A readable guide to key Sanskrit terms used across Hindu traditions and yoga, with diacritics and contextual definitions.
Begin with context
Sanskrit terms rarely map perfectly onto one English word. Meanings shift by text, philosophical school and ordinary usage. Diacritics show sound distinctions; they are aids to careful reading, not claims to substitute for a teacher or living language community.
01
Reality, self and liberation
Brahman: ultimate reality in many Upaniṣadic and Vedānta discussions. Ātman: self or inner self, interpreted differently across schools. Mokṣa: liberation or release. Saṃsāra: the conditioned cycle of birth and death. Karma: action and its consequences, not fate. Māyā: power of appearance or misapprehension in context, not simply ‘illusion’.
Advaita · non-duality
Dvaita · duality; also the name of Madhva’s Vedānta
Tattva · principle or category of reality
Darśana · seeing; also a philosophical viewpoint or system
02
Practice and discipline
Yoga: yoking, discipline, integration or a path, depending on context. Sādhana: sustained spiritual practice. Tapas: heat, austerity or disciplined transformation. Dhyāna: meditation. Samādhi: collected absorption, described differently by traditions. Prāṇāyāma: disciplines of breath and vital force.
Āsana · seat or posture
Mantra · sacred formulation used in disciplined repetition
Mudrā · seal, gesture or energetic technique
Bandha · binding or lock
Pūjā · ritual honouring or worship
03
Deity and devotion
Deva and devī: god and goddess, with deva also carrying a sense of the shining one. Bhagavān: the Lord or Blessed One. Īśvara: lord, ruler or a special theological principle in context. Bhakti: devotion, participation or loving orientation. Iṣṭa-devatā: a chosen or cherished deity.
Mūrti · sacred embodied form
Avatāra · descent or divine manifestation
Śakti · power, capacity and Goddess
Līlā · divine play
Darśana · the reciprocal act of sacred seeing
04
Text, teaching and community
Śruti: ‘that which is heard’, especially the Vedic corpus. Smṛti: ‘that which is remembered’, a broad category including epic and Dharma literature. Guru: weighty teacher or guide, not a casual synonym for expert. Sampradāya: transmitted tradition. Paramparā: succession or lineage.
Veda · knowledge; the Vedic corpus
Upaniṣad · a diverse class of late Vedic teachings
Purāṇa · a genre of ancient lore and deity-centred tradition
Āgama · transmitted ritual and theological scripture
Śāstra · authoritative teaching or systematic treatise
Study further
Sources and reading paths.
These introductions are educational orientations. Dates, translations and interpretations remain debated; follow the linked institutions and compare more than one scholarly and community perspective.
