Sannyasin One who has renounced the world and all its attachments
Sarangi Stringed instrument played with a bow
Sarasvati Sacred river said to flow under the Thar and joins the Ganga
Sartavahas Leaders of caravans
Sati Self-immolation of a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre
Savitr Ray of light descended from the Sun
Savitri The loyal wife of Satyavant; a three-day fast kept by Hindu women
Shakuntala Daughter of sage Vishvamitra brought up by birds; marries Dushyanta
Sharad Autumn from September to November
Shigar River, North of Taxila
Shishira Cool season from January to March
Shiva Creator and destroyer, of yoga and yogis
Shivi Character from the Jatakas known for his generosity
Shloka A metrical verse said to have mystical properties
Shraddha Ancestor worship for one’s prosperity
Shrauta Sutras Texts on sacrificial rituals
Shravasti Also known as Savathi, capital of Kosala
Shudra Lowest of the four classes
Sila Right way of life
Sinhala Modern-day Sri Lanka
Sisunaga Founder of a Magadhan dynasty
Sita Wife of Rama
Soma A type of creeper; also liquor made from Indian hemp or bhang
Sriraga Melody sung or played in the afternoon.
Sura Liquor
Surya Sun god who rides a flaming chariot driven by seven horses
Sutra A brief aphorism from a religious text
Takkas A tribe
Taxila An ancient city in the north-western region now in Punjab province of Pakistan
Talipot A kind of palm tree
Tanunapatram Oath of fealty
Tat Tvam Asi Literally: ‘That Thou Art’, Chandogya Upanishad 6:8.7
Tathagatha The way Buddha referred to himself, meaning: ‘a breeze, thus gone’
Tourti A kind of flute
Udayibhada Successor of Ajatshatru by patricide
Upanishads Mystical texts learnt under the guidance of the guru
Upasaka Disciple of the Buddha
Ushas Goddess of dawn
Vachaspati Another name for Brihaspati
Vaidehi Princess and queen of Bimbisara
Vaishya The third class of farmers and traders in the varna system
Vaishalaksha Sage as well as a treaty of dharma, artha, kaama and moksha
Vanaprastha The third stage in the life of an arya; that of a forest hermitage dweller
Varsha Rainy season from July to September
Varuna Oldest Vedic god; Lord of the entire universe; god of water
Vasanta Spring season from March to May
Vasishtha Celebrated sage who composed several hundred hymns in the Rig Veda
Vasudeva King of the Yadavas, father of Krishna
Vayu God of Wind; son of Vishnu
Vedanta The culmination of knowledge
Vessantara Prince who gives up everything as narrated in Jataka tales
Videha Country lying to the north-east of Magadha
Vindhya A mountain range
Vishalaksha Pre-Kautilyan author of the Arthashastra. Also Bharadvaja, Vatavyadhi
Vishnu The Preserver; second of the Trinity; also connected with sacrifices
Vritra Demon killed by Indra
Yagnya Sacrifice; to worship in the form of oblations
Yajnyavalkya Legendary sage of Vedic India, who is the key figure in the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.
Yajus Sacrificial mantra from the Yajur Veda
Yama God of death
Yamuna The great tributary of the Ganga
Yavanas A term applied to the peoples of the west and also Greeks
Yoga School of philosophy; also mystical training
Yogi A practitioner of Yoga
Yojana A measure of distance anywhere between four and nine miles
Yuvaraja Crown Prince
Sara, antosarah Inner essence
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Basham, A.L., The Wonder That Was India, Sidgewick & Jackson.
Bhandarkar, D.R., Asoka, Asian Educational Services, 2001.
Eraly, Abraham, Gem in the Lotus – The Seeding of Indian Civilisation, Phoenix House, March 2005.
Guruge, Ananda W. P., Asoka, The righteous: A Definitive Biography, The Central Cultural Fund, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and information Sri Lanka, 1993.
Mookerji, Radha Kumud, Asoka, MacMillan and co. London, 1928.
Mookerji, Radha Kumud, Chandraguta Maurya and His Times, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1999.
Rangarajan, L.N., Kautilya – The Arthashastra, Penguin Books, India, 1992.
Smith, Vincent A., Ashoka, Oxford at the Clarendon press, 1920.
Thapar, Romila, Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Oxford University Press, 1963.
Tripathi, Rama Shankar, History of Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 1942.
Ashoka the Great Page 112