Sanskrit Glossary

Adho-mukha	Downward facing.
Adho-mukha svanasana	Downward facing dog pose.
Anga	The body; a limb or a part of the body; a constituent part.
Ardha	Half.
Asana	Physical posture or pose; The third stage of yoga.
Asta	The number eight.
Astanga Yoga	The eight limbs of Yoga described by Patanjali.
Aum	Like the Latin word 'Omne', the Sanskrit word 'Aum' means 'all' and conveys concepts of 'Omniscience', 'Omnipresence' and 'Omnipotence'.
Baddha	Bound, caught, restrained, firm.
Bakasana	Crow; elbow balancing pose.
Balasana	Child's pose.
Bandha	A bond or lock; it means a posture where certain organs or parts of the body are contracted and controlled.
Bhakti	Worship, adoration.
Bhuja	The arm or the shoulder.
Bhujanga	A serpent, a snake.
Bhujangasana	Cobra pose.
Chakra	Literally, a wheel or circle. Energy (prana) is said to flow in the human body through three main channels (nadis), namely, Susumna, Pingala and Ida. Susumna is situated inside the spinal column. Pingala and Ida start respectively from the right and left nostrils, move up to the crown of the head and course downwards to the base of the spine. These two nadis intersect with each other and also the Susumna. These junctions of the nadis are known as chakras or the fly-wheels which regulate the body mechanism.
Chandra	The moon.
Chatur	The number four.
Chaturanga	Crocodile; four limbs; a push-up position a few inches off the ground.
Chitta	The mind in its total or collective sense, being composed of three categories: (a) Mind, having the faculty of attention, selection and rejection; (b) Reason, the decisive state which determines the distinction between things and (c) Ego, the I-maker.
Danda	A staff.
Dandasana	Staff pose.
Dhanu	A bow.
Dharana	Concentration or complete attention. The sixth limb or stage of Yoga mentioned by Patanjali.
Dhyana	The seventh limb or stage of Yoga mentioned by Patanjali.
Drisht	A point of focus or gazing point.
Dwi	Two, both.
Dwi-hasta	Two hands.
Dwi-pada	Two feet or legs.
Eka	One, single, alone, only.
Ekapada	One legged.
Garudasana	Eagle pose.
Gu	First syllable in the word 'Guru', meaning darkness.
Gunas	Three forces of nature; Satva, a positive creating nature or influence; Ragas, a negative or destructive nature or influence; Tamas, the influence or nature of things to stay the same.
Guru	A guide who brings one from darkness to lightness; one who removes spiritual doubt.
Ha	First syllable of the word 'Hatha', which is composed of the syllables 'ha' meaning the sun, and 'tha' meaning the moon. The object of Hatha-yoga is to balance the flow of solar and lunar energy in the human system.
Hala	A plough.
Halasana	Plough pose.
Hasta	Hand.
Hatha	Sun/moon; balance.
Hatha-yoga	The way towards realization through rigorous physical discipline.
Janu	Knee.
Jnana	Sacred knowledge derived from meditation on the higher truths of religion and philosophy, which teaches a man how to understand his own nature.
Karma	Action.
Karma-yoga	The achievement of union with the Supreme Universal Soul through action.
Kriya	Process; anything you can do that brings one to a state of union, yoga.
Kundalini	The Kundalini (kundala=coil of a rope; Kundalini=a coiled female serpent) is the divine cosmic energy. This force or energy is symbolised as a coiled and sleeping serpent lying dormant in the lowest nerve centre at the base of the spinal column, the Muladhara-chakra. This latent energy has to be aroused and made to ascend the main spinal channel, the Susumna piercing the chakras right up to the Sahasrara, the thousand-petalled lotus in the head. Then the Yogi is in union with the Supreme Universal Soul.
Mandala	A circle.
Mantra	A sacred word, thought or sound.
Matsya	A fish.
Matsyasana	Fish pose.
Mudra	A seal.
Mukha	Face or facing.
Nama	Name.
Namaste	Commonly said at the end of yoga class by the instructor and the students. One beautiful interpretation: I honor that place in you where the whole Universe resides. And when I am in that place in me and you are in that place in you, there is only one of us.
Nava	A boat.
Navasana	Boat pose.
Niyama	Self-purification by discipline. The second stage of yoga mentioned by Patanjali.
Pada	The foot or leg; also part of a book.
Padangustha	The big toe.
Padma	Lotus.
Padmasana	Lotus pose.
Paripurna	Entire, complete.
Parivrtta	Revolved or rotated; to twist.
Parivrtta Trikonasana	Revolved or rotated triangle pose.
Paschima	West; the back side of the body.
Paschimottana	Intense stretch of the back side of the body from the nape to the heels.
Paschimottanasana	Seated forward bend.
Patanjali	The author of the yoga sutras. The propounder of Astanga yoga. He put it on paper, so the world could experience it.
Pida	Pain, suffering, pressure.
Prajna	Intelligence, wisdom.
Prana	Breath, respiration, life, vitality, wind, energy, strength. It also connotes the soul.
Pranayama	Rhythmic control of the breath. The fourth stage of yoga.
Prasarita	Separated.
Pratyahara	A withdrawal from the senses; the body and mind to a focused place within; the self. The fifth stage of yoga.
Purva	East, the front of the body.
Purvottana	Intense stretch of the front side of the body.
Raja	Royal or king.
Raja-kapota	King pigeon.
Raja-yoga	The achievement of union with the Supreme Universal Spirit, by becoming the ruler of one's own mind by defeating its enemies. The chief of these enemies are: Kama (passion or lust), krodha (anger or wrath), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), mada (pride) and matsara (jealousy or envy). The eight-fold yoga of Patanjali shows the royal road (raja-marga) for achieving this objective.
Ru	The second syllable in the word 'guru', meaning light.
Salabha	Locust.
Salabhasana	Locust pose.
Salamba	With support.
Samadhi	The eighth limb or stage of Yoga mentioned by Patanjali; a state in which all thought has completed itself. The divine state. A state in which one experiences union with the universal source.
Samasthiti	Standing in attention.
Samyana	The meditative process as described by Patanjali involving different states of awareness; the sixth, seventh, and eighth limbs or stages of yoga, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, together are commonly referred to as Samyana.
San	Six.
Sarva	All, whole.
Sarvanga	The whole body.
Sarvangasana	Shoulder stand.
Sava	A corpse, a dead body.
Savasana	Corpse pose.
Setu	A bridge.
Setu-bandha	The construction of a bridge. Name of an asana in which the body is arched.
Setu-bandhasana	Bridge pose.
Siddha	A sage, seer or prophet; also a semi-divine being of great purity and holiness.
Sirsa	The head.
Sukha	A lightness of being; easy.
Supta	Sleeping; supine or laying back.
Supta Virasana	Supine hero pose.
Surya	The sun.
Svana	Dog.
Tada	Mountain.
Tadasana	Mountain pose; standing tall.
Tan	To stretch, extend, lengthen out.
Tapas	Burning away impurities through self-discipline.
Tha	The second syllable of the word 'hatha'. The first syllable 'ha' stands for the sun, while the second syllable 'tha' stands for the moon. The union of these two is Hatha-yoga.
Tri	Three.
Trikona	A triangle.
Trikonasana	Triangle pose.
Ujjayi	A type of pranayama in which the lungs are fully expanded and the chest is puffed out.
Urdhva	Up or upwards; to raise or elevate.
Urdhva-mukha	Upward facing.
Ustra	Camel.
Ustrasana	Camel pose.
Ut	A particle, denoting intensity.
Utkatasana	Chair or awkward pose.
Uttana	An intense stretch.
Uttanasana	Intense standing forward bend.
Utthita	Extended.
Vajra	A thunderbolt, the weapon of Indra.
Vasistha	A celebrated sage, author of several Vedic hymns.
Vasisthasana	Side plank.
Vinyasa	Flow; a physical or energy flow.
Vira	Hero; brave.
Virasana	Hero pose.
Virabhadra	A powerful warrior created out of Siva's matted hair.
Virabhadrasana I	Warrior I pose.
Virabhadrasana II	Warrior II pose.
Virabhadrasana III	Warrior III pose.
Vrksa	Tree.
Vrksasana	Tree pose.
Vritta	Fluctuation.
Yama	The god of death. Yama ia also the first of Patanjalis eight limbs or stages of yoga. Yamas are universal moral commandments or ethical disciplines transcending creeds, countries, age and time. The five mentioned by Patanjali are: non-violence, truth, non-stealing, continence and non-coveting.
Yoga	Union.
Yoga-mudra	A posture.
Yogi or Yogini	One who follows the path to union.