Dictionary

Chanchala is a Sanskrit adjective basically referring to the unsteady vacillating nature of human mind and actions which need to be stilled, neutralized or controlled for gaining right speech and vision

The Chandogya Upanishad (Sanskrit: छान्दोग्योपनिषद्, IAST: Chāndogyopaniṣad) is a Sanskrit text embedded in the Chandogya Brahmana of the Sama Veda of Hinduism It is one of the oldest Upanishads It lists as number 9 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads The Upanishad belongs to the Tandya school of the Samaveda Like Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogya Upanishad is an anthology of texts that must have pre-existed as separate texts, and were edited into a larger text by one or more ancient Indian scholars...

Chandra (Sanskrit: चन्द्र, romanized: Candra, lit ‘shining or moon’), also known as Soma (Sanskrit: सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and Dikpala (guardians of the directions)

Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies It is the study of poetic metres and verse in Sanskrit This field of study was central to the composition of the Vedas, the scriptural canons of Hinduism, so central that some later Hindu and Buddhist texts refer to the Vedas as Chandas The Chandas, as developed by the Vedic schools, were organized around seven major metres, and each had its own rhythm, movements and aesthetics...

Chit (Sanskrit: चित् or Cit) is a Sanskrit word meaning consciousness. It is a core principle in all ancient spiritual traditions originating from the Indian subcontinent, including Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Upanishads it is referred to as the Drshta or the Seer, and the sense that makes all other sense experiences possible. Chit is one of three aspects forming the satcitananda nature of the Absolute, according to the Vedic scriptures....

Citta (Pali and Sanskrit; pronounced chitta) (IAST: citta) is one of three overlapping terms used in the nikaya to refer to the mind, the others being manas and viññāṇa Each is sometimes used in the generic and non-technical sense of “mind” in general, and the three are sometimes used in sequence to refer to one’s mental processes as a whole Their primary uses are, however, distinct

A ḍākinī (Sanskrit: डाकिनी; Tibetan: མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ་, Wylie: mkha’ ‘gro ma, THL: khandroma; Mongolian: хандарма; Chinese: 空行母; pinyin: kōngxíngmǔ; lit ‘sky-going mother’; alternatively 荼枳尼, pinyin: túzhǐní; 荼吉尼, pinyin: tújíní; or 吒枳尼, pinyin: zhāzhǐní; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, dakini) is a type of female spirit or demon in Hinduism and Buddhism The concept of the ḍākinī somewhat differs depending on the context and the tradition For instance, in earlier Hindu texts and East Asian esoteric Buddhism, the term denotes a race of demonesses who ate the flesh and/or vital essence of humans...

Dakshinā, dakṣiṇā, or दक्षिणा), is a Sanskrit word found in Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Jain literature where it may mean any donation, fees or honorarium given to a cause, monastery, temple, spiritual guide or after a ritual It may be expected, or a tradition or voluntary form of daana The term is found in this context in the Vedic literature It may mean honorarium to a guru for education, training or guidance

Dakshinamurthy (Tamil: தட்சிணாமூர்த்தி IAST: Dakṣiṇāmūrti) is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge This form represents Shiva as a teacher of yoga, music and wisdom, and giving exposition on the shastras He is worshipped as the god of wisdom, complete and rewarding meditation...

Dalit (from Sanskrit: दलित, romanized: dalita meaning “broken/scattered”, Hindi: दलित, romanized: dalit, same meaning) is a name for people belonging to the lowest stratum castes in India, previously characterised as “untouchable” Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of Panchama Dalits now profess various religious beliefs, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam and various other belief systems...

Baglamukhi or Bagalā (Sanskrit: बगलामुखी) is one of the mahavidyas (great wisdom/science), a group of ten Tantrik deities in Hinduism Devi Bagalamukhi smashes the devotee’s misconceptions and delusions (or the devotee’s enemies) with her cudgel The word “Bagala” is derived from the word “Valga” (meaning – bridle or to rein in) which, became “Vagla” and then “Bagla” The Devi has 108 different names (some others also call her by 1108 names)...

Darshan is a word meaning “sight” or “viewing”

Dattatreya (Sanskrit: दत्तात्रेय, IAST: Dattātreya), Dattā or Dattaguru, is a paradigmatic Sannyasi (monk) and one of the lords of Yoga, venerated as a Sanatan/Hindu god In Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh he is a syncretic deity, considered to be an avatar of the three Hindu/sanatan gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, collectively known as the Trimurti In other regions, and some versions of texts such as Garuda Purana, Brahma Purana and Sattvata Samhita, he is an avatar of Lord Vishnu only...

Deva (/ˈdeɪvə/; Sanskrit: देव, Deva) means “heavenly, divine, anything of excellence”, and is also one of the terms for a deity in Hinduism. Deva is a masculine term; the feminine equivalent is Devi. In the earliest Vedic literature, all supernatural beings are called Devas and Asuras. The concepts and legends evolve in ancient Indian literature, and by the late Vedic period, benevolent supernatural beings are referred to as Deva-Asuras. In post-Vedic texts, such as the Puranas and the Itihasas of Hinduism, the Devas represent the good, and the Asuras the bad....

Devanagari ( DAY-və-NAH-gər-ee; देवनागरी, IAST: Devanāgarī, Sanskrit pronunciation: [deːʋɐˈnaːɡɐriː]), also called Nagari (Sanskrit: नागरी, Nāgarī ?), is a left-to-right abugida, based on the ancient Brāhmī script, used in the Indian subcontinent It was developed in ancient India from the 1st to the 4th century CE and was in regular use by the 7th century CE The Devanagari script, composed of 47 primary characters including 14 vowels and 33 consonants, is the fourth most widely adopted writing system in the world, being used for over 120 languages...