Browse dictionary
Showing 1-20 of 34 results in 34 entries
1. aal, n. View full entry 1798
...The noni or Indian mulberry, Morinda citrifolia. Also: the reddish dye obtained from this plant, used (esp. formerly) in India to colour cotton fabrics. Cf. Morinda...
2. Akali, n. View full entry 1810
...A member of a conservative Sikh movement of South Asia, characterized by its strict adherence to fundamentalist Sikh values; (in early use) spec. a member of an order of militant...
3. Ayurveda, n. View full entry 1788
...An ancient Hindu system of medicine, drawn from Vedic literature and based on the belief that physical and mental health are dependent on a balance of biological humours (or doshas) uniquely constituted...
4. bhasha, n. View full entry 1790
...Any of the vernacular languages or dialects of South Asia (esp. India), now often as contrasted with English....
5. Bodhisattva, n. View full entry 1828
...One destined to become a Buddha; a Buddhist saint who, having only one birth to undergo before attaining Nirvana, consents to be reborn for the sake of suffering mankind; a superhuman being...
6. gayal, n. View full entry 1790
...A domesticated ox of South Asia, Bos frontalis; = mithan Also: the gaur, Bos gaurus....
7. Jina, n. View full entry 1807
...Title given to Mahavira or to any other of the twenty-four Jain tirthankars or to one of the five Dhyani Buddhas; a sculptured representation of such a saint....
8. jiva, n. View full entry 1807
...Life, the soul, the self; the vital principle....
9. khanda, n. View full entry 1825
...A double-edged sword with a wide blade, used in Sikhism for ceremonial purposes....
10. Kumbh Mela, n. View full entry 1810
...A Hindu festival and assembly, held once every twelve years (in January or February, while the sun is in Aquarius) at one of four locations in India, at which pilgrims bathe in...
11. Lakshmi, n. View full entry 1788
...The name of the Hindu goddess of fortune and beauty, the wife and consort of Vishnu. Also called Sri....
12. Magadhi, n. View full entry 1801
...A dialect of Prakrit, anciently spoken in an area corresponding with part of the modern state of Bihar....
13. mantra, n. View full entry 1795
...orig. Hinduism. A sacred text or passage, esp. one from the Vedas used as a prayer or incantation; a word or phrase from a sacred text repeated in...
14. maya, n.1 View full entry 1788
...In Hindu mythology: illusion, magic; the supernatural power wielded by gods and demons. In Hindu and Buddhist philosophy: the power by which the universe becomes manifest; the illusion or appearance of the...
15. Mimamsa, n. View full entry 1788
...One of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy, which was founded by Jaimini and bases itself on the interpretation of Vedic ritual and text....
16. Mishmi, n. View full entry 1828
...A member of a hill-dwelling people inhabiting Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Assam in north-eastern India. Freq. attrib....
17. nirvana, n. View full entry 1801
...Buddhism. The realization of the non-existence of self, leading to cessation of all entanglement and attachment in life; the state of being released from the effects of karma and the cycle...
18. Nyaya, n. View full entry 1788
...One of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy, ascribed to Gautama and based on logic and the analysis of the nature of knowledge. Also: an individual maxim or aphorism within this...
19. Oriya, adj. and n. View full entry 1801
...Of, relating to, or designating the people of Orissa in eastern India, their Indo-Aryan language, or its script....
20. padma, n. View full entry 1799
...The sacred lotus, Nelumbo nucifera; the flower of this plant. Also: an emblematic representation of the flower....
