GLOSSARY

Abhang: A verse form used for devotional songs in Marathi from the earliest period onward. The
saints of Maharashtra who belonged to the V rkari tradition popularized this genre of devotional
lyrics in praise of god Vi hala of Pandharpur.

ch rya: Teacher, Preceptor. r Vaishnavas acknowledge a line of such teachers.

Advaita: One of the most influential schools of Indian philosophy, which argues that there is no
distinction between god and human souls. This non dualistic philosophy was propounded by
Sankar ch rya in the 8th century.

gama: Sacred text related to worship

Agrah ra: Village donated to Brahmins or village where Brahmins resided

njan ya: Another name of Hanum n, the monkey god.

Ankita: The signature of composers used at the ending lines of the compositions. Purandarad s
used Purandara Vi hala as his ankita or mudra.

v r: “one immersed in god”; a title given to devotional singers in Tamil from the Seventh to
the Eighth centuries in South India. Namm lv r, n l, Kulas khara v r are some of the
important v r saints who composed and sang songs in praise of god Vishnu.

Ananta ayana: One of the reclining forms of Vishnu.

Avat r: “descended”; a term used to describe incarnations of Vishnu, such as Krishna, but also
incarnations of other figures such as N rada and Prahl d.

Ay dhya: The Capital of King Da aratha and of R ma.

B gilu: Medium sized gateway.

Basadi: Jain Temples. Mostly found in Karnataka in South India.

Be a (Kannada): Hill, a term quite frequent in the Hoys la inscriptions.

Bh gavata/ Bh gavata Pur na: A Chronicle of Vishnu and his avat ras, especially important are
the portions of the narrative dealing with the life of god Krishna and a child and his his youthful
exploits.

Bhaj: “divide, share, bestow, enjoy”; the root of the words, bhakti, bhakta and bhajan.
Bhairava: ‘Terrible’, name of one of the fierce aspects of iva.

Bhajan: “ a thing enjoyed or shared”; a public, collective performance usually in the form of
singing one or more names of god repetitively.

Bhakta: “one who exemplifies Bhakti”; a term that generally denotes someone who is devoted to
something in ways that comform to the general idea of Bhakti.

Bhakti: From the root ‘bhaj’ meaning “to participate”. Usually glossed as devotion; implies both
a devotion to one’s deity and a devotion to a community or public.

Dar an: “view”; two key meanings are indicated by this term; (1) viewing a deity, sacred person,
or sacred object in Hinduism; (2) a term used in the sense of a “school of thought” or “point of
view” differentiating the six classical Indian philosophical systems.

D sa: “devotee, servant or disciple”; feminine form is d s . The d sa tradition was a devotional
tradition which existed in Karnataka during the heyday of Vijayanagara Empire. They followed
the Madhva philosophy of dvaita (dualism) which upheld the supremacy of Lord Hari.

D vad si: Temple dancing girl

Dhruvapad: “refrain”; the refrain line of a song; and also a classical form of Indian vocal music.

Durga: A militant goddess, who combats demons who threaten the stability of the universe.

Dvaita: Dualism, one among the schools of V d nta philosophy.

Gan sha: The elephant- headed son of iva and P rvati. He is regarded as the remover of
obstacles and as the god of wisdom.

Garbhagriha: The Sanctum Sanctorum of a temple.

Garuda: The mythical eagle, the vehicle of Vishnu.

G pura: Ornamented, pyramydical entrance gateway to a South Indian temple.

Guru: Teacher, preceptor

Hanum n: The monkey chief who helped R ma to rescue S ta.

Harid sas: The poet saints of Karnataka who followed the Dvaita tradition of Vaishnavism.

Harikath : stories (kath ) about Vishnu/Krishna(hari); a devotional art performance known

Itih sa: “thus indeed it was”; a term for a genre of Sanskrit literature that encompasses the epics
and Pur na and other materials that are considered accounts of real events from the past;
sometimes glossed as “history” and often a translation for the word “history” in Hindi and
Marathi.

Jangama: V ra aiva ascetic

K lamukha: A aiva sect, its followers smear ash on their faces.

Kishkinda: An ancient kingdom of the monkeys in South India.

Krishna: The eighth and the most popular incarnation of Vishnu.

Lakshmi: Consort of Vishnu, goddess of fortune and prosperity.

Linga: Phallus, a symbol of the male principle. Linga is worshipped as a symbol of iva.

Madhva: A teacher or ch rya of Vaishnavism, born at Udipi in Karnataka in the 13th century
who propounded the Dvaita or dualistic school of philosophy.

Mah bh rata: An epic revolving around the war between the P ndavas and Kauravas.

Mah navami: Nine day festival, also known as Dussera or Navar tri.

Mandapa: Open or closed pillar hall.

Matha: Hindu religious monastery. In the Vijayanagara period, mathas of aiva and Vaishnava
sects existed and were patronized and generously endowed by the rulers.

Mukhamandapa: Frontal Mandapa

M rti: Image of a deity

Narasimha: Man-lion, the fourth incarnation of Vishnu.

N yaka: ‘lord’ term form for a vassal or chief in Vijayanagara administration. When the central
polity of the Vijayanagara empire became weak, the N yakas asserted their independence and
formed independent successor states.

N yan r/N yanm r: aiva saint. According to the South Indian tradition there are 63 N yanm rs.

P rvati: Daughter of the mountain (Himalaya). She is the gracious friendly aspect of iva’s
consort.
P upata: A sect of aivism

Prak ra: Courtyard

P ja: Honour, worship or adoration of the gods.

Pur na: A group of Sanskrit texts dealing mainly with mythology.

R ma/R machandra: The hero of the R m yana. The Seventh incarnation of Vishnu.

R m nuja: A Vaishnava teacher or ch rya who propounded the Visisht dvaita (qualified
monism) philosophy and who founded the r Vaishnava sect.

R m yana: ‘R ma’s career’. A famous epic in seven books dealing with the adventures of R ma.

Rangan tha: one of the reclining forms of Vishnu.

stra: Sacred texts.

iva: ‘auspicious’, usually included in the Hindu triad as the ‘destroyer’ along with Brahma the
creator and Vishnu the preserver.

r Vaishnavas: Vaishnava Brahmins of Southern India, followers of R m nujas philosophy of

Sthalapur na: Text that recounts the mythic origin and traditions of a sacred spot or temple.

Sukhanasi: Inner antechamber of a South Indian temple.

Tala: Storey, during Vijayanagara period multi storeyed temple g puras were constructed.

T rtha: ‘Bathing Place, passage’, a shrine or sacred bathing place, a place of pilgrimage.

Tiruvengalan tha: A form of Vishnu, also known as Venkat swara and r niv sa worshipped at
the famous temple at Tirumala-Tirupati.

V hana: Vehicle, mount of a deity :the animal on which the deity rides.

Var ha: ‘Boar’, the third incarnation of Vishnu. The gold coin under Vijayanagara was also
known as Var ha or gady na.

Venkat swara: Same as Tiruvengalan tha. God residing at Tirumala hills.

V rasaiva: A aivite sect found by B sava in Karnataka in the 12th century.

Vishnu: all pervading. The preserver of the universe, a member of the Hindu triad consisting of
Brahma, Vishnu and iva.

Vi isht dvaita: qualified monism, one of the important schools of V d nta philosophy.

Vi hala: a form of Vishnu, especially worshipped worshipped at Pandharpur (Mah r shtra).

Yajna: Sacrifice, oblation, offering.