with loudspeakers
and by tape)
mukti: liberation from the cycle of
births and deaths, salvation, same as moksha |
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| n |
Naag Devta / Nag devta: snake god
naan: Indian flat
bread cooked in a Tandoor
nadi:
river
nagara:
northern style of temple
nallah:
stream or river valley, gorge (North India)
namaste: greeting
namaskar: greeting
namaz: Muslim prayer
Nanakshahi: Sikh calendar, introduced
14/03/1999. Era starts with date of birth of first
Guru Nanak (Sikh's first Guru) in 1469.
Nandi: figure of a sacred bull, God
Shiva's vehicle, symbol of fertility
Narasimha: fourth incarnation of Vishnu,
a man-lion
Narayan
/ Narayana: another name for the God Vishnu
Narshinga: curvy trumpet like instrument
nasha: intoxication,
drunk, stoned; a state given ultimate physical expression
by Raj, the owner of Café Manalsu in Old Manali;
as in "I am very Nasha"
Nataraj
/ Nataraja: "Lord of the Dance"; Shiva as
the Cosmic Dancer (worshipped especially in South
India)
natti: also nati, traditional dance
in the Kulu Valley, Himachal Pradesh
NCB: (The) Narcotics Control Bureau.
The principal administrators of India's policy on
illegal drugs
NDPS:
Abbreviation for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances, the Indian Government policy on illicit
drugs, based on Section 47 of the Indian constitution
and expressed in the form of the Narcotic Drugs
and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985) and the Prevention
of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act, (1988). See also NCB
nirkali: long horns/ trumpets used
for religious ceremonies in Himachal Pradesh; also
called karnali
nirvana:
state that is the final aim of Buddhists, release
from the cycle of existence
Nishan
Sahib: Sikh flag |
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| o |
| Om: sacred symbol and syllable in
Hinduism and Buddhism |
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paan: folded leaf, stuffed with betel
nut, lime and spices; chewed and red juice spit
out, responsible for red wall corners, red pavement
stains, red or black or no teeth
Padma:
lotus, another name for Hindu Goddess Lakshmi
pagal: crazy, fool
paisa: word for money in general,
also a 100th of a rupee
pakora: savoury snack, potatoes and
vegetable in batter deep fried
palki: palanquin used for carrying
god idols in the Kulu Valley
panchayat: village council
Pandavas: five brothers, heroes of
the epic Mahabharata
Pandit: Brahmin priest; respectful
title for a Brahmin
paneer:
Indian cheese, a bit like tasteless Feta cheese
parikrama: walkway (often with colonnades)
around a temple compound or temple water tank
Parvati: Goddess,
wife of Shiva, another form of Kali
pattu: colourful woven blanket (North
India, particularly the Kulu Valley), worn by women
as a dress
peepul:
Indian fig tree
peshwaz:
costume worn by dancing girl or courtesan
pradesh: state
pradhan: head of the village council
prakriti: nature
Prayag: ancient
name for the city of Allahabad (UP); confluence
of the two real rivers Ganga and Yamuna and a third
invisible river Saraswati; venue of the Kumbh Mela
puja: worship, Hindu prayers
pukka:
proper, ripe; very popular in the UK as in "fucking
pukka innit"
punkah:
ceiling fan; before electricity this was a flat
board of cloth oscillated back and forth by a "punkah
wallah", basically a guy pulling a cord all day
Puranas: religious
literature, collection of myths and rituals forming
the basis of contemporary Hinduism
pushpak vimana: a vehicle described
in the Indian epics which takes passengers through
the air, driven by thought; some compare it to the
modern airliner
purdah:
(lit.: curtain) women in seclusion |
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| r |
Radha: Krishna's favourite gopi (milkmaid)
and lover (her marital status doesn't seem to bother
any devout or moral Hindus)
raga: one of the major elements in
Indian classical music; melody
Ragunath: chief God of the Kulu Valley,
Himachal Pradesh, another form of Ram
raj: rule
Raja: King
Rajput: Hindu warrior caste
Rajya Sabha: upper house of the Indian
Parliament
Rama / Ram:
hero of the "Ramayana"; 7th incarnation of Vishnu
Ramadan: month of
fasting for Muslims
Ramayana: (lit.: "Rama's way"), big
Indian epic, attributed to the poet Valmiki (around
the 3rd or 2nd century BC); about Rama, his wife
Sita and the battle against the evil Ravana of Lanka;
see Ramayana
in brief .
Ram
bhakt: Hindus devoted to God Ram; often "Ram
bhakts" are referred to in Indian newspapers as
the Hindus who go to Ayodhya for protests and marches
and who want a Ram temple built on the disputed
Ayodhya
"mosque/temple" site
Rani:
princess
rath:
(Sanskrit lit. chariot) used to carry a god or goddess;
either with wheels, also called a "car" or in hilly
area (as in Himachal Pradesh) a kind of palanquin,
carried by people by poles on their shoulders
Ravana: demon king
of Lanka, defeated by Rama as told in the epic Ramayana
Rigveda: the oldest
of the four Vedas (ancient Hindu scriptures)
rishi: a sage
rita: cosmic order of the world
roti: flat round
unleavened bread
Rudra:
an ancient often angry Vedic deity; probably predecessor
of God Shiva |
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| s |
| Sadhu:
Hindu ascetic, wandering holy man who denounces
worldly goods, travels around India (mostly on
foot) and lives by "donations"
salwar kameez: loose, baggy trousers
worn under a long shirt worn by women mainly of
the North, by young girls of the South or as an
alternative to the sari
Samaveda: the
second of the four Vedas (ancient Hindu scriptures)
samosa: triangular fried pastry
samsara: principle
of endless cycle of birth and death (Hinduism
and Buddhism)
sanyasi: an ascetic
Saraswati: Goddess
of speech and learning, wife of Brahma
sari: Hindu women's dress, single
piece cloth, 5m to 9m long and 1m wide wrapped
around the body. Impossible to wear gracefully
unless you have Indian blood
sarovar: holy
water tank (or pool) around a temple
Sati: wife of Shiva; self immolation
of a woman on her dead husband's funeral pyre
(illegal)
satsang: lecture
or discourse by a swami or guru (lit.: sat: "truth",
sang: "company")
sevak: lit. servant,
often with religious connotations; i.e."Ram sevak"
or the sevak who takes care of the Raja's special
horse during the Kullu Dussehra celebrations in
Himachal Pradesh
shabad: Sikh religious hymn
Shaiva: worshipper of Shiva
shakti: creative
energies perceived as female deities
shahnai: flute, often used by a temple
band at festivals in Himachal Pradesh;
[see
image in photo gallery]
shanti: peace, favourite word by certain
tourists to describe peaceful places (when it's
not anymore because of them)
shastra: ancient scriptures, treatise
on correct practice
shikara: a type of all purpose flat
bottomed rowing boat used on Kashmiri lakes. Used
to ship people to and from house boats, provide
pleasure cruises of the lakes, or as floating
shops by Kashmiri vendors of tourist trinkets
or produce. Shikaras are often elaborately decorated
and painted.
shikhara: spire
of Hindu temple
shilpa: art (Sanskrit)
siddhu: Himachali local food; pattie
shaped steamed dumpling with a filling of nuts,
poppy seeds and spices, eaten with ghi (clarified
butter)
sindoor: red vermillion powder applied
by married women to their forehead or parting
of their hair. Known as "kumkum" in south India
Sita: heroine of the Indian epic "Ramayana";
an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi
Siva/Shiva: God of destruction and
recreation, one of the "Trimurti"
(three main gods)
Singh: Sikh male
surname (lit.: "lion")
sitar: Indian string instrument
Skanda: son of
Shiva and Parvati; also known as Kartikeya
soma: divine drink of immortality;
the booze of the gods
stupa: Buddhist religious monument,
normally containing relics of Buddha or his disciples
Sudra: the lowest of the four main
Hindu castes
Sufi: Follower
of Sufism, a mystical branch or sect of Islam
which originated in Iran
Surya: sun god;
one of the major Vedic gods
swami: learned person, Hindu religious
teacher; also formerly used as respectful title
for husband, (lit.: "Lord of the self", swa: one's
true self) |
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| t |
tabla: type of drums
talaq: A principally Sunni muslim
practice of islamic divorce. If you want to get
rid of your wife just repeat it three times. The
first divorce by SMS was by a Dubai man divorcing
hs 26 year old wife
tandoor: clay oven used for cooking;
wood burning oven for heating (and cooking) and
occasionally burning the chopped up bodies of victims
of dowry
killing
tantric / tantra:
esoteric and magic form of occult or religion; nowadays
often with sexual connotations
tapas: (religious) penance
tempo: noisy three wheeler public
transport, similar to an auto-rickshaw but bigger
Thakur: one of the higher Hindu castes
thali: tray, steel
plate; a plate of simple different dishes (i.e.
daal, veg, rice, chapati)
thiik/thiik
hai: "good"/ "is good", okay
tika: Hindu mark on the forehead
tikki: fried potato
cakes, served with a spicy chickpea sauce
tirtha: Hindu pilgrimage, a fort
tirthankar: great
teacher / preserver / revivalist of Jainism; Mahavir
is (so far) the last of the 24 Jain tirthankars
tola: measurement of weight, 11.6
gram
Trimurti:
Hindu trinity of God: Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu
tulsi: basil, sacred plant, usually
to be found in Hindu courtyards |
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| u |
| Upanishads: ancient texts, part of
the Vedas,
Hindu philosophy dealing with the nature of the
universe and soul; metaphysical dialogues |
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| v |
Vaikuntha: heaven of Vishnu (made
of gold and 80,000 miles in circumference)
Vaishnava: worshipper of Vishnu or
his incarnations, recognisable by horizontal stripes
on forehead
Valmiki:
poet around the 3rd - 2nd century BC, author of
the Ramayana
Varuna: Vedic god of the heavens
Vayu: god of wind
Vedanta: Hindu philosophy based on
the Upanishads
Vedas:
Hindu sacred books originating in the 2nd millennium
BC. Four Vedas (Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva) consisting
each of 4 sections (Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyakas,
Vedanta); lit. "knowledge"
veena:
Indian string instrument
VHP:
Vishva Hindu Parishad - World Hindu Council
Vishnu: God of the Trimurti
(three main gods), "the preserver or sustainer"
Vyasa: Hindu sage, who possibly wrote
the Mahabharata |
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| w |
| wallah: suffix for a person of a certain
trade, or from a certain place etc; i.e. rickshaw-wallah
(rickshaw driver), chai-wallah (tea seller), Delhi-wallah
(a person from Delhi) |
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| y |
yagya: sacrifice
Yajurveda: the third of the four Vedas
(ancient Hindu scriptures)
yaksha: demi god
Yama: god of death
yatra: pilgrimage
yoga: while commonly perceived as
a form of combined physical exercise and meditation,
more serious minded practitioners might suggest
it's a means of "joining the individual soul to
the universal soul" or perhaps the "cessation of
the fluctuations in consciousness".
Yoni: Vagina symbol, worshipped in
conjunction with the lingam to symbolise the male
and female creative power of the God Shiva.
yuga: divine or celestial measurement
of time; 1 yuga = 3000 celestial years; 1 celestial
year = 3600 human years; therefore 1 yuga = 10,800
human years. See also Kalyug
/ Kali Yuga. |
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| z |
Zamindar: landlord
zenana: section in upper-class houses
of Muslims or Rajputs reserved for women (seclusion) |
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