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Advaita for the 21st Century

Dictionary of common Sanskrit spiritual words
khaNDana - kUTastha

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Note that words appear in order of the Roman alphabet, not the Sanskrit alphabet.

English ITRANS Sanskrit Meaning
K      
kandana khaNDana o{fn breaking, destroying, annihilating; refuting (of an opponent's philosophy).
kara kAra kar term used to designate a letter or sound or indeclinable word (as in OM kAra); or making, doing, working etc (as in ahaMkAra). 
karana karaNa kr[ "instrument" in the context of karaNa kAraNa - instrumental cause. (The first "a" is hrasva.)
karana kAraNa kar[ cause (noun) as in nimitta kAraNa or causal (adj.) as in kAraNa sharIra. Literally "a cause (in philosophy i.e. that which is invariably antecedent to some product)." (The first "a" is dIrgha.)
karika kArikA kairka (strictly speaking) a concise philosophical statement in verse. The most well known is that by Gaudapada on the Mandukya Upanishad. (Not to be confused with karika, which is an elephant!). See Gaudapada, Mandukya, Upanishad.
karma karma kmR literally "action" but generally used to refer to the "law" whereby actions carried out now will have their lawful effects in the future (and this may be in future lives). Note that karma yoga is something different - see below. See also sanskara.
karma kanda karma kANDa kmR ka{f that portion of the Vedas relating to ceremonial acts, the rituals we should follow, sacrificial rites and so on.
karma phala karma phala kmR )l the fruit (phala) of action; i.e. the result or consequence of our actions.
karma yoga karma yoga kmR yaeg the practice of acting in such a way as not to incur karma, by carrying out "right" actions, not "good" or "bad" ones. See bhakti, karma, jnana.
karmendriya karmendriya kmeRiNÔy an organ of action, plural karmendriyAni. These are hand, foot, larynx, organ of generation and organ of excretion.
karta kartA ktaR see kartri
kartri kartRRi kt&R one who makes, does or acts; the agent of an action.
kartri tantra kartRRi tantra kt&R tÙ the result of 'doing' (activity, desire and effort), as opposed to vastu-tantra, begotten of Atma).
karya kArya kayR effect or result.
kataka kataka ktk the "clearing nut" plant, used for precipitating dirt from drinking water.
Katha Upanishad kaThopaniShad kQaepin;dœ one of the 108+ Upanishads and one of the 10 major ones. kaTha was a sage and founder of a branch of the Yajur Veda. See Upanishad.
Kena Upanishad kenopaniShad kenaepin;dœ one of the 108+ Upanishads and another one of the 10 major ones. kena means "whence?" ("how?," "why?" etc.) and is the first word of this Upanishad. See Upanishad.
khalvidam khalvidam oiLvdm!! in the statement sarvam kahlvidam brahma - all this is verily Brahman. khalu means "indeed, verily," idam is "this" (neutral pronoun).
khyati khyAti Oyait opinion, view, idea, assertion; perception, knowledge. akhyAti is misperception, as opposed to adhyAsa.
kinchana kiMchana ik<cn something, somewhat; anything.
koham ko.aham kae=hm!  who am I? (ka - who?; aham - I am).
kosha kosha kaez literally "sheath" as in the scabbard of a sword; one of the five layers of identification that cover up our true nature.
krama srishti krama sRRiShTi ³m s&iò step-by step creation of the creation myths from the Vedas.
kriya kriyA i³ya kriyA yoga is a branch of rAja yoga (for the intermediate student); kriyA literally means "doing, performance."
krodha krodha ³aex anger, passion.
kshara kShara ]r perishable (more normally seen as akShara referring to the imperishable Self).
kshatriya kShatriya ]iÇy a member of the second of the traditional four castes in India, the military caste.
kshaya kShaya ]y destruction.
kshetra kShetra ]eÇ literally a "field" or "property"; used in the Bhagavad Gita to refer to the body-mind organism in which we find ourselves.
kshetrajna kShetraj~na ]eÇ} that which knows the kShetra, i.e. the true Self.
Kumarila Bhatta kumArila bhaTTa k…mairl É” founder of the school of pUrva mImAmsa philosophy.
kundalini kuNDalinI k…{filnI the yoga that relates to awakening the energy at the base of the spine and channeling this through 'chakras' to the head. This has nothing to do with advaita.
kutastha kUTastha kªqSw the immovable, unchanging spirit (literally "standing at the top."
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Page last updated: 10-Jul-2012