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| a monistic interpretation of reality that states there is only one true reality and that is purusha, the spiritual reality |
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| the forest treaties containing spiritual teachings revealed to the rishis |
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| nomadic tribes from the steppes of north central Asia who entered the Indus River Valley and subjugated local populations |
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| one of the four stages of life recognized by Hinduism |
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| once of the four collections of hymns for recitation by Brahmin priests, it consists of blessings, curses, magical charms, and prayers |
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| each person's permanents soul; collectively, the Atman of all beings constitutes Brahman |
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| the creator god who usually depicted with four faces |
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| ultimate supreme reality; it is conceived as divine reality but not depicted as a particular deity |
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| texts created by Brahmins to formalize ritual behavior |
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| priest and philosophers who occupy the highest social rank of the caste system |
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| the visual appearance of the divine or the seeing of the divine reality through a religious image |
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| a religious or social dity relative to gender, age, or caste |
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| the elephant-headed god who is often invoked at the beginning of a new venture or the start of a journey |
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| philosophical teachers who are devoted to the seeking of spiritual truth |
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| a name referring to practitioners of Hinduism |
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| literally means "actions," but the term also connotes the consequences and side-effects that follow from an action |
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| An avatar of the god Vishnu, he widely followed and has many international devotees |
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| in the caste system, the aristocratic class of warriors beneath the Brahmins and above the Vaishyas |
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| manual written by a primordial or original man named Manu that sanctions Hundu conventions and customs concerning gender roles, sex, marriage and family, the castes, the four stages of life, and the four paths |
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| a long epic written over many centuries between 400 B.C.E. and 400 C.E. that contains the story of Pandava brothers and the battle between related families--the Pandavas and the Kauravas--for control of the kingdom |
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| mongols who adopted Islam |
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| the Hindu belief of liberation from the wheel of birth, death and rebirth |
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| the world of matter, change, time and space |
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| Hindu worship that links people to the divine |
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| Post-Vedic literacy texts containing stories about gods, kings, creation, and the cycles of ages that are addressed to the common folk and promote devotion to personal deites |
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| a type of reality that is free from the chain of casual relations and the space-time continuum |
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| an avatar of Vishnu that appears in the great epic Ramayana where he and his wife Sita, represent the ideal husband and wife |
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| the story of teh consflict between good and evil that was written between the fourth century B.C.E. and the third century C.E. |
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| the Hindu belief that when the body dies, the spirit is reborn in another physical body |
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| the oldest collection of one thousand hymns dedicated to nature deities |
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| one of the four collections of hymns dedicated to nature deities |
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| a type of hymn that can be found in the Rig-Veda |
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| a philosophy that interprets purusha and prakriti as two ifferent worlds or realities |
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| the belief that life is an endless cycles of existences, a series of birth, death, and rebirth |
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| female deites that represent the feminine principle of divine energy, kundalini |
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| the god of creative destruction that destroys the forces of evil that threaten dharma |
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| meaning "that which is revealed," it refers to the Vedas, Hindu canonical scripture believed to have been given by divine revelation |
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| in caste system, manual laborers and craftsmen and artisans who descend from the legs; they are beneath the Vaishyas |
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| meaning "that which is remembered," it is Hindu sacred scripture but not regarded as canonical or given by divine revelation |
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| manuals of worship containing techniques for the performance of rituals devoted to vishnu, shiva and the shaktis |
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| meaning "three forms," it consists of three gods: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva |
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| the last part of the Vedas, it contains the philosophical teachings of many different gurus |
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| in the caste system, the merchants, tradesmen, and farmers who are beneath the Kshatriyas and above the Shudras |
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| a social caste that determines one's economic status, social roles, moral duties, and religious priviledges |
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| the earliest Hindu scriptures and considered canonical because they contain divine revelation |
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| Hindu god known as the preserver and is viewed as a compassionate deity |
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| one of the four collections of hymns for recitation by Brahmin priest, it contains prayers and ritual instructions for the performance of sacrifices |
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| a philosophy and set of pratices for attaining freedom from the delusions of dualistic thinking, release from the cycles of existences, and union with divine reality |
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