Dhirodatta – courageous, brave and noble minded
Digvijayi – world conqueror
Falguni – another name of Arjuna, born in the Uttara Falguni nakshatra
Ghatika – a measure of time, period of twenty-four minutes
Gopalakala / gopabhoga – The feast of Krishna’s gopa friends, prepared by mixing everyone’s food together and distributed equally among themselves
Gudakesha – An epithet of Arjuna, one who has conquered sleep
Gurudakshina – A tradition in Hinduism where a student repays a guru after the completion of his formal education.
Himalinga – Shivlingam made with snow
Hututu – A game played between two teams where a single player from one team seeks the players of opposing team while holding his/her breath and saying ‘Hu tu tu’. The players of other team try to catch the seeker and confine him/her to their play area till the seeker runs out of breath.
Ingudi oil – oil made from the seeds of Desert date tree
Jalanjali – an offering of water offered to the deceased ancestors
Jamun tree – Indian black plum
Jaswanda flower – hibiscus flower
Jayishnu – one who conquers
Jishnu – victorious, triumphant
Jnanlobhi – knowledge hungry
Jyeshtha – eldest brother
Kadamba tree – Common Bur flower tree. It is a fast growing, large, ever green tree.
Kajal – dark eyeliner, collyrium
Kaka – paternal uncle, father’s brother
Kaku – father’s brother’s wife
Kamandalu – An oblong water pot used by Hindu ascetics for storing drinking water
Karanjel oil – oil made from seeds of Indian beech tree
Karmabhumi – the place where one builds one’s life by performing one’s duty, the sphere of one’s duty
Kaunteya – son of Kunti
Khaira tree – Cutch tree, black cutch
Kharja – Bass, lowest tone
Kho-kho – A tag game played between two teams where runners from one team avoid getting caught by the tagger of opposing team by giving each other ‘kho’ (tapping on the back of one’s player and saying ‘kho’)
Kiritin – wearing a celestial crown given by Lord Indra
Kirtivan – renowned, celebrated
Kojagiri paurnima – The full moon night of the month of Ashwin when people spend the night in a variety of festivities and drink warm milk
Kokila – A species of the cuckoo class.
Kokum – the fruit of mangosteen tree
Kosa – ancient Indian unit of length; 1 Kosa is about 3.2 kilometers or 2 miles
Kotwala bird – Black drongo, also known as the King crow.
Lagori – A game played between two teams where a seeker from one team knocks out a small tower of stones with a ball. The seeker’s team then tries to restore the tower of stones while the opposing team tries to hit the seekers with the ball and get them out.
Lezim – A musical instrument with jingling cymbals chained together and attached at both ends of a small wooden stick used in folk dance.
Mahabaho – mighty armed
Maharathi – great warrior, a war hero
Mahaskandha – broad-shouldered
Mallakhamba – A traditional sport where a gymnast performs feats on a vertical wooden pole.
Mame babdhu – mother’s brother’s son
Mavas bandhu – mother’s sister’s son
Mavashi – maternal aunt, mother’s sister
Mayura – Indian peacock
Muhurta – an auspicious time to begin a ceremony or an enterprise
Nadi – A vein
Namana – singing a psalm in praise of God
Nandi – The sacred bull, the carrier of Lord Shiva
Nidrajayi – one who has conquered sleep
Nishpaap - sinless
Niyoga – This was a practice prevalent in ancient times that permitted a childless woman to bear a child by having intercourse with any kinsman of her husband to continue the family line.
Padar – the end or border of a saree
Palash – a tree with red/orange flowers, also known as the Flame of the forest
Parakrami – valiant
Parantapa – subduer of enemies
Paras stone – A stone that has the quality of turning metal into gold by its touch.
Parijata flower – White flower with an orange coloured center.
Partha – name of Arjuna, the son of Pritha
Pindadana – The offering of rice ball at funeral, the funeral oblation made to dead ancestors on the evening of new-moon
Prahar – eighth part of the day, the period of three hours
Pranayama – Prana meaning life force or breath and Yama meaning to control or restrain one’s breath to produce a particular result.
Purashcharana – repeating a mantra for a particular number of times and for a certain period of time
Purusha – a linear measure used in ancient India to measure length; person-height. It literally means ‘the measure of man’ with both arms stretched upwards.
Purushottama – Supreme man or Supreme being.
Putanya – a man’s brother’s son or the son of a woman’s brother-in-law
Putane – Plural of Putanya
Rasa dance – Lord Krishna’s divine dance with Radha and other gopikas in Gokul. This practice was also prevalent in the Yadava dynasty.
Rudraksha – The seed of a particular tree found in the Himalayan region and is considered significant in a spiritual seeker’s life.
Saga – Teak tree
Sakha – a best friend, confidant
Sakhi – a best friend, confidante
Salunki - mynah
Samaasa – Composition of words; compound words.
Sandhya prayer – The morning, noon and evening prayers a Brahmana is supposed to do every day.
Sanyami – one who keeps his passions in control
Sanyasi – a person who has renounced the material desires and detached himself/herself from the material world
Saptak – the octave
Satshil – truthful, virtuous, honest person
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas Gunas - Sattva (good, constructive, harmonious), Rajas (passionate, active, confused), and Tamas (dark, destructive, chaotic) – According to Hinduism these are three basic qualities of Nature. They exist forever in all beings.
Savitru mantra – a mantra from the Rigveda dedicated to the Sun god. It is composed in the Gayatri meter, hence also known as Gayatri mantra
Savyasachi – another epithet of Arjuna, meaning ambidexterous, a person who is able to use both right and left hands equally well
Shaligrama – A fossilized shell used as a symbol of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism.
Shalunka – the base or part of Shivapindi that bears the Lingam
Shisam – Rosewood or blackwood tree
Shivapindi – symbol of Lord Shiva
Suryavansha – Solar dynasty, a dynasty descended from the Sun or Surya.
Swastika – an ancient symbol of auspiciousness and good luck
Tandava dance – A vigorous divine dance performed by Lord Shiva which is the source of creation, preservation and dissolution of life.
Tarpana – Offering water to deceased ancestors to satisfy them
Tilanjali – A handful of sesame seeds with water offered daily to the manes until the tenth day of their death.
Típrya – playing sticks used in traditional Indian dances
Tirtha-Prasada – holy water and food offered to devotees in the temple after performing worship of God.
Upanayana ceremony – A traditional ceremony of initiation marking the acceptance of a student by a teacher and the student’s entrance to a school.
Upanishadas – collections of texts containing central philosophical concepts of Hinduism such as Karma (action), Moksha (salvation), Brahman (ultimate reality), Atman (soul).
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nbsp; Vahini – brother’s wife
Vandana – a Namaskar, bow down to God by bringing both palms together
Vanaprasthashrama – In the Vanaprasthashrama or hermit stage a man’s duties as a family man come to an end and he retires from his social and professional life.
Veera - brave
Vijayadashami –The tenth day of the month of Ashwin celebrated in India as the day of Rama’s victory over Ravana
Vijigishu – desirous of victory
Vikrami – heroic, valiant
Yajna – A ritual in Hindu Dharma to propitiate deities where sacrificial offerings are made in a pit of fire.
Yajnavetta – a person who is well-versed in the matters of a yajna
Yogi – an ascetic, a monk, a person who follows the Yoga system of philosophy, a practitioner of yoga
Yoganidra – Deepest state of relaxation while sleeping but still maintaining full consciousness.
Yogayogeshwara – the greatest Yogi of all who has complete control over all senses and is not attached to any of the worldly karmas.
Yojana – unit of measuring distance in ancient India; 1 yojana is about 9 mile
Introduction of Late Shri. Shivaji Sawant
Shivaji Sawant was born in a small farmer family in Ajara, Kolhapur on 31st August 1940. He passed high school from Vyankatrao High School, Ajara. He was a teacher in Rajaram High School, Kolhapur, and also worked as the editor with Maharashtra education department’s monthly magazine Lokashishan for six years.
He has received many literary awards including Poonamchand Bhutodiya Puraskar (1986), Moortidevi Puraskar (1995) of Bhartiya Jnanpeeth, Delhi at the hands of the then Vice President of India, Dr. K. R. Narayanan. Mrityunjaya, Chhava and Yugandhar, all 3 novels penned by Shri. Sawant have received the Maharashtra Shasan Puraskar.
His first novel “Mrityunjaya” has been translated in six Indian languages, Hindi, Gujarathi, Kannad, Malyalam, Rajasthani and Bengali. In 1989 Mrityunjaya was translated in English by the Writers Workshop of Calcutta.
In 1979 Shri. Sawant composed “Chhava”, another novel written on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. It was translated in Hindi by Bharatiya Jnanpeeth.
Shri Sawant has also written biographies of Padmashree Dr. Vitthalrao Vikhe Patil (Ladhat) and veteran Trade Union Leader, Bhai Manohar Kotwal (Sangharsh) and honorable Anna Saheb P. K. Patil (Purushottamnama)
Yugandhar was first published on 29th July 2000 at the auspicious hands of Swami Akamananda of Ramkrishna Mission, Haridwar. Shri. Sawant’s wife, Mrinalini Sawant translated Yugandhar in Hindi. The Hindi translation was published by Bharatiya Jnanpeeth in 2002.
Shri Sawant passed away on 18th Sepetember 2002, due to cardiac arrest in Goa, while campaigning for the post of President of 76th Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Sammelan.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
About Translator
Title Page
Translator’s Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
Srikrishna
Rukmini
Daurka
Draupadi
Arjuna
Satyaki
Uddhava
Glossary (in alphabetical order)
Introduction of Late Shri. Shivaji Sawant
Back Page
Srikrishna- the Lord of the Universe Page 108