philosophy
Satyavati: daughter of a fisherman, mother of Vyasa and other key figures in the Mahabharata
sepoy (from Turkish sipahi [“soldier”]): native troop serving the British in India
Shachi: the wife of the god Indra
Shaiva: pertaining to Shiva; a worshiper of Shiva
Shakas: Scythians
shakti: power, particularly female power, more particularly a goddess or the wife of a god
Shankara: a nondualist philosopher from Kerala, c. 788-820 CE
Shantanu: husband of Satyavati and of the Ganges River, father of Bhishma, in the Mahabharata
shastras: texts or textbooks, sciences
Shatrughna: one of Rama’s three brothers, in the Ramayana
Shattaris: Sufi sect
Shiva: the Great God (Mahadeva)
Shivaji: founder of the kingdom of Maharashtra, leader of resistance against the Mughals, 1630-1680 CE
Shrirangam: Vaishnava temple, also known as Tiruvarangam, in Trichi (Tiruchirappalli), on the Kaveri River, in Tamil Nadu; the seat of Ramanuja
Shudras: “servants,” the lowest of the four classes ( varnas ) of ancient Indian society
Shunahshepha: boy, in the Brahmanas, whose father tried to sell him to be sacrificed
Shungas: dynasty that ruled North India from 185 to 73 BCE
Shurapanakha: ogress (Rakshasi), sister of Ravana, mutilated by Lakshmana, in the Ramayana
Shvetaketu: a sage, in the Upanishads
Sikhs: followers of the religion founded by Guru Nanak, 1469-1539, in the Punjab
Sindhu: “river,” Greek and Persian word later used as the basis of the word for the people who lived east of the Indus, the Hindus
Sita: an incarnate goddess, the wife of Rama, in the Ramayana
Skanda: a son of Shiva, general of the gods, identified with Murukan in South India
Skull Bearers. See Kapalikas.
soma: a plant pressed to yield a hallucinogenic fluid, offered to the gods in the Vedas; also a name of the moon
Somanatha (Somnath): a great temple to Shiva, and the city around it, in southwest Gujarat
Sri Lanka: present-day name of the island previously known as Ceylon or Serendip but probably not Lanka
stupas: Buddhist relic mounds
Sufism: a mystical branch of Islam
Sugriva: a monkey king befriended by Rama in the Ramayana
Sukeshin: ogre (Rakshasa) devoted to Shiva, in the Puranas
Surya: the sun, a Vedic god
Sushruta: author of a medical text
Sutas: “Charioteers,” name of a caste of charioteers and improvisational bards, in ancient India
suttee (from Sanskrit sati ): the burning of a woman on the pyre of her dead husband; also, the woman who does this
sva-dharma: one’s own particular dharma, in contrast with general ( sadharana dharma)
svayambhu: “self-existent” or “self-created,” an epithet of Prajapati and of several other mythical creators; also applied to lingas and other religious symbols that appear in nature, without human agency
Swaminarayan: founder of the Satsangi sect, 1780-1830 CE
tamas: “darkness,” one of the three qualities or gunas of matter, according to Sankhya philosophy
Tamil: Dravidian language of South India
Tantra: form of Hinduism (also of Buddhism), and the texts and practices of those traditions
tapas: internal heat, generated through rigid self-control of the senses and violent yogic practices
Tej Singh: historical figure, the son of the commander of the fort of Senji under Aurangzeb; also a hero of Hindi folklore
Thapar, Romila: India’s greatest living historian of the ancient period
Thompson, Stith: author of a detailed index of the themes in folklore, 1885-1976 CE
Thugs (from the Sanskrit sthaga [“thief,” “rogue”]): members of a gang of assassins who worshiped Kali and terrorized the British in India
Tirumal: Tamil name of Vishnu
Tiruvacakam: “the sacred word”: a poem in praise of Shiva, composed by Manikkavacakar, c. 800 CE
Treta Yuga: “the Trey,” the second of the four degenerating ages (Yugas)
Trimurti: “triple form,” the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva
Trishanku: king who tried in vain to get to heaven and remains stuck halfway
Satyavati: daughter of a fisherman, mother of Vyasa and other key figures in the Mahabharata
sepoy (from Turkish sipahi [“soldier”]): native troop serving the British in India
Shachi: the wife of the god Indra
Shaiva: pertaining to Shiva; a worshiper of Shiva
Shakas: Scythians
shakti: power, particularly female power, more particularly a goddess or the wife of a god
Shankara: a nondualist philosopher from Kerala, c. 788-820 CE
Shantanu: husband of Satyavati and of the Ganges River, father of Bhishma, in the Mahabharata
shastras: texts or textbooks, sciences
Shatrughna: one of Rama’s three brothers, in the Ramayana
Shattaris: Sufi sect
Shiva: the Great God (Mahadeva)
Shivaji: founder of the kingdom of Maharashtra, leader of resistance against the Mughals, 1630-1680 CE
Shrirangam: Vaishnava temple, also known as Tiruvarangam, in Trichi (Tiruchirappalli), on the Kaveri River, in Tamil Nadu; the seat of Ramanuja
Shudras: “servants,” the lowest of the four classes ( varnas ) of ancient Indian society
Shunahshepha: boy, in the Brahmanas, whose father tried to sell him to be sacrificed
Shungas: dynasty that ruled North India from 185 to 73 BCE
Shurapanakha: ogress (Rakshasi), sister of Ravana, mutilated by Lakshmana, in the Ramayana
Shvetaketu: a sage, in the Upanishads
Sikhs: followers of the religion founded by Guru Nanak, 1469-1539, in the Punjab
Sindhu: “river,” Greek and Persian word later used as the basis of the word for the people who lived east of the Indus, the Hindus
Sita: an incarnate goddess, the wife of Rama, in the Ramayana
Skanda: a son of Shiva, general of the gods, identified with Murukan in South India
Skull Bearers. See Kapalikas.
soma: a plant pressed to yield a hallucinogenic fluid, offered to the gods in the Vedas; also a name of the moon
Somanatha (Somnath): a great temple to Shiva, and the city around it, in southwest Gujarat
Sri Lanka: present-day name of the island previously known as Ceylon or Serendip but probably not Lanka
stupas: Buddhist relic mounds
Sufism: a mystical branch of Islam
Sugriva: a monkey king befriended by Rama in the Ramayana
Sukeshin: ogre (Rakshasa) devoted to Shiva, in the Puranas
Surya: the sun, a Vedic god
Sushruta: author of a medical text
Sutas: “Charioteers,” name of a caste of charioteers and improvisational bards, in ancient India
suttee (from Sanskrit sati ): the burning of a woman on the pyre of her dead husband; also, the woman who does this
sva-dharma: one’s own particular dharma, in contrast with general ( sadharana dharma)
svayambhu: “self-existent” or “self-created,” an epithet of Prajapati and of several other mythical creators; also applied to lingas and other religious symbols that appear in nature, without human agency
Swaminarayan: founder of the Satsangi sect, 1780-1830 CE
tamas: “darkness,” one of the three qualities or gunas of matter, according to Sankhya philosophy
Tamil: Dravidian language of South India
Tantra: form of Hinduism (also of Buddhism), and the texts and practices of those traditions
tapas: internal heat, generated through rigid self-control of the senses and violent yogic practices
Tej Singh: historical figure, the son of the commander of the fort of Senji under Aurangzeb; also a hero of Hindi folklore
Thapar, Romila: India’s greatest living historian of the ancient period
Thompson, Stith: author of a detailed index of the themes in folklore, 1885-1976 CE
Thugs (from the Sanskrit sthaga [“thief,” “rogue”]): members of a gang of assassins who worshiped Kali and terrorized the British in India
Tirumal: Tamil name of Vishnu
Tiruvacakam: “the sacred word”: a poem in praise of Shiva, composed by Manikkavacakar, c. 800 CE
Treta Yuga: “the Trey,” the second of the four degenerating ages (Yugas)
Trimurti: “triple form,” the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva
Trishanku: king who tried in vain to get to heaven and remains stuck halfway
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