Advaita Vedānta—nondualist school of orthodox philosophy, especially associated with Shankara
ātman—self or soul
avatāra—incarnation; the “crossing down” of divinity into earthly forms
bhakti—devotion, sharing, or participation in the divine; one of the three paths advocated by Krishna
brahman—universal Absolute, cosmic essence Brahmin—class of religious specialists, in traditional order of four varnas or classes
Devanāgarī—alphabet used in writing Sanskrit and many modern north Indian languages
dharma—harmonious order of things; code of proper conduct; righteousness
jñāna—knowledge, particularly one of the paths or disciplines advocated by Krishna
Kali yuga—the age of chaos, the fourth era in a degenerating cycle of time, and our current era
karma—action, and moral consequences of action; sacrificial or ritual action; one of three paths advocated by Krishna
Kshatriya—the princely and warrior class, in traditional order of four varnas or classes
mārga—route or path; disciplined method
moks≥a—liberation, the highest spiritual aim; freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth
nirvān.a—liberation; Buddhist term for highest spiritual aim
pan.d.ita—learned person, teacher
prakr≥ti—source of material world; one of two fundamental categories within Samkhya school
prasthāna traya—the three textual “points of departure” with-in Vedanta schools, specifically the Upanisads, Brahma Sutras, and Bhagavad Gita
purus≥a—person, male; in Samkhya school, the soul or spirit, one of two fundamental categories
śloka—verse form of thirty-two syllables; the most common verse form in classical Sanskrit religious literature
sthitaprajña—the person “whose wisdom is firm,” as described by Krishna
Vedānta—the “end” or “culmination” of the Vedas; the Upanisads; name for a group of orthodox philosophical schools utilizing the Upanisads as one of their fundamental texts
Viśvarūpa—Krishna’s “all-encompassing” or supernal form, as seen at Kurukshetra by Arjuna
yoga—discipline; Krishna’s term for various disciplined means of spiritual advancement