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Yoga Sanghas

Sanskrit Dictionary

This glossary contains close to 900 common Sanskrit words that a person practicing yoga would come across. We have used diacritical marks in as many words as possible, to help the reader pronounce each word correctly. Please refer to the pronunciation guide below. A list of sources for this glossary is given at the end.

Alphabet	Pronounced as
A	Awe
Ī	Ee
Ū	Oo
Chh	Hard - midway between ch & sh - as in chaw
ḥ	Haw
Jñ	Gaw with g nasal
ā	Ah
E	Eh
Ch	In chosen

Alphabet	Pronounced as
ḍ	Rh (r hard)
ṁ&ṅ	Ong as in song
ṇ	Naw as in gnaw
ṛ	Rhi
T	Th (soft)
v	Wa
Ś orṣ	Sh as in shilling
ṭ	Taw (hard)
y	Yaw

Mada - Pride, lust

Madhyama - Middling, average, mediocre

Madhumati - A state of knowledge attained by Yogins through concentration

Mahā  - Great

Mahā bhā rata - The great historical epic containing also the ancient philosophical thoughts of India

Mahadā tman - The supreme spirit. buddhi-tattva; pure I-sense

Mahā deva - A great god

Mahā devi - A great goddess

Mahā moha - Obsession. Great delusion

Mahā ṛṣI - A great sage

Mahā vā kyas - Great speech

Mahā bandha - Great lock - combines the three bandhas in yoga - the mūla bandha, jā landhara bandha and uddḹyā na bandha - together with breath retention.

Mahā mudrā - Great gesture - combines the practice of mūla bandha, sambhavi and khechari mudras simultaneously.

Mahā nadḹ - Great nadḹ, which is the suṣumṇā nadḹ.

Mahanā rayana Upaniṣad - One of the upaniṣads.

Mahā tapas - Great austerities

Mahā vidyā - Great knowledge, exhalted knowledge

Mahat - The unevolved primary germ of the productive principle whence all phenomena of the material world are developed

Majjā - Marrow

Makarā sana - Crocodile posture

Mā la - A garland, necklace

Mā ṁsa - Flesh

Manana - Reflection, meditation

Manas - The individual mind, having the power and faculty of attention, selection and rejection. The ruler of the senses

Manas chakra - Nervous plexus situated between the navel and the heart

Mā nava - Man, Human being

Maṅdala - A circular design symbolizing the cosmos and specific to a deity

Mā ndukya - One of the major upaniṣads.

Maṇipūra chakra - The nervous plexus situated in the region of the navel

Manojñana - Knowledge of the working of the mind and emotions

Manomaya koŚ a - One of the sheaths enveloping the soul. This koŚ a affects the functions of awareness, feeling and motivation not derived from subjective experience.

Manolaya - A state in which the internal or emotional upheavals of the mind are stilled

Mantra - Subtle sound vibration, which through repetition aims at expanding one's awareness or consciousness. Sacred word symbolic of God or supreme self. Vedic verse

Mantra yoga - The yoga of potent sound. In this type of yoga, mantras are used as a primary means of liberation

Manu - Ancient law-giver of India

Mā rga - Path

Marichyā sana - Spinal twist

Mā ta - Mother, a compound often used in the names of female goddesses

Matsyendrā sana - Fish posture

Mauna - Observation of silence. A type of yogic discipline included in tapas

Mā ya - The deluding or illusive power of the world; illusion by which the world is seen as separate from the ultimate singular reality, i.e Ä tman

Mā yā kā ra - A maker of magic i.e. a conjurer or magician

Mayūrā sana - Peacock posture

Medas - fat

Medhya - That which is especially nourishing and supportive to the mind and brain

Mḹmā ṁsā - Examination. Also a system of Indian philosophy

MiŚ ra - Mixed. Action leading to both pleasurable and painful consequences

Miṭhyā - Literally 'incorrectly' or 'improperly'; ascribed to objects etc., meaning that these are not altogether unreal but not strictly real either i.e. they are our imposition of name and form upon the undifferentiated Self.

Mūla - The root, base

Mūla bandha - A posture where the body from the anus to the navel is contracted and lifted towards the spine

Mūrchhā Prā ṇā yā ma - A type of prā ṇā yā ma where breath is held almost to the point of swooning.

Moha - Delusion which prevents the discernment of truth

Mokṣha - Liberation; final emancipation; beatitude

Mumukṣutvam - The desire to achieve enlightenment, to the exclusion of all other desires. Mundaka Upaniṣad - One of the 10 main upaniṣads.

Mūḍha - Stupefied; infatuated; bewildered

Mudrā - A seal; a sealing posture

Mukha - Face

Mukta - Liberated

Mukti - Release, liberation, final absolution of the soul from the chain of birth and death

Mūlā dhā ra chakra - Nervous plexus situated in the pelvis above the anus at the base or root of the spine; the main support of the body

Muñi - A sage

Mūrti - A representation of God or deity that has been sanctified by worship. A mūrti can be symbolic; a recognizable human figure, as in the image of a saint.

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