AGRAHĀRA: a Brahmin settlement
AṆIMĀ: one of the śaktis (‘powers’) associated with Pārvatī, in this case a personification of the ability to shrink to the size of an atom
ARGHYA: water offered to a guest upon arrival
AŚOKA: ashoka or Saraca Asoca, a tree with red-orange flowers
BAKULA: the bullet-wood tree or Mimusops Elengi, an ornamental tree with fragrant white flowers
BHADRAKĀLĪ: another name for Kālī
BHARATA: one of Rāma’s younger brothers
BHŪTA: ghoulish attendants of Śiva, and sometimes Kālī
BIMBA: ivy gourd or Coccinia grandis, a plant with mini-cucumber type fruits that turn red and are thus compared to women’s lips
CAITRA: one of the two months of Vasanta, roughly March-April
CAKORA: chakur partridge or Alectoris chukar
CAKRAVĀKA: ruddy sheldrake or Tadorna ferruginea
CAMARA: yak or Bos grunniens, whose fluffy white tail is used to create fly whisks
CAMPAKA: golden champa or Michelia Campaka, a tall tree with apricot-coloured flowers
CAṆḌIKĀ: one of the names of Durgā
DAKṢA: Śiva’s father-in-law who refused to invite the god to his sacrifice, and consequently suffered the suicide of his daughter and the full wrath of an angered and mourning Śiva
DĀRUKA: a troublesome asura killed by Bhadrakālī
DRAMIḌA: the people of the Tamil land
GUÑJĀ: jequirity or Abrus precatorius, a creeper with beautiful but poisonous red-black berries
HAṂSA: variously identified as a goose, flamingo or swan
HARI and HARA: are names for Viṣṇu and Śiva respectively
JAYANTA: Indra’s son who, cursed to become a crow, was finally released from his curse when Rāma fired the Brahma weapon at him.
KADALĪ: banana or Musa paradisiaca; ladies’ thighs are often compared to the pale yellow stem
KALPADRUMA: the wish-fulfilling tree
KĀMĀKṢĪ: one of the names of Pārvatī
KĀTYĀYANĪ: one of the names of Pārvatī
KINNARĪ: wives of kinnaras, the horse-faced celestial musicians
KRAMUKA: areca nut palm or Areca catechu, the skinniest of the palm trees
KUMĀRILA: a famous mīmāṃsā philosopher from Assam
KUMUDA: a white water lily
KUNDA: downy jasmine or Jasminum multiflorum, a shrub with small white flowers
KURAVAKA: red amaranth or Barlaria, a tree with red flowers (but also sometimes said to be white)
KUVALAYA: blue water lily
MĀDHAVĪ: the clustered hiptage or Hiptage Benghalensis, a creeper with yellow-white flowers
MAHIṢA: a daitya king who was killed by Durgā
MĀLATĪ: common jasmine or Jasminum grandiflorum, a shrub with strongly-scented white flowers
MĪMĀṂSĀ: pūrva and uttara mīmāṃsā are two of the six systems of Indian philosophy; pūrva mīmāṃsā focuses on Vedic rituals, uttara on the Upaniṣads
PAÑCAMA: ‘the fifth note’, also called the ‘pa’ note, which is sung by koels
PHĀLGUNA: the second month of the season of Śiśira, roughly February-March
ŚABARA: a mountain-dwelling people
SAMPATKARĪ: an attendant of Lalitā, a form of Pārvatī
ŚARAD: autumn, a period of two months which starts in the middle of September
ŚĀSTĀ: son of Śiva and Viṣṇu, who assumed the form of Mohinī to seduce Śiva; more famous as Ayyappa
SAUGANDHIKA: a water lily
SINDŪRA: vermillion or red lead applied on the parting in a woman’s hair to show she is married, and also worn as a dot on the forehead
TAMĀLA: the bastard cinnamon or Cinnamonum tamala, which has dark black bark and pale flowers
TĀMBŪLA: betel or Piper Betle, a creeper whose dark green leaves are taken with areca nut as a delicacy
VASANTA: spring, which lasts from about mid-March to mid-May
VĪṆĀ: the Indian lute