The Character of the Self in Ancient India: Priests, Kings, and Women in the Early Upanisads

Glossary

Glossary adhvaryu: The name of one of the four priests associated with the large-scale Vedic sacrifice (yajña). The adhvaryu, a specialist in the Yajurveda, is the officiant priest who is responsible for carrying out most of the ritual actions. agni: The Sanskrit word for fire, which was an essential component of all Vedic sacrifices. Agni is also the god of fire and is associated with the sacrificial priests. agnicayana: The name of a particular sacrifice (yajña) that consists of building a fire altar. The performance of the agnicayana is strongly linked to the mythology of Puru∑a and Prajåpati. For a detailed study of the agnicayana see Staal (1983). agnihotra: The twice-daily milk offering. For a detailed study see Bodewitz (1976). am®ta: Literally meaning ‘not-dieable,’ am®ta is the Sanskrit word for immortal. At the time of the Upani∑ads, am®ta was understood in a number of different ways, including being preserved in the social memory, becoming one with the essential being of the universe, and surviving death in the heavenly world. For a detailed study of this word and its various meanings see Olivelle (1997a). apsarå: A class of female divinities; the female counterpart to gandharva. årya: A cultured person who knows Sanskrit and behaves according to the sensibilities of orthodox Brahmanism. In this sense, årya is a term denoting a particular cultural and social identity and does not imply a racial identity. 197 198 Glossary åtman: In the earliest Vedic material, åtman was a reflexive pronoun meaning ‘self.’ The word continued to be used as a pronoun, but by the time of the late Bråhmaˆas and early Upani∑ads, åtman also became a philosophical term that could be associated with a wide range of meanings including body and soul, and could sometimes refer to the ontological principle underlying all reality. åtman vaißvånara: The self of all people. This is an Upanishadic reformulation of Agni Vaißvånara, who is invoked in the very first hymn of the §gveda. brahmacårin: A student of the Vedas. brahman: Originally meaning ‘sacred speech,’ brahman also can refer to the power or essence of the priestly class. In the Upani∑ads this meaning is often extended to designate the underlying reality of all things. brahmin: The Anglicized form of the Sanskrit word bråhma£a, the name of the priestly class, the first of the four classes (var£a). brahmodya: Debate or verbal contest. ekatrika: The name of a particular type of one-day soma sacrifice. gandharva: A class of male divinities; the male counterpart of apsarå. hot®: The name of one of the four priests associated with the largescale Vedic sacrifice (yajña). The hot®, a specialist in the §gveda, is the invoking priest who is responsible for praising the gods and inviting them to the sacrifice. kƒatra: The power or essence of the kƒatriya class. kƒatriya: The name of the second of the four classes (var£a). Originally referring to warriors, the term kƒatriya came to designate members of the aristocracy. In the Upani∑ads kings are members of the kƒatriya class. mantra: A sacred verse, formula, or series of sounds. Often used to refer to verses from the Vedas. 199 Glossary mokƒa: In the early Upani∑ads mokƒa tends to mean ‘release’ in the everyday sense of the word. Subsequently, mokƒa developed the connotation of final emancipation, which was considered the soteriological goal for a number of Hindu traditions. pañcågnividyå: Literally meaning ‘knowledge of the five fires,’ the pañcågnividyå refers to the first part of the discourse that King Pravåhaˆa Jaivali delivers to Uddaka ≈ruˆi in the B®hadåra£yaka Upaniƒad (6.2.9– 14) and the Chåndogya Upaniƒad (5.3.4–9). prå£a: The most general meaning is ‘breath,’ but it can have different connotations in different contexts. In its plural form, the prå£ås refer to either the bodily winds or to the five vital functions.®ƒi: Literally meaning ‘seer,’ ®ƒi refers to the divinely inspired poets who composed the Vedas. såman: The melodic chants of the Såmaveda. saμsåra: The cycle of life, death, and rebirth. This term is not used in the early Upani∑ads, but became a central idea in later Brahmanism and Buddhism. Såvitr¥ (also...