Word origins

• astikaThe supreme authority of the Vedas.
• ĀstīkaA rishi, son of Jaratkaru and Manasa, who saved the naga race from being destroyed in King Janamejaya's Sarpa Satra yajna.
• AśvinsTwin gods of medicine, health, dawn and the sciences.
• AswayujaThe seventh month in the Hindu lunar calendar.
• AtharvA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• AtharvavedaA sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda".
• AtikayaName of one of the sons of Ravana in the Ramayana.
• avagrahaA symbol (ऽ) used in the Devanagari script and other Indian scripts, to mark vocalic gemination or the elision of the inherent vowel a in the process of sandhi in Sanskrit.
• AvaniA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• AvichalA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• avidyaIgnorance or delusion.
• AviralaA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• AxarA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• AyushAyurveda, yoga, naturopathy, Unani, siddha, Sowa, Rigpa, and homoeopathy, collectively.
• AyushmaanA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• AyushmanA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• BabhruvahanaThe king of Manipur, son of Arjuna and Chitrangadā in the Mahabharata, who kills his father and later revives him.
• Balabhadraan epithet of Balarama (one whose weapon is a plough)
• BalachandraA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• BaladevaBalarama
• Balbhadraan epithet of Balarama (one whose weapon is a plough)
• BalchandraA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• BarkhaA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• BattabaraA bodhisattva in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
• BhadrakaliName of a Hindu goddess in South India.
• BhagaOne of the Adityas, a god of wealth and marriage in Hinduism. In the Rigveda Bhaga is the god who supervises the distribution of goods and destiny to each man corresponding to his merits.
• Bhagavad GitaAn epic poem from Mahabharata where Krishna gives Arjuna a discourse on ethics.
• Bhagavata PuranaOne of the Hindu Puranas, with its primary focus on the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna.
• BhagirathaA great king who brought the River Ganges, personified as the river goddess Ganga, to Earth from the heavens.
• BhagirathiBhagirathi River
• BhaiṣajyaguruA bodhisattva in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
• Bhaiṣajyarājaa bodhisattva in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism
• Bhaiṣajyasamudgataa bodhisattva in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism
• BhargaviThe goddess Lakshmi.
• bhasmacalcined mineral.
• BhaumikA surname from Sanskrit.
• bhavacakraA symbolic representation of samsara (or cyclic existence).
• BheemA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• Bhoomijaan epithet of Sita
• BhoomikaA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• BhudeviSynonym of Bhumi.
• bhujangasanaA back-bending asana (yoga pose), in which one lays face-down and then extends their arm to push only their upper body up, causing the back to arch.
• bhumiOne of the ten hierarchically arranged stages through which bodhisattva passes to the path to awakening in the Mahayana tradition.
• Bhumijaan epithet of Sita
• brahmadandaLiterally, the rod of Brahma; also used of bamboo rods carried by Indian ascetics.
• brahmarakshasaThe spirit of an evil Brahmin; a demon, an evil spirit.
• BrahmastraAn invincible, supremely destructive celestial weapon created by Lord Brahma, capable of destroying creation and never missing its mark.
• BrihaspatiThe Guru and priest of the Devas.
• candrabinduA diacritic used in Indic scripts like Devanagari (ँ), Bengali (ঁ), Gurmukhi ( ਁ), Gujarati (ઁ), Odia (ଁ), and Telugu (ఁ) scripts. It usually indicates that the previous vowel is nasalized. Shown here over the letter "ka" (or in the case of Telugu, after the "ka")
• Candraprabhaa bodhisattva in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism
• ChakradharName of Vishnu.
• ChakravakamA rāga in Carnatic music. It is the 16th melakarta rāga in the 72 melakarta rāga system.
• chakravala methodThe use of a cyclic algorithm to solve indeterminate quadratic equations.
• chakravartinAn ideal universal ruler, who rules ethically and benevolently over the entire world.
• chamelijasmine (Jasminum)
• champakA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• chandalaA person involved in the disposal of corpses, traditionally a lower-caste Hindu and considered untouchable.
• ChandrahasaThe legendary sword of Ravana, given to him by Lord Shiva.
• ChandraketuSon of Lakshmana and Urmila, and the brother of Angada.
• chatakaA bird in Indian mythology, represented as having a beak on its head that waits for rains to quench its thirst, and associated with the Jacobin cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus).
• chatraSynonym of umbrella or parasol, particularly ritual or ceremonial forms.
• ChaviA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• CheshtaA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• ChetanaA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• ChhaviA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• ChinmayA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• ChiranjeevA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• ChiranjivA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• ChiranjiviA male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• Chitraguptathe god of records, one of Yamas attendants, recorder of every man's good and evil deeds; and the progenitor of Kayasthas.
• ChitrangadA Kuru king, elder son of Shantanu and Satyavati in the Mahabharata, who was slain in combat by the gandharva King of the same name.
• ChitrangadaA Kuru king, elder son of Shantanu and Satyavati in the Mahabharata, who was slain in combat by the gandharva King of the same name.
• ChitrangadāThe princess of Manipur, wife of Arjuna, and mother of Babhruvahana in the Mahabharata.
• ChitrasenaA king of the gandharvas in Hindu mythology, known for his association with the Pandavas and Indra's court.
• ChitravahanaThe king of Manipur and father of Chitrangadā in the Mahabharata.
• Cintāmaṇicakraa bodhisattva in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism
• Cundia bodhisattva in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism
• DaivajnaA surname from Sanskrit.
• dakshinacharaA Tantric sect that does not engage in practices considered heterodox according to usual Hindu social norms.
• DamayantiThe princess of Vidarbha and wife of Nala in Mahabharata.
• DaminiA female given name from Sanskrit
• DanavaName of a race descending from Daksha. They were the sons of Danu, who in turn was a daughter of Daksha. Danu is connected with the waters of heavens and she is probably associated with the formless, primordial waters that existed prior to the creation.
• DandakaranyaA vast, historic forest region described in the Ramayana where Rāma, Sita, and Lakshmana spent a major portion of their fourteen-year exile.
• dandasanaA stiff asana (yoga position) with the legs flat on the floor and the body upright.
• DashamiThe tenth day (tithi) in the lunar fortnight (paksha) of the Hindu calendar.
• DasharathaA king of Ayodhya and a descendant of the Ikshvaku dynasty in the Ramayana.
• DāsharathaAn epithet of Shri Rāma.
• DashavataraThe ten avatars of Vishnu.
• DashrathA King of Ayodhya, descendant of the Ikshvaku dynasty and the father of Shri Rama
• DebaduttaA male given name from India, of Indian usage.
• deekshaA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• devadasiA girl who underwent the Hindu religious practice of being "married" to a deity. In addition to taking care of the temple, she learned and practiced Bharatanatyam and other classical Indian arts, enjoying high social status.
• DevahutiThe daughter of Manu and Shatarupa, the wife of Prajapati Kardama, and the mother of rishi Kapila
• DevakanyaA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• devalokaIn Indian religions, a plane of existence where gods and devas exist; paradise, heaven.
• DevamidhaA king of Mithila, son of Kīrtiratha and ancestor of Janaka.
• DevanganaA female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
• DevantakaA rakshasa, son of Ravana and Dhanyamalini, who was slain by Hanuman in the Ramayana.
• DevasenaThe goddess of aspiration.
• devataA kind of good spirit, similar to a guardian angel or a lesser deity.