YogiLoka - Online Yoga Community

Yoga Philosophy

Introduction to Yoga

Rāja Yoga

Bhakti Yoga

Jnāna Yoga

Karma Yoga

Hatha Yoga

Other Yoga Paths

Tantra

Yoga In Action

Choosing a Yoga Path

Choosing a Guru

Obstacles of a Yogi

Yoga Diet

Yoga & Relationships

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

Baddhakoṇā sana - Bound angle posture

Bahiranga trataka - Concentrating on an external object , e.g. a candle

Bā hya kumbhaka - Suspension of breath after full exhalation, where the lungs are completely empty

Bala - Strength or immunity

Bandha - Bondage or fetter. It also means a posture where certain organs or parts of the body are contracted and controlled

Bhagavā n - God. Revered person

Bhagavad Gḹtā - The divine song, a dialogue between kṛṣṇa and arjuna. Considered by many to be the most important text in the Hindu religion

Bhajan - Hymn in praise of a deity

Bhaktā - An ardent devotee

Bhakti - Worship, adoration

Bhakti yoga - The practice of achieving union with the paramÄtma through devotion

Bhakti mā rga - The way or path to salvation through adoration of a personal god

Bharadvajā sana - Torso stretch

Bhastrikā Prā ṇā yā ma - It is a type of prā ṇā yā ma where air is forcibly drawn in and out or blasted as in a furnace.

Bhā ṣya - Commentary

Bhava - State of being; existence; cause of birth; latent impression of nescience

Bhava vairā gya - Absence of worldly desires

Bhā vanā - Contemplative thinking

Bhā vanam - Perception, faith and understanding

Bhavapratyaya nirodha - A type of arrested state of the mind not conducive to liberation

Bhā vita smartavya - Recollection of an experience that is unreal or imagined

Bhaya - Fear

Bhedana - Piercing, breaking through, passing through

Bhoga - Feelings of pleasure or pain experienced by living beings. Action arising out of latencies of previous actions; involuntary action

Bhogabhūta - Action arising out of latencies of previous actions; involuntary action

Bhūrloka - World; universe

Bhūta - Gross elemental principle (the five elements being ap, ā kā Ś ha, kṣiti,tejas and vā yu)

Bhūtā di - The ego of the creator, the cause of manifestation of elements

Bhrā marḹ - A type of prā ṇā yā ma where during exhalation a soft humming sound like the murmuring of a bee is made.

Bhrā nti DarŚ ana - Erroneous vision or knowledge, delusion

Bhuḥ - The earth, the first of the three worlds, the other two being ether and the sky or heaven It is also a mystic word, one of the first giving rise to speech

Bhuja - Shoulder

Bhujaṅga - A serpent, snake

Bhujaṅgā sana - Cobra posture

Bhuvaḥ - The atmosphere or ether, the second of the three worlds

Bḹja - A seed or germ

Bḹja mantra - A mystical syllable with a sacred prayer repeated mentally in order to achieve one-pointedness

Bindu - A drop, small particle, a dot, a point

Brahmā - One of the Indian trinity said to be the creator of the universe

Brahmacharya - Continence, both physical and mental

Brahmadvā ra - The opening where kundalini enters the spine

Brahman - The supreme spirit regarded as impersonal

Brā hmana - The portion of the vedas which contains rules for the employment of mantras on various occasions. Highest case among the Hindus

Brahma nā ḍḹ - Another name for the sushumna nā ḍḹ, the main channel of energy running through the center of the spinal column.

Brahmaṅda Prā ṇa - Cosmic breath

Bṛhadaraṅyaka - One of the main upaniṣads.

Brahmarandhra - The aperture in the crown of the head through which the soul is said to leave the body on death

Brahma vihā ra - Mental purification through cultivation of feelings of amity towards happy persons, compassion for those who are miserable, goodwill for the virtuous and benevolent indifference towards the sinful

Brā hmin - A priest or scholar; a member of the most privileged of the four social classes of Hinduism

Brahma Sūtra - A book that summarizes the upaniṣads.

Brahma vidyā - The knowledge of the supreme spirit

Bṛhaspati - The Hindu deity of wisdom; the chief of all the priests

Bodhi - Enlightenment

Buddha - The enlightened one. Gothama Buddha was considered the 9th avatā r of viŚ nu.

Buddhi - Intellect; intelligence

Buddhi sattva - Pure I-sense. Inner instruments of reception taken collectively

Buddhi tattva - Pure I-sense. Inner instruments of reception taken collectively

Web Design Tryangled Solutions

YogiLoka - Online Yoga Community