Sanskrit Words beginning with A

Adharma

contrary to what is right; evil. See ‘dharma’

Aditi

Vedic goddess, the 'mother' of the gods

Adityas

Vedic sun deities, offspring of Aditi

Advaita Vedanta

non-dualistic Vedantic philosophy

Agamas

mystical scriptures pertaining to specific Hindu sects such as Vaisnavaites or Saivites

Agni

fire; sacred fire; fire god

Ahimsa

non-violence

Amma

mother, a compound often used in the names of female goddesses

Amrta

a nectar which was believed to bestow immortality

Ananda

bliss; the bliss of union with Brahman

Anna

food, rice

Aranyaka Vedic

forest texts or writings

Arjun

one of the sons of Pandu and the main (human) character of the Bhagavad Gita

Artha

worldly wealth, the pursuit of wealth and social status

Arti

an act of worship celebrating light

Aryans

the migrant invaders of India from approximately 1500 BC; people of spiritual values

Asanas

yogic postures

Asat

non-being, that is to say, the unreality of the world as opposed to the true Being (sat) which is Brahman.

Ashram

hermitage, retreat or place of quiet and solitude, often in a forest, where a Hindu sage lives alone or with his disciples

Asramas

the four stages of life in Hinduism

Asvamedha

probably the most prestigious of Vedic sacrificial rites, where a horse is sacrificed in a yajna by the king whose supremacy has been acknowledged by the neighboring kings

Atharva Veda

'Knowledge of Incantations', the fourth Veda

Atman

the presence of Brahman as the deepest essence of the self in all entities; the Divine Self, a synonym of Brahman

Aum

the sacred sound and symbol which represents Brahman in its unmanifest and manifest aspects

Avatar

literally 'descents', an incarnation of God, usually the incarnations of Visnu and his consort Laksmi

Avidya

ignorance

Ayurveda

Vedic medical system