Syamantaka
Krishna’s jewel.
Tabla
Indian drums.
Takshaka
A fierce serpent inhabitant of the forest, is Indra’s special friend
Tantripala
The name of Sahadeva in the 13th year in Virata.
Tapas
Literally, heat. Any kind of energy, askesis, austerity of conscious force acting upon itself or on its object.
Tathastu
So be it.
Tapasya
Austerity or penance, askesis.
Tilak
Mark on the forehead, made with coloured earths, sandalwood paste or unguents, either as an ornament or a sectarian distinction.
Trigartas
Literally: triple-guarded. People of a territory in North India, identified with a part of modern Punjab. The Trigartas swore to kill Arjuna.
Truti
A very minute space of time like or less than a second.
Uddhava
Family member and great devotee of Krishna.
Udgatri
One of the four principal priests at a sacrifice. One who chants the hymns of the Samaveda.
Udyana Kridana
Literally, garden. Where games and sports take place.
Ugrasena
Father of the tyrant Kamsa.
Uluka
Son of Shakuni.
Ulupi
Daughter of Kauravya, king of the Nagas. Arjuna formed a marriage liaison with her, and she acted as a nurse to her step-son Babhruvahana. Mother of Iravat.
Uma
Wife of Shiva and the daughter of Himavat and Mena.
Upasunda
Name of an Asura. Son of Nikumbha and younger brother of Sunda. They destroyed each other because of an Apsara.
Urmila
In our story the Mother of Vidura, not of high caste.
Urvashi
Celestial nymph who was cursed to live on earth as the mistress-wife of Pururavas. Pururavas was the ancestor of all the Kauravas and Pandavas. Urvashi was the Mother of the race of Pandavas.
Ushas
The goddess of dawn.
Uttamaujas
A Panchala Prince son of Virata who, with his brother Yuyudhana protected Arjuna’s charioteer wheels.
Uttarakumara
Son of King Virata. He was killed by Shalya on the first day of battle.
Uttaraa
Sister of Uttarakumara. She was given in marriage to Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu, after Arjuna declined to marry her himself.
Vaishnava
Term for a devotee of Vishnu.
Vaishya
The third caste in Hinduism, consisting of traders, merchants and agriculturists.
Vajra
The thunderbolt, weapon of Indra. The weapon with supernatural powers, resembling a thunderbolt. Also, a military formation in the shape of a thunderbolt.
Vajradatta
Son of Bhagadatta who is defeated by Arjuna during the Ashwamedha campaign.
Vamsha
Race, family, dynasty, lineage.
Vanaganaga
Priest, often one who chants.
Vanaprastha
Forest retreat, the fourth and last division of life when one retires to the forest.
Vanga
An important state in ancient India; the modern Bengal.
Varanasi
The city of Kashi, anglicised to Benaras, one of Hinduism’s great centres of holy pilgrimage. Hindus acquire merit in the afterlife by leaving their bodies in this city.
Varanavata
A city where the Pandavas lived in the house of lac.
Varandaka
Covered seating arrangement on the back of an elephant, from which a mounted warrior fought.
Varsha
Country.
Varuna
Literally, All-Embracer. The oldest Vedic deity, creator of heaven and earth; Lord of the Waters in later Hindu mythology.
Vasaka
The mythical serpent son of Kadru. Like Shesha and Takshaka, one of the serpent (Naga) kings.
Vasanta
Spring.
Vasishtha
Literally, super-eminent. One of the seven great sages.
Vasus
Eight divinities cursed to be born on earth. They were born to King Shantanu by his wife Ganga. She released seven of them by drowning. The eighth was Bheeshma.
Vasudeva
Father of Krishna by Devaki and brother of Kunti. The same word accented on the first syllable, Vaasudeva, is a name of Krishna, meaning son of Vasudeva.
Veda
Literally: wisdom. Four early (ca. 3500 BC) collections of hymns and songs (Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva) held by Hindus in veneration as revealed scriptures.
Vedangas
Literally: limbs (angas) of the Vedas, comprising six treatises. Their original purpose was to ensure that each part of the sacrificial ceremonies was correctly performed.
Veena
The Indian lute.
Vichitraveerya
Literally: of many-faceted heroism. The younger son of Shantanu and Satyavati.
Vidarbha
Country south of the Vindhya ranges.
Vidula
A Queen known for inspiring her son to heroism.
Vidura
Son of Vyasa by a palace-serving maid. Vidura is credited with impartial wisdom.
Vijaya
One of the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra. Emergency name adopted by one of the Pandavas in the Kingdom of Virata.
Vikarna
One of the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra. The only one to support the Pandavas at the dice game.
Virata
The king of Matsya, near modern Jaipur.
Vishvakarma
Literally, all-accomplishing. Referred to in the Rig Veda as the personification of the all-creative power and the architect of the universe.
Vishwamitra
Literally friend of the world. A rishi of great tapas.
Vishwarupa
The vision of Krishna as the universal godhead which was granted to Arjuna before the battle of Kurukshetra.
Vrishni
A famous king of the Yadu dynasty. He was the Ruler of the Yadava kingdom of north-western India. Krishna’s family members were Vrishnis.
Vyasa
Literally, arranger. Composer of the Mahabharata and compiler of the Vedas in their present form. Island-born
Greatfather, progenitor of Pandu and Dritarashtra.
Vyuha
A military array.
Yadavas
Krishna’s race or clan; they ruled in Dwaraka in Gujerat, West India.
Yadu
The descendants of King Yadu. See Yadavas.
Yagnapatni
The co-sacrificer and wife of the institutor of a sacrifice.
Yajna Shala
Hall for sacrifices.
Yajurveda
The second of the four principal Vedas, which are a collection of sacred texts in prose ,relating to sacrifices.
Yaksha
A class of divine beings. Followers of the god of wealth, Kubera.
Yama
Literally, restrainer. God of death; according to legend, he is the son of the sun.
Yamuna
A river, tributary of the Ganga, daughter of the Sun.
Yantra
A mystical diagram possessing occult powers. The term is derived from yam, meaning “to curb or restrain”.The suffix tra denoting the effecting instrument, hence by extension “fetter, tie, thong, rein” etc.
Yashoda
Foster mother of Krishna and wife of the cowherd Nanda.
Yati
An ascetic.
Yavanas
Identified by some scholars as the Ionians. In Buddhist texts, the Greeks are referred to as Yavanas. The Greeks were known as Ionians to the Persians, specifically a people of the Northwest but extended to mean non Aryans who do not offer sacrifices.<
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Yojana
A measure of distance, according to some equal to four krosas or eight or nine miles.
Yuddhashala
War academy.
Yudhamanyu
Brother of Uttamaujas. These two sons of Virata protected Arjuna’s chariot wheels with their lives.
Yudhishthira
The eldest of the five Pandava brothers.
Yuga
An astrological cycle. There are four Yugas. We are mow in the Kaliyuga, the age of iron ahich began with the death of Bheesma.
Yuvaraj
Heir apparent, a prince royal, or crown prince.
Yuyutsu
Son of Dhritarashtra by a Vaishya wife. The only surviving son. He fought on the side of Pandavas at Kurukshetra.
A Note on the Author
Maggi Lidchi-Grassi is a writer and has lived at the Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry since 1959. Her other works include the novels Earthman, The First Wife, Great Sir and Heaven Lady, and several collections of poems, fables, short stories, and plays.
The Great Golden Sacrifice of the Mahabharata Page 102
