Wife (with Kunti) of Pandu; mother of Nakula and Sahadeva.
Magadha
Kingdom of the powerful tyrant Jayadhrata slain by Bheema.
Mahanadi
Great river. The Sindhu.
Mahapapa
Literally,a great act of adharma, like having slain one’s kinsmen.
Maharaja
Great king.
Mahartwijas
A great Vedic priest.
Mahatma
A pure soul, high-minded, magnanimous or noble man. Appelation of Krishna.
Maheshwara
The Almighty Lord.
Maitreya
A sage of great brilliance, and courtier of Yudhishthira.
Mala
A string of beads, like a rosary, a necklace, a garland.
Manipur
A country on the west coast of India.
Manipushpaka
The conch-shell of Sahadeva.
Manmatha
Name of the god of love, Kama. Burnt to ashes by Shiva for arousing his love for Uma.
Mantra
A powerful verbal formula. The mantra may consist of a syllable (bija) or a word or a group of words.
Manu
Literally, thinking being. A generic name given to the fourteen progenitors of mankind.: Manu was a renowned
lawgiver.
Markandeya
Brahmin sage who conforted the Pandavas in exile.
Matali
Charioteer of Indra.
Martikkavarta
Country where after the war Arjuna established the son of Kritavarman as king.
Mathura
A town near Agra in North India, the birth-place of Krishna.
Matsya
The country of Virata.
Maya
Literally, cosmic illusion. Architect of great skill who built the Maya Sabha of Indraprastha.
Mayasabha
Assembly hall constructed by Maya.
Meghapushpa
One of Krishna’s horses.
Mlechchha
Literally, foreigner. From the root Mlechh, ‘foreign’; a non Indo-Aryan, often regarded as a barbarian. The epithet was also applied to Indo-Aryans who only spoke a regional dialect.
Mridangam
A kind of drum or tabor.
Mudra
Certain positions of the fingers, practised in devotion or religious worship or in dances.
Muni
A sage.
Mynah
A bird.
Nagaloka
The underworld realm or sphere of serpents (nagas).
Naivaidya
An offering of food presented to a deity or idol.
Nakula
Son of Madri and twin brother of Sahadeva. He married Karenumati, Princess of Chedi who bore his son, Niramitra.
Namachari
A flower.
Nanda
A cowherd, who with his wife Yashoda, became the foster parent of the infant Krishna. He was taken to them by stealth to prevent Kamsa from killing him.
Nara
Nara and Narayana were two rishis who were reborn as Arjuna and Krishna respectively.
Narada
One of the seven great rishis. According to one legend, he was born from Brahma’s forehead while according to another, he is Kashyapa’s son.
Narakasura
The powerful demon killed by Krishna.
Narayana
Literally, water-movement. He who moves on the waters of our being – Vishnu. Also a former incarnation of Krishna as a rishi.
Narmada
The modern town of Puri.
Narmada
A river.
Neem
The Margosa tree.
Nishada
Tribal people of the Vindhya mountains.
Nitishastra
A class of ethical and didactic writings of all kinds, including collections of fables and moral precepts.
Panchala
Probably the territory around modern Punjab in north India. The name of the capital of the kingdom of
Draupadi’s father.
Panchali
Wife of the Pandavas: daughter of Drupada, king of Panchala.
Panchajanya
Krishna’s conch.
Pandavas
Literally, who aspire to Light. Sons of Pandu, brother of Dhritarashtra. Pandu’s sons were Yudhishthira, Bheema, Arjuna by his first wife Pritha (Kunti), and Nakula and Sahadeva by his second wife Madri.
Pandu
Literally: pale. Brother of Dhritarashtra, and rightful King of Hastinapura; father of the Pandavas who retired to the forest.
Pandya
King of Vidarbha and a great devotee of Shiva.
Parashara
A sage, grandson of Vasishtha. His liaison with Satyavati produced Vyasa, the author-compiler of the Mahabharata.
Parashurama
An incarnation of Vishnu.
Parikshita
Literally, one who has been tested. The son of Abhimanyu.
Partha
Son of Pritha (Kunti). Thus Arjuna is sometimes addressed as Partha.
Pashupata
The herdsman’s staff also called Brahmashiras. It is said to be Shiva’s favourite weapon, with which he kills the daityas (demons).
Patala
World of delusion and shadow; the subconscient below the earth. A hellish region.
Paundra
The conch of Bheema.
Phalguna
The eleventh month of the Hindu year (February–March).
Pitambara
A name of Krishna, because of the golden coloured garment he wore.
Pitris
Forefathers or ancestors
Prabhasa
Prabhasatirtha, a sacred place situated in Saurashtra, on the west coast of India, where the drunken brawl took place.
Pradakshina
Circumambulation in respect of something or someone. (The prefix pra indicates a natural process; dakshina, lit. south or southern, right-hand side.) In this context it denotes a circumambulatory motion relative to the sun, which at noon is due south, the object circumambulated being always on the right.
Pradyumna
A son of Krishna by Rukmini.
Pragjyotisha
The invincible fortress of the asuras.
Prajapati
The Father of creatures.
Pranam
A salutation expressing veneration.
Pranayama
The restraining or suspending of breath. Prana means breath in the body, and ayama denotes restraint.
Prasad
Food offered to a deity or to a spiritual teacher; this same food is distributed to devotees as a blessing.
Prativindhya
Son born to Draupadi by Yudhishthira.
Puja
Literally, worship. Homage
Punya
Virtue; acquired merit.
Purochana
Duryodhana’s spy, instructed to burn the Pandavas in the House of Lac.
Purohita
Priest of a royal house.
Puru
A nephew of Duryodhana in our story.
Purumitra
One of the sons of Dhritarashtra.
Purushottama
The Supreme Divine Person.
Pushan
Another name for the Sun, god of journeys.
Putana
A vampire-like demoness, who tried to poison the infant Krishna by suckling him at her poisoned breast, but was herself sucked to death by him.
Raga
A musical note or melody, a particular musical mode or order of sound. Derived from the root ranj, the term literally means ‘to colour’ but figuratively ,‘to tinge with emotion.’
Rahu
Literally, seizer. The post-Vedic name of the demon responsible for eclipses of the sun and the moon.
Raivataka
A mountain in Gujarat. It stands near Junagadh (
present name being Girnar).
Raja
King, sovereign, chief.
Rajanya
Vedic designation of the Kshatriya class.
Rajasuya
Literally, royal sacrifice. A great sacrifice performed at the installation of a king, religious in its nature but political in its operation, as it implied that he who instituted the sacrifice was sacrifice lord, a king over kings, and his tributary princes were required to be present at the rite.
Rakshasa
A demon, a being with superhuman strength and powers who usually, but not always, is on the side against thruth. Gatotkacha is an exception.
Raktapataka
A class of monks.
Rama
The royal hero of Valmiki’s epic, the Ramayana.
Ravana
A ten-headed and twenty-armed Rakshasa, ruler of Lanka (Sri Lanka).
Rishi
Seer of Truth.
Ritwik
Literally, he who sacrifices in the right order and right season. One of the four chief priests of a sacrifice.
Rohini
The wife of Vasudeva and mother of Balarama, Krishna’s half brother.
Rohitaka
Mountain famous in the Puranas. Places surrounding this mountain were also known by the name Rohitaka. A wild region, one of the areas named as being covered by Duryodhana’s armies. The present name of this area is Rohtak (Haryana).
Rudra
Vedic god of the tempest, Shiva in his aspect of destruction.
Rukmin
The name of the eldest son of Bheeshmaka, king of Vidarbha, brother of Rukmini, Krishna’s wife.
Rukmini
Daughter of the king of Vidarbha and wife of Krishna, who Shishupala of the Chedis had wanted to marry.
Sabha
Assembly, or Council Hall.
Sadhu
Literally, Excellent! An exclamation of approval. Also, as a noun: a holy man.
Saivya, Sugriva, Valahaka, Meghapushpa
The four horses of Krishna’s chariot in the war.
Sahadeva
The youngest Pandava brother, the favourite of Kunti.
Sakhi
Literally, special friend. Beloved friend. Draupadi is spoken of as Krishna’s sakhi.
Salwa
The prince that Amba had chosen at her Swayamvara before Bheeshma abducted her.
Sami tree
The tree on which the Pandava weapons were hung during their exile. A tall tree with thick foliage.
Sandipani
Preceptor of Krishna and Balarama, from whom they learnt all the Vedas, drawing, astronomy, Gandharva Veda, medicine, training elephants and horses, and archery.
Sanjaya
The charioteer who had clairvoyant vision, adviser of Dhritarashtra.
Saraswati
Literally, flowing, mellifluent. A river. Also, the river as a goddess, the consort of Brahma – goddess of speech, knowledge and music.
Saree
Long draped cloth worn by Indian women.
Sarika
Bird of evil omen.
Sarvamedha
The ‘complete sacrifice’ in which a man was offered.
Satee
A widow who immolates herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.
Satyabhama
Literally, having true lustre. Daughter of the Yadava prince, Satragita, and one of Krishna’s wives.
Satyajit
Son of Drupada who protects Yudhisthira with his life.
Satyaki
A cousin of Krishna. Arjuna’s most beloved disciple, he was killed by his own cousin Kritavarman in the drunken brawl in Dwaraka.
Satyakiputra
Son of Satyaki.
Satyavan
The husband of Savitri whom, in the legend, she brought back from death.
Satyavati
Daughter of a fisherman chief, who became the wife of the Emperor Shantanu and thus Bheesma’s stepmother. She was the mother of Vyasa by her liaison with the sage Parashara. Also, mother of Vichitravecrya and Chitrangada.
Savitri
The beautiful and virtuous daughter of Ashwapathi, King of Madra who brought back her husband from death.
Shakti
Power. Force. The wife seen as incarnating the spiritual force of her husband.
Shakuni
The wicked brother of Gandhari, thus uncle of the Kauravas.
Shala
Hall.
Shalya
King of Madra and brother of Madri, the second wife of Pandu; uncle of the twins Nakula and Sahadeva.
Shalva
A Kshatriya king, that Amba chose at her Swayamvara before she was dragged away by Bheeshma.
Shamba
A malicious son of Krishna.
Shankha
A son of King Virata.
Shankha Pushpa
A flowering creeper.
Shantanu
Literally, calm. He was an Emperor, the son of Pratipa and father of Bheeshma.
Shanti
Tranquility. The Absence of passion.
Sharana
A Kshatriya of the Yadu clan. Son of Vasudeva by Devaki and the brother of Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra.
Shastra
Sacred code of laws governing life, both individual and collective.
Shibi
A legendary dharmic king who sacrificed himself to save the life of a pigeon.
Shikhandin
Amba, in a former life. One of the three princesses Bheeshma abducted for marriage to Vichitraveerya. Before she died, she had obtained a boon from Shiva that she would be reborn as Shikhandin, son of Drupada, to take revenge on Bheeshma by slaying him in the war.
Shishupala
Son of the sister of Krishna’s father Vasudeva thus Krishna’s first cousin, King of the Chedis. Krishna killed him at Yudhisthira’s rajasuya.
Shiva
The destructive aspect of the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Shloka
The chief Sanskrit epic metrical form.
Shraddha
Certain rites performed in honour of and for the benefit of the dead.
Shrutakarman
Son of Drupadi and Sahadeva. Slain in his sleep by Ashwattama.
Shrutakirti
Son of Drupadi and Arjuna. Slain in his sleep by Ashwattama.
Shrutasena
Son of Drupadi and Nakula. Slain in his sleep by Ashwattama.
Shudra
Fourth and lowest caste. Servants.
Shuka
Son of Vyasa.
Sindhu
Kingdom famous in the Puranas. Jayadratha was King of Sindhu.
Sita
Literally, furrow. Heroine of the Ramayana, so called because she appeared in a furrow ploughed up by her father Janaka during a sacrificial rite for obtaining progeny.
Snatika
Brahmins who have finished their schooling but not yet become householders.
Soma
The juice of a milky creeper (Asclepias acida) which when fermented was drunk during the performance of religious rituals. Soma also means the moon.
Somadatta
Also called Bahlika. He tried to prevent the dice game, but fought on the side of Duryodhana.
Sorna
Eclipse of sun and moon.
Subala
King of Gandara and father of Gandari and Shakuni.
Subhadra
Daughter of Vasudeva and sister of Krishna. Wife of Arjuna and mother of Abhimanyu.
Sudeshna
Wife of Virata, the King of Matsya.
Sunaman
Son of King Ugrasena and brother of Kamsa.
Supratika
The magnificent and seemingly undefeatable elephant of King Bhagadatta, finally killed by Arjuna.
Surya
The sun god.
Susaman
Chanter of the Vedic hymns and son of Dhaumya. He was made responsible for the litu
rgy.
Suta
One of a mixed caste. Usually of a Brahmin father and Kshatriya mother. Often applied to charioteers or bards.
Sutaputra
Literally, son of a suta. Karna. Child of a mixed caste descendant.
Sutasoma
Son of Bheema by Draupadi.
Swaha
An exclamation used in making oblations. Something like Amen!
Swayamvara
Literally, ‘swayam’ meaning oneself, and ‘vri’ meaning to choose. The gathering to which eligible nobles were invited when a high-caste girl decided to marry the man of her choice, thus self-choice.
The Great Golden Sacrifice of the Mahabharata Page 101