Abhidharma-dīpa
‘Lamp of Abhidharma’, being a Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma text of uncertain authorship, though sometimes thought to have been composed by Vasumitra in response to Vasubandhu's Abhidharma-kośa. The text, ...
Abhidharma-kośa
‘Treasury of Abhidharma’, a key Abhidharma text in verse written by Vasubandhu and summarizing Sarvāstivādin tenets in eight chapters with a total of about 600 verses. The verses are then commented ...
Abhidharma-samuccaya
An Abhidharma text composed in prose by the Yogācārin scholar-monk Asaṇga. Largely Mahāyāna in orientation, the treatise conforms in structure to the pattern of traditional Abhidharma texts. This ...
Abhijñānaśākuntalam
c.4th to 5th century ce)A Sanskrit drama by Kālidāsa, widely considered the most perfect example of the form. Based on an episode in the Mahābhārata, it tells the story of the love of King Duṣyanta ...
Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa
A version of Rāmāyaṇa composed by different authors, based on the original Skt. work of Vālmikī. Its tendency is to move the epic in an Advaitin and spiritualized direction.
ādi Buddha
(Skt.). The primordial Buddha.a term only found in late Mahāyāna and Tibetan traditions of tantric Buddhism.possibly not attested in Indian Buddhism but generated through hyper-Sanskritization (see ...
Ādiparvan
The first book of the Sanskrit Mahābhārata, providing its framing stories, listing various genealogies, and recounting the birth, education, and alliances of the main protagonists.
Āgama
(Skt.). One of the four sections of the Sanskrit Buddhist canon that coincide with those of the Pāli Canon. Thus the Sanskrit Dīrgha Āgama corresponds to the Pāli Dīgha Nikāya; the Madhyama Āgama to ...
Agastya
A great Vedic sage said to have been born of Mitra and Varuṇa in a large earthenware pot (kumbha), hence known as Kumbhayonī. He is the legendary pioneer of the Āryan occupation of peninsular ...
Agonshu
Modern Japanese Buddhist sect founded by Seiyū Kiriyama, who claims that the Bodhisattva Kannon (Skt., Avalokiteśvara) appeared to him in 1970 and taught him new techniques to overcome the effects of ...
ajahn
Also sometimes spelt ācān. Thai term deriving from the Sanskrit word ācārya.and meaning a teacher or instructor, often of meditation.
ajanani
A Sanskrit curse: ‘ajananir astu tasya’ (‘may he cease to exist!’), found, for instance, in the Pañcatantra.
ajari
(Jap.). Term deriving from the Sanskrit word ācārya and meaning a senior monk who is qualified to take disciples, teach novices, and conduct ordinations. In Japan.such monks might also serve as ...
ākhyāna
A general term for a narrative portion of a Sanskrit text, or a tale; specifically, a name for the Epic category of literature.
akṣamālā
A generic term for a garland or rosary of ‘beads’, which may consist of any appropriate object (e.g. skulls for some forms of Śiva). It is a frequent iconographic attribute of gods, as well as ...
akṣara
(Skt.). A syllable, letter, or phoneme, especially of Sanskrit. In tantric Buddhism these syllables often constitute a hidden code with mystical significance known only to initiates.
alaṃkāra
An ‘ornament’ of the sense or sound of a word. In classical Indian literary theory alaṃkāra refers specifically to the skilful use of poetic figures of speech, based on image-building and suggestion, ...
Al-Biruni
(973–1049 (ah 362–442).Muslim scholar of wide-ranging interests, not least in other religions. His study culminated in Kitāb al-Hind (The Book of India). On this basis, he developed work of ...
Āḻvārs
6th–9th centuries ce)The name given to twelve South Indian poet-saints, whose works, and the personal experience of God that they evoked, were highly influential in the development and practice of ...
