Sanskritization

Process whereby all local villages are combined under the same language.

Love. Devotion. Intense, emotional love for a personal god. Traditions reject institutionalized forms of religion. Focuses on an immediate experience of the divine.

Major deity. In the heaven (svar) realm. Usually depicted as having 4 arms. Holds a lotus flower which is a representation of the creation of the world. Shows feminism (beyond gender). Surrounded by a snake with 5 heads. One the ocean, holding a conch shell, spinning discuss, and club. Married to Laksmi and Rsi.

The followers of Visnu

"Those immersed in god" poet-saints, revered in Vaisnava communities, who wandered from temple to temple singing the praises of Visnu.

Avatar of Visnu. "Black" Associated with dark clouds, rain, mysterious, monsoons, etc. Plays a flute. 3-jointed pose. Ine the epic, Mahabharata, he advises Krsna before the battle.

The village of Vraj, especially celebrated as a center of Krsna worship. The place of Krsna's childhood and youth.

Bhagavata Purana

Composed in Sanskrit in the South. Was influenced by Tamil devotionalism, as well as Sanskrit devotional poetry and northern forms of Vaisnavism. (one of the puranas)

"Sect order. Tradition." which refers to a tradition focused on a deity, often regional in character, into which the disciple is initiated by a guru

Line of gurus, originiating with the founding father or possibly the deity.

Diksa

Initiation (into the samprayada)

The visnu bhakti movement of South India, which emerged from the line of the Alvar poet-saints and the philosopher Ramanuja.

Famous Hindu Philosopher that gave philosophical foundation to the Vaisnava devotional movement which became known as Sri Vaisnava.

Visnu's Heaven

Religious Practice

Service (to the Lord)

Guadiya Vaisnavism

Main focus of devotion is the love between Radha and Krsna, a love which is strongly erotic, though with an eroticism which is regarded as transcendent and not worldy.

Famous poem written by Jayadeva about the love between Radha and Krsna.

Viraha

The longing (of another spouse).

Krsna's mistress. His favorite gopi.

Incarnation of Krsna and Radha in one body. Did the most to promote Krsna bhakti. Generated the tradition of the Hare Krsna movement which still continues today.

love-in-union (one's own woman)

love-in-separation (another's woman)

Ritual practices of repeating the names of Krsna.

Singing of hymns

Emotion.

Aesthetic experience

Repetition of Krsna's name.

Perfected spiritual body

Founded a tradition centered on the worship of Krsna the cowherd after seeing a vision of Krsna. Constructed a theology (vision of monistic and devotional ideas). Called his way the path of grace and his doctrine pure nondualism.

"Play." Deity comes to the earth and interacts with people for the betterment of people.

Gopi

Cowgirl. Radha is one.

non-renunciatory. Comprising only of householders. Main focus of this devotion is on Krsna as a child and the devotee as a parent.

Movement whose followers take refuge in the sect's founder Swaminaryan rather than Krsna.

Deity of Pandharpur and the focus of Maharastrian devotion

"Good man." Saints from all castes. Full of devotion for god.

Marathi saint, founder of Varkari path. Believes liberation is merging with the Lord, though the devotee can never comprehend his immensity.

Famous saint. Warrior and Mirabai a princess. High caste. Founded Sikhism.

Famous saint. Weaver. Low caste. Most popular and most influential. Poet.

Rama

King and hero of the epic Ramayana. Said to be an avatar of Visnu, but honored and loved in his own right today. Husband of Sita.

Second greatest epic.

Wife of Rama in the epic Ramayana.

Predominantly ascetic and renunciatory. Literature is expressed in a medium of Hindi. Theology of this sect is based on the writing of Tulsidas. Originally all castes could join, but now there are restrictions.

Tulsidas

Ramanandis are based off of his writings. In his texts, Rama is the supreme lord and other deities are below him.

10 headed demon in the epic Ramayana. Takes Sita away from Rama and is then killed by him.

Has a version of the Ramayana composed in Hindi rather than in Sanskrit

Place in the epic Ramayana where Rama reigns as king.

Monkey-God in the Ramayana. Helped Rama save Sita from Ravana

Greatest, longest epic. Deals with the Pandava brothers.

Main king in the epic Mahabharata. Father to the Pandavas.

5 sons of Pandu in the epic, Mahabharata. Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva.

Arjuna

Third Pandava in the Mahabharata. Kulti evokes Indra and has him. Best archer.

Yudhisthira

Second Pandava in the epic, Mahabharata. Kulti evokes Vayu and has him.

4th and 5th Pandavas in the epic, Mahabharata. Madri evokes the twin gods and has them.

Wife of the Pandavas in the epic, Mahabharata. Arjuna wins her.

100 cousins of the Pandavas in the epic, Mahabharata. Sons of Dhrtarastra.

Eldest of the Kauravas in the epic, Mahabharata. Gambles with Yudhisthira. Banishes the Pandavas from the land and takes throne.

This is actually the eldest son of Kulti in the epic, Mahabharata. She abandoned him because she was afraid Pandu wouldn't accept him. Aligns with the Kauravas and fights against the Pandavas.

teacher to the Pandavas before they went to war.

Vyasa

Sage that wrote the Yoga Sutras.

"The Destroyer" deity. The auspicious one. Many faced deity. Part of the Trimurti. Skin is ashy light blue. God of the cremation grounds (considered negative to the orthodox because the creamation grounds are polluted). Lord of the animals. Japa beads. Sacred thread. Eyes are lowered for meditation. Three eyes, third eye is of desire. Male and female qualities. Trident.

Followers of Siva

Skanda

Ones of the sons of Parvati and Siva. The God of war.

One of the sons of Parvati and Siva. The elephant god.

Deity of war and love. Later becomes identified with Skanda

Siva's father-in-law

Daughter of Siva

Wife of Siva

Siva's sacred bull

Mountain in the Himalayas where Siva meditates on the top.

One of the forms Siva is depicted as. Lord of the dance. 4-armed, dancing upon the dwarf of ignorance within a circle of flames.

Ignorance

One of the forms Siva is depicted as. "Icon." Represents a phallus within a vulva (yoni). Symbolic of the union of Siva with his dynamic energy.

Sakti

Dynamic Energy

Earliest name referenced to Siva. "The Roarer." He is brown with a black belly and red back. Clothed in a skin. Ferocious and destructive but also benevolent and cures diseases.

Pasupata

One of the Saiva groups. Oldest sect. Had to be a Brahmin male who had undergone the high-caste initiation ceremony. Had to be celibate.

Higher Path.

Lower Path. Revelation of the path of mantras.

Dualist system maintaining that there is an eternal distinction between the Lord and the soul. Belief that there are 3 distinct categories of existence: Pati, Pasu, Pasa.

"Illusion." The illusory quality of this transitory world of "names and forms." Mistaken perception of the world as permanent, when in reality it's a passage (samsara).