Śabdakośa

Abhisheka is the sacred bathing of a mūrti or liṅga in pūjā, and the consecration of a king or leader with holy waters.

Ācamana is the sipping of water from the palm, by rule, to make oneself pure before a sacred act or after touching something impure.

Agnishṭoma is a great Vedic yajña in praise of Agni; the Vāmana Purāṇa names its fruit as the reward of several Kurukshetra tīrthas.

Ahaṅkāra is the sense of 'I'; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it took hold of Brahmā and Rudra at the beginning of creation.

Ananta names the serpent Śesha, a muni of the Kalki Purāṇa, a naraka and a pramatha of Skanda.

Anurādhā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Vṛścika; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Apaviddha, 'cast out', names a man who abandons the rites, and a son cast away by his parents, one of the kinds of dāyāda.

Ārdrā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Mithuna; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Aśarīravāṇī is a bodiless voice from the sky; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it told Sudevā to enter the fire and promised her seven sons.

Āshāḍha is the month in which Bhagavān Vishṇu begins his sleep; the Vāmana Purāṇa gives its rites, gifts and holy days.

Āśleshā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Karkaṭaka; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Āśvayuja is a month of the lunar year; in the Vāmana Purāṇa the lotus arose from Jagannātha's navel in it, and it has its own rites and gifts.

Aśvinī is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Mesha; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Aurasa is a son of one's own body, born to a man by his own wife; the first of the dāyādas named by Brahmā in the Vāmana Purāṇa.

Bhādrapada is a month of the lunar year; the Vāmana Purāṇa gives its Dvādaśī vrata, its gifts for Hṛshīkeśa and its piṇḍa rite.

Bhādrapadā is the pair of nakshatras Pūrva and Uttara Bhādrapadā; the Vāmana Purāṇa places them on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Bharaṇī is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Mesha; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the head of Śiva and of Śrī Hari.

Bhū-dāna is the gift of land; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is the gift of three steps that Bali made to Bhagavān Vāmana.

Bhūta means a being; in the Vāmana Purāṇa the bhūtas are a host of beings who serve Śiva, the Devī and Skanda, and an element.

Brahmavedi is a sacred altar-ground of yajña; the Vāmana Purāṇa names five, and Kurukshetra was first called Brahmavedi.

Brahmāṇḍa-kaṭāha is the shell of the cosmic egg that encloses all the worlds; Bhagavān Vāmana's second step broke it.

Cakratīrtha names five tīrthas: on Gandhamādana, near Naimishāraṇya, on Veṅkaṭācala, in Pātāla and at Kurukshetra.

Caturvarga is the group of four aims of life: dharma, artha, kāma and moksha. The Vāmana Purāṇa tells of an āśrama that is the abode of all four.

Caṇḍāla names the lowest of men; in the Vāmana Purāṇa the ṛshis define the caṇḍāla by his conduct: one who raises hopes and betrays them.

Citrā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, spanning Kanyā and Tulā; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Datta means given; as a noun it is a son given in adoption by his parents, the third of the dāyādas Brahmā names in the Vāmana Purāṇa.

Dāyāda is an heir, a son who takes a share; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Brahmā names twelve kinds of dāyāda for Sanatkumāra and defines each.

Daṇḍaka names the great southern forest land, a thief of the Dvāpara Yuga, a gaṇa of Skanda and a kshetra of Kurukshetra.

Deva-dravya is wealth that belongs to the deva of a temple or maṭha; in the Vāmana Purāṇa its keeper who destroyed it is born a dog.

Dhanishṭhā, also called Śravishṭhā, is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Dhanus means the bow, and is the name of the ninth rāśi, the kshetra of Bṛhaspati; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the thighs of Kālarūpī.

Gorocana is a bright yellow substance taken from the cow, used for tilaka and pūjā; the Vāmana Purāṇa uses it in the pūjā of Bhagavān Śiva.

Gūḍhotpanna is a son born in secret, whose father is not known; the fifth of the first six dāyādas Brahmā names in the Vāmana Purāṇa.

Hala is the plough, both a farming tool and a weapon; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Vishṇu bears the Saunanda plough and Kuru ploughs Kurukshetra.

Hastā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Kanyā; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Homa is an offering made into the sacred fire; the Vāmana Purāṇa names it in the daily duties, in vratas, at weddings and in yajñas.

Indīvara is the blue lotus; the Vāmana Purāṇa uses it for the eyes of Spring, for Janārdana's dark colour, and among the flowers of pūjā.

Indriya-saṃyama is restraint of the senses; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is a part of dharma that the ṛshis teach Sukeśī and he commands his people.

Japa is the repeated, quiet recitation of a mantra or of names; the Vāmana Purāṇa names it among the daily duties and in the pūjā of Śiva.

Jātakarma is the saṃskāra performed for a child at birth; the Vāmana Purāṇa tells it for King Kuru and for Bhagavān Vāmana.

Jyeshṭha is the third month of the lunar year, named for the Jyeshṭhā nakshatra; the Vāmana Purāṇa gives its vrata, its gifts and its ekādaśī.

Jyeshṭhā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Vṛścika; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Kadamba is a tree with round, fragrant flowers of the rainy season; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is Kāmadeva's flower, and its bark is offered to Śiva.

Kālacakra is the wheel of time; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Śiva praises Vishṇu as the form of the time-wheel with twelve spokes.

Kali names the last of the four yugas and the being who presides over it.

Kāma is desire, one of the four purushārthas; the Vāmana Purāṇa shows it as an enemy in Andhaka and as an āśrama on Mount Akhaṇḍa.

A kamaṇḍalu is the water-pot carried by tapasvīs and brahmacārīs; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is held by Brahmāṇī, Pārvatī and Vāmana.

Kānīna is a son born to a maiden before her marriage; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Brahmā names him first among the six sons who do not inherit.

Kanyā means the maiden, and is the name of the sixth rāśi, the second house of Budha; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the belly of Kālarūpī.

Kapāla is a skull, or a bowl made from one; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is Brahmā's skull on Śiva's hand, freed at Kapālamocana.

Kāpālika names the fourth of the four śāstras of Śiva-pūjā that Brahmā set going in the Vāmana Purāṇa, and one who follows it.

Kapilā is the tawny cow, counted the best of cows; in the Vāmana Purāṇa she is born of Kāmadhenu and given as dakshiṇā in vratas.

Karavīra is the oleander, a flower offered in pūjā; the Vāmana Purāṇa names it in the Kārtika vrata, in Aditi's pūjā and among Acyuta's flowers.

Karkaṭa means the crab, and is the name of the fourth rāśi, the kshetra of Candra; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the two sides of Kālarūpī.

Kauśikī names a warrior form of the Devī, a Himālayan river and a rain-fed river of Kurukshetra.

Khaṭvāṅga is a staff topped with a skull, carried by Śiva, Kālī and the gaṇas; the Vāmana Purāṇa shows it in the Devī's battles.

Kiṃpurushas are a class of divine beings, skilled in music; the Vāmana Purāṇa names their dharma and their pūjā of Bhadreśvara.

Krauñca names a mountain, a dvīpa, a gandharva who became Gaṇeśa's mouse, and a gaṇa of Skanda.

Krīta is a son who is bought, brought into the family by paying a price; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Brahmā names him among the sons who do not inherit.

Kshetraja is a son born of the field, borne by a wife to another man with her husband's consent; in the Vāmana Purāṇa he is the second dāyāda.

Kumbha means the pot, and is the name of the eleventh rāśi; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the shanks of Kālarūpī and on the knees in Brahmā's yoga.

Kuśa is the sacred grass used in yajñas and rites; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it cuts Maṅkaṇa's hand and, charged with mantras, strikes down Vena.

Kūshmāṇḍas are a class of harmful beings; in the Vāmana Purāṇa the Vishṇu-pañjara stotra asks that the sound of Vishṇu's cakra destroy them.

Kṛshṇājina is the skin of the black antelope, worn by tapasvīs and those in dīkshā; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is given to Vāmana at his upanayana.

Kṛtaghna is the ungrateful one, who forgets the good done to him; the Vāmana Purāṇa calls him the lowest of all who do pāpa, with no prāyaścitta.

Kṛttikā is the third of the twenty-seven nakshatras, spanning Mesha and Vṛshabha; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on Kālarūpī and on Śrī Hari.

Madhuparka is the honey-mixture offered to an honoured guest; in the Vāmana Purāṇa, Bhagavān Śiva partakes of it at his wedding with Pārvatī.

Madhuvana names the holy forest where Vāmana abides as Svayambhū, a grove in Indraprastha, and a forest of Kurukshetra.

Maghā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Siṃha; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Makara means the crocodile, and is the name of the tenth rāśi, the house of Śani; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the knees of Kālarūpī.

Mallikā is the jasmine; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it arises from Madana's broken bow and is named among the flowers fit for the pūjā of Acyuta.

A maṅgala-dravya is an auspicious thing, touched after the morning rites before going out; the Vāmana Purāṇa names nineteen of them.

Mesha means the ram, and is the name of the first rāśi, the kshetra of Kuja; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the head of Kālarūpī.

Mīna means the fish, and is the name of the twelfth rāśi, the second house of Bṛhaspati; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the feet of Kālarūpī.

Mithuna means the pair, and is the name of the third rāśi, the kshetra of Budha; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the arms of Kālarūpī.

A mleccha is one of the peoples outside the Vedic order; in the Vāmana Purāṇa, King Vena is reborn among the mlecchas of the northern lands.

Moksha is release from the round of births, the last of the four purushārthas; the Vāmana Purāṇa says Bhagavān Vishṇu grants it.

Mūla is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Dhanus; in the Vāmana Purāṇa the Nakshatra Purusha vrata begins with it.

Mūshika means the rat; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it names the man who has wealth but gives no dāna and does no homa, enjoying it all himself.

Mṛgaśira is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, across Vṛshabha and Mithuna; the Vāmana Purāṇa ties it to the akshaya tithi and the Kālāshṭamī.

Nagna means naked; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it names the man in whose house no vrata, Veda study or discussion of the śāstras ever takes place.

Naimittika karma is a rite done when its occasion arises, as against the daily nitya rites; the Vāmana Purāṇa says it must never be given up.

A nakshatra is a star, and one of the twenty-seven lunar mansions; the Vāmana Purāṇa places them on the bodies of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Nandī names the chief of Bhagavān Śiva's gaṇas, a vaiśya devotee of Śiva, and a gaṇa of Skanda.

Naraka names the realm where the jīva lives through the results of its pāpa, and the asura Narakāsura.

A nāstika is one who denies the Vedas and what lies beyond this world; the Vāmana Purāṇa says the Purāṇa is not to be told to him.

Pañcagavya is the mixture of five things from the cow, used for abhisheka; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it bathes Bhagavān Śiva in two rites.

Pāpa is wrongdoing and the evil fruit it leaves behind; the Vāmana Purāṇa says hearing it removes all pāpas, even the mahāpātakas.

Paramapada is the supreme abode, the highest state; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is the fruit of bhakti and of the tīrthas of Kurukshetra.

Pāraśava is a son born to a brāhmaṇa from a śūdra woman; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Brahmā names him last of the six sons who do not inherit.

Paraśu is the axe or battle-axe; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is held by Dharma, given to the Devī by Viśvakarmā, and borne by Vaikuṇṭha.

Pāraṇa is the completion of a vrata; in the Vāmana Purāṇa each six months of the Kālāshṭamī vrata to Śiva ends in a pāraṇa.

Parigha is an iron club or iron bar; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is the weapon of Prahlāda, Agni and Andhaka, and a simile for the Devī's arms.

Patita means fallen: in the Vāmana Purāṇa, one who leaves his own dharma for another's when no calamity forces him; food is not taken from him.

Paunarbhava is a son born of a maiden carried off and married after she was given to another; Brahmā names him among the six sons who do not inherit.

A paurāṇika is one learned in the Purāṇas who recites them; in the Vāmana Purāṇa they are to be specially honoured and teach in Bali's temple.

Pāṇigrahaṇa is the taking of the bride's hand, the heart of the wedding rite; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Bhagavān Śiva takes the hand of Pārvatī.

Phālguna is a month of the lunar year; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it has its rite in the Kālāshṭamī vrata to Śiva and its gifts dear to Govinda.

Pradakshiṇa is going round a holy person, place or object keeping it on one's right; the Vāmana Purāṇa gives its fruit at Sthāṇu.

Prāsa is a barbed lance or dart; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is held by eight-armed Dharma, hurled by Prahlāda and the asuras, and split by Nandī.

Punarvasu is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, across Mithuna and Karkaṭaka; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Puroḍāśa is the rice-cake offered in a yajña; in the Vāmana Purāṇa the devas eat it at Daksha's yajña and Śiva names Vishṇu as the puroḍāśa.

Pūrva Bhādrapadā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, across Kumbha and Mīna; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Pūrvābhyāsa is the force of former practice: habits of past births that follow one; Bali teaches it to Śukrācārya with the account of Niśākara.

Pushya is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in Karkaṭaka, and the month named after it; the Vāmana Purāṇa gives both their rites.

Putra means a son: in the Vāmana Purāṇa, the one who saves his father from the naraka called Put, and so is greater than a disciple.

Raivata names the fifth Manu and the holy mountain near Dvārakā.

Rajas is the guṇa of activity and passion; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is the guṇa of Brahmā and of the form that creates the worlds.

Rāma names Śrī Rāma, son of Daśaratha, as well as Paraśurāma and Balarāma, and a people of the north.

Revatī is the last of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Mīna; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Rohiṇī is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in Vṛshabha, and the beloved wife of Candra, who did tapas to Śiva to free the Moon from waning.

Sacela snāna is a bath taken with one's clothes on; in the Vāmana Purāṇa the ṛshis name it for touching bones and for a father when a son is born.

Sahoḍha is a son born to a wife who was pregnant before her marriage; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Brahmā names him among the six sons who do not inherit.

Sarasvatī names both the Devī of speech and learning and the holy river of Kurukshetra in the Purāṇas.

Śatabhishā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Kumbha; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Saṃsāra is the round of birth and death; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Prahlāda calls it an ocean that only the boat of Bhagavān Vishṇu can cross.

Shaṇḍha means the impotent one; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it names the man who does not do his bath, japa, sandhyā, homa and other karmas at their time.

Śishya means a disciple; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Brahmā teaches that the son saves from all pāpas, the disciple from the pāpas that remain.

Siṃha means the lion, and is the name of the fifth rāśi, the kshetra of Ravi; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the heart of Kālarūpī.

Śrāvaṇa is a month of the lunar year; in the Vāmana Purāṇa the devas sleep in it in order, and the Kālāshṭamī vrata to Śiva opens and closes in it.

Śravaṇa is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Makara; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Sudarśana names Bhagavān Vishṇu's cakra, three kings, a dvīpa and two daityas or sons named in passing.

Śunaka means the dog; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it names the man who torments others with stinging words and hates the good qualities in others.

Sūtika means one in the impurity of birth; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it names the brāhmaṇa woman who makes a brāhmaṇa fall, and the fallen brāhmaṇa.

Svadharma is one's own dharma; in the Vāmana Purāṇa the ṛshis warn Sukeśī that one who leaves it falls under the anger of Sūrya, the visible deity.

Svātī is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśi Tulā; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Svayaṃdatta is a son who gives himself over in famine or need; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Brahmā names him among the six sons who do not inherit.

Trisandhyā means the three junctions of the day, dawn, noon and dusk; in the Vāmana Purāṇa remembering Padmanābha then gives the fruit of upavāsa.

Tulā means the balance, and is the name of the seventh rāśi, the second house of Śukra; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the navel of Kālarūpī.

Upavāsa means fasting; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it clears the fault of wrong food, opens the vratas, and is gained by remembering Padmanābha.

Uttarāyaṇa is the Sun's northward course, the day of the devas; in the Vāmana Purāṇa Daksha begins his kratu when it begins.

Vajra names Indra's thunderbolt, a Yādava king, and the diamond.

Vanamālā is the garland of forest flowers worn by Bhagavān Vishṇu; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it marks the Hari-Hara form and Śiva at the Devadāruvana.

Vedavatī names two women in the Purāṇas: the tapasvinī reborn as Sītā and the gandharva daughter of Parjanya.

Virūpāksha names a charioteer, a rākshasa king, a daitya hero and a form of Bhagavān Śiva.

Viśākhā is one of the twenty-seven nakshatras, in the rāśis Tulā and Vṛścika; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the forms of Śiva and Śrī Hari.

Vṛścika means the scorpion, and is the name of the eighth rāśi, the second house of Kuja; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the body of Kālarūpī.

Vṛshabha means the bull, and is the name of the second rāśi, the kshetra of Śukra; the Vāmana Purāṇa places it on the face of Kālarūpī.

Yajña is the sacred rite of offering to the devatās through the fire with Vedic mantras; the Vāmana Purāṇa makes it a duty of the householder.

Yajñabhāga is the share of a yajña due to each devatā; in the Vāmana Purāṇa it is withheld at Bali's yajña and restored by Bhagavān Vishṇu.