https://www.yesvedanta.com/sanskrit-glossary-1/
- Abhava（abhāva）：不存在；缺席;否定;沒有什麼。
- Abhaya：“沒有恐懼；”無畏無懼；一種不被任何恐懼所動搖的堅定狀態。
- Abheda：無差別；非二元性。
- Abhimana（abhimāna）：利己主義；自負；依戀;我感；自豪;自我的功能； 「我」和「我的」的錯覺；與身體的認同。
- Abhimata：渴望的；最喜歡的;吸引人的;令人愉快的，有吸引力的；選擇的對象。
- Abhimukti (abhimukha)：轉向解脫；保證解脫的階段。
- Abhinivesha (abhiniveśa)：生存的意願；強烈的願望；對自我與身體或心靈的錯誤認同；對生命本能的執著和對死亡的恐懼。
- Abhisheka (abhiṣeka)：沐浴－將各種物品倒在神聖圖像或人物身上以表達敬意和崇拜的儀式。
- Abhyantara：內部；向內。
- Abhyasa (abhyāsa)：持續的靈修。
- Abhyasayoga (abhyāsayoga)：瑜伽，或透過持續的精神練習與上帝結合。
- Achala：不可移動；站著不動；公司;穩定的;固定不動搖；沒有改變。
- Achara (ācāra): 1) 不動。 2）行為；良好的行為；風俗;實踐;教學。
- ācārya查里亞（ācārya）：老師；導師。
- Achetana：無意識；無意識；無生命的；惰性；事情。
- Achintya (acintya)：不可想像；不可思議;難以理解；無法解釋的。婆羅門的稱號，因為心靈無法想像它的本質。
- Achintya shakti (acintya śakti)：難以理解的力量，不可言說的力量。
- Achit（acit）：無知覺；惰性；無意識;無意識；事情;無生命的現象物體。
- Achyuta (acyuta)：不朽者－奎師那的稱號。
- Adhara (ādhāra)：“支持或支撐；”支持;基質；身體器官。在瑜珈中，它指的是身體的各個部位，這些部位的注意力集中在控制、集中和冥想。
- Adharma：不義；記過、未履行應有的職責；不義的行為；無法無天；缺乏美德；一切與正義（dharma）相反的事。
- Adhibhuta (adhibhūta): 原始存在；原始元素；原始物質。還有：至尊和至尊元素。
- Adhidaiva：原始神；至高神。
- Adhikara (adhikāra)：權威；資格；管轄權;特權;辦公室;宣稱;特權。
- Adhikarin (adhikārin)：有資格或有資格的人；一個有價值的人。它意味著健康和能力。
- Adhishthana (adhiṣṭhāna)：座位；基礎;基質；地面;支持;住所；身體是精微體和真我的居所；潛在的真理或本質；背景。
- Adhiyajna (adhiyajña)：原始犧牲；至高無上的犧牲。
- Adhyatma (adhyātma)：個體的自我；至高無上的自我；精神。
- Adhyatma vidya (adhyātma vidyā)：自我研究；形而上學。
- Adhyatmika (ādhyātmika)：與自我、個體和至高無上有關。
- Adhyaropa-Apavada-Prakriya (adyāropa-avapāda-prakriya)：疊加和否定的方法。 解釋：否定疊加的方法（5-koshas，世界），直到認識到一切都分解為一個現實（存在意識；sat-cit）。 更多的。
- Adhyaya (adhyāya)：章節；部分。
- ādi 阿迪（ādi）：首先；起源;開始;原來的。
- Adi Purusha (ādi puruṣa)：第一個或原始的 Purusha。見普魯沙。
- Adishakti (adhiśakti)：原始力量。
- Aditi：無邊無際；無界； 「無限母親」－從物質向上的所有宇宙意識形式的源頭；在吠陀宇宙論中：眾神之母。
- 阿迪亞（āditya）：太陽；太陽神。
- 阿迪亞斯 (ādityāḥ)：太陽神，其中最偉大的是毘濕奴。
- Adivasi (ādivāsin, adhivāsin)：原住民；表示印地安部落的名稱。
- Adrishta (adṛṣṭa)：看不見的；無形的;未被察覺。這有時適用於上帝、命運、命運、影響力或看不見的力量或力量。
- Adrishya（adṛśya）：隱形；肉眼無法察覺的事物。
- Advaita：非二元論；非二元性；字面意思是：“不是兩個。”
- Advaitic：非對偶；與 Advaita（非二元論）哲學有關。
- Advityia (advitīya)：沒有一秒鐘。
- Adyasakti (adyaśakti)：原始能量。
- 阿伽瑪 (āgama)：聖經；特別是有關寺廟建築和造像、哲學、冥想修行和禮拜方法四個主題的經文。
- 阿加米業 (āgāmi-karma)：個人未來將要做的行為。
- 阿格尼（agniḥ）：吠陀火神。
- Agnihotra：“火祭；”吠陀火祭。
- Aham阿罕姆：“我是；” “我;” 「我」意識； 「我」意識；自我意識。
- 阿罕姆·布拉馬斯米（aham brahmāsmi）：“我是婆羅門。” Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad) 的 Mahavakya（很棒的格言）。
- Ahamkara (ahaṃkāra)：參見 Ahankara (ahaṅkāra)。
- Ahankara (ahaṅkāra)：利己主義或自負；虛假的「我」； 「我」是存在。這是頭腦投射出來的自傲原則“我”，而不是真實的自我。每當「我」被非靈性自我說出或宣稱時，「自我」（ahankara）就會顯現出來。
- Ahimsa (ahimsa)：不傷害思想、言語、行為 Abhava (abhāva): Nonexistence; absence; negation; nothing.
- Abhaya: “Without fear;” fearlessness; a state of steadfastness in which one is not swayed by fear of any kind.
- Abheda: Non-difference; non-duality.
- Abhimana (abhimāna): Egoism; conceit; attachment; I-sense; pride; the function of the ego; the delusion of “me” and “mine;” identification with the body.
- Abhimata: Desired; favorite; attractive; agreeable, appealing; object of choice.
- Abhimukti (abhimukha): Turned toward liberation; the stage in which liberation is assured.
- Abhinivesha (abhiniveśa): Will to live; strong desire; false identification of the Self with the body or mind; an instinctive clinging to life and a dread of death.
- Abhisheka (abhiṣeka): Bathing–the ritual pouring of various items over a sacred image or personage in homage and worship.
- Abhyantara: Internal; inward.
- Abhyasa (abhyāsa): Sustained spiritual practice.
- Abhyasayoga (abhyāsayoga): Yoga, or union with God, through sustained spiritual practice.
- Achala: Immovable; standing still; firm; steady; fixed unwavering; without change.
- Achara (ācāra): 1) Immobile. 2) Conduct; good behavior; custom; practice; teaching.
- Acharya (ācārya): Teacher; preceptor.
- Achetana: Unconscious; non-conscious; inanimate; inert; matter.
- Achintya (acintya): Unthinkable; inconceivable; incomprehensible; inexplicable. A title of Brahman because the mind cannot conceive Its nature.
- Achintya shakti (acintya śakti): Inscrutable power ineffable force.
- Achit (acit): Insentient; inert; unconscious; non-conscious; matter; inanimate phenomenal object.
- Achyuta (acyuta): Imperishable one–a title of Krishna.
- Adhara (ādhāra): “To support or prop;” support; substratum; body apparatus. In yoga, it means various places of the body where the attention is focussed for control, concentration, and meditation.
- Adharma: Unrighteousness; demerit, failure to perform one’s proper duty; unrighteous action; lawlessness; absence of virtue; all that is contrary to righteousness (dharma).
- Adhibhuta (adhibhūta): Primal Being; Primal Element; Primordial Matter. Also: Supreme Being and Supreme Element.
- Adhidaiva: Primal God; Supreme God.
- Adhikara (adhikāra): Authority; qualification; jurisdiction; prerogative; office; claim; privilege.
- Adhikarin (adhikārin): An eligible or qualified person; a worthy person. It implies both fitness and capability.
- Adhishthana (adhiṣṭhāna): Seat; basis; substratum; ground; support; abode; the body as the abode of the subtle bodies and the Self; underlying truth or essence; background.
- Adhiyajna (adhiyajña): Primal Sacrifice; Supreme Sacrifice.
- Adhyatma (adhyātma): The individual Self; the supreme Self; spirit.
- Adhyatma vidya (adhyātma vidyā): Study of the Self; metaphysics.
- Adhyatmika (ādhyātmika): Pertaining to the Self, individual and Supreme.
- Adhyaropa-Apavada-Prakriya (adyāropa-avapāda-prakriyā): Method of superimposition and negation. EXPLANATION: Method that negates the superimposition (5-koshas, world), until it's recognized that everything resolves into the one reality (Existence-Awareness; sat-cit). More.
- Adhyaya (adhyāya): Chapter; section.
- Adi (ādi): First; origin; beginning; original.
- Adi Purusha (ādi puruṣa): The First or Original Purusha. See Purusha.
- Adishakti (adhiśakti): Primal Power.
- Aditi: Boundless; unbounded; “Infinite Mother”–the source of all the cosmic forms of consciousness from physical upwards; in Vedic cosmology: the mother of the gods.
- Aditya (āditya): The sun; the Sun god.
- Adityas (ādityāḥ): Solar deities, the greatest of which is Vishnu.
- Adivasi (ādivāsin, adhivāsin): Original inhabitants; name denoting the tribals in India.
- Adrishta (adṛṣṭa): Unseen; invisible; unperceived. This is sometimes applied to God, fate, destiny, influence, or unseen potency or force.
- Adrishya (adṛśya): Invisible; that which cannot be perceived by the physical eye.
- Advaita: Non-dualism; nonduality; literally: “not two.”
- Advaitic: Non-dual; having to do with the philosophy of Advaita (Non-Dualism).
- Advityia (advitīya): Without a second.
- Adyasakti (adyaśakti): The Primal Energy.
- Agama (āgama): Scripture; particularly scriptures dealing with the four topics of temple construction and the making of images, philosophy, meditation practice, and methods of worship.
- Agami karma (āgāmi-karma): The action that will be done by the individual in the future.
- Agni (agniḥ): Vedic god of fire.
- Agnihotra: “Fire offering;” a Vedic fire sacrifice.
- Aham: “I am;” “I;” “I” awareness; “I” consciousness; self-consciousness.
- Aham Brahmasmi (aham brahmāsmi): “I am Brahman.” The Mahavakya (Great Saying) of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad).
- Ahamkara (ahaṃkāra): See Ahankara (ahaṅkāra).
- Ahankara (ahaṅkāra): Egoism or self-conceit; the false “I;” “I” am-ness. It is the self-arrogating principle “I” that is projected by the mind rather than the real Self. “Ego” (ahankara) is in manifestation whenever “I” is said or claimed by anything other than the spirit-self.
- Ahimsa (ahiṃsā): Non-injury in thought, word, and deed; non-violence; non-killing; harmlessness.
- Airavata (airāvata): “Child of the Water,” the white elephant of Indra that was produced by the churning of the milk ocean.
- Aishwarya (aiśvarya): Dominion; power; lordship; divine glory; majesty; splendor; an attribute of God (Ishwara).
- Ajapa Gayatri (ajapa gāyatrī): So-ham.
- Ajapa japa: A yogic term that means the natural, spontaneous sound of the breath that goes on perpetually through the simple act of breathing. This sound is extremely subtle, and though non-verbal is the highest form of mantra.
- Ajata-Vada (ajāta-vāda): Doctrine that states, there's actually no creation (jagat), māyā, Īśvara. They are all modifcaions of Brahma-tattva (pure consciousness). EG: In BGita 13.13, it states “In the beginning there was no-being, and no non-being”. It's not meant to indicate it didn't exist; just that it was in māyā-unmanifest(ajāta)-potential; thus there was only the One Reality. It's only upon māyā's influence that being (names-forms) is manifest.
- Ajara: Without old age; ageless.
- Ajara Amara Avinashi Atma (ajara amara avināśin ātmā): The ageless, immortal, imperishable Self.
- Ajna chakra (ājñā cakra): “Command Wheel.” Energy center located at the point between the eyebrows, the “third eye.” The medulla center opposite the point between the eyebrows.
- Ajnana (ajñāna): Ignorance; nescience.
- Ajnana timira (ajñāna timira): The “glaucoma” of ignorance.
- Akala: Without parts; an attribute of the Divine Being.
- Akasha (ākāśa): “Not visible;” ether; space; sky; the subtlest of the five elements; the substance that fills and pervades the universe; the particular vehicle of life and sound; the element from which the sense of sound (shabda)–both speech and hearing–arises.
- Akula (akula ref. to śiva / akulā ref. to pārvatī): Without form; formless.
- Akhanda (akhaṇḍa): Unbroken (literally: “not broken”); indivisible; undivided; whole.
- Aklishta (akliṣṭa): Unafflicted; nonafflicted; unmoved.
- Akshara (akṣara): Imperishable; indestructible, immutable, undying; undecaying; unchanging–all in reference to the individual self and the Supreme Self, Brahman. It also means syllable and is used in reference to the ekakshara–the one syllable, the One Imperishable: Om.
- Akshaya (akṣaya): Undecaying; everlasting.
- Alabdhabhumikatva (alabdhabhūmikatva): Non-achievement of a stage; inability to find a footing.
- Alankara (alaṅkāra): Ornamentation; the putting of ornaments or decorations on a sacred image.
- Alasya (ālasya): Laziness; idleness; apathy; sloth.
- Alata chakra (alāta cakra): The illusory circle of fire produced by rapidly waving around a stick that is burning at one end; symbol of the illusory nature of relative existence–of Maya.
- Alinga (aliṅga): Without any attribute, characteristic or mark; Parabrahman; noumenal; undifferentiated prakriti.
- Amala: Without defect; pure; immaculate.
- Amalam: Free from the impurity of Maya.
- Amara: Immortal; deathless.
- Amavasya (amāvāsyā): New moon day.
- Amba: Mother; a title of Durga.
- Ambika (ambikā): The Mother; a title of Parvati.
- Amrita (amṛta): That which makes one immortal. The nectar of immortality that emerged from the ocean of milk when the gods churned it.
- Anadi (anādi): Beginningless; eternal.
- Anahata (anāhata): “Unstruck;” “unbeaten.” Continuous bell-like inner resonance; the heart; the heart chakra; the inner divine melody (mystic sounds heard by the Yogis); Om.
- Anahata chakra (anāhata cakra): “Unstruck.” Energy center located in the spine at the point opposite the center of the chest (sternum bone). Seat of the Air element.
- Ananda (ānanda): Bliss; happiness; joy; delight.
- Anandamaya kosha (ānandamaya kośa): “The sheath of bliss (ananda).” The causal body. The borderline of the Self (atman).
- Ananta: Infinite; without end; endless; a name of Shesha, the chief of the Nagas, whose coils encircle the earth and who symbolizes eternity, and upon whom Vishnu reclines.
- Anatma (anātmā): Not-Self; insentient.
- Anavashtitatvani: Unsteadiness; instability of mind; inability to find a footing; mental unsteadiness.
- Aneka: Not one–i.e., many.
- Anga (aṅga): Limb; individual part; accessory; member; technique.
- Anima (aṇiman): Little; minute; atomization; the capacity (siddhi) to become as small as one desires–even as small as an atom.
- Anishta (aniṣṭa, ppp): Undesirable; bad.
- Anitya (adj): Impermanent; transient.
- Anjali (añjali, mas): Two hands held with palms together in salutation; an offering of a handful of flowers.
- Anna (n): Food; matter.
- Annamaya kosha (annamaya kośa): “The sheath of food (anna).” The physical–or gross–body, made of food.
- Annapurna (annapūrṇa, adj): “Full of Food.” A title of the Goddess (Shakti) depicted as the Goddess of Food and Abundance. The consort of Shiva.
- Anta (mas, n): End; extremity.
- Antahkarana (antaḥkaraṇa): Internal instrument; fourfold mind: mind, intellect, ego and subconscious mind.
- Antahprajna (antaḥprajña): Inner (subjective) consciousness; inwardly cognitive.
- Antara (āntara, adj): Internal; interior; inside; middle.
- Antaratman (antarātman, mas): The indwelling (inner) Self; inner soul.
- Antariksha (antarikṣa, n): Sky; firmament; atmosphere.
- Antarmukha (n): Literally “inner face”–inward vision or perception.
- Antaryamana (n): Dwelling, guiding, or ruling within.
- Antaryamin (antaryāmin, mas): Indweller; inner guide; inner ruler; the spark of divinity within; the “witness” who dwells within every living being. This applies to both the jivatma and the Paramatma. (Antar–within/inner; and yamin–guide.)
- Anu (aṇu, adj): Atom; atomic; elementary particle; minute; that which cannot further divided; an individual being.
- Anubhava (mas): Perception; direct personal experience; spiritual experience; intuitive consciousness and knowledge.
- Anukara (adj, or anukāra, mas): Following; imitating.
- Anumana (anumāna, n): Inference.
- Anumanika (ānumānika, adj): Inferential.
- Anuswara (anusvāra, mas): Bindu.
- Anusandhana (anusandhāna, n): Enquiry or investigation; in Vedanta, enquiry or investigation into the nature of Brahman.
- Anushthana (anuṣṭhāna, n): Observance; religious exercise; repetition of a mantra for a set number of times during a given period; systematic performance of religious practices, usually undertaken for some definite period of time.
- Anuttara (adj): “Beyond which there is nothing;” the Highest, the Supreme; the Absolute.
- Anvaya-vyatireka: Positive and negative assertions; proof by assertion and negation. Just as several kinds of dal are mixed together, so also, the Atman is mixed with the five koshas. You will have to separate the Self from the five sheaths. You will have to separate name and form from Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. Anvaya and vyatireka processes always go together. The Self exists in the five sheaths, yet it is not the sheaths. This is Vedantic sadhana. The aspirant rejects the names and forms and the five sheaths and realizes the one, all-pervading, indivisible, infinite, eternal, unchanging essence, viz., Brahman.
- Ap/Apah (apaḥ, mas): Water; one of the five elements, from which the sense of taste (rasa) arises.
- Apaishunam (apaiśuna, n): Absence of calumny; aversion to fault-finding.
- Apana (apāna, mas): The prana that moves downward, producing the excretory functions in general.
- Apara (aparā, f): Lower; lower knowledge; other; relative; inferior.
- Aparigraha (mas): Non-possessiveness, non-greed, non-selfishness, non-acquisitiveness.
- Aparoksha (aparokṣa, adj): Immediate; direct.
- Aparoksha anubhuti (aparokṣa anubhūti): The direct, immediate, intuitive experience or perception of the invisible–the realization of Brahman. The title of a treatise on Advaita Vedanta by Shankaracharya.
- Apavarga: Liberation; release; escape from pain; release from the bondage of embodiment.
- Apta (āpta, mas): A trustworthy person.
- Apunya (apuṇya, adj): Demerit; vice; non-meritorious acts; unvirtuous deeds; sinful. See Punya.
- Aradhana (ārādhana, n): Worship of the Divine; adoration; self-surrender.
- Arambha (ārambha, mas): Origin; cause; original; causal.
- Arambha-vada (ārambha veda): “The theory of origination;” the Nyaya-Vaisheshika theory of causation which states that the effect is a new production from the cause. The cause is one thing, the effect is another. The effect is held to be nonexistent before its production by the sauce. This theory is also called asatkarya-vada.
- Arani (araṇi, mas): Sacrificial wood stick for creating fire through friction.
- Aranyaka (āraṇyaka, mas): “Forest book;” philosophical, symbolic, and spiritual interpretations of the Vedic hymns and rituals. Mainly meant for forest-dwelling ascetics (vanaprasthas).
- Arati: A ceremony of worship in which lights, incense, camphor, and other offerings representing the five elements and the five senses–the totality of the human being–are waved before an image or symbol of the Divine.
- Aratrika (ārātrika, n): See Arati.
- Archa (ārca, adj): Worship; adoration.
- Archanam (arcanam, adj): Worship of a sacred image.
- Ardhangini: Partner in life (wife); especially Parvati, the wife of Lord Siva.
- Arghya (adj): Offering made in ritualistic worship. Sometimes an offering of flowers, bel leaves, sandal paste, durva grass, and rice together.
- Arjava (ārjava, n): Straightforwardness; honesty; rectitude (from the verb root rinj: “to make straight.”)
- Artha (mas, n): Wealth; object; thing. It is the secular value which is both desired and desirable. It satisfies the acquisitive tendency in individuals. It is the economic value.
- Artharthi (arthārthin, adj): One who desires material gain (artha).
- Arupa (arūpa, mas): Formless.
- Arya (ārya, mas): One who is an Arya–literally, “one who strives upward.” Both Arya and Aryan are exclusively psychological terms having nothing whatsoever to do with birth, race, or nationality. In his teachings Buddha habitually referred to spiritually qualified people as “the Aryas.” Although in English translations we find the expressions: “The Four Noble Truths,” and “The Noble Eightfold Path,” Buddha actually said: “The Four Aryan Truths,” and “The Eightfold Aryan Path.”
- Aryaman (mas): Chief of the Pitris.
- Asambhava (mas): Total inapplicability; impossibility.
- Asamprajnata samadhi (asamprajñāta samādhi): Highest superconscious state where the mind and the ego-sense are completely annihilated.
- Asamprayoga (mas): Withdrawal of the senses from their objects; non-communication; non-interchange; withdrawal; disuniting; disconnecting.
- Asana (āsana, n): Posture; seat; Hatha Yoga posture.
- Asanga (asaṅga, adj): Non-attachment; without attachment.
- Asat (mas): Unreal[ity]; nonbeing; nonexistence; false; falsehood.
- Asatya (n): Unreal; untrue.
- Ashanti (aśānti, f): Absence of peace of mind; restlessness; distraction.
- Ashaucha (aśauca, n): Impurity; uncleanness.
- Ashram (āśrama, mas): A place for spiritual discipline and study, usually a monastic residence. Also a stage of life. In Hinduism life is divided ideally into four stages (ashramas): 1) the celibate student life (brahmacharya); 2) the married household life (grihastha); 3) the life of retirement (seclusion) and contemplation (vanaprastha); 4) the life of total renunciation (sannyasa).
- Ashramite (āśramin, adj): Resident of an ashram.
- Ashta (aṣṭa): Eight.
- Ashtami (aṣṭamī, f): “The eighth”–eighth day of the dark or light fortnights of the lunar cycle.
- Ashtanga Yoga (aṣṭāṅga yogaḥ): The “eight-limbed” Yoga of Patanjali consisting of yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. (See separate entries for each “limb.”)
- Ashuddha (aśuddha, adj): Impure; incorrect.
- Ashuddhi (aśuddhi, f): Impurity. Ashwattha: The pipal (sacred fig) tree, in the Bhagavad Gita, the eternal tree of life whose roots are in heaven. The “world tree” in the sense of the axis of the earth and even of the cosmos. Ashwins: Two Vedic deities, celestial horsemen of the sun, always together, who herald the dawn and are skilled in healing. They avert misfortune and sickness and bring treasures.
- Ashubha (aśubha, mas): Inauspicious unfortunate.
- Ashuddha (aśuddha, adj): Impure; unpurified; incorrect.
- Ashwattha (aśvattha, mas): The pipal (sacred fig) tree, the eternal tree of life whose roots are in heaven. The “world tree” in the sense of the axis of the earth and even of the cosmos.
- Asmita (asmitā, f): I-ness; the sense of “I am;” “I exist;” sense of individuality.
- Asteya (n): Non-stealing; honesty; non-misappropriativeness.
- Astikyam (āstikyam, n): Piety; belief in God.
- Astra (n): Weapon.
- Asura (āsura, mas): Demon; evil being (a-sura: without the light).
- Asurim (āsurī / asurī, f) : The state of an asura, one who dwells in darkness (a-sura–without the light). The condition of those negative souls who are turned away from divinity and moving further into degradation of consciousness and mode of life.
- Aswara (asvara, adj): Without sound, accent, or tone.
- Atma (ātmā / ātman, mas): The individual spirit or self.
- Atmabhava (ātmabhāva, mas): The nature of the Self; awareness of the self; feeling: “I am the Self.”
- Atmadrishti (ātmādṛṣṭi, f): The seeing or sight of the Self (atma); the vision of the Self; knowledge of the Self through direct vision or knowing.
- Atmajnana (ātmajñāna, n): Knowledge of the Self.
- Atmanubhava (ātmānubhava): Self-realization; perception/experience of the Self.
- Atmarama (ātmārāma / ātmarāma, adj): Satisfied–delighted–in the Self.
- Atmashakti (ātmaśakti, f): Power of the Self; personal power or strength.
- Atmavichara (ātmavicāra, m): Enquiry into the Self.
- Atmavidya (ātmavidyā, f)(: Teaching about the Self and its reality; knowledge of the Self.
- Atmic (ātmīya, adj): Having to do with the atma–spirit or self.
- Aum: Alternate spelling of Om. Technical (Sanskrit scholars will understand): Non-sandhi of Om.
- Avadhuta (avadhūta, adj): “Cast off” (one who has cast off the world utterly). A supreme ascetic and jnani who has renounced all worldly attachments and connections and lives in a state beyond body consciousness, whose behavior is not bound by ordinary social conventions. Usually they wear no clothing. The highest state of asceticism or tapas.
- Avarana (āvaraṇa, n): Concealment; veil; screen; obstruction; the veiling power of ignorance.
- Avatar (avatāra, mas): A Divine Incarnation.
- Avidya (avidyā, f): Ignorance; nescience; unknowing; literally: “to know not.”
- Avidyamaya (avidyāmaya, adj): Maya, or illusion causing duality, has two aspects, namely, avidyamaya and vidyamaya. Avidyamaya, or the “maya of ignorance,” consisting of anger, passion, and so on, entangles one in worldliness. Vidyamaya, or the “maya of knowledge,” consisting of kindness, purity, unselfishness, and so on, leads one to liberation. Both belong to the relative world. See Maya.
- Avidyasakti (avidyāśakti, f): The power of ignorance (avidya).
- Avinashi (avināśin, adj): Indestructible; imperishable.
- Avirati (f): Hankering after objects; non-dispassion; sensual indulgence; lack of control; nonrestraint.
- Avyakta (n): Unmanifest; invisible; the undifferentiated; the state when the three gunas are in perfect equilibrium; in Sankhya philosophy a term for Prakriti.
- Ayam Atma Brahma (ayam ātmā brahma): “This Self is Brahman.” The Mahavakya (Great Saying) of the Mandukya Upanishad).
- Ayurveda (āyurveda, mas): “Life-knowledge.” The ancient system of Indian medicine formulated by the sage Dhanvantari and considered part of the Vedic revelation.
