Showing 1 to 100 of 171.
- AARTIA particular Hindu prayer ritual, involving candles made from clarified butter.
- AHIMSAA doctrine of non-violence, concerned with the sacredness of all living things and an effort to avoid causing harm to them.
- ALAPThe opening, improvised section of a Classical raga performance, before the formal recitation.
- ALOOpotato
- AMLAPhyllanthus emblica, a deciduous tree.
- ANKUSThe hooked goad that is used in India to control elephants.
- ARHATOne who has attained enlightenment; a Buddhist saint.
- ASHRAMA secluded religious hermitage inhabited by gurus, or the population of such a hermitage.
- ATMANThe true self of an individual beyond identification with worldly phenomena, the essence of an individual, an infinitesimal part of Brahman.
- ATOLLA type of island consisting of a ribbon reef that nearly or entirely surrounds a lagoon and supports, in most cases, one to many islets on the reef platform.
- AUBERGINEAn Asian plant, Solanum melongena, cultivated for its edible purple, green, or white ovoid fruit; eggplant.
- BAELA tropical fruit tree from India, Aegle marmelos.
- BAHTThe official currency of Thailand, equal to 100 satang.
- BAHUA daughter-in-law or sister-in-law, especially one who lives with her husband's family when married.
- BANDHA general strike, shutdown, or other form of protest used in South Asia in which a substantial portion of the population stays home and does not report to work.
- BANYANAn Indian trader, merchant, cashier, or money changer.
- BHAIfriend, dude, man
- BHAKTASomeone who practises bhakti; a person who is devoted to God; a devotee; a worshipper.
- BHAKTIdevotion to God
- BHINDISynonym of okra: the plant or its edible capsules.
- BHOOTA supernatural creature, usually the ghost of a deceased person.
- BODHIThe state of enlightenment that finally ends the cycle of death and rebirth and leads to nirvana.
- BRAHMINA member of the Hindu priestly caste, one of the four varnas or social groups based on occupation in ancient Hindu society.
- BRINJALAn aubergine or eggplant.
- CANDYCrystallized sugar formed by boiling down sugar syrup.
- CHADORA loose robe made from a single cloth, worn as a combination head covering, veil and shawl by chiefly Muslim women (and occasionally by those of other faiths) in Iran and South Asi
- CHAKRAAny of (at least) seven centres of spiritual energy in or near the body, according to Ayurveda philosophy.
- CHANKThe large spiral shell of several species of sea conch, much used in making bangles, especially Turbinella pyrum.
- CHAPATIA flat, unleavened bread from northern India and Pakistan.
- CHITALa large spotted deer, of genus Axis, native to India and Sri Lanka
- CHOWKAn intersection or roundabout, where tracks or roads cross (often used in place names).
- CHOWRYA flyflap or whisk originally made from the bushy tail of a yak.
- CHUKARA bird of species of partridge native to central Asia (Alectoris chukar).
- COPRAThe dried kernel of the coconut, from which coconut oil is extruded.
- CRIMSONA deep, slightly bluish red.
- DARSHANHierophany, theophany; being in the presence of the divine or holy (as a person or object).
- DERVISHAn itinerant Sufi mystic practicing voluntary poverty in devotion to God, and often engaging in ecstatic rituals.
- DEVAA god in Vedic mythology, Hinduism and Buddhism.
- DHARMAThe natural order of the universe; natural law, cosmic order.
- DHOLA type of drum from India.
- DINGHYA small open boat, propelled by oars or paddles, carried as a tender, lifeboat, or pleasure craft on a ship.
- DOOLYA basic Indian litter or sedan chair made of poles, ropes, and a seat or cloth.
- DVANDVAA copulative or coordinative type of compound in which members, if not compounded, would be in the same case and connected by the conjunction and. Common in languages such as Sansk
- EMBLICThe fruit of Emblica officinalis (now Phyllanthus emblica, the Indian gooseberry, once used as a remedy against dysentery)
- GANJAMarijuana, the inflorescence of the Cannabis sativa plant, smoked or ingested for euphoric effect.
- GARUDAA large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Garuda is the son of Vinata.
- GAURAn Asian species of wild bovine (Bos gaurus), of large size and an untamable disposition.
- GAYALBos frontalis, a Southern Asiatic species of domestic cattle.
- GHATA descending path or stairway to a river; a ford or landing-place.
- GHEEA type of clarified butter used in South Asian cooking.
- GOOLIESThe testicles.
- GOOLYsingular of goolies: a testicle.
- GOPURAMA monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a temple, especially in Southern India.
- GUARAn annual legume (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), used as a food for cattle and humans.
- GURUIn Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.
- HACKERYA two-wheeled oxcart used for transporting freight.
- HATHAThe fundamental form of yoga that focuses on asanas
- HODJAA Muslim schoolmaster.
- IXORAAny of the flowering plants in the genus Ixora.
- JACKALAny of certain wild canids of the genera Lupulella and Canis, native to the tropical Old World and smaller than a wolf.
- JAMBULAn evergreen tropical tree, Syzygium cumini.
- JUNGLEA large, lush, undeveloped, humid forest, especially in a tropical region, thick with vegetation and wildlife; a tropical rainforest.
- KALPAA period of 4.32 billion years (1000 chatur-yugas or cycles of the four yugas).
- KARMAThe sum total of a person's actions, which determine the person's next incarnation in samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth.
- KEDGEREEKhichdi.
- KERMESAny of several insects of the genus Kermes.
- KHANDAA double-edged sword from India, used ceremonially in Sikhism.
- KIRPANA ceremonial sword that must be worn at all times by baptized Sikhs, and one of the five Ks.
- KIRTANA call-and-response chant performed in India's devotional traditions.
- KOELA cuckoo of the genus Eudynamys, native to Asia, Australia and the Pacific.
- KUMARIA living goddess; a prepubescent girl worshipped as a manifestation of divine female energy.
- LACQUERA glossy, resinous material used as a surface coating; either a natural exudation of certain trees, or a solution of nitrocellulose in alcohol, etc.
- LANGURAny of the Old World monkeys of the genera Simias, Trachypithecus (lutungs), Presbytis (surilis), and Semnopithecus (gray langurs).
- LEMONA yellowish citrus fruit.
- LINGAMThe aniconic phallic representation traditionally worshipped as a symbol of or in connection with Shiva.
- LOOTSynonym of booty, goods seized from an enemy by violence, particularly during the sacking of a town in war or after successful combat.
- MALIA member of a caste in South Asia whose traditional occupation is gardening; hence, any South Asian gardener.
- MANASThe mind; that which distinguishes man from the animals.
- MAYAMagic; supernatural power as held by the gods.
- MEERKATSuricata suricatta, a small carnivorous mammal of the mongoose family, from the Kalahari Desert, known for its habit of standing on its hind legs.
- MEHNDIA henna plant (Lawsonia inermis).
- MELAA Hindu religious festival.
- MINAAlternative spelling of myna.
- MOKSHAIn Indian philosophy and theology, the final liberation of the soul or consciousness from samsara and the bringing to an end of all the suffering involved in being subject to the c
- MOOLISynonym of daikon, particularly its Indian varieties.
- MUDRAAny of several formal symbolic hand postures used in classical dance of India and in Hindu and Buddhist iconography.
- MUKHTARA minor official—usually overseeing a village or town—in many Arab countries and in the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and formerly Alb
- MUNGmung bean (Vigna radiata, syn. Phaseolus aureus), cultivated for its sprouts.
- MURVASynonym of marool.
- MURVASSynonym of marool.
- MYNAOne of the South and East Asian birds of the starling family Sturnidae.
- NAIKA lord or governor in South Asia.
- NAMASTEA greeting in contexts relating to Indian culture or the New Age movement.
- NARGHILEA large Oriental tobacco pipe wherein the smoke is drawn through water to filter and cool it.
- NAUTCHA dance in the Indian subcontinent, performed by professional dancing girls.
- NEEMAzadirachta indica, a large, mostly evergreen tree from India, whose seeds yield neem oil, the insecticide azadirachtin.
- NUMDAHAn Indian rug or mat made with chain stitch.
- OPALA mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO2·nH2O. A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone fou
- ORANGEAn evergreen tree of the genus Citrus such as Citrus sinensis which yields oranges (the fruit).
- OUGHTsimple past of owe