Trimurti

From Sanskrit त्रिमूर्ति (trimūrti), equivalent to tri- (“three”) + murti (“form, embodiment of an idea, person or deity”).

af

1874, Later Hindu Myths, in The Monthly Packet, New Series, Volume 17, John and Charles Mozley, page 481,
We now turn to the third Person in the Trimurti—Siva, the destroyer—but in doing so it is as well to remark that the character and attributes of the Hindu divinities are not very clearly defined, the special offices and qualities of one being often attributed to the other; thus Vishnu often appears as the destroyer and avenger, Siva sometimes as the restorer and redeemer.

We must first note that Hindus themselves were sober in their assessment of Trimurti, which was never a universally accepted doctrine. For instance, in the Tamil devotional tradition of the medieval Vaisnava saints known as the alvars, we find ambivalence toward "the three." Their hymns both recognize the Trimurti and downplay its importance.

2011, Francis X. Clooney, “Trinity and Hinduism”, in Peter C. Phan, editor, The Cambridge Companion to the Trinity, Cambridge University Press, page 315:

2018, Swami Achuthananda, The Ascent of Vishnu and the Fall of Brahma, Relianz Communications, page 23,
It was not until the arrival of the Puranas that the Trimurti, as we know them today, became accepted as standard doctrine. One of the earliest images of Trimurti can be found at one of the many caves on Elephanta,¹⁶ an island near Mumbai, India.

(Hinduism) The trinity of supreme divinity, as represented by the forms of Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the maintainer or preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer or transformer).

ত্রিমূৰ্তি

triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism


dothead

From dot + head, referring to the bindi.

Two weeks later, in another meeting, Sandy announces, “We've assembled a great team of dotheads in Karachi.” No one else seems bothered by this—or even appears to notice anything strange about it—so once again you say nothing.

2011, David Knighton, The Wisdom of the Healing Wound, page 116:

(slang, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) A South Asian person.


devaprasnam

Transliteration of Sanskrit देवप्रश्नम् (devapraśnam).

translit

A deva prasnam conducted in July 1975 revealed that the image had been consecrated by a saint from Tirupati more than one thousand years ago.

1992, Kunissery Ramakrishnier Vaidyanathan, Sri Krishna, the Lord of Guruvayur:

The temple has been in the news since June when astrologer Panicker maintained that the ‘devaprasnam’ had revealed to him that the temple had been ‘defiled’ two decades ago.

2006, Pakistan & Gulf Economist, volume 25, page 109:

As the citizens of Trivandrum debated what to do about Vault B, the royal family and officials from the temple invited a group of astrologers to hold a four-day ceremony, known as a Devaprasnam, in order to ascertain the will of the deity.

2012 April 30, Jake Halpern, “The Secret of the Temple”, in The New Yorker:

(Hinduism) An astrological ritual carried out to interpret the will of the gods.


devata

(Hinduism) A kind of good spirit, similar to a guardian angel or a lesser deity.


Murugan

A Hindu deity, especially popular among Tamils, worshipped in areas of South India.


Bhagavata Purana

From Sanskrit भागवत (bhāgavata) + पुराण (purāṇá, “stories of ancient times told in a new manner”).

One of the Hindu Puranas, with its primary focus on the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna.


Ramayana

Transliteration of Sanskrit रामायण (rāmāyaṇa). Doublet of Ramin.

(Hinduism, Jainism, mythology) An ancient Sanskrit epic of Indian mythology about the legendary king Rāma.


Janaki

Borrowed from Sanskrit जानकी (jānakī), from Sanskrit जनक (janaka).

(Hinduism) An epithet (patronymic) of Sita in Ramayana.


Vali

(Hinduism) King of Kishkindha, a son of Indra and the elder brother of Sugriva in Ramayana.


Urvashi

One of the most beautiful apsaras in Hindu mythology.

ウルヴァシー

the most prominent apsara from Hindu mythology


Menaka

In Hindu mythology, one of the most beautiful of the apsaras and the wife of Himavat.


Rambha

(Hinduism) One of the most beautiful apsaras in Hindu mythology.

রম্ভা

(mythology) one of the most beautiful apsaras in Hindu mythology


Kausalya

Borrowed from Sanskrit कौसल्या (kausalyā).

bor+

(Hinduism) The eldest wife of King Dasaratha, queen of Ayodhya and the mother of Rāma.


Banasura

(Hinduism) A thousand-armed asura and son of Bali. His daughter is Usha.


Bharata

A legendary emperor of India, and is referred to in Hindu and Jain theology. He was son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala.

(Hinduism) Younger brother of Rāma in Ramayana.


Angada

(Hinduism) Son of Vali, King of Kishkindha in Ramayana.


Agastya

(Hinduism) One of the Saptarishis (seven sages), a revered Vedic sage and the author of Agastya Samhita.


apsara

Borrowed from Hindi अप्सरा (apsarā), descended from Sanskrit अप्सरस् (apsaras).

But the boy's relatives don't sit on their behinds and wait for a pari or an apsara to drop out of the heavens.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 40:

But here was an apsara rising out of the waters of a holy Ganga, raising her arms in salutation to the sun rising above the range of hills and offering her behind to him to marvel at and worship.

2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, published 2014, page 102:

Don't burn us with your fierce austerities, O master. I'll have to send apsaras to distract you.

2006, Vikram Chandra, Sacred Games, volume 1, Penguin, published 2007, page 17:

(Indian mythology, Hinduism, Buddhism) A female spirit of the clouds and waters.

অপ্সরা

a female spirit of the clouds and waters


Lakshmana

Borrowed from Sanskrit लक्ष्मण (lakṣmaṇa).

(Hinduism) The younger brother of Rāma, an avatar of Shesha.

A male given name from Sanskrit used mostly in India.


Dhruva

(Hinduism) A Puranic child sage who become the pole star.


Daksha

(Hinduism) "the skilled one", is an ancient creator god, one of the Prajapatis.


harikatha

A form of Hindu religious discourse in which the storyteller explores a religious theme, usually the life of a saint or a story from an Indian epic.


Rāma

(Hinduism) A mythological king of Ayodhya in ancient India, considered as the seventh avatar of Vishnu and a lila-avatara described in Bhagavata Purana; one of the most worshipped Hindu deities.


Arundhati

(Hinduism) The wife of the sage Vasishtha, celebrated for her virtue.


Ayodhya

Borrowed from Sanskrit अयोध्या (ayodhyā).

A city, the administrative headquarters of Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh, India, on the bank of the Sarayu river.

(Hinduism, historical) A legendary city, the ancient capital of Kosala kingdom, and birthplace of the Hindu deity Rāma.


Brihaspati

Borrowed from Sanskrit बृहस्पति (bṛhaspati).


Vyasa

(Hinduism) Name of a Hindu sage. One who classified the Vedas into four parts. He is the author of the Mahabharata.


Hari

(Hinduism) A name or epithet given commonly to Vishnu, but also to Indra and Yama.

A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.


Subhadra

(Hinduism) Subhadra, daughter of Vasudeva, and Rohini, sister of Krishna, and Balarama, wife of Arjuna and the mother of Abhimanyu

A female given name from Sanskrit mostly used in India.


Urmila

(Hinduism) The daughter of King Janaka of Mithila and the younger sister of Sita. She was the wife of Lakshmana in Ramayana.


Sumitra

(Hinduism) The third wife of King Dasharatha; mother of twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna in Ramayana.


Abhimanyu

From Sanskrit अभिमन्यु (abhimanyu, “Abhimanyu”).

bor

The son of Arjuna and Subhadra in Mahabharata.


Sabari

(Hinduism) A staunch devotee of Rāma in Ramayana.

A tributary of the Godavari river in India.


Sugriva

From Sanskrit सुग्रीव (sugrīva, “handsome-necked”).

uder

(Hinduism) The younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the Kishkindha in Ramayana.


Ganapati

(Hinduism) Lord of the demigods attending on Shiva. An epithet of Ganesha.


Sisupala

(Hinduism) The king of Chedi and cousin of Krishna.


Kamsa

(Hinduism) The ruler of Mathura and brother of Devaki.


Devaki

(Hinduism) Devaki, cousin of Kamsa, wife of Vasudeva and the biological mother of Krishna.


Vasudeva

(Hinduism) Vasudeva, husband of Devaki, and Rohini, son of Shurasena, and the father of Krishna, and Balarama


Rukmini

Borrowed from Sanskrit रुक्मिणी (rukmiṇī).

(Hinduism) The wife of Lord Krishna; considered as an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi.

A female given name from Sanskrit mainly used in India.


Yashoda

Transliteration of Sanskrit यशोदा (yaśodā). The given name is a transliteration of Hindi यशोदा (yaśodā), etc.

translit

(Hinduism) The foster mother of Krishna.


Satyabhama

Borrowed from Sanskrit सत्यभामा (satyabhāmā).


Dhritarashtra

Borrowed from Sanskrit धृतराष्ट्र (dhṛtarāṣṭra).

The king of Hastinapur in the Mahabharata.


Janamejaya

From Sanskrit जनमेजय (janamejaya, literally “causing men to tremble”).

bor

(Hinduism) Son of Parikshit, who performed Sarpayaga in Mahabharata.


Drona

The royal guru to Kauravas and Pandavas in Mahabharata.


Shakuni

(Hinduism) The personification of Dvapara Yuga, the brother of Gandhari in the Mahabharata.


TDP

(Indian politics) Initialism of Telugu Desam Party, a political party.


Bollywoodian

en-adj

Bollywoodian (comparative more Bollywoodian, superlative most Bollywoodian)

more Bollywoodian (comparative)
most Bollywoodian (superlative)


Jyeshta

Borrowed from Sanskrit ज्येष्ठ (jyeṣṭha).

bor+

(Hinduism) The third month in the Hindu lunar calendar.


Aswayuja

Borrowed from Sanskrit आश्वयुज (āśvayuja).

(Hinduism) The seventh month in the Hindu lunar calendar.


Chaitra

(Hinduism) The first month of the Hindu lunar calendar.


Pausha

(Hinduism) The tenth month in the Hindu lunar calendar.


Magha

In the month of Magha, a vessel laid anchor in the harbour of this town.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 1

(Hinduism) A month of the Hindu calendar, corresponding with the Gregorian January/February.


Aashaadha

Transliteration of Sanskrit आषाढ (āṣāḍha).

transliteration

(Hinduism) The fourth month in the Hindu lunar calendar.


Margashirsha

(Hinduism) The ninth month in the Hindu lunar calendar.


Phalguna

Borrowed from Sanskrit फाल्गुन (phālguna).

bor+

(Hinduism) The twelfth month in the Hindu lunar calendar.


Vaisakha

(Hinduism) The second month in the Hindu lunar calendar.


Kartika

(Hinduism) The eighth month in the Hindu lunar calendar.


Bhadrapada

(Hinduism, Jainism) The sixth month in the lunar calendar.

ភទ្របទ

phŏəttrĕəʼbɑɑt


paksha

(Hinduism) A fortnight in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar.


Shraavana

(Hinduism) The fifth month in the Hindu lunar calendar, considered sacred to the god Shiva.


Prathama

(Hinduism) The first day (tithi) in the lunar fortnight (paksha) of the Hindu calendar.


Saptami

From Sanskrit सप्तमी (saptamī, “seventh day in a lunar fortnight”).

uder

(Hinduism) The seventh day (tithi) of the fortnight (paksha) in Hindu lunar calendar.


Shashti

From Sanskrit षष्ठी (ṣaṣṭhī, “sixth day in a lunar fortnight”).

(Hinduism) The sixth day (tithi) of the lunar fortnight (paksha) in the Hindu calendar.


Panchami

From Sanskrit पञ्चमी (pañcamī, “fifth day in a lunar fortnight”).

(Hinduism) The fifth day (tithi) of the lunar fortnight (paksha) in the Hindu calendar.


Dwitiya

Borrowed from Sanskrit द्वितीय (dvitī́ya, “second”).

(Hinduism) The second day (tithi) in the lunar fortnight (paksha) of the Hindu calendar.


Tritiya

(Hinduism) The third day (tithi) in the lunar fortnight (paksha) of the Hindu calendar.


Chaturthi

From Sanskrit चतुर्थी (caturthī, “fourth day in a lunar fortnight”).

bor

(Hinduism) The fourth day (tithi) of the lunar fortnight (paksha) in the Hindu calendar.


Dashami

From Sanskrit दशमी (daśamī, “tenth day in a lunar fortnight”).

(Hinduism) The tenth day (tithi) in the lunar fortnight (paksha) of the Hindu calendar.


Ashtami

From Sanskrit अष्टमी (aṣṭamī, “eighth day in a lunar fortnight”).

(Hinduism) The eighth day (tithi) in the fortnight (paksha) of the Hindu lunar calendar.


Thrayodashi

From Sanskrit त्रयोदशी (trayodaśī, “thirteenth day in a lunar fortnight”).

uder

(Hinduism) The thirteenth day (tithi) in the lunar fortnight (paksha) of the Hindu calendar.


Dwadashi

From Sanskrit द्वादशी (dvādaśī, “twelfth day in a lunar fortnight”).

bor

(Hinduism) The twelfth lunar day (tithi) of the fortnight (paksha) of every month in the Hindu calendar.


Vijayadashami

Borrowed from Sanskrit विजयादशमी (vijayādaśamī), from विजय (vijaya) + दशमी (daśamī, “tenth”).

(Hinduism) A Hindu festival marking the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura.


Navami

From Sanskrit नवमी (navamī, “ninth day in a lunar fortnight”).

uder

(Hinduism) The ninth day (tithi) of the fortnight (paksha) in the Hindu lunar calendar.


Ekadashi

From Sanskrit एकादशी (ekādaśī, “eleventh day in a lunar fortnight”).

bor

(Hinduism) The eleventh day (tithi) of the lunar fortnight (paksha) of every lunar month in the Hindu calendar.


Jagannath

From Sanskrit जगन्नाथ (jagannātha). Doublet of juggernaut.

A male given name from Sanskrit used commonly in India.


Purnima

From Sanskrit पूर्णिमा (pūrṇimā, “full moon night”).

uder

(Hinduism) The full moon. The day (tithi) in each month in which the full moon occurs, and marks the division in each month between the two lunar fortnight in Hindu calendar.


Chaturdashi

From Sanskrit चतुर्दशी (caturdaśī, “fourteenth day in a lunar fortnight”).

(Hinduism) The fourteenth day (tithi) of the lunar fortnight (paksha) in the Hindu calendar.


Amavasya

From Sanskrit अमावस्या (amāvasyā, “day of the new moon”).

der

(Hinduism) A new moon in the Hindu calendar.


vanaprastha

‘We should adopt Vanaprastha even while remaining householders. The responsibilities of being a householder should now be passed on to the children,’ she said.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 263

(Hinduism) The third of four ashrama (stages) in a human life, characterised by a gradual transition of one's social and economic responsibilities to the next generation, and a move away from worldly and sexual pursuits to more spiritual concerns.


ashrama

Transliteration of Sanskrit आश्रम (āśrama, “hermitage”).

translit

(Hinduism) Any of the four stages of Hindu spiritual life.

ashrama

any of the four stages of Hindu spiritual life


Venkateswara

Borrowed from Sanskrit वेङ्कटेश्वर (veṅkaṭeśvara).

(Hinduism) The lord of seven hills, abode of Tirumala.


Narasimha

(Hinduism) An avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu literally means man-lion.


Karna

Transliteration of Sanskrit कर्ण (karṇa).

(Hinduism) Name of a warrior who fought for the Kauravas in the Mahabharata; son of Kunti and Surya.


Nārada

Transliteration of Sanskrit नारद (nārada).

(Hinduism) A divine sage who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana.


Kroni

Ayyavazhi (an offshoot of Hinduism) followers, however, believed in a devil–like figure called Kroni, who was the primordial manifestation of evil and appears in various forms of evil, e.g. Ravana, Dury-odhana, etc.

2012, Nwaocha Ogechukwu Friday, The Devil: What Does He Look Like?, →ISBN, page 43:

(religion, Hinduism, Ayyavazhi) The primordial manifestation of evil in Ayyavazhi mythology.


Putrakameshti

From Sanskrit पुत्र (putra) + Telugu కామేష్టి (kāmēṣṭi).

der

Telugu కామేష్టి (kāmēṣṭi)

(Hinduism) A special Yajna performed in Hinduism for the sake of having a child.


Hiranyagarbha

From Sanskrit हिरण्य (hiraṇya, “gold”) + गर्भ (garbha, “child, offspring”).

(Hinduism) A name of Brahma, so called because he was born from a golden egg (Manu Smṛti 1.9).


Valmiki

The poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature and the author of the epic Ramayana.


agnihotra

From Sanskrit अग्नि (agni, “Agni”) + होत्र (hotra, “sacrifice, burnt offering”).

compound

(Hinduism) A Vedic yajña (ritual or sacrifice) mentioned in the Atharvaveda and performed in orthodox Hindu communities.


Aditi

From Sanskrit अदिति (aditi, “having nothing to give”); ultimately from अ- (a-) + दिति (diti).

bor

(Hinduism) The daughter of Daksha, wife of Kashyapa, and mother of the gods.


Amaravati

(Hinduism) The capital of Hindu lord Indra.


ahamkara

en-noun

ahamkara (countable and uncountable, plural ahamkaras)

Borrowed from Sanskrit अहंकार (ahaṃkāra).


jyotirlinga

Borrowed from Sanskrit ज्योतिर्लिङ्ग (jyotirliṅga).

bor+

ज्योतिर्लिङ्ग

One of Shiva's revered Jyotirlingas is protected within the inner sanctum of the city's Kashi Vishwanath temple. It is one of the more famous lingas in the country.

2023, Radhika Iyengar, Fire on the Ganges, Fourth Estate, page 13:

(Hinduism) A shrine where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam or "Lingam (pillar) of light."


Rati

(Hinduism) The Hindu goddess of love, passion and sexual pleasure.


Sankranti

There are 12 Sankrantis in a year.

(Hinduism, astronomy) The transmigration of the Sun from one Rāshi (constellation of the zodiac) to the next.


Ananta

From Sanskrit अनन्त (ananta, “endless”).

(Hinduism) One of the names of Lord Vishnu.

A male given name from Sanskrit, commonly used in India.


adhyasa

(Hinduism) The human habit of superimposition, or false attribution of properties of one thing on another thing.


akashvani

Borrowed from Sanskrit आकाशवाणी (ākāśavāṇī, “celestial announcement from the sky, or voice from the sky/heaven”); probably through Hindi आकाशवाणी (ākāśvāṇī) or another Indic language with schwa deletion.

bor

Hindi आकाशवाणी (ākāśvāṇī)

In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology, akashvanis often featured in stories as a medium of communication from the heavens to mankind.

(Hinduism, mythology) A gift or message from heaven.

Akashvani (term)
Schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages


PDP

w:Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party

(Indian politics) Initialism of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party.


Nala

(Hinduism) A character in Hindu mythology: the king of Nishadha Kingdom, son of Veerasena.


hotr

Unadapted borrowing from Sanskrit होतृ (hotṛ).

ubor

(Hinduism) The priest who recites invocations and litanies during the yajna service.


klesha

(Hinduism, Buddhism) A mental state, such as fear or ignorance, that clouds the mind and leads to unwholesome actions.


shakti

From Sanskrit शक्ति (śákti, “power, energy”).

(Hinduism) the divine force that pervades the universe.


Arunachala

A holy hill, dedicated to Shiva, at Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India

Arunachala

a holy hill, dedicated to Shiva, at Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India


Khalistan

Borrowed from Punjabi ਖ਼ਾਲਿਸਤਾਨ (xālistān) / خالِصْتان (xāliṣtān). Literally, “Land of the Khalsa ”. Analyzable as Khalsa + -i- + -stan.

Indian Subcontinent
Indian Subcontinent#English

(historical) Synonym of Punjab; A region of Indian Subcontinent


darsana

In presenting its ‘view’ of the truth, each darśana is as it were describing what it is that its practitioners will ‘see’.

2000, Sue Hamilton, Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction, OUP, published 2001, page 12:

(India philosophy) A philosophy, worldview.


sattva

One of the three gunas in Hindu philosophy, representing things that are pure, divine, and spiritual.


tamas

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit तमस् (támas, “darkness”).

lbor

One of the three gunas in Hindu philosophy, representing things that are inert, resistant, or dark and destructive.


saffronization

From saffron + -ization, after the saffron robes worn by Hindu priests and monks.

Given the 'saffronization' of Congress, the 'ethnoreligious purification' of the BJP, and the parturition of the avowedly secular parties (CPI, SJP and BSP) […]

1993, Harold Alton Gould, India votes: alliance politics and minority governments in the ninth and tenth general elections, page 308:

The saffronization of the Shiv Sena, and the fusion of its Maratha-kunbi chauvinism and communalism were natrual outcomes.

1999, Rajeev Bhargava, Multiculturalism, Liberalism, and Democracy, page 241:

The “value education” directives issued in the 81st Report encouraged, in the first instance, the “saffronization” agenda of the BJPled NDA government from 1999.

2015, S. Gupta, Consumable Texts in Contemporary India: Uncultured Books and Bibliographical Sociology:

(India, politics, derogatory) The politics of right-wing Hindu nationalism (Hindutva) that seek to make the Indian state adopt policies that recall and glorify Hindu cultural history and heritage of India at the expense of other religious traditions.

Dravidization

alteration in favour of Dravidian nationalism or separatism


Hinduness

Calque of Hindi हिंदुत्व (hindutva) / Bengali হিন্দুত্ব (hindutto, literally “Hinduness”): Hindu + ness.

calque

To stand for ‘Hinduness’, which is the soul of this nation and civilisation, was considered ‘communal’ and abused as token ‘Hindu majoritarianism’.

2019 May 23, Arun Anand, “Lesson for Rahul Gandhi in 2019: Mocking ‘Hinduness’ won’t work because India is Bharat”, in ThePrint:

It is Hinduness that has drawn the multitudes – beyond upper castes – to BJP. In its purest form, Hinduness is a dharma different from religion. […] Hinduness doesn’t deny minorities a stake in society, but seeks to empower all on merit, and delink social justice from identity.

2019 June 6, Rahul Shivshankar, “The age of Hinduness: Modi has disavowed hard Hindutva for the humanism of ‘Hinduness’”, in The Times of India:

Unlike, for example, Tilak and Aurobindo, Gandhi took great care to assure Muslims that they had nothing to fear from his Hinduness.

1999, Rajmohan Gandhi, Revenge and reconciliation: understanding South Asian history, New Delhi: Penguin Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 266, →ISBN:

What Param Poojya Guruji intended as the real nature of Hinduness was this fact of its being all-inclusive and all-pervasive.

2014, D. B. Thengadi, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay: Ideology and Preception - Part 1: An Inquest, 2nd edition, New Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 34, →ISBN:


Hinduness

The BJP advocates the ideology of Hindutva (or Hinduness), which insists that multireligious and multiethnic India is fundamentally a “Hindu Rashtra” (Hindu Nation).

2019 May 23, “What you need to know about India’s BJP”, in Al Jazeera:

Hindutva? Both Savarkar and Golwalkar locate the idea of Hinduness by reference to history. Even taking into account its diversity, Hinduness is rooted in Aryan civilisation and the establishment of the Vedic tradition.

2007 April 11, Katharine Adeney, Lawrence Saez, editors, Coalition Politics and Hindu Nationalism, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 44, →ISBN:


Hindutva

Transliteration of Hindi हिंदुत्व (hindutva) / Bengali হিন্দুত্ব (hindutto, literally “Hinduness”). Coined by Chandranath Basu in 1892 and further popularised by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Bharatvasi

online slang terms for Hindutva supporters, may sometimes be derogatory

swayamsevak

a member of RSS, a Hindutva paramilitary organisation

chaddi

derogatory online slang term for Hindutva supporters

In India, too, people now wish to bring that argument to a close: to replace the ruckus of politics with the moralized ideology of Hindutva.

2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, page 284:

China’s one-party meritocracy, Putin’s uncrowned czardom, the post-Arab Spring triumph of dictatorship and monarchy over religious populism in the Middle East, the Hindutva populism transforming Indian democracy — these aren’t just all indistinguishable forms of “autocracy,” but culturally distinctive developments that fit well with Huntington’s typology[…]

2022 March 30, Ross Douthat, “Yes, There Is a Clash of Civilizations”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:


Hindutva

(informal) A member of a Hindutva group or a supporter of Hindutva.


jivadaya

(Hinduism, Jainism) kindness to animals (or to all living things)


tirtha

(Hinduism, Jainism) A site of pilgrimage.


parikrama

en-noun

parikrama (countable and uncountable, plural parikramas)

(Buddhism, Hinduism) The circumambulation of a sacred place.


kshetra

Borrowed from Sanskrit क्षेत्र (kṣetra, “field, area, tract of land”).


muhurta

(Hinduism) A unit of time measurement in the Hindu calendar, approximately 48 minutes.


subtle body

Translation of सूक्ष्म शरीर (sūkṣma-śarīra) or सूक्ष्म देह (sūkṣma-deha).

(Hinduism, philosophy) The second of three (or more) bodies that make up the fully embodied human in various Hindu philosophies.


matha

(Hinduism, Jainism) A monastic or similar religious establishment in Hinduism and Jainism, usually more formal and hierarchical than an ashram.


shraddha

en-noun

shraddha (countable and uncountable, plural shraddhas)

Borrowed from Sanskrit श्राद्ध (śrāddha).

After returning, I went to Benares with my parents, for my father was to perform a shraddha ceremony there.

1989, Shudha Mazumdar, Memoirs of an Indian Woman, page 94:

But the thought that he would finally be able to complete his mother's shraadha would make the son emotional.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 110

(Hinduism) A Hindu ceremony performed in commemoration of one's deceased relatives, especially a parent.

শ্রাদ্ধ

Hindu ceremony in commemoration of deceased relatives


chakravartin

Borrowed from Sanskrit चक्रवर्तिन् (cakravartin).

(India, religion) An ideal universal ruler, who rules ethically and benevolently over the entire world.


sandhya

Borrowed from Sanskrit संध्या (saṃdhyā, “twilight, twilight prayers”).

bor

He did his sandhya in the mornings after he had his bath, put the red tilak on the foreheads of the gods and goddesses, said his prayers, prostrated before them and went off to work.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 103:


prasad

I gave her the prasad from Eklingji to gain time to think.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 116:

(Hinduism) Food used as a religious offering.


chhatra

A gift of land is held to be complete in all its parts, when accompanied by a couch shell, a seat of honor, a chhatra, a good horse and a good carriage.

1838, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. 7, part 2:

All the emblems of sovereignty including the chhatra were in place on Father's elephant and war was resumed.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 583:

Originally mounted on a circular drum was the dome or the hemispherical super structure crowned by a railed harmika and a chhatra.

2008, A Satish Babu, Tourism Development in India, page 89:


Ishan

(Hinduism) One of the aspects of the god Shiva.


abhayamudra

From Sanskrit अभय (abhaya, “fearlessness”) + मुद्रा (mudrā, “sign, hand gesture”).

A Buddhist gesture of reassurance and safety, in which the right hand is held upright, and the palm is facing outwards.


swadeshi

PIE word
 *swé
Borrowed from Hindi स्वदेशी (svadeśī, “nationalist, patriotic; policy of nationalist self-sufficiency, swadeshi; proponent of the swadeshi movement”), from स्वदेश (svadeś, “one’s own country”) + -ई (-ī, suffix forming adjectives, or forming nouns meaning a person who does an action indicated by the stem). स्वदेश is derived from Sanskrit स्वदेश (svadeśa), from स्व (sva, “his or her own”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“(pronoun) self”)) + देश (deśa, “country; point, place”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to point out”)).

der

The Swadeshi movement in India is one which in certain of its aspects can be regarded with much sympathy. A spirit of patriotism is excellent, and the endeavour to engender and foster it, provided it is made along legitimate lines, calls for encouragement and not condemnation.

1906 September, “[Editorial Notes.] Missionaries Assaulted in a Swadeshi Riot.”, in The Church Missionary Intelligencer: A Monthly Journal of Missionary Information, volume XXXI (New Series; volume LVII overall), London: Church Missionary Society, […], →OCLC, page 713:

The Swadeshi movement, in its bad sense—the boycotting of foreign goods—has had no effect on imports as a whole, and even the articles specifically aimed at, cotton goods and sugar, have entered to an unparalleled extent in the last three years. The good side of the Swadeshi movement, the development of indigenous industries, is seen in the increased imports of textile machinery and metals.

1907 July, “Notes on Colonial and Foreign Banking, Finance and Commerce. [Indian Foreign Trade.]”, in The Bankers’, Insurance Managers’ & Agents’ Magazine, volume LXXXIV, number 760, London: Waterlow and Sons […], →OCLC, page 61:

The cry of the Indian "Insurgent" to-day is "Shiksha," (education,) education in all its phases and branches, both extensive and intensive; "Swadeshi," (home industries) and "Swaraj" (self-government).

1911 December 30, Basanta Koomar Roy, “Insurgency in India”, in Robert M[arion] La Follette, editor, La Follette’s Weekly Magazine, volume III, number 52, Madison, Wis.: Robert M. La Follette Company, →OCLC, page 8, column 1:

And yet long before this popular ebullition of excitement, I myself had given a thousand rupees, when I had not five rupees to call my own, to open a Swadeshi store and courted banter and bankruptcy.

1921 March 5, Rabindranath Tagore, “Chicago, March 5, 1921”, in C[harles] F[reer] A[ndrews], editor, Letters from Abroad, Triplicane, Madras, Tamil Nadu: S. Ganesan, published 1924, →OCLC, page 78:

My work should be, and therefore is, to organise the production of handspun cloth, and to find means for the disposal of the Khadi thus produced. [...] I swear by this form of Swadeshi, because through it I can provide work to the semi-starved, semi-employed women of India.

1929, M[ohandas] K[aramchand] Gandhi, “An Instructive Dialogue”, in Mahadev Haribhai Desai and Pyarelal Nair, transl., The Story of My Experiments with Truth: Translated from the Original in Gujarati, volume II, Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Navajivan Press, →OCLC, part V, page 572:

The anti-partition agitation with its vehement invective, its appeals to Hindu sentiment, its cry that Bengal as motherland, once rich and famous, had been torn in two despite the protests of her children, its proposals for enforcing a punitive boycott of foreign goods and supplanting them entirely by "swadeshi" indigenous products, its enlistment of students and school-boys in picketing operations, gave ample cover for the sedulous teaching of revolutionary doctrines.

1932, H[enry] Verney Lovett, “The Rise of an Extremist Party”, in H[enry] H[erbert] Dodwell, editor, The Cambridge History of India, volumes VI (The Indian Empire 1858–1918 […]), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, →OCLC, page 551:

When H[erbert] H[ope] Risley—writing in 1909 just after the swadeshi movement had introduced the possibility of mass agitational politics as well as he specter of communal violence in Bengal—contemplated the political implications of the caste system, he confirmed British assumption by declaring that caste opposed nationality and would hinder the growth of nationalist politics.

1996, Nicholas B. Dirks, “The Conversion of Caste: Location, Translation, and Appropriation”, in Peter van der Veer, editor, Conversion to Modernities: The Globalization of Christianity, New York, N.Y., London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 115:

Mahatma Gandhi was not only a politician but an economic, social and religious reformer too. He felt that if swaraj or self-government was to mean anything for the dumb millions of the country the national movement must touch all aspects of the villager's life. He also developed his scheme of the revival of charkha and the development of swadeshi.

2009, G. R. Madan, “Rural Community Development”, in Indian Social Problems: Social Disorganization and Reconstruction, 6th edition, volume 2 (Social Work), New Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra: Allied Publishers, published 2012, →ISBN, page 192:

With tension all around, the police laid siege to large areas of the city and started raiding various homes and educational institutions and whosoever was even remotely connected with nationalism and swadeshi were promptly arrested.

2013, Samir Bhattacharya, “The Honour of the Country Comes First Always and Everytime^([sic])”, in Nothing But!: Book 2: The Long Road to Freedom, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Partridge India, →ISBN, page 164:

The first Indian Industrial Conference meeting in 1905, bringing together industrialists from all over India, decided to "foster and extend the use of such manufactures in India in preference to foreign goods." That demand intersected with the emerging Swadeshi movement, which advocated Indian self-sufficiency, especially in cottons, and symbolized the confluence of cotton entrepreneurs and the emerging nationalist political elites.

2014, Sven Beckert, “The Return of the Global South”, in Empire of Cotton: A Global History, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, published November 2015, →ISBN, page 420:

Is this news? Not to [Mahatma] Gandhi, whose swadeshi campaigns of local self-reliance drew support away from the dominating colonial paradigm of pauperizing indigenous populations by making them producers of raw materials and consumers of value-added products, [...]

2014, Tom H. Hastings, “Part 2: Promote Nonviolent Conflict Management”, in A New Era of Nonviolence: The Power of Civil Society over War, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, section I (Ending Civil Wars), page 78:

(India, economics, politics, also attributively) A policy of nationalist self-sufficiency in India, involving the revival and promotion of domestic production and (originally) the boycott of British products.


vairagya

Borrowed from Sanskrit वैराग्य (vairāgya).

bor+

(Hinduism) detachment from the material world


Hinduize

en-verb

Hinduize (third-person singular simple present Hinduizes, present participle Hinduizing, simple past and past participle Hinduized)

Hinduizes (present singular third-person)
Hinduizing (participle present)
Hinduized (participle past)
Hinduized (past)


Bhima

In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the second of the Pandava brothers.


kayadanda

Borrowed from Sanskrit कायदण्ड (kāyadaṇḍa, “complete control over one's body”).

bor

(Hinduism, Buddhism) complete control over one's bodys


manodanda

Borrowed from Sanskrit मनोदण्ड (manodaṇḍa, “complete control over one's thoughts”).

(Hinduism, Buddhism) complete control over one's thoughts


ekagrata

Borrowed from Sanskrit एकाग्रता (ekāgratā, “concentration, singlemindedness”).

(Hinduism, Buddhism) Extreme focus on a particular point.


Rudra

(Vedic religion) A Rigvedic deity, associated with wind or storm and the hunt.


Kunti

(Hinduism) Kunti, wife of Pandu, mother of Pandavas and daughter of Shurasena, adopted by Kuntibhoja in the Mahabharata.


Ramanavami

(Hinduism) A Hindu festival on the 9th day of Chaitra, i.e. Rama's birthday.


Ramanuja

(Hinduism) A Hindu theologian and philosopher.


Shukra

(Hinduism) The son of Bhrigu, and preceptor of the Daityas, and the guru of the Asuras, identified with the planet Venus.


Renuka

(Hinduism) Name of the wife of Jamadagni and mother of Parasurama (she was the daughter of रेणु) in Mahabharata.

A female given name from Sanskrit commonly used in India.


Danu

(religion, Hinduism) A Hindu primordial goddess who had numerous children.


sannyasi

Via Hindi संन्यासी (sannyāsī), ultimately from Sanskrit संन्यासिन् (saṃnyāsin).

Only a householder could do the rites, they said – not a sannyasi.

2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, published 2017, page 56:

(Hinduism) A man in the stage of sannyasa; a wandering ascetic, a religious mendicant.


Hayagriva

(Hinduism) An avatar of the Lord Vishnu in Hinduism.


Shuka

(Hinduism) The son of the sage Vyasa (credited as the organizer of the Vedas and Puranas) and the main narrator of the Bhagavata Purana.


Dravidianist

(Indian politics) An adherent of Dravidianism.


Dravidianism

(Indian politics) A belief in the need for autonomy and unity, and sometimes the inherent superiority, of the Dravidian peoples of South India.


Chakrapani

Transliteration of Sanskrit चक्रपाणि (cakrapāṇi, “chakra-handed”); ultimately from चक्र (cakra, “chakra”) + पाणि (pāṇi, “hand”).

translit

Name of Vishnu, bearer of the Sudarshana Chakra.


Duryodhana

Transliteration of Sanskrit दुर्योधन (duryodhana).

A major character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the eldest of the Kauravas.


Chitragupta

A Hindu god assigned with the task of keeping complete records of actions of human beings on the earth.


Aryaman

Transliteration of Sanskrit अर्यमन् (aryáman). The given name is from Hindi आर्यमन (āryaman).

(Vedic religion) a Hindu solar deity: an Aditya


kinnari

It’s a small sculpture in the form of a bird with the head of a woman, a type of mythical creature known as a kinnari.

2015 September 24, Ken Johnson, “Review: ‘Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms’”, in New York Times:


kinnara

Transliteration of Sanskrit किन्नर (kinnara).

(Indian mythology) A celestial lover and musician, half-human and either half-horse or half-bird.


kalasha

Borrowed from Sanskrit कलश (kalaśa, “pitcher, pot”).

bor+

A metal pot with a large base and small mouth, used in Hindu rites, in which it is filled with water, coins, grain, etc. and topped with a coconut.


Mughal Empire

British East India Company
British East India Company

A Persianate empire centered in North India from 1526 to 1857 bearing the name of Hindiyyah (هِنْدِيَّة) in Arabic and Hindostan (هنُدوستان) in Persian . Succeeded by the British East India Company.


Bhavani

A Hindu goddess, Durga in her amiable form.


Kamakshi

Borrowed from Sanskrit कामाक्षी (kāmākṣī).


Janaka

An ancient king of Videha. The Janaka dynasty ruled the Videha kingdom in the Mithila region from the capital city of the same name.


Atri

(Hinduism) A legendary bard and scholar, one of nine Prajapatis, a son of Brahma, said to be ancestor of some Brahmins. Atri is one of the Saptarishi (Seven Great Sages) in the seventh, i.e. the present Manvantara.


Magadha

Among the 16 mahajanapadas the monarchical states of Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti, and Magadha, along with the non‐monarchical mahajanapada of the Vrijis or Vajjis, attained political prominence by eclipsing other contemporary powers. However, it was the mahajanapada of Magadha which ultimately rose to prominence.

2016 January 11, Susmita Basu Majumdar, “Magadha, Kingdom of”, in N. Dalziel, J. M. MacKenzie, editors, The Encyclopedia of Empire, Wiley, →DOI:

One of the sixteen mahajanapadas of ancient India.


Rohini

(Hinduism) Rohini, sister of Yashoda, one of the wives Vasudeva, mother of Balarama, and Subhadra, the siblings of the Krishna.


anumarana

(historical) The ancient Indian practice of voluntary death by self-immolation by Hindu widows after the death of the husband.


sokushinbutsu

From Japanese 即身仏 (そくしんぶつ, sokushinbutsu, literally “Buddha immediately [turning into] his body”).

bor

Buddha immediately 􂀿turning into􂁀 his body

(historical) A Buddhist monk observing austerity to the point of death and mummification.


trisula

It may be wondered, at first sight, that the innumerable texts left by Buddhism give us no positive information with regard to the meaning and origin of the trisula.

1894, Eugène Goblet d'Alviella, The Migration of Symbols:

The trisula placed upon a pillar surmounted by flames is the monogram of Buddha.

1945, William J. Fielding, Strange Superstitions and Magical Practices, page ii. 15:

She had a trishul in one hand. Her long raven-black hair was left loose.

2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, page 96:

The trishula is most commonly associated with the god Shiva, one of the most prominent Hindu deities and the primary god in the sect of Hinduism known as "Shaivism."

2014, Micah Issitt, Carlyn Main, Hidden Religion, page 168:

(Hinduism, Buddhism) A trident, seen as a religious symbol of Hinduism and Buddhism.


Deepawali

(Hinduism) Alternative form of Deepavali


British Raj

/ˌbɹɪtɪʃ ˈɹɑːdʒ/

/ˌbɹɪtɪʃ ˈɹɑdʒ/

(historical) The period of colonial rule of the Indian subcontinent by the British Empire between 1858 and 1947.


Dasharatha

/ˈdɑːʃɒrɒtɒ/

Borrowed from Sanskrit दशरथ (daśaratha).

(Hinduism) A king of Ayodhya and a descendant of the Ikshvaku dynasty in the Ramayana.


purusha

(Hinduism) In early Vedas, a cosmic man whose sacrifice by the gods created all life.

(Hinduism) In the Upanishad, an abstract essence of self, spirit, and the Universal Principle that is eternal, without form and all-pervasive, distinguished from the mutable material world.


bhagwaan

(India, Hinduism) a Hindu deity, such as Rama or Krishna.

(India, Hinduism) a saint or a holy man.


Chakradhar

From Sanskrit चक्रधर (cakradhara), literally "discus-bearer".


adharma

en-noun

adharma (countable and uncountable, plural adharmas)

That which is not in accord with dharma, i.e. wrong, immorality, and wickedness.


siddha

(Hinduism, Jainism) One who has achieved a high degree of physical and spiritual development.


Rajya Sabha

Transliteration of Hindi राज्य सभा (rājya sabhā, literally “State House”).

translit

Coordinate term: Lok Sabha

The upper house of the Parliament of Republic of India.


Salt March

(historical) A 24-day march in colonial India in 1930 to support the production of salt in seawater, against the British salt monopoly.


garbhagriha

Transliteration of Sanskrit गर्भगृह (garbhagṛha).

transliteration

(Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) The innermost sanctum of a temple, where the murti of the primary deity is found.


congi

From Congress, short for Indian National Congress, a major political party in India.

(India, slang, politics, derogatory) A liberal or a leftist, accused of opposing India, Hinduism, or Hindu nationalism.


Kumbh Mela

Borrowed from Hindustani کُن٘بھ میلَہ (kuṉbh mela) / कुंभ मेला (kumbh melā). Related to kumbha and mela.

Kumbh Mela (The Pot Fair) is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage and a religious festival where millions of sadhus, pilgrims, and devotees come for historical ritual bathing at four sites on the banks of Rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari and Shipra, considered sacrad.

2005, Kartar Sing hBhalla, Let's Know Festivals of India, →ISBN, page 7:

Kumbh Mela is the single largest religious congregation or, in fact, human gathering of any kind on Earth.

2010, Badri Narain, Kedar Narain, Christopher N. Burchett, Kumbh Mela and the Sadhus: The Quest for Immortality, →ISBN:

Once every twelve years a great Kumbh Mela takes place, when the propitious timing is amplified many thousands of times over. And, in keeping with the lunar cycles, every twelfth great Kumbh Mela is the 'Maha' -- held ever 144 years.

2013, Tahir Shah, Three Essays: Cannibalism, The Kumbh Mela, The Legacy of Arab Science, →ISBN:

Kumbh Melas are held every 12 years. The last Haridwar Kumbh Mela was held in 2010.

2021 April 20, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, “Kumbh 2021: Astrology, Mortality and the Indifference to Life of Leaders and Stars”, in The Wire, archived from the original on 2021-01-09:

A Hindu festival, held every twelve years at four locations in India, at which pilgrims bathe in the Ganges and Yamuna rivers for purification from sin.


annaprashana

From Sanskrit अन्नप्राशन (annaprāśana). See also annaprasan.

(Hinduism) A Hindu rite of passage marking an infant's first intake of food other than milk.


gurukula

(Hinduism) A residential school in India with pupils living near the guru, often in the same house.


gandharva

Borrowed from Sanskrit गन्धर्व (gandharva).

(Indian mythology) A spirit, usually depicted as a singer or musician.


sadhaka

(Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism) A person who follows a particular sadhana, or goal-directed spiritual practice.


Kartikeya

Borrowed from Sanskrit कार्त्तिकेय (kārttikeya).

bor+

(Hinduism) A son of Shiva and Hindu god of war.


Ashwatthama

From Sanskrit अश्वत्थामन् (aśvatthāman).

(Hinduism) A hero in Mahabharata; son of Drona.


Shalya

From Sanskrit शल्य (śalya, “dart, javelin, lance, spear, iron-headed weapon, arrow”).

uder

(Hinduism) The brother of Madri (mother of Nakula and Sahadeva), as well as the ruler of the Madra kingdom in the Mahabharata.


Yadava

(Hinduism) An ancient Indian people who believed themselves to be descended from Yadu.


Vibhishana

Borrowed from Sanskrit विभीषण (vibhīṣaṇa).

(Hinduism) A king of Lanka in the legendary epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the Rakshasa (demon) king Ravana of Lanka.


Shurpanakha

From Sanskrit शूर्पणखा (śūrpaṇakhā); ultimately from शूर्प (śūrpa, “winnowing fan”) + नख (nakha, “nail”).

(Hinduism) The sister of Ravana in the Hindu epic Ramayana.


Vinayaka

Borrowed from Sanskrit विनायक (vināyaka).


Heramba

From Sanskrit हेरम्ब (heramba, “buffalo”).

(Hinduism) A form of the Hindu god Ganesha.


Ekadanta

From Sanskrit एकदन्त (ekadanta, “one-toothed”); ultimately from एक (eka, “one”) + दन्त (danta, “tooth, tusk”).


saffron terror

From the symbolic use of the saffron colour by Hindu nationalist organisations.

Acts of terrorism motivated by Hindu nationalism.


yakshini

From Sanskrit यक्षिणी (yakṣiṇī, feminine of यक्ष (yakṣa)).

There is also the Yakshini; who lies in wait for men and arouses their passions, with the ultimate object of delivering them over to demons or of feeding upon them as a vampire.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 202:


mundan

en-noun

mundan (countable and uncountable, plural mundans)

There are no birth records of when my grandmother was born because most children in the refugee camps died before their mundans, when babies have their heads ritually shaved.

2020, Avni Doshi, Burnt Sugar, Hamish Hamilton, page 70:

(Hinduism) The ceremonial first tonsure of a child's hair.


Bhadra

From the feminine of Sanskrit भद्र (bhadrá).

(Hinduism) A goddess of the hunt and one of Shiva's Gana.

(Hinduism) Name of one of the eight principal wives of Krishna.


Bhadrakali

Unadapted borrowing from Sanskrit भद्रकाली (bhadrakālī, “Bhadrakali”).

ubor

(Hinduism) Name of a Hindu goddess in South India.


Vaikuntha

Borrowed from Sanskrit वैकुण्ठ (vaikuṇṭhá).

(Hinduism) The Supreme abode or the celestial home of Vishnu.


Vedanga

From Sanskrit वेदाङ्ग (vedāṅga); ultimately from वेद (veda) + अङ्ग (aṅga).

(Hinduism) Name of the six auxiliary disciplines in Hinduism, that has been connected with the study of the Vedas.


Danava

(Hinduism) Name of a race descending from Daksha. They were the sons of Danu, who in turn was a daughter of Daksha. Danu is connected with the waters of heavens and she is probably associated with the formless, primordial waters that existed prior to the creation.


Dharmic

en-adj

Dharmic (comparative more Dharmic, superlative most Dharmic)

more Dharmic (comparative)
most Dharmic (superlative)

From Dharma + -ic, influenced by Sanskrit धार्मिक (dhārmika).


Dharmism

(rare, theology) A belief system, historically originating in South Asia, based on the core concept of dharma.


Coalgate

A small town in Selwyn District, Canterbury, New Zealand, where lignite was mined.

A small city, the county seat of Coal County, Oklahoma, United States.

A former unincorporated community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States.


Amitābha

en-proper noun

Amitābha (usually uncountable, plural Amitābhas)

Amitābha
Five Dhyani Buddhas
Guimet Museum

Borrowed from Sanskrit अमिताभ (amitābha, “Immeasurable Light”), from अमित (amita, “unmeasured, boundless, infinite”) + आभा (ābhā, “splendor, light”).

bor

Devotion to Amitābha Buddha is found within most schools of the Mahāyāna, but is the essence of Pure Land practice, which centres on the ‘Buddha invocation’ (Ch. nien-fo, Jap. nembutsu). This is the repetition of ‘Nan-mo A-mi-t’o Fo’ (Ch.) or ‘Nama Amida Butsu’ (Jap.), translations of the Sanskrit ‘Namo Amitābhāya Buddhāya’, meaning ‘Hail to Amitābha Buddha’.

1990, Peter Harvey, “Buddhist Practice: Devotion”, in An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 187:

"Pure Land Buddhism" refers to a set of beliefs and practices that espouses for its aspirants the realization of the stage of non-retrogression (avaivartika; pu t'ui-chuan) either in the present life or through rebirth in a Buddha land or realm (Buddha-kṣetra; fo-kuo) called "Sukhāvatī" (Land of Bliss). […] The Buddha Amitāyus (Wu-liang-shou; Immeasurable Life) or Buddha Amitābha (Wu-liang-kuang; Immeasurable Light) is the 'transcendant' Buddha who presides over the Sukhāvatī world-realm.

1990, Kenneth K[en'ichi] Tanaka, “Pure Land Buddhist Development in India and China prior to Hui-yüan”, in The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine: Ching-ying Hui-yüan's Commentary on the Visualization Sutra (SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies), Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, →ISBN, page 1:

The Shorter Sukhavativyuha Sutra is chiefly concerned with describing the wonders of Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land, although it also discusses in some detail the characteristics of Amitabha himself.

2004, Mark L. Blum, “Mahayana Scriptures”, in Kevin Trainor, editor, Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 202:

Less well recognized, however, is the central role played in much of early medieval Pure Land Buddhism by deathbed practices and accompanying beliefs about the radical salvific power of one's last nenbutsu, whether understood as the contemplation of the Buddha Amitābha (or Amitāyus, Jpn. Amida) or the invocation of his name.

2004, Jacqueline I. Stone, “By the Power of One's Last Nenbutsu: Deathbed Practices in Early Medieval Japan”, in Richard K[arl] Payne, Kenneth K[en'ichi] Tanaka, editors, Approaching the Land of Bliss: Religious Praxis in the Cult of Amitābha (Kuroda Institute Studies in East Asian Buddhism; 17), Honolulu, Hi.: University of Hawai‛i Press, →ISBN, page 77:

The overall programme of the Pure Land Hall represents the process of rebirth in Sukhāvatī, and the three standing Amitābhas in the shrine represent the three possible manifestations of Amitābha to the dying believer on earth, which is the beginning of that process.

2007, Amy McNair, “Salvation for One”, in Donors of Longmen: Faith, Politics, and Patronage in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Sculpture, Honolulu, Hi.: University of Hawai‛i Press, →ISBN, pages 151–152:

In East Asia, the cult of Amitābha eventually became so widespread that it transcended sectarian distinction, and Amitābha became the most popular buddha in the region. In Tibet, Amitābha worship dates to the early propagation of Buddhism in that country in the eighth century, although it never became as prevalent as in East Asia.

2013, Robert E[vans] Buswell Jr., Donald S[ewell] Lopez Jr., “Amitābha”, in The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 35, column 1:

(Buddhism) A particular buddha; an artistic depiction of this buddha.

In Pure Land Buddhism, a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the name of the principal buddha regarded as of celestial origin.

阿彌陀佛 /阿弥陀佛

Pure Land Buddhism: name of the principal buddha

In the period in which Sávarńi shall be the Manu, the classes of the gods will be the Sutapas, Amitábhas, and Mukhyas; twenty-one of each.

1840, “Of the Seven Future Manus and Manwantaras. Story of Sanjná and Chháyá, Wives of the Sun. Sávarńi, Son of Chháyá, the Eighth Manu. His Successors, with the Divinities, &c., of Their Respective Periods. Appearance of Vishńu in each of the Four Yugas.”, in H[orace] H[ayman] Wilson, transl., The Vishńu Puráńa, a System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition, Translated from the Original Sanscrit, and Illustrated by Notes Derived Chiefly from Other Puráńas, London: Published by John Murray, Albemarle Street, →OCLC, page 267:


Ashoka

From Sanskrit अशोक (aśoka, literally “without grief”). Doublet of Ashok and Asoka.

der

(historical) An ancient Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE.

(Hinduism) The charioteer of Bhima in the epic Mahabharata.


kovil

Transliteration of Tamil கோவில் (kōvil, “King's residence, temple”). See also Malay kuil.

translit

Aruna went to the Pittsburgh Perumal kovil yesterday.

Though Sri Lanka is predominantly a Buddhist country there are a number of churches, kovils and mosques dotting the towns and countryside.

2004, H. M. Mervyn Herath, Colonial Kollupitiya and Its Environs, page 94:

(Hinduism) A Hindu temple built in a distinct style of Dravidian architecture.


Vinata

(Hinduism) One of the wives of Kashyapa and daughter of Daksha.


Somnath

From Sanskrit सोमनाथ (somanātha) (सोम + नाथ).

(Hinduism) Name of a Hindu temple in Gujarat, India. It is the first among the twelve jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva.

A male given name from Sanskrit commonly used in India.


Sahadeva

From Sanskrit सहदेव (sahadeva, “with the gods”).

uder

In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the fifth and last of the Pandava brothers; son of Madri and Pandu.


Sujata

Transliteration of Hindi सुजाता (sujātā), etc.

translit

(Hinduism) Name of the daughter of Uddalaka and mother of Ashtavakra.


Ahalya

Transliteration of Sanskrit अहल्या (ahalyā, “Ahalya”).

(Hinduism) Name of the princess of Puru dynasty and wife of sage Gautama. She was seduced by Indra, cursed by her husband and liberated by Rāma in Ramayana.


Airavata

From Sanskrit ऐरावत (airāvata, “produced from the ocean”).

bor

(Hinduism) Name of the mythological white elephant, mount of Indra.


Akshayapatra

From Sanskrit अक्षय (akṣaya) + पात्र (pātra).

(Hinduism) A magical vessel given to Yudhishthira by the Lord Surya in the Mahabharata.


Alakananda

(Hinduism) Name of the river Ganges (of earth), when it flows through devaloka.


Amba

(Hinduism) Name of the eldest daughter of the king of Kasi in the epic Mahabharata.


Ambika

From Sanskrit अम्बिका (ambikā, “mother, good woman”).


gulal

(India, Hinduism) a colored powder often used during the Holi festival.


Anasuya

From Sanskrit अनसूया (anasūyā, “freedom from spite”).

(Hinduism) Name of the wife of sage Atri. She had three sons: Dattatreya, Durvasa and Chandra.


Angiras

(Hinduism) Name of a vedic hermit born from the mind of Brahma.


Ashtavakra

From Sanskrit अष्टावक्र (aṣṭāvakra, “eight bends”).

bor

(Hinduism) Name of a vedic sage, a disciple of Uddalaka and son of Sujata.


Aruna

en-proper noun

Aruna (countable and uncountable, plural Arunas)

(Hinduism) Son of Kashyapa by Vinata, charioteer of Surya.


Astadiggaja

From Sanskrit अष्ट (aṣṭa, “eight”) + दिक् (dik, “direction”) + गज (gaja, “elephant”).

(Hinduism) A term applied to the eight male elephants standing guard over the eight zones.


Atikaya

From Sanskrit अतिकाय (atikāya, “gigantic”); ultimately from अति (ati, “extraordinary in size”) + काय (kāya, “body”).

(Hinduism) Name of one of the sons of Ravana in the Ramayana.


Maheshwari

From Sanskrit महेश्वरी (maheśvarī); ultimately from महा (mahā, “great”) + ईश्वरी (īśvarī, “goddess”).


Maitreyi

(Hinduism) Name of a Vedic philosopher in Ancient India, a wife of the sage Yajnavalkya.


Maheshwar

From Sanskrit महेश्वर (maheśvara); ultimately from महा (mahā, “great”) + ईश्वर (īśvara, “god”).

(Hinduism) Epithet of the Hindu god Shiva.


Prajapati

Prajapati (countable and uncountable, plural Prajapatis)

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit प्रजापति (prajā́pati, “lord of creation”).

lbor

(Hinduism, Vedic religion) A deity, later identified with Brahma.


parampara

Borrowed from Sanskrit परंपरा (paraṃparā).


vyakarana

The fact that Indian philosophy is based on oral traditions is another reason why vyākaraṇa takes its teaching to be of primary importance.

1990, Harold G. Coward, K. Kunjunni Raja, editors, Encyclopaedia of Indian Philosophies, volume 5, page 36:

Among pandits, vyakarana was one of the six ‘auxiliary sciences’ or ‘limbs’ of the Veda – learning not found within the Vedas, but essential in order to comprehend them.

2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, published 2017, page 19:

(Hinduism) The grammar or linguistic analysis of Vedic Sanskrit, as the language of the Hindu scriptures.


peshwa

From Urdu پیشوا (peśvā), from Classical Persian پیشوا (pēšwā).

I need not inform the Board that the power which the Peshwas have possessed for about forty years past, is an Usurpation on the Sovereign authority vested by the Constitution in the Raja Sahoo, the last who retained it […]

1783, James Capper, A free inquiry into the various causes of the alarming state of our affairs in the East Indies:

Malik Ambar made it his business to watch Chengiz closely as he managed his role as peshwa.

2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, published 2017, page 127:

(now historical) Originally, a chief minister under the Marathi princes; later, (the title of) each of the rulers of the Marathi kingdom in central India from 1713–1818.


Shivalinga

He poured enough water to cause a flood, placed a heap of bel leaves on the Shivalinga, and belted out his impure chanting.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 3

(Hinduism) A columnar or cylindrical representation of the god Shiva, used as a focus for worship in a Hindu shrine or temple.


brahmarakshasa

From Sanskrit ब्रह्मराक्षस (brahmarākṣasa).

bor

ब्रह्मराक्षस

A brahmarakshasa had been pestering the rishi to give his daughter in marriage to him.

Buddhidan stood in his drawing room like a Brahmarakshas in a forest.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 83

(Hindu mythology) The spirit of an evil Brahmin; a demon, an evil spirit.


janeu

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₁yaǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-nós
Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hyaȷ́nás
Sanskrit यज्ञ (yajña)
Sanskrit उपव्ये (upavye)
Sanskrit -इत (-ita)
Sanskrit उपवीत (upavīta)
Sanskrit यज्ञोपवीत (yajñopavīta)
Prakrit 𑀚𑀡𑁆𑀡𑁄𑀯𑀯𑀻𑀅 (jaṇṇovavīa)
Hindi जनेऊ (janeū)bor.
English janeu
Transliteration of Hindi जनेऊ (janeū), from Sanskrit यज्ञोपवीत (yajñopavīta).

etymon

The words bring back the memory of Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru, who gave up his life to the Mughal authorities for the upkeep of Hindu religious symbols: the janeu and the tilak.

2003, Bhawan Singh Rana, Indian Critiques of Gandhi, page 181:

The origin of the janëu has not been explained as yet; many believe it to be the remnant of a garment.

2007, Klaus K. Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd edition, page 150:

He had tied a diamond ring to his janeu thread and hidden it in the folds of his dhoti.

2015, Tridip Suhrud, translating Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi, Sarasvatichandra I, Orient BlackSwan 2015, p. 132

(Hinduism) A sacred thread or cord received as a rite of passage by someone studying under a guru.


Chanakya

/ˈtʃɑːnəkjə/

/ˈt͡ʃɑnəkjə/

From Sanskrit चाणक्य (Cāṇakya). Chanakya was an Indian economist, philosopher, political scientist, and royal advisor of the 4th century B.C.E. He is traditionally identified as the person named Kauṭilya or Vishnugupta who authored the Arthashastra, a political treatise. He engineered the collapse of Magadha and put Chandragupta Maurya into power, establishing the Maurya Empire.

But these methods of the Chāṇakyas—the Macchiavellis of India—unfortunately always carry the seeds of destruction in their bosom.

1908, The Theosophist, volume 29, Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, →OCLC, page 722:

[T]hose who have shed their wings, who walk by thrusting a walking stick into the mud with each step are regarded as the epitome of wisdom by the Chanakyas of our society …

2006, Rabindranath Tagore, edited by Uma Das Gupta, My Life in My Words, New Delhi: Penguin Viking, →ISBN:

I can see why Jawaharlal Nehru once flirted with the idea of becoming a Chanakya, even as he laughed at himself for such fantasising. He had no time for [Niccolò] Machiavelli.

2010, M[obashar] J[awed] Akbar, Have Pen, Will Travel: Observations of a Globetrotter, New Delhi: Lotus Collection, →ISBN:

"So, are we dealing with a Chanakya here?" "Yes, but Chanakya with a difference. Whereas, the original Chanakya helped a fifteen-year-old Chandragupta fight against the injustices and inconsistencies of the world, here is one who chooses to fight with hidden weapons against an unarmed fifteen-year-old, and that too in the garb of friendship. The modern Chanakya deserves kudos for explicit bravery."

2015, Ajit Sherawat, “The Siblings Settle Down”, in Born in the Second Wind, New Delhi: Srishti Publishers & Distributors, →ISBN, page 36:

Existence of an enemy within is tantamount to kicking a self-goal. Chanakyas of the modern era excel in the art of intrigue, to destroy their business/political nemesis, and abet and celebrate self-goals by their opponents.

2016, Kooveli Madom, “Factors Influencing Our Predicament”, in Know Your Enemy Within: Bridging Knowledge and Practice of Management, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Partridge Publishing, →ISBN:

(India) A shrewd politician or, in general, a cunning person; a Machiavelli.

Arthashastra
Chanakya
Chandragupta Maurya
Magadha
Maurya Empire


Matsya

Borrowed from Sanskrit मत्स्य (mátsya, “fish”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mátsyas.

(Hinduism, Hindu mythology) The first of ten successive avatars of the god Vishnu, who saved the first man Manu from a great flood in the form of a fish.


Porki

Blend of pork + Paki. Consumption of pork is forbidden in Islam, Pakistan’s predominant and official religion. By surface analysis, pork + -i.

(derogatory, offensive, slang, ethnic slur) A Pakistani.


muhurtam

Borrowed from Sanskrit मुहूर्तम् (muhūrtam).

(India, Hinduism, astrology) An auspicious day on which an important event, usually a wedding, can be held.


Devdas

Borrowed from Hindi देवदास (devdās) or Bengali দেবদাস (debdaś), the name of the male lead in the 1917 Bengali-language story Devdas, readapted several times since.

"I don't know," he had said and sighed, Devdas style: "I don't know," Everyone wants to be a Devdas, at least for a while — or perhaps only for a while. Tragic hero.

1980, Sāhitya Akademi, Indian Literature, volume 23, page 539:

It reminds me very much of the Devdas character that so suffuses Indian cinema, not just in the 1935 and 1955 film versions, but as a 'Devdas effect' in Hindi melodramas, especially those of Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt.

1996, Bruce Bennett, Crossing Cultures: Essays on Literature and Culture of the Asia-Pacific:

Indians everywhere recognized that when somebody pined, longed, and raged for someone else, they were "doing a Devdas."

2007, Anupama Chopra, King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema:

The character of Kashyap's Dev, although it is built on the same model as traditional Devdases, is different and suffers for other reasons.

2017, Cornelius Crowley, Heritage and Ruptures in Indian Literature, Culture and Cinema, page 198:


sarkari

Borrowed from Hindi सरकारी (sarkārī). The usage of "sarkari" as a negative term originated from Khalistani supporters who condemned Sikhs who supported the government of India.

sarkari Musalman

a Muslim who favours BJP policies instead of Muslim activism

(India, Islam, slang) Supporting the government of India, pro-establishment; specifically, the BJP and Hindutva, against Indian Muslim interests.


dharmachakra

Transliteration of Sanskrit धर्मचक्र (dharmacakra).

translit

(Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) The wheel of dharma (natural law; cosmic order), a motif in dharmic religions.


manusya

Transliteration of Sanskrit मनुष्य (manuṣyà).

If not a devata – let's try to become at least worth a manusya, what we look in appearance. For us to become a manusya, we must take care that we don't take anything from anyone more than what is due to us. As a manusya we cannot and should not cheat others.

2005, Dr. Harish Chandra, Ph. D., As Simple As It Gets, Hyderabad: Center for Inner Sciences, →ISBN, page 69, →ISBN:

Three classes of Prajapati's progeny—Devas (gods), Manusyas (men) and Asuras (demons)—lived a life of discipline under their father, Prajapati […]

2006, Mahendra Kulasrestha, Culture India: a compendium of Indian philosophy, religion, arts, literature and society, New Delhi: Lotus Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 74, →ISBN:

The Manusyas or men are placed next to gods, Gandharvas and Apsarâs were inferior gods who ruled over forests and rivers.

1880, Mahadev Moreshwar Kunte, The Vicissitudes of Âryan Civilization in India: An Essay, which Treats of the History of the Vedic and Buddhistic Polities, Explaining Their Origin, Prosperity, and Decline, Bombay: Printed at the Oriental Print. Press, →OCLC, page 215:

In the Anguttara Nikaya, He said: ‘I am not indeed a deva, nor a gandharva, nor a yaksa, nor a manusya. Know ye that I am the Buddha.’ After Enlightenment, the Buddha could no longer be classified even as a ‘manusya’ or an ordinary human being.

2013 August 31, “Was Buddha an Incarnation of God?”, in Tsem Rinpoche, archived from the original on 2020-08-12:

(rare outside of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and related philosophy) man, human being

rare outside of Hinduism; Jainism and related philosophy; rare outside of Hinduism; Jainism and related philosophy


Andal

(Hinduism) a poet saint, considered an avatar of Bhudevi; daughter of Periyalvar.


tahli

(Hinduism) A gold ornament worn by the wives of Brahmins.


sickular

en-adj

sickular (comparative more sickular, superlative most sickular)

more sickular (comparative)
most sickular (superlative)

'Sickular bigscreen operator!' screamed another, shaking his fist in the direction of the Congress dugout. Modi moved.

(India, derogatory, slang) Leftist; in Indian politics, a supposed secularist partaking in tokenism, or opposed to Hindu nationalism.


sickular

(India, derogatory, slang, politics) A leftist; in Indian politics, a secularist, either partaking in tokenism, or opposed to Hindu nationalism.


bhakt

kattar

towards strict and overtly-devout Hindus

andh bhakt

blind devotee; Indian politics; referring to a fervent supporter

Ram bhakt

devotee of Rama; politics; a worshipper of Rama or a fervent supporter of Hindutva

In commenting on these stories, Ganga Giri selects the virtues of suffering and sacrifice exhibited variously by the male bhakts as characteristic of renunciant bhakti.

2014, Antoinette Elizabeth DeNapoli, Real Sadhus Sing to God: Gender, Asceticism, and Vernacular Religion in Rajasthan, page 83:

Although Sankardeb himself may have had disciples in his close circle from different religions and castes, in Majuli the interpretation has become rigid — none of them allow Scheduled Caste or tribal people to become bhakts and live in the […]

2000, Sumita Ghose, Sanjoy's Assam: Diaries and Writings of Sanjoy Ghose:

In the case of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything is His energy. So wherever the bhakta goes or whatever he perceives throughout the universe, he is reminded of the Lord. Moreover, this recognition is not merely an intellectual habit but a total, overpowering state of love.

1991, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, chapter 4, in Nārada-bhakti-sūtra, The Secrets of Transcendental Love:

(Hinduism) Someone who practises bhakti; a person who is devoted to God; a devotee; a worshipper; a religious disciple.

(derogatory, slang, religious slur) A devout Hindu.

Even if Modi didn't look closely at his tweets, his team and followers certainly did. If the Gandhi family had their political chamchas, Modi had his 'Internet Hindus' (or bhakts, as I called them).

2015, Rajdeep Sardesai, 2014: The Election That Changed India:

For example, I've met Modi myself and interviewed him twice. But these Modi bhakts might pray to him every morning, yet they'll never enjoy such access.

2016, Sonali Acharjee, Look Up: Social Media and the Addiction No One Is Talking About:

Our nation is divided into Modi Bhakts and Aaptards (#SorryCongress). This is why elections are also fought on the appeal of individuals rather than on the actions of the parties (#PaanchSaalKejriwal #AbkiBaarModiSarkar).

2017, Revant Himatsingka, Selfienomics: A Seriously Funny Guide to Living the Good Life:

(India, derogatory, politics, slang) An ardent right-wing Hindu nationalist netizen.

(India, derogatory, politics, slang) An ardent supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party or its leader Narendra Modi.


vijnana

From Sanskrit विज्ञान (vijñāna, “consciousness”).

bor

(Buddhism, Hinduism) consciousness; life force


Lingayatism

From Kannada ಲಿಂಗಾಯತ (liṅgāyata, “Lingayat”) + -ism.

(Hinduism) A sect of Shaivism whose worship is centered on Shiva's lingam.

lingayatisme

a branch of Hinduism focusing on the worship of Shiva's lingam


jivatma

From Sanskrit जीव (jīva) + Sanskrit आत्मन् (ātman).


BJP

Bharatiya Janata Party
w:Bharatiya Janata Party

(Indian politics) Initialism of Bharatiya Janata Party, a major political party.


EWS

economically weaker section
economically weaker section#English

(Indian politics) Initialism of economically weaker section.


Adithya

(Hinduism) Any of a group of solar deities, the sons of Aditi and Kashyapa.


Adithya

A male given name from Sanskrit mainly used in India.


jhandi

A triangular flag used as a Hindu religious marker and symbol of identity.


Love Jihad

(India) An alleged campaign by which Muslim men target women of non-Muslim communities for conversion to Islam by feigning romantic love.

land jihad

alleged purchase of land owned by Hindus


swayamsevak

From Hindi स्वयंसेवक (svayansevak), from Sanskrit स्वयम् (svayam, “self”) and सेवक (sevaka, “servant”).

(India, politics) A member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an Indian nationalist paramilitary volunteer organization.


cow belt

From the widespread practices venerating cattle in that region in northern India. Influenced by the English term Bible Belt.

(India) A rural region of Northern India, extending over the BIMARU states.


gram sansad

From Bengali গ্রাম সংসদ (gram śoṅśod, literally “village parliament”), which is a learned borrowing of Sanskrit ग्राम (grāma) and संसद (saṃsada).

(West Bengal) A body comprising all the voters of gram panchayat constituency, meeting at the behest of the head of the panchayat to discuss and implement local decisions.


agyatwas

Borrowed from Hindi अज्ञातवास (ajñātvās), from Sanskrit अज्ञातवास (ajñātavāsa), from अज्ञात (ajñāta, “unknown”) and वास (vāsa, “staying”).

bor+

(Hinduism) A period of concealment or exile of the Pandavas.


Shesha

(Hinduism) One of the primal beings of creation, a many-headed snake who holds all of the planets of the universe on his hoods and constantly sings the glories of Vishnu.


INC

Indian National Congress
w:Indian National Congress

(Indian politics) Initialism of Indian National Congress.


pitris

(Hinduism) The spirits of departed ancestors, venerated in Hindu culture.


Hinduphobe

A person who hates, dislikes or is prejudiced against Hinduism and Hindus.


Hinduphobic

en-adj

Hinduphobic (comparative more Hinduphobic, superlative most Hinduphobic)

more Hinduphobic (comparative)
most Hinduphobic (superlative)

(India, politics) Opposed to Hindutva or Hindu nationalism.


Bhagiratha

(Hinduism) A great king who brought the River Ganges, personified as the river goddess Ganga, to Earth from the heavens.


mahoraga

Transliteration of Pali mahoraga or Sanskrit महोरग (mahoraga).

(Indian mythology) A type of serpentine deity in Indian mythology, most notably Buddhism and Jainism.


Manimekhala

Transliteration of Sanskrit मणिमेखल (maṇimekhala) or Pali Maņīmekhalā.

translit

(Buddhism, Hinduism) The goddess in Hindu-Buddhist mythology; guardian of the seas.


brahminical

Now the Jains officially recognise all the Gods of the Hindu creed, as well as the Lingam and the Snake. They wear the Brahminical thread; they adhere to every claim of Hindu caste-law.

1901, Rudyard Kipling, chapter 11, in Kim, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, page 254:

Despite the strict brahminical régime of his household, W. C. Tuttle was all for modernity.

1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Penguin, published 1992, Part 2, Chapter 4, p. 435:

[Pandit Lalluram] pivoted on one buttock and broke wind. Dukhi leaned back to allow it free passage, wondering what penalty might adhere to the offence of interfering with the waft of brahminical flatus.

1995, Rohinton Mistry, chapter 3, in A Fine Balance, London: Faber & Faber, published 1997, page 113:

Of or relating to brahmins or Brahmanism.


devaloka

Transliteration of Sanskrit देवलोक (devaloka).

(Hinduism, Buddhism) In Indian religions, a plane of existence where gods and devas exist.


B-town

Bollywood is also very commonly known as both tinsel town and B-town, neither of which is listed in the dictionaries.

2012, James Lambert, “Beyond Hobson-Jobson: A new lexicography for Indian English”, in World Englishes, page 302:

(India, slang) The Bollywood movie industry.


katwa

Borrowed from Hindi कटवा (kaṭvā), derived from Hindi काटना (kāṭnā, “to cut”), referring to the Muslim practice of circumcision.

(India, offensive, derogatory, religious slur) a Muslim man.

sulla

other insulting terms directed at Indian or Pakistani Muslims


Mahajanapada

/mɑːhəˈd͡ʒɑːnəˌpɑːdə/

/mʌhəˈd͡ʒʌnəˌpʌdə/

/mɑhəˈd͡ʒɑnəˌpɑdə/

/məhəˈd͡ʒənəˌpədə/

Borrowed from Sanskrit महाजनपद (mahājanapada).

bor+

We know that there were sixteen mahajanapadas in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE but there were more than one hundred janapadas, some of which were independent and some others were included in the bigger mahajanapadas.

2006, Irā Kiruṣṇamūrtti, Irāmaccantiran̲ Nākacāmi, Sangam: numismatics and cultural history : essays in honour of Dr. R. Krishnamurthy, New Era Publications, pages 66–67:

Among the 16 mahajanapadas the monarchical states of Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti, and Magadha, along with the non‐monarchical mahajanapada of the Vrijis or Vajjis, attained political prominence by eclipsing other contemporary powers. However, it was the mahajanapada of Magadha which ultimately rose to prominence.

2016 January 11, Susmita Basu Majumdar, “Magadha, Kingdom of”, in N. Dalziel, J. M. MacKenzie, editors, The Encyclopedia of Empire, Wiley, →DOI:

Pataliputra was founded by Udayin while Rajgriha was founded by Bimbisar. Vajji was the ancient name of north Bihar. The territory of the Vajji Mahajanapada was located on the north of the Ganges river and extended up to the Terai region of Nepal.

2019 April 1, 2200+ MCQs with Explanatory Notes For HISTORY 2nd Edition, 2nd edition, New Delhi: Disha, page A23:

One of 16 prominent ancient Indian realms extant from around 600 BCE to 345 BCE.

မဟာဇနပဒ

one of 16 prominent ancient Indian realms


Mahakala

(Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism) A deity in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism, sometimes considered a manifestation of Shiva.


neti neti

And so: The indication of Brahman is Neti, Neti — Not this, Not this, for beyond saying Neti, Neti, there is nothing else possible — for It is Truth beyond Truth

1970, Rohit Mehta, The Call of the Upanishads (1999 edition), p. 257 (quoting the Upanishadic figure, Ajatasatru of Kasi)

The multiethnic crowd wore gym clothes, traditional Indian garb and a few political T-shirts. […] [M]ost said they were drawn by the mix of yoga and politics — and a chance to say neti-neti to President Bush.

2004 July 20, Michael Ordona, “Going to the mat for Kerry”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2019-10-22:

[T]he Brihadaranyaka Upanishad uses negatives to describe God: "The Divine is not this and it’s not that (Neti, neti)," Sage Yajnyavalkya tells his students.

2014 September 3, Vithal C Nadkarni, “Of Angels & Crocodiles”, in India Times, The Economic Times, retrieved 2019-10-22:

(Hinduism) In Vedic and subsequent Hindu philosophy, the doctrine of "not this, not that", which holds that Brahman (the Supreme Being, God) has absolutely no specific characteristics and cannot be described in positive terms.


Pongal

Transliteration of Tamil பொங்கல் (poṅkal).

translit

A Hindu harvest festival of South India, particularly in the Tamil community, observed at the start of the month Tai (typically around January 14).


dharma talk

I'd never given a dharma talk before, much less in the local Lao dialect, to hundreds of people. I just got up there, and he said, "Tell them what you know of the dharma, go to it."

2011, Jack Kornfield, Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are:

It is important to note that a dharma talk is not a lecture, although it has a didactic purpose. Such a talk is given usually as an accompaniment to a period of meditation.

2014 February 19, Charles R. Strain, The Prophet and the Boddhisattva: Daniel Berrigan, Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Ethics of Peace and Justice, Wipf and Stock Publishers:

(Buddhism) A public discourse by a Buddhist teacher, similar to a sermon or homily, and distinguished from a lecture by being shorter and less formal.


VHP

Vishwa Hindu Parishad
w:Vishwa Hindu Parishad

(Indian politics, Hindutva) Initialism of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a Hindu nationalist organization.


Satyanarayana

From Sanskrit सत्यनारायण (satyanārāyaṇa); from सत्य (satya) + नारायण (nārāyaṇa).


Revati

(Hinduism) Daughter of King Kakudmi and consort of Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna.


Padmavati

(Hinduism) Hindu goddess and consort of Sri Venkateswara of Tirupati.


Vaidyanatha

From Sanskrit वैद्यनाथ (vaidyanātha, “lord of physicians”).

bor

(Hinduism) One of the jyotirlinga, a form of Siva in India.


swadeshist

(India) One who supports a policy of swadeshi.


Hindutvist

A supporter of Hindutva, or Hindu nationalism.


rta

Unadapted learned borrowing from Sanskrit ऋत (ṛtá, “order; rule; truth”). Doublet of asha.

lbor

(Hinduism) The Vedic principle of natural order that regulates the operation of the universe.


Usha

(Hinduism) A legendary princess. Daughter of asura king of Sonitpura Banasura. Wife of Anuiruddha. Grand-daughter-in-law of Krishna.


Delhi Sultanate

An Islamic empire based in Delhi from 1206 to 1526 that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent, ruled over by five successive dynasties.


Dashain

(Hinduism) The Nepali version of the Vijayadashami festival.


Shantanu

Transliteration of Hindi शांतनु (śāntnu) or Sanskrit शांतनु (śāṃtanu).

translit

(Hinduism) The name of a king in the Mahabharata.


DMK

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
w:Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

(Indian politics) Initialism of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a political party.


prayopavesa

en-noun

prayopavesa (countable and uncountable, plural prayopavesas)

From Sanskrit प्रायोपवेशनम् (prāyopaveśanam).

bor

प्रायोपवेशनम्

(Hinduism) The act of suicide by fasting, performed by a person who no longer has any desire, ambition or responsibilities in life.


Skanda

Skanda Purana

(Hinduism) epithet of Kartikeya, the Hindu god of war.


Kaliya

Transliteration of Sanskrit कालिय (kāliya).

translit

(Hinduism) The name of a poisonous Naga living in the river Yamuna, who was killed by Krishna.


omrah

The torch-eyed ſavage, with growl tremendous, riſing up, diſlocated at one blow the arched neck of Sadit's Arabian ſteed, and brought the unfortunate omrah to the duſt, expiring between his extended claws.

1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 7:

Whenever the King takes an excursion in his Paleky, on an elephant, or in a Tact-Ravan (or travelling throne, carried upon the shoulders of eight men, who are cleverly relieved from time to time when on the march by eight others), all the Omrahs who are not prevented by illness, disabled by age, or exempted by a peculiar office, are bound to accompany him on horseback...

1891, François Bernier, translated by Archibald Constable et al., Travels in the Mogul Empire, A.D. 1656-1668, page 214:

(historical) A noble of the Mughal Empire or other Muslim Indian state.


Pandava

Transliteration of Sanskrit पाण्डव (pāṇḍava).

(Hinduism) A son of Pandu (used to refer to one of the five heroes of the Mahabharata).


kavadi

Borrowed from Tamil காவடி (kāvaṭi, “a burden”).

An arched wooden structure carried on the shoulders by Malaysian Hindus as a form of penance to Murugan.


Rajarshi

(Hinduism) A king who turned into a royal sage.


moral police

A special police force in some conservative countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Malaysia that enforces religious laws by punishing sinners.


dakini

(Hinduism, Buddhism) A sacred female spirit.


rice bag

Ricebag Poperverts who sip blood of Jessus should be the last one to mock bhakts :)))

(India, religious slur, ethnic slur) A Christian, especially one who has just embraced Christianity.


Pragjyotisha

Transliteration of Sanskrit प्राग्ज्योतिष (prāgjyotiṣa).

प्राग्ज्योतिष


Narakasura

Transliteration of Sanskrit नरकासुर (narakāsura). Related to Naraka and Asura.

An Asura who established Pragjyotisha kingdom, killed by Krishna on the day before Diwali.


Bhagadatta

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g-der.
Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰagás
Sanskrit भग (bhaga)
Proto-Indo-European *deh₃-der.
Sanskrit दत्त (datta)
Sanskrit भगदत्त (bhagadatta)translit.
English Bhagadatta
Transliteration of Sanskrit भगदत्त (bhagadatta).

etymon

A king of Pragjyotisha kingdom and the son of Narakasura, who fought for the Kauravas in the Mahabharata; killed by Arjuna.


sandhyavandanam

en-noun

sandhyavandanam (usually uncountable, plural sandhyavandanams)

(Hinduism) A religious ritual accompanied by recitation from the Vedas and including an offering of water to the Sun, supposed to be performed three times a day.


Manvantara

(Hinduism) In Hindu cosmology, a cyclic period of time identifying the duration, reign, or age of a Manu, the progenitor of mankind.


shanti

Transliteration of Sanskrit शान्ति (śānti, “calmness, peace, tranquillity; quietness, rest”), from शम् (śam, “to exert or fatigue oneself, toil at; to become tired, come to an end, finish, stop; to be calm, contented, quiet, or satisfied; to calm, pacify, settle, soothe”) (from Proto-Indo-European *ḱemh₂- (“to exert oneself, toil”)) + -ति (-ti, suffix denoting a state of being).

der

[lines 431–432, page 49] Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata. / Shantih shantih shantih […] [page 64, note 433] Shantih. Repeated as here, a formal ending to a Upanishad. "The Peace which passeth understanding" is a feeble translation of the content of this word.

1922 October, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “Part V. What the Thunder Said.”, in The Waste Land, 1st book edition, New York, N.Y.: Boni and Liveright, published December 1922, →OCLC, pages 49 and 64:

Om Shanti Shanti Om

2024 January 20, “Vrajbihariroy (Roy) Pandya”, in Winnipeg Free Press, volume 153, number 60, Winnipeg, Canada, →ISSN, Passages, page C10:

(Hinduism) A call for peace, often recited three times as a prayer for peace of the soul.


shanti

Shanti

peace, tranquility — see also peace, tranquility


jagrata

(Hinduism) A Hindu ritual consisting of an all-night vigil with singing and dancing, held in honour of a deity.


Porkistan

Blend of pork + Pakistan. Consumption of pork is forbidden in Islam, Pakistan’s predominant and official religion. By surface analysis, pork + -i- + -stan.

Coordinate term: Endia

(derogatory, offensive, slang) Pakistan.


librandu

(India, derogatory, politics, slang) An ardent supporter of the Indian National Congress or its leader Rahul Gandhi.


rashtravadi

Borrowed from Hindi राष्ट्रवादी (rāṣṭravādī).

bor+

The Hindu rashtravadis should take lessons from the fate of Pakistan which due to the stupidity of its leaders lost its eastern wing and remains united with great difficulty and repression.

1991, Islamic Perspective: Volume 7, Issue 2, Bombay: Institute of Islamic Studies, page 440:

Attempts to ‘unify’ the Hindus into being Indian rashtravadis are bound to produce similarly disastrous results, as we can see from the continuous ethnic strife in Pakistan.

1998, Madhu Kishwar, Religion at the service of nationalism and other essays, Delhi: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 274, →ISBN:

The Congress-led UPA government has interpreted the electoral verdict of Lok Sabha elections of May 2004 as a defeat of religion-based politics of Hindu Rashtravadis and the victory of the secular political formations.

2006, Chandra Prakash Bhambhri, Sonia in Power: UPA Government, 2004-2006, Delhi: Shipra, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 187, →ISBN:

(chiefly India) A nationalist, especially a Hindutvist or supporter of Hindutva.


kartavya

Borrowed from Sanskrit कर्तव्य (kartavya).

Tell me what my kartavya, duty, is and I shall follow it. You saved me from burning in the fire, so have the grace to tell me about it.

2017, Vasudha Dalmia, Hindu Pasts: Women, Religion, Histories, Albany: State University of New York Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 184, →ISBN:

Duty and action are roughly equivalent to kartavya and karma respectively. In popular parlance, duty means what one should do; while karma is the sumtotal of what one did, does and will do. Duty is relative, local and subjective. Gita talks of karma, not of kartavya. How you perform your kartavya in the light of the standards of karma is your comprehension and appreciation of the Gita.

2002, Hullasa Behera, 50 flowers from Bhagavat Gita: a solace against frightening materialism, Delhi: Pustak Mahal, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 62, →ISBN:

The key concept here is kartavya (duty), and like other concepts such as dharma and karma, it is difficult to translate it precisely. The fact is we have so many kartavyas, or duties specific to a relationship, as a spouse, parent, family, friend, citizen, professional, social, religious, and so on. And often they are conflicting and difficult to harmonize. […] From time immemorial all great men, faced with conflicting priorities, agonized over what their kartavya was in the ever-shifting circumstances of their life. And they made hard choices, which sometimes entailed suffering of the ‘innocent’, but had they chosen a different course, they would have been guilty of not performing their kartavya. Epics are replete with examples. In the Ramayana, Rama had to abandon his pregnant wife Sita, usually revered as the incarnation of goddess Lakshmi and a personification of purity, at the altar of his kartavya as the king. Was he right? In the Mahabharata, Bhishma fought on the side of adharma or evil, as he felt that his kartavya was to honor his vow to serve the king of Hastinapura. Was he right? Life is far more complex and complicated now, the borders between right and wrong, and between caste, creed, and class are at once blurred and sharper, and our desire to discern our kartavya is far more agonizing. […] We often find that our duties and obligations to different people, entities, and institutions clash with each other, and that our cognition and faculties are inadequate to harmonize them and show the way to our kartavya.

2020, Bhimeswara Challa, The War Within - Between Good and Evil (Reconstructing Money, Morality and Mortality), page 491:

(rare outside Hinduism) A duty, obligation, task.


artha

en-noun

artha (usually uncountable, plural arthas)

(Hinduism) One of the four aims of human life in Indian philosophy, along with dharma (righteousness), kama (desire), and moksha (liberation). The concept is variously translated, with translations including "meaning"/"purpose"/"goal" and "wealth".


namazi

From Urdu نماز (namāz), Urdu نمازی (namāzī), and their source, Persian نماز (namâz).

(India, Pakistan, Islam) A devout Muslim.

(India, Pakistan, Islam, Internet slang, derogatory) A Muslim, especially a bigot or a religious extremist.


Jaichand

From Jaichand, Hindi variant of Sanskrit Jayachandra, a Gahadavala king whose rule immediately preceded the Ghurid Muslim conquest of much of India, and who was unfairly accused in the poem Prithviraj Raso of conspiring with the Ghurids against India in order to defeat his rival Prithviraj. From Hindi जयचन्द (jaycand), from Sanskrit जय (jaya, “victory”) + चन्द्र (candra, “moon”).

2021, Devdutt Patanaik, MumbaiMirrorhttps://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/others/sunday-read/someone-who-subscribed-to-a-larger-idea-one-that-went-beyond-the-self/articleshow/78467866.cms
But in Hindutva mythology, Jaichand is the archetypal traitor because of whom Muslims are able to invade and conquer India, overpowering the valiant Rajputs.

(India, politics, slang, derogatory) One who opposes Hindutva and supports its enemies, a traitor, especially a race traitor.


bhagwa

Transliteration of Hindi भगवा (bhagvā, “saffron”). Saffron is a sacred colour in Hinduism, and it is also associated with ultra-nationalist Hindtuva groups.

translit

(Indian politics, Hindutva, slang, derogatory) a Hindutvavadi, a supporter of Hindutva or Hindu nationalism.


sanghi

From Hindi संघी (saṅghī), from Hindi राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ (rāṣṭrīya svayansevak saṅgh), a Hindu nationalist right-wing group in India. Ultimately from Sanskrit सङ्घ (saṅgha, “heap, multitude, crowd”).

der

राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ

sanghification

making something more closer to Hindu nationalism

BJP leaders including H Raja posted clips of old newspapers and posters to support Rajini’s [Rajinikanth, an Indian film actor] claim about the Salem rally, while the DMK and its allies mocked the actor for "superficial" comments and aligning with right-wingers even before launching his political party formally. Hashtags like "Can't apologise" and "Sanghi Rajini" were trending through the day.

(India) a Hindutvavadi or a Hindu nationalist or patriotismic.


Juggernaut

(historical) The Hindu deity Vishnu's avatar Krishna.


Ramrajya

Borrowed from Hindi रामराज्य (rāmrājya).

(India, Hinduism) The reign of Rama's rule in the kingdom of Ayodhya, in the Hindu epic Ramayana.

"The VHP will now focus more on establishing ' Ram Rajya ', a harmonious society based on equality, where every person will be treated with dignity." - Alok Kumar

(India, Hinduism, Hindutva) a government or society ruled under Hindutva.


vairagi

Borrowed from Sanskrit वैरागी (vairāgī).

(Hinduism) One who has attained the state of vairagya.


Lok Sabha

Transliteration of Hindi लोक सभा (lok sabhā, literally “People's House”).

translit

Coordinate term: Rajya Sabha

The lower house of the Parliament of Republic of India.


Sanatana Dharma

Borrowed from Sanskrit सनातन धर्म (sanātana dharma, “the eternal way, the eternal law”).

bor

(India, Hinduism) Orthodox and traditionalist Hinduism.


Akhand Bharat

Transliteration of Hindi अखंड भारत (akhaṇḍ bhārat).

translit

(Indian politics) Undivided India; a proposed superstate where the other countries of South Asia are joined into India.

(Hindutva) A state proposed by Hindutva supporters that claims several other nearby countries and regions as former Hindu or Indianised cultures such as Myanmar, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia. This superstate also includes the rest of South Asia and sometimes Tibet and Yunnan.


Ghazwa-e-Hind

Partly re-Arabized form of Urdu غزوہ ہند (ġazvā-e hind), from Classical Persian غزوهٔ هند (ğazwa-yi hind), from Arabic غزوة الهند (“battle of Hind [India]”).

der

(South Asia, politics) Alleged attempts by Islamist groups to conquer the Republic of India.


Sanatani

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit सनातनी (sanātanī, “of the eternal [way], Hindu”).

lbor

(India, Hinduism, religious slur, politics) a traditionalist Hindu


libbu

(India, politics, derogatory, vulgar, Internet slang) A liberal, a leftist.

raita

a conservative Hindu who does not support Hindutva


sarkari Muslim

The usage of sarkari as a negative term originated from Khalistani supporters who condemned Sikhs who supported the government of India. It was later adopted by Muslim activists and nationalists within India.

Shahbagi

equivalent term in Bangladesh used for liberals and opponents of Islam

(India, derogatory, slang, ethnic slur) A Muslim who supports India, especially the BJP and Hindutva, at the expense of other Muslims, a Muslim Indian race traitor.


savarna

From Hindi सवर्ण (savarṇ), derived from Sanskrit सवर्ण (savarṇa, “same colour, same caste”).

der

(India, Hinduism) A member of the Savarna gotra (lineage) of the Brahmin caste.


savarna

en-adj

savarna (comparative more savarna, superlative most savarna)

more savarna (comparative)
most savarna (superlative)

(India, Hinduism) From the four varnas (social castes) in Hinduism.


Gangajal

In Hinduism, Gangajal is considered to be immensely sacred. This is the reason why one should always keep the holy water at the place of worship.

2022 January 26, “Keep these things in the home temple to maintain Goddess Laxmi's blessings”, in Hindustan Times, archived from the original on 2022-02-17:

The water from the river Ganga, considered holy in Hinduism.


Ghar Wapsi

Transliteration of Hindi घर वापसी (ghar vāpsī, literally “to return home”), from घर (ghar, “home”) and वापसी (vāpsī, “return, coming back”). The term owes to the Hindu nationalist ideology that all people of India in ancient times were Hindus, so by converting to Hinduism they were returning to the religion of their ancestors.

translit

(India, Hinduism, Hindutva) Conversion of non-Hindu people to Hinduism.


Urduwood

Four, although Baahubali is not a Bollywood film, Baahubali trolls resent the success of Bollywood’s three Khans, because they are non-Hindus – hence the “Urduwood” taunt.

(India, Hindutva, informal, Internet slang) Bollywood.


Kardama

Transliteration of Sanskrit कर्दम (kardama).

The story of Kapila's birth begins with the sage Kardama, who worships Viṣṇu in the hopes of procuring a wife and children.

2016 March 9, Brian Black, Laurie Patton, Dialogue in Early South Asian Religions: Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Traditions, Routledge, →ISBN, page 143:

Kapila's father was Kardama Prajapati, one of the early progenitors of the human race.

2019, Swami Satyamayananda, Ancient Sages, Advaita Ashrama, →ISBN:

(Hinduism) Name of a Prajapati, father of Kapila and husband of Devahuti.


Daitya

Coordinate term: Deva

(Hinduism) Any of a clan or race of Asuras, the children of Diti and the sage Kashyapa.


Vāc

(Hindu mythology) The goddess of speech, the written word, and language.


sickularism

(India, Indian politics, derogatory) Secularism, viewed as being anti-Hindu.


TMC

(Indian politics) Initialism of Trinamool Congress, a political party.


Tukde Tukde Gang

Borrowed from Hindi टुकड़े टुकड़े गैंग (ṭukṛe ṭukṛe gaiṅg), from Hindi टुकड़ा (ṭukṛā, “fragment”). Coined by the journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, later popularised after an alleged video of Jawaharlal Nehru University students calling for India to be divided during a protest.

bor+

टुकड़े टुकड़े गैंग

(India, Indian politics, Hindutva) Leftist mass-media groups and companies that oppose Narendra Modi's administration and Hindutva.


Godi media

en-noun

Godi media (countable and uncountable, plural Godi medias)

From Hindi गोदी (godī, “lap”) + media, referring to the mentioned media as “lap dogs” of Narendra Modi. Coined by journalist Ravish Kumar.

(uncountable, India, Indian politics, derogatory) Mass media that supports Narendra Modi and Hindutva.


SUCI

Socialist Unity Centre of India
w:Socialist Unity Centre of India

(Indian politics) Initialism of Socialist Unity Centre of India, a political party.


AIADMK

w:All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

(Indian politics) Initialism of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a political party.


RJD

Rashtriya Janata Dal
w:Rashtriya Janata Dal

(Indian politics) Initialism of Rashtriya Janata Dal, a political party.


Jai Shri Ram

Borrowed from Hindi जय श्री राम (jay śrī rām).

(Hinduism) "Victory to Lord Rama"; a salute or invocation towards the Hindu god Rama.

ജയ് ശ്രീ റാം

jayŭ śrī ṟāṁ


Om Namah Shivaya

Borrowed from Sanskrit ॐ नमः शिवाय (oṃ namaḥ śivāya).

bor+

(Hinduism) "Adoration to Lord Shiva"; a salute or invocation towards the Hindu god Shiva.


Greater Bangladesh

(Indian politics, Bangladeshi politics) A conspiracy theory circulated by far-right Indian politicians and writers claiming a planned annexation India’s eastern states by neighbouring Bangladesh.

Indian politics; Bangladeshi politics; Indian politics; Bangladeshi politics


hindouism

(non-native speakers' English) Alternative letter-case form of Hindouism.


Hindouism

So, MrGoodSalt, pray tell, why should I choose Christianity over one of the other Big Three religions, such as Judaism or Islam? Or perhaps I shall go Eastern, what with Buddhism and Hindouism... or I could go back to the *really* ancient religions and choose Wicca or some other pagan-type religion, or perhaps go Ancient Greek? So many choices, so little hope for salvation...

2000 March 12, DarkAngel, “I'm a little confused”, in alt.atheism (Usenet), retrieved 2022-04-16:

They took their name from the religion class, I suppose, because we learn about catholicism and bouddhism^([sic]) and hindouism and all..

2001 June 28, DarkSunMoon, “power ballads”, in alt.rock-n-roll.metal.gnr (Usenet), retrieved 2022-04-16:

The hindouists do not worship trees, earth, or human. As I know the several divinities in hindouism are differents^([sic]) ways, and different faces of God; Krshna for example has many names, they represent his multiple qualities like in Islam Allah has many names.

2003 September 28, spek, “Muhammad”, in alt.france (Usenet), retrieved 2022-04-16:

And the real freedom of religion is leaving any people beleive^([sic]) on what he want without being disturbed. You can find that freedom in most of the religions like Bouddhism,^([sic]) Hindouism, Shamanism that americans have killed, islam, ... Except in christian country where nobody can live without being disturbed by any missionary people who will come to tell his lies!

2004 September 10, MuhammadColumbo, “Peace with musulims?”, in soc.culture.usa (Usenet), retrieved 2022-04-16:

Nothing wrong with the quality of my English for it is what you can comprehend.
Islam is far better Hindouism. And the Muslims better people than those worshippers of thousand millions gods

2012 April 3, Sabona, “Re: Islam Dismantled”, in alt.history (Usenet), retrieved 2022-04-16:

(non-native speakers' English) Misspelling of Hinduism.


AITUC

All India Trade Union Congress
w:All India Trade Union Congress

(Indian politics) Initialism of All India Trade Union Congress (a trade union founded in 1920).


Aranyaka

(Hinduism) Any part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice.


WhatsApp University

Compound of WhatsApp + university, mocking the level of knowledge of those who primarily use WhatsApp rumours as a source.

(India, Indian politics, slang, derogatory) Rumours spread through social media as a source for information, usually through WhatsApp.


YSRCP

w:Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party

(Indian politics) Initialism of Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party, a political party.


YCP

(Indian politics) Initialism of YSR Congress Party, a political party.