शब्दकोश glossary

धर्म dharma

That which holds the world, society, or oneself in proper order — duty, righteousness, law, the nature of a thing — all at once.

ब्रह्मचारिन् brahmacārin

One who has taken the vow of celibate study; the first of the four classical āśramas (life-stages). By extension, anyone under a vow of celibacy.

गुरुदक्षिणा gurudakṣiṇā

The fee or service rendered to a teacher at the conclusion of one's studies — sometimes a token, sometimes consequential.

क्षत्रिय kṣatriya

The warrior-ruling class. Second of the four varṇas. The dharma of force and protection.

सूत sūta

A hereditary class combining chariot-driving with the keeping and recitation of dynastic memory. Bards-charioteers; the keepers of *itihāsa*.

स्वयंवर svayaṃvara

A marriage rite in which a princess chooses her husband from among assembled suitors, sometimes after a contest of skill. Public, formal, and binding.

इतिहास itihāsa

A narrative tradition that asserts itself as having actually happened — "the way it was." Not myth, not chronicle, but a third thing.

पर्वन् parvan

A "knot" or jointed section of a long text. The Mahābhārata has eighteen major parvas, subdivided into sub-parvas.

यज्ञ yajña

A Vedic ritual offering — typically into fire — that structures the relationship between humans, gods, and the cosmic order.

युग yuga

A cosmic age. The four yugas — Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali — cycle in declining length and rectitude.

ऋषि ṛṣi

A seer-sage. One who has perceived the Vedic hymns and stands as their transmitter. By the time of the epic, the title also covers ascetic sages and forest-dwelling teachers.