Dictionary

Sutra (Sanskrit: सूत्र, romanized: sūtra, lit ‘string, thread’) in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a condensed manual or text Sutras are a genre of ancient and medieval Indian texts found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism In Hinduism, sutras are a distinct type of literary composition, a compilation of short aphoristic statements Each sutra is any short rule, like a theorem distilled into few words or syllables, around which teachings of ritual, philosophy, grammar, or any field of knowledge can be woven...

Swadhyay may refer to: Svādhyāya (Devanagari: स्वाध्याय) is a Sanskrit term which literally means “one’s own reading” and “self-study” The Swadhyay Parivar is a devotional movement based in Maharashtra, India

In Hinduism the Sanskrit lexical item svāhā (romanized Sanskrit transcription; Devanagari: स्वाहा; Chinese: 薩婆訶, sà pó hē, Japanese: sowaka; Tibetan: སྭཱ་ཧཱ་ sw’a h’a; Korean: 사바하, sabaha) is a denouement used at the end of a mantra, which is invoked during yajna fire sacrifices and worship Svāhā is chanted to offer oblation to the gods As a feminine noun, svāhā in the Rigveda may also mean oblation (to Agni or Indra)...

Svarga (Sanskrit: स्वर्ग), also known as Swarga or Svarga Loka, is one of the seven higher lokas (esoteric plane) in Hindu cosmology The seven lokas consist of Bhuloka, Bhuvar loka, Svarga loka (Indraloka), Maharloka, Janaloka, Taparloka, Satyaloka While these seven lokas and seven patala lokas form 14 lokas of our Universe, beyond these 14 exist Goloka, Manidweepa and such higher lokas of multiple Universes Svarga Loka is a set of heavenly worlds located on and above Mt...

Swami (Sanskrit: स्वामी svāmī [sʋaːmiː]; sometimes abbreviated sw ) in Hinduism, is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (sannyāsa), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas It is used either before or after the subject’s name (usually an adopted religious name) The meaning of the Sanskrit root of the word swami is “[he who is] one with his self” (swa stands for “self”), and can roughly be translated as “he/she who knows and is master of himself/herself”...

Swamiji, swami-ji, or swami ji is a variant of swami that is used as a direct form of address toward, or as a stand-in for the name of, a Hindu religious leader (and usually capitalized in such usage) It may more specifically refer to: Pramukh Swami Maharaj (1921-2016), 5th Spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan Mahant Swami Maharaj (1933-Present), 6th Spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and present leader of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Swamiji Vivekananda (1863–1902), chief disciple of Ramakrishna, one of the makers of modern India Swamiji (film), a 2012 English-language documentary film about Vivekananda, directed by Manick Sorcar...

Tamas (Sanskrit: तमस् tamas “darkness”) is one of the three Gunas (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. The other two qualities are rajas (passion and activity) and sattva (purity, goodness). Tamas is the quality of inertia, inactivity, dullness, or lethargy.

Tandava (also spelled as Tāṇḍavam) also known as Tāṇḍava natyam, is a divine dance performed by Hindu god Shiva Shiva is depicted as dancing the Tandava in his form of Nataraja The Natya Shastra, a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts describes various aspects of the Tandava

Tanmatra (Sanskrit: तन्मात्र = tanmātra) is a noun which means – rudimentary or subtle element, merely that, mere essence, potential or only a trifle There are five sense perceptions – hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell, and there are the five tanmatras corresponding to the five sense perceptions and five sense-organs The tanmatras combine and re-combine in different ways to produce the gross elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether, which make up the gross universe perceived by the senses...

Tantra (; Sanskrit: तन्त्र, lit ’loom, weave, warp’) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed in India from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable “text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice” A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga (“Path of Mantra”) in Hinduism or Mantrayāna (“Mantra Vehicle”) and Guhyamantra (“Secret Mantra”) in Buddhism...

Tantrāloka (Sanskrit: तन्त्रालोक, romanized: tantrāloka, lit ‘Elucidation of Tantra’) is the masterwork of Abhinavagupta, a writer and philosopher of the Kashmir Shaivism school of Hindu philosophy

Tantra (; Sanskrit: तन्त्र, lit ’loom, weave, warp’) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed in India from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable “text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice” A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga (“Path of Mantra”) in Hinduism or Mantrayāna (“Mantra Vehicle”) and Guhyamantra (“Secret Mantra”) in Buddhism...

Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्) is a variety of austere spiritual meditation practices in Indian religions In Jainism, it means asceticism (austerities, body mortification); in Buddhism, it denotes spiritual practices including meditation and self-discipline; and in the different traditions within Hinduism it means a spectrum of practices ranging from asceticism, inner cleansing to self-discipline by meditation practices The Tapas practice often involves solitude, and is a part of monastic practices that are believed to be a means to moksha (liberation, salvation)...

Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्) is a variety of austere spiritual meditation practices in Indian religions In Jainism, it means asceticism (austerities, body mortification); in Buddhism, it denotes spiritual practices including meditation and self-discipline; and in the different traditions within Hinduism it means a spectrum of practices ranging from asceticism, inner cleansing to self-discipline by meditation practices The Tapas practice often involves solitude, and is a part of monastic practices that are believed to be a means to moksha (liberation, salvation)...

According to various Indian schools of philosophy, tattvas (Sanskrit: तत्त्व) are the elements or aspects of reality that constitute human experience In some traditions, they are conceived as an aspect of deity Although the number of tattvas varies depending on the philosophical school, together they are thought to form the basis of all our experience The Samkhya philosophy uses a system of 25 tattvas, while Shaivism recognises 36 tattvas In Buddhism, the equivalent is the list of dhammas which constitute reality, as in Nama-rupa