Dictionary

Non-possession (aparigraha (Sanskrit: अपरिग्रह)) is a philosophy that holds that no one or anything possesses anything ln Jainism, aparigraha is the virtue of non-possessiveness, non-grasping or non-greediness Aparigrah is the opposite of parigrah, and refers to keeping the desire for possessions to what is necessary or important, depending on one’s life stage and context The precept of aparigraha is a self-restraint (temperance) from the type of greed and avarice where one’s own material gain or happiness comes by hurting, killing or destroying other human beings, life forms or nature...

According to Hindu mythology, Apasmāra is a dwarf who represents spiritual ignorance and nonsensical speech He is also known as Muyalaka or Muyalakan To preserve knowledge in the world, Apasmāra must be subdued, not killed, as to do so would disturb the necessary balance between spiritual knowledge and ignorance Killing Apasmāra would symbolise the attainment of knowledge without the (essential) effort, dedication and hard work involved, and this would lead to the devaluing of knowledge in all its forms...

The Aranyakas (; Sanskrit: आरण्यक; IAST: āraṇyaka ) are the part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of the Vedic texts The other parts of the Vedas are the Samhitas (benedictions, hymns), Brahmanas (commentary), and the Upanishads (spirituality and abstract philosophy) Aranyakas describe and discuss rituals from various perspectives; some include philosophical speculations...

The Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit: अर्धनारीश्वर, romanized: Ardhanārīśvara, lit ’the half-female Lord’), is a form of the Hindu deity Shiva combined with his consort Parvati Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half-female, equally split down the middle The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes The earliest Ardhanarishvara images are dated to the Kushan period, starting from the first century CE Its iconography evolved and was perfected in the Gupta era...

The Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit: अर्धनारीश्वर, romanized: Ardhanārīśvara, lit ’the half-female Lord’), is a form of the Hindu deity Shiva combined with his consort Parvati Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half-female, equally split down the middle The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes The earliest Ardhanarishvara images are dated to the Kushan period, starting from the first century CE Its iconography evolved and was perfected in the Gupta era...

In Buddhism, an arhat (Sanskrit) or arahant (Pali) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved nirvana Mahayana Buddhist traditions have used the term for people far advanced along the path of Enlightenment, but who may not have reached full Buddhahood The understanding of the concept has changed over the centuries, and varies between different schools of Buddhism and different regions A range of views on the attainment of arhats existed in the early Buddhist schools...

Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, IAST: Arjuna), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata and also appears in other ancient Hindu texts In the epic, he is the third among Pandavas, the five sons of Pandu The family formed part of the royal line of the Kuru Kingdom In the Mahabharata War, Arjuna was a key warrior from the Pandava side and slew many warriors including Karna and Bhisma...

Artha (; Sanskrit: अर्थ; Tamil: poruḷ) is one of the four aims of human life in Indian philosophy The word artha literally translates as “meaning, sense, goal, purpose or essence” depending on the context Artha is also a broader concept in the scriptures of Hinduism As a concept, it has multiple meanings, all of which imply “means of life”, activities and resources that enable one to be in a state one wants to be in...

Pramana (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, Pramāṇa) literally means “proof” and “means of knowledge” In Indian philosophies, pramana are the means which can lead to knowledge, and serve as one of the core concepts in Indian epistemology It has been one of the key, much debated fields of study in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism since ancient times It is a theory of knowledge, and encompasses one or more reliable and valid means by which human beings gain accurate, true knowledge...

Aryaman (Sanskrit: अर्यमन्‌, pronounced as “aryaman”; nominative singular is aryama) is one of the early Vedic Hindu deities His name signifies “Life-Partner”, “close friend”, “Partner”, “play-fellow” or “companion” He is the third son of Aditi, the mother of the Adityas and is depicted as the mid-morning sun disk He is the deity of customs, and rules over the customs that rule the various Vedic tribes and peoples In the Rigveda, Aryaman is described as the protector of mares, and the Milky Way (aryamṇáḥ pánthāḥ) is said to be his path...

Asaṅga (Sanskrit: असंग, Tibetan: ཐོགས་མེད།, Wylie: thogs med, traditional Chinese: 無著; ; pinyin: Wúzhuó; Romaji: Mujaku) (4th century CE) was an Indian scholar who is considered one of the most important spiritual figures of Mahayana Buddhism and as the founder of the Yogachara school Traditionally, he is considered as one of the seventeen Nalanda masters who taught at the monastery which is located in modern-day Bihar He and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the major classical Indian Sanskrit exponents of Mahayana Abhidharma, the doctrines Vijñanavada, Vijñaptivāda, and Vijñaptimātratā-vāda, and Mahayana teachings on the bodhisattva path

An ashram (Sanskrit: आश्रम, āśrama) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions

Ashrama may refer to: Ashram (āśrama), a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions Ashrama (stage) (āśrama), in Hinduism is one of four age-based life stages discussed in ancient and medieval era Indian texts Ashrama, California, an unincorporated community in Santa Clara County

Astanga or Ashtanga (aṣṭāṅga) is a Sanskrit compound translating to “having eight limbs or components” It may refer to: Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga), the eight limbs of yoga as defined by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras Raja yoga, Vivekananda’s popularisation of Ashtanga Yoga Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, a style of asana-based modern yoga founded and developed by K Pattabhi Jois Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine, divided into eight limbs

Ashtavakra (Sanskrit: अष्टावक्रः, IAST: Aṣṭāvakraḥ) is a revered Vedic sage in Hinduism His name literally means “eight bends”, reflecting the eight physical handicaps he was born with His maternal grandfather was the Vedic sage Aruni, his parents were both Vedic students at Aruni’s school Ashtavakra studied, became a sage and a celebrated character of the Hindu Itihasa epics and Puranas Ashtavakra is the author of the text Aṣṭāvakra Gītā, also known as Aṣṭāvakra Saṃhitā, in Hindu traditions...