Glossary

abhiseka — Anointment, rite by which lordly powers are affused onto a re cipient.

acamana — “Sipping-water,” one of the upac ras offered to a guest or to a divinity.

acarya — Śaiva priest, qualified to perform puja on behalf of others. c ryabhiseka — “Priestly anointment” conferring status of acarya on Śaiva initiate.

Adharasakti — The “Supporting Sakti” at the base of the divy sana. adhik ra — Appointment or assignment to perform a role or function. adhik rin — Agent employed by a superior to carry out some assignment. disaiva — “Original Śaiva,” Śaiva br hmana.

gamas — Central texts of Śaiva siddh nta.

gamin — “Future karman,” one of three basic types of karrtum. AGHORA — One of five brahmamantras; associated with activity of reab sorption and the south face of Sadasiva.

aisvarya — Lordly power.

amrta — “Nectar,” the undying food of the gods; substances ritually imbued with sivatva.

Ananta — First among the eight Vidyesvaras.

angamantras — Set of six “limb” mantras, considered as intrinsic extensions of diva’s being: NETRA, HRD, SIRAS, SIKHA, KAVACA, and ASTRA. antyeffi — Cremation, seen as leading to final mok$a.

anuga — “Conformity,” as between knowledge and ritual action in Śaiva system.

anugraha—Grace, one of diva’s pancakrtya, by which he grants liberation from bondage.

arghya — “Reception-water,” a special ritual concoction, offered as an upacara and also used to purify other substances.

ASTRA — “Weapon” mantra, one of six angamantras, often used to burn or destroy impurities.

a&uddhadhvan — Impure domain, composed of thirty-one tattvas deriving from may a. Antonym: suddhadhvan.

atman — The soul, the animating essence of a person, whose innate form is consciousness.

atmarthapuja — Worship on one’s own behalf. Antonym: pararthapuja. atmaSuddhi — Self-purification or purification of the soul, to render body suitable for subsequent parts of ritual. One of the five purifications per formed at beginning of puja.

182 · Glossary

avahana — Invocation, rite summoning Siva into Imga or other support. avarana — Entourage, a circle of divinities surrounding Siva. ayudha — Weapons, carried by divinities.

bandhatva — Bondage, the ordinary state of a pasu in fetters. Antonym: mokfa.

bhakti — Devotion, the proper attitude for a person to have toward divinity. bhavana — Imaginative re-creation, visualization.

bhoga — Worldly benefits; the consumption of the fruits of past actions (bhogyakarman).

bhogyakarman — Actions whose consequences are still to be experienced, the residue of past actions, acting as a fetter on the soul. bhutas — The five material elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Ether. bhuvanas — Worlds.

bija — Seed, that from which other things emanate; the “seed-syllables” containing the essences of mantras.

bindu — Mahamaya.

brahmamantras — Set of five mantras, by which Siva performs his pan cakrtya: KANA, TATPURUSA, AGHORA, VAMA, and SADYOJATA. These corre spond to the five “faces” of SadaSiva.

brahmarandhra — “Divine aperture” at the top of the head, one of the granthis.

bubhuksu — One who seeks worldly enjoyments. Antonym: mumuksu. Canda — One of the Ganesvaras, considered a fierce emanation of Siva; the recipient of nirmalya.

caryapada — One of four sections of a complete agama, prescribing proper day-to-day conduct for members of the Śaiva community. catussamskara — Fourfold consecration, used as purification. cit — Consciousness, the principal attribute of every animate being, distin guishing living beings from the inert and inanimate. Antonym: jada. dharana — “Cosmic supports,” the five material elements seen as supports for the five kalas.

dhenumudra — “Cow” mudrd, used when transforming substances into amrta.

dhyana — Meditation; mental activity by which the mind undistractedly centers itself on some reality, bringing about its presence. dikstϊ — Initiation.

divyadeha — “Divine body” of mantras, imposed onto linga during invo cation.

divyasana — “Divine throne,” imposed by worshiper onto pedestal during invocation.

dravyasuddhi — Purification of ritual substances, one of the five purifica tions performed at outset of piija.

Glossary • 183

dv das nta — Point of reabsorption, twelve inches above worshiper’s head; the location of Paramasiva.

Gapesvaras — “Lords of the Troops,” group of eight deities constituting siva’s “family”: Nandin, Mah k la, Ganesa, Vrsa, Bhrngi, Skanda, Am bik , and Canda.

garbhagrha — “Womb-room,” innermost chamber of shrine and location of linga or principal object of worship.

granthis — “Subtle centers” or “joints” located at heart, throat, palate, eye brows, and brahmarandhra, visualized as lotus buds binding the nadis. guna — Quality, attribute; especially the divine attributes of Siva and liber ated beings.

gun p dana— Rite “bringing forth the qualities” of sivatva during ini tiation.

HAUM — Seed-syllable of MULKA.

HRD — “Heart” mantra, one of

ida — Left breath channel, one of the n dis.

ISANA — One of five brahmamantras; associated with the activity of grace and the upraised face of SadaSiva.

jada — Inanimate substance. Antonym: cit.

japa — Mantra recitations.

jn na — Knowledge.

jhanapada — One of four sections of a complete agama, describing the fundamental order of the universe.

jhanaSakti — The power of knowledge, one of the inherent capacities of consciousness.

jnanendriyas — Five perceptual faculties: skin, tongue, eye, ear, and nose.

kalas — “Portions” of some larger unity. Used to designate various sets: a. Five kalas — Cosmological entities containing entire manifest world: santyatlta, santi, vidya, pratistha, and nivrtti.

b. Twelve kalas — Portions of the MOLA mantra, reunited through uccarana during invocation. (Often there are sixteen rather than twelve such kalas.)

c. Thirty-eight kalas — Kalamantras, thirty-eight 3aktis constituting powers of SadaSiva’s body.

kalasuddhi — Purification of the five kalas, a rite of nirvanadiksa. karana — Instruments through which something else acts.

Karane&varas — Five lords governing the body’s breath channels, each as sociated with a particular granthi: Sadasiva, Isvara, Rudra, Vi§nu, and Brahman.

karanyasa — Imposition of mantras onto the hands, a preliminary rite of atmasuddhi.184 - Glossaiy

karman — Action in general; ritual action; the residue of past actions, one of three primary fetters.

KAVACA — “Armor” mantra, one of six angamantras, used to surround and protect.

Kevalavijnanas — Beings of the pure domain, fettered only by mala. kriya — Action in general, and ritual action par excellence. kriyapdda — One of four sections of a complete agama, prescribing proper ritual conduct.

kriyaiakti — The power of action, one of the inherent capacities of con sciousness.

IiAga — Siva’s primary icon or “mark,” a smooth cylindrical shaft set in a pedestal.

Lokapalas — World Guardians, a group of eight or ten deities protecting the world in the eight directions, above and below: Indra, Agni, Yama, Niriti, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera, liana, and optionally Brahman, Visnu. mahamayd — Material cause of the pure domain.

Maheivara — “Great Lord,” collective name for Siva’s manifest forms, represented by Śaiva icons and related to aspects or episodes of Siva’s activities in the world.

mala — Primordial stain, one of three primary fetters.

mandala — “Domain,” used to refer to a variety of diagrams, ritual arrange ments, that specify particularized wholes.

mantra — Powerful speech acts used to bring about presence of divine pow ers. In an extended sense, denotes both the speech act as signifier and the divine power as signified.

mayd — Material cause of the impure domain, the source-substance from which the thirty-one tattvas of material cosmos emanate; one of three pri mary fetters.

mok$a — Liberation, the highest goal, by which the soul is released from its bondage and becomes a Siva.

mudra — Ritually prescribed hand gestures.

mukhalinga — Iinga with faces.

muktatman — Liberated soul.

MOLA — “Root” mantra, evoking Siva in his totality; also called PRASADA and SIVA.

miilddhdra— Lowermost center of the yogic subtle anatomy, situated at the base of the trunk.

mulagama — “Root” treatise, one of twenty-eight primary agamas in Śaiva canon.

mumuksu — One who seeks liberation. Antonym: bubhuksu. murti — Embodied form.

Μϋκπ — Mantra of embodied form.

Glossary • 185

n da — Undifferentiated sound, source of all audible sound and speech. n di — Subtle channels along which breath travels; the three primary ones are id , pingal , and susumn .

naivedya — Food offered to a divinity.

NETRA — “Eye” mantra, one of six angamantras.

nirm lya — Leftovers from services to Siva, considered too pure for human consumption.

nirv nadtks — Initiation conferring liberation, crucial ritual for attaining mok$a.

nifkala — Without parts, undifferentiated; used to describe any unity in its state of integral wholeness. Antonym: sakala.

nityap j — Daily worship.

nivrtti — One of five kal s.

ny sa — Imposition of mantras.

pad rtha — Fundamental ontological categories: pati, pasu, and p sa. paddhati — Ritual manuals and other “footstep” treatises. padm sana — “Lotus throne,” one of divy sana stages.

p dya — “Foot-water,” offered as an upac ra to guests or to divinities. p ka — “Ripening,” the process of change in mala.

pāka— Siva’s five fundamental activities: anugraha, tirobhava, samh ra, sthiti, and srfti.

pancasuddhi — Five purifications performed at beginning of worship: of self, place, mantras, linga, and substances.

parajn na — Highest form of knowledge.

param rthika — True “in the highest sense.”

Paramasiva — Siva in his highest form, as limitless, formless, undifferenti ated, and so on.

par nmukh rghya — Special form of arghya that allows Siva to “turn away his face” in visarjana.

par rthap j — Worship on behalf of others, performed by Śaiva priests in temples. Antonym: ātm rthap j .

parin ma — Transformations, alterations in inanimate substance. pariv radevata — Attendant deities forming Siva’s court or entourages. pasa — Fetters that bind the soul: mala, karman, and maya. One of the three padarthas.

paSasutra — “Cord of fetters” used as substitute body for initiate during nirvanadlksd.

paiu — Bound soul; atman affected by pasa. One of the three padarthas. pati — The Lord, Siva, and by extension others who exercise his lordship. One of the three padarthas.

pingala — Right breath channel, one of the nadis.

pifha — Pedestal for Siva-linga, representing Sakti.

186 · Glossary

prakara — Protecting walls of temple complex.

Pralayavijfiana — Beings of the pure domain, fettered by mala and karman but not by may a.

prdrabdhakarman— Active karman, whose effects have already begun, determining one’s present embodiment and destined to be consumed in this lifetime. One of the three basic types of karman.

prasada — Favor; leftover puja food distributed as substantive form of di vine favor.

PRASADA — Mantra evoking Siva in his totality; also called MOLA. pratima — Differentiated image.

pratisfhd — One of five kalds; ritual of “establishment” activating a temple or icon as fit support for divinity.

prdyaScitta — Expiation.

puja — Worship, Hindu ritual form by which devotees offer tokens of re spect and adoration to embodied deity.

Purusa — The “Primordial Being.”

putraka — “Son of Siva,” status achieved through visesadiksa. SadaSiva — “Eternal Siva,” the body of mantras with which Siva acts in the world; the most comprehensive manifest form of Siva.

sadhaka — Renunciatory adept.

SADYOJATA — One of five brahmamantras; associated with activity of emission and the west face of Sadasiva.

sakala — With parts, differentiated. Antonym: niskala.

Sakti — Siva’s instrument, arising intrinsically from Siva’s own being, with which he acts in the world.

Saktinipata — “Fall of Sakti,” a process by which one becomes ready for initiation.

samaydcdra— “Common code of conduct,” incumbent on all initiated Saivites.

samayadiksd — “General initiation,” by which one becomes a member of the Śaiva community.

samayin — “Common member” of Śaiva community, one who has under gone samayadiksa.

samhdra— Reabsorption, one of Siva’s pancakrtya, by which differenti ated entities are unified. Antonym: srsti.

samhdramdrga — Path of reabsorption.

samhdramudrd — Mudrd of reabsorption.

samsdra — Worldly existence, viewed as a continuous “flux.” samskdra — Consecration, general term for preparatory rites. sancitakarman — Accumulated karman, not yet activated; a repository of

bhogyakarman conditioning future lifetimes. One of three basic types of karman.

sdnti — One of five kalds.

Glossary · 187

santyatita — One of five kalas.

SDCHA — “Topknot” mantra, one of six angamantras.

simhasana — “Lion throne,” one of the stages of divyasana. SIRAS — “Head” mantra, one of six angamantras.

sivajnana — Knowledge pertaining to Siva, claimed by Śaiva siddhanta as the highest form of knowledge. Used to distinguish the Śaiva siddhanta system from all other bodies of knowledge.

sivatva — “Siva-ness,” the quality of being like Siva.

sivtkarana — To transform something into a state of sivatva. srsfi — Emission, one of Siva’s paficakrtya, by which unitary entities are dif ferentiated. Antonym: samhara.

srstimarga — Path of emission.

sthanasuddhi — Purification of the ritual terrain, one of the five purifica tions at outset of puja.

sthiti — Maintenance, one of Siva’s paficakrtya.

sthiila — “Gross,” relatively tangible. Antonym: siiksma. sthulasarlra — “Gross body” of five bhiitas.

stotra — Hymn of praise.

suddhadhvan — Pure domain, composed of five tattvas deriving from mahamaya. Antonym: asuddhadhvan.

siiksma — “Subtle,” relatively intangible. Antonym: sthiila. siiksmasarira — “Subtle body” of the thirty-six differentiated tattvas, puri fied during atmasuddhi.

susumna — Central breath channel, the most important nadi. svabhava — Inherent nature, essential character.

tanmatra — Five perceptible qualities: Sound, Touch, Form, Taste, and Odor.

TATPURUSA — One of five brahmamantras; associated with Siva’s activity of veiling and the east face of Sadasiva.

tattva — “Such-nesses,” the thirty-six basic constituents of material being, deriving from the two source-substances mahamaya and may a. tirobhava — “Veiling,” one of Siva’s paficakrtya.

uccarana — Ascending pronunciation.

udghata — Expulsion, used to expel attributes of sthHlaiarira during atmasuddhi.

upacara — “Services,” all material and performatory offerings presented to the deity during piijS; partial approximation or synecdoche. upagama — Subsidiary treatise of Śaiva canon. Cf. miilagama. utsava — “Festival,” whether daily nityotsava or grand calendrical mahot sava.

viicaka — Signifier, that which denotes something.

vacya — Signified, that which is denoted by a signifier.

VagTsvara — Form of Siva, invoked during kal&suddhi.

188 - Glossary

Vag svar —Form of Sakti as “Goddess of Speech,” invoked during kalāsuddhi.

V MA — One of five brahmamantras; associated with the activity of main tenance and with the north face of Sadāsiva.

v stup j — Worship of the site.

vidy — One of the five kalas.

vidy deha — Body of mantras—literally “knowledge-body”—imposed on linga and worshiper’s body during worship.

Vidyesvaras — Group of eight agents assigned by Siva to reign over impure domain.

vimal sana — “Stainless throne,” one of the stages of divyasana. visarjana — Dismissal of Siva from embodiment at conclusion of worship. visesad ks — “Special initiation,” conferring status of putraka on recipient. VYOMAV YPIN — “Space-pervading” mantra, considered the “womb” of all mantras.

yajna — Sacrifice.

yath sakti — “Insofar as one is able.”

yatra — Procession in which Siva leaves garbhagrha and tours his temple domain.

yogapada — One of four sections of a complete agama, describing yogic disciplinary practices.

yogasana — “Yoga throne,” one of the stages of divyasana.