ahimsa |
non-violence |
chai |
tea |
choultry |
resting place for travellers or pilgrims |
darshan |
vision, seeing, especially of a deity |
devadasi |
‘slave of god’ – women dancers dedicated to service in temples |
dhal |
lentil curry |
dhobi |
laundry-man; traditionally washes by hand on a stone in the river |
dhoti |
an ample wrap for men, tucked in so that it hangs down at the waist |
Dikshithar |
here a hereditary priest of the Chidambaram temple |
Divali |
the autumn festival of lights |
data (pl. dosai) |
ground rice and lentil pancake |
ghat |
steps or landing place on a river bank; also the mountain range between Kerala and Tamil Nadu |
ghee |
clarified butter used in cooking and as oil for temple worship |
gopura |
the characteristic Tamil temple gateway |
Harijan |
‘child of god’ – Gandhi’s name for the untouchables |
iddly (or idli) |
fluffy balls of steamed rice |
Kailash |
a mountain in western Tibet, in Hindu mythology the abode of Siva |
kolam |
an auspicious pattern of rice powder laid out in front of the door each morning |
kun kum |
red powder worn on the forehead in worship of the goddess |
lathi |
a wooden baton used by the Indian police |
linga |
a sign or token; as the phallus, the symbol and aniconic image of Siva |
lungi |
the simplest form of loincloth, the poor man’s dhoti |
mandapa |
hall in a temple |
muth, mutt |
monastery for Hindu renouncers |
nageswaram (or nadeswaram) |
the long reedy trumpet used in Tamil temple music |
Navarati |
the religious festival in September/October; in Madurai, the festival of the goddess Minakshi |
neem |
a sacred tree whose bitter bark, fruit, leaves and seeds have various attested medical uses |
oduvar |
professional singers of hymns from the Tevaram (q.v.) at Siva temples in south India |
paddy |
strictly, rice in the husk; generally, growing rice. (Our word ‘rice’ comes from the Tamil arisi, husked rice.) |
pan |
a digestive concoction made of betel nut, lime paste and tobacco |
Panchang |
the south Indian religious almanac |
Pillai |
another name for the Vellala, the agricultural caste in Tamil Nadu |
pipal |
the poplar-like Indian fig tree, Ficus religiosa, often found in the heart of a village or in temple grounds |
prasad |
literally, grace; offerings (usually edible) given to the deity and returned, touched with divine grace, to the devotee |
puja |
the act of worship |
raga |
a scale in Indian music |
sadhu (or saddhu) |
holy man |
Saiva |
pertaining to Siva; worshipper of Siva |
sambhar |
vegetable curry eaten with dosas or iddly |
Sangam/ sangam |
the classical period of Tamil literature; the academy |
sthapathi |
craftsman or maker; here, the bronze caster |
tantric |
pertaining to the sexual theories of some Saiva sects (see appendix, Indian Gods and Goddesses, p. 242) |
Tevaram |
the hymnbook of the three great Tamil Saiva saints, Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar, who lived between AD 570 and AD 730 |
tilak |
forehead mark |
tirtha |
literally, crossing place; hence any holy site |
ulema |
Islamic religious authorities |
vadai |
savoury doughnuts |
Vellala |
the old agricultural caste of Tamil Nadu |
vilva |
a type of tree which is sacred to Siva |
vimana |
the pyramidal central shrine in Tamil temples |