Sanskrit Glossary

Ego

Posture or pose (from “as,” to remain or sit)

The essence of being; often used as a synonym for the soul

Without a fixed, permanent essence

Devotion

Life

A “lock” — a technique that seals energy in the body. Traditionally three main bandhas:

• Mula Bandha — Root lock
• Uddiyana Bandha — “Flying up” lock
• Jalandhara Bandha — Throat lock

Seed or germ

The mind in its discerning, higher faculty

An element of nature. Traditionally five (Maha Pancha Bhutas):

• Akasha — Space / ether
• Jala — Water
• Prithvi — Earth
• Teja — Fire
• Vayu — Air

A traditional energy center along the body's midline. See our dedicated Chakras page for the full breakdown of the seven main chakras and which poses in this dictionary are associated with each one.

Mind

Suffering

A quality or attribute of nature. Traditionally three gunas:

• Rajas — Passion, activity
• Tamas — Darkness, inertia
• Sattva — Clarity, balance

Effort or force; also read as “Ha” (sun) and “Tha” (moon)

A sense or sense organ. Traditionally divided in two groups:

• Karmendriyas — Organs of outward action — limbs, speech, excretion, and reproduction
• Jnanendriyas — Organs/senses of inward perception — eyes, ears, smell, and mind

Wisdom, knowledge

A living being; the individual soul

Action

A purifying action or practice

A sacred sound

The mind in its ordinary, everyday perception

Path

Liberation

A channel through which energy flows. Traditionally three main nadis:

• Sushumna — The central channel
• Ida — The lunar channel
• Pingala — The solar channel

A principle to be cultivated. Traditionally five niyamas:

• Saucha — Cleanliness
• Santosha — Contentment
• Tapas — Discipline, effort
• Svadhyaya — Self-study
• Ishvarapranidhana — Surrender to something greater than oneself

Vital energy, life force

Nature; the original, unmanifest state

“The Self” — pure consciousness, distinct from Prakrti

Meditative absorption, full awareness

Happiness, contentment

Knowledge

A principle of self-restraint. Traditionally five yamas:

• Ahimsa — Non-violence
• Asteya — Non-stealing
• Satya — Truthfulness
• Aparigraha — Non-attachment, non-hoarding
• Brahmacharya — Moderation of one's pleasure-seeking energy

To unite, to join (the root of the word “yoga”)

Steadiness, firmness — paired with Sukha (ease) in Patanjali's definition of asana as a seat that is both stable and comfortable.

Cessation or stilling — as in "yoga citta vrtti nirodhah," Patanjali's classical definition of yoga as the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.

"Daily conduct" — the Ayurvedic practice of structuring the day (waking, self-care, meals, sleep) around natural rhythms.

"That which is heard" — the oldest category of sacred texts (the Vedas), considered divinely revealed rather than authored.

"Sitting near [the teacher]" — a genre of philosophical texts, composed as teacher-to-student dialogues, that underlie much of yoga philosophy.

Equanimity — the Bhagavad Gita's definition of yoga itself ("samatvam yoga ucyate," evenness of mind in success and failure alike).

Literally "coiled" — the dormant energy said in tantric and hatha-yoga traditions to rest at the base of the spine and rise through the chakras with practice.

Vibration, pulse, or subtle throb of movement — a concept from Kashmir Shaivism describing the creative pulse underlying all movement, echoed in the idea of breath-linked flow between poses.

"That which can go out of balance" — the three Ayurvedic constitutional types.

• Vata — The air/space dosha — movement, change, the nervous system.
• Pitta — The fire/water dosha — metabolism, digestion, transformation.
• Kapha — The earth/water dosha — structure, stability, lubrication.

Breath control — the formal practice of regulating the breath, traditionally described through several distinct phases.

• Puraka — Inhalation.
• Rechaka — Exhalation.
• Kumbhaka — Breath retention (after inhaling or exhaling).

The "six actions" — a set of classical cleansing techniques from the hatha-yoga tradition, practiced separately from asana.

• Dhauti — Cleansing of the digestive tract.
• Vasti — Cleansing of the lower abdomen/colon.
• Neti — Nasal cleansing.
• Trataka — Steady, unblinking gazing, used to focus the mind.
• Nauli — Abdominal churning/massage of the internal organs.
• Kapalabhati — "Skull-shining breath" — forceful, rhythmic exhalations.

The "five winds" — sub-currents of Prana (life force) associated with different regions and functions of the body, beyond Prana's general meaning of "breath" or "life force."

• Apana — Governs elimination and downward movement, centered in the pelvis.
• Samana — Governs digestion, centered in the belly.
• Udana — Governs the throat and upward movement, linked to speech and intake.
• Vyana — Governs circulation throughout the whole body.

"Knot" — subtle energetic knots said to block the flow of Kundalini as it rises, one at each of three levels of the body.

• Brahma Granthi — At the base of the spine, associated with attachment to the material/physical.
• Vishnu Granthi — At the heart, associated with attachment to emotional identity.
• Rudra Granthi — At the brow, associated with attachment to the individual ego.

A limb or bodily part

Thumb

Fingers

Big toe

Arm or shoulder

Cheek; the whole side of the face

Hand, arm

Knee

Abdomen, belly

Ear

Skull

Forehead

The spine — a metaphor, as Meru is the name of a mythical mountain

Face, mouth

Leg, foot

Big toe

Chin; feather

Embryo

Head

Body

Corpse

Womb

Downward

Half

Angle

Upward

Length, expansion, extension

Piercing, penetrating

A swinging or rocking motion

Great

With support

Without support

Sideways, lateral

To turn, to rotate

To spread or stretch out

Whole, complete

West — also used to mean “the back of the body,” as in Paschimottanasana

Compact

East

Equal, the same, even

All

Reclined, lying down

In balance

Both

With vigor, intensely

Extended

An intense lengthening or stretch

Against the natural order or grain

Inverted, reversed

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Horse

Crane (a wading bird)

Frog

Snake, serpent

A large black bee

Moon

King of the birds — in Hindu myth, Vishnu's mount, described with a white face, red wings, and a golden body

Cow

Dove, pigeon

Rooster

Tortoise

A mythical crocodile-like sea creature

Frog

Fish

Peacock

Crocodile

Lotus

Locust

Lion

Sun

Dog

Camel

Thunderbolt

Tree

Scorpion

Staff

Bow

Plow

A garland; also a string of prayer beads

Seal; a symbolic hand or body gesture

Boat

Greeting, salutation

A gate latch or bolt

Another name for Vishnu; also “infinite,” the serpent Shesha

Spiritual teacher of King Janaka

Father of Drona, a figure in the Mahabharata

A sage; one of the sons of Brahma

The hero born from Shiva's hair (“vira” = hero, “bhadra” = virtuous)

A Vedic-era sage, credited as an author of verses in the Rig Veda