Vedic Knowledge

Akṣahṛdaya, "the heart of dice", is the secret knowledge of dice that King Ṛtuparṇa gave to Nala, driving Kali out of him and winning back his kingdom.

The Guṇḍicā Yātrā, or Ratha Yātrā, is the great chariot festival of Puruṣottama Kṣetra, when Jagannātha travels to the Guṇḍicā Maṇḍapa for nine days.

An akṣauhiṇī is a complete army in the Mahābhārata, made of elephants, chariots, horsemen and foot-soldiers in fixed numbers. Eighteen were lost at Kurukṣetra.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa describes the marks of a true guru, sorts gurus and upāsanā into three kinds by the three guṇas, and shows why the guru matters.

Akṣaya Tṛtīyā, the third day of the bright half of Vaiśākha, is a most auspicious tithi: good deeds done on it bring never-ending results.

A flag-raising vrata on Ekādaśī for the eleven Rudras who came as the vānaras of Śrī Rāma's army, done to protect a community from disease and harm.

The Matsya Purāṇa's teaching on the exact timing of amāvāsyā and pūrṇimā, the moon's kalās, the five-year yuga and the pitṛs, told through Purūravas's monthly visit to svarga.

Harihara-abheda is the teaching that Hari (Viṣṇu) and Hara (Śiva) are not different: one ātmā appearing in two forms, as told in the Harivaṃśa and Mahābhārata.

At the end of the Mahābhārata, Sauti explains that the heroes were aṃśas (portions) of devas, and tells which of them merged back into their source.

The Harivaṃśa itself explains how it should be recited from start to finish, and what blessings come to those who recite or hear it.

Aṃśāvatāra is the Mahābhārata’s teaching that its main figures were born as partial descents of devas, asuras and ṛṣis, sent to earth to restore dharma.

The Heti Vaṃśa is the family line of the first rākṣasas, Heti and Praheti. From it came Rāvaṇa, and also Madhu and his son Lavaṇāsura.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa describes its own power: its recitation was so freeing that Śrī Rāma set a condition on who would wish to hear it.

Icchā-mṛtyu is the rare boon of choosing the moment of one's own death. Bhīṣma received it from his father and used it on his bed of arrows.

The Matsya Purāṇa records twenty-nine Āndhra-Sātavāhana kings who ruled for 460 years, and follows the decline of the Kali Yuga until Devāpi and Maru restore the royal lines.

The Ikṣvāku vaṃśa is the Sūrya-vaṃśa, the royal line of Ayodhyā that came down from Vaivasvata Manu to Hariścandra, Bhagīratha, Raghu and Śrī Rāma.

The path of light (arcirmārga) leads to mokṣa and the path of smoke (dhūmamārga) leads to rebirth. Which one a soul takes depends on why it acted.

The Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa tells how Brahmā crowned Indra as ruler of the three worlds on Mount Meru, with every deva, ṛṣi and river taking part.

Ardhanārīśvara is the form of Śiva whose left half is Umā and right half is Śiva, showing that Śiva and Śakti can never be separated.

In the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Agastya teaches Lopāmudrā that tīrthas exist both as holy places on earth and as virtues within the mind, and that both lead to liberation.

The Vāyu Purāṇa lists ariṣṭas, signs that show how long a person has left to live, so that they can use the time for yoga and preparation.

The Īśvara Gītā is Śiva's own teaching on the ātman, the tattvas and the path to mokṣa, given at Badrikāśrama and kept in the Kūrma Purāṇa.

The Mokṣadharma Parva teaches that each of the four āśramas, or stages of life, can lead to mokṣa through the inner yoga that belongs to it.

The yearly festivals of Puruṣottama Kṣetra were set by Jagannātha himself. The Skanda Purāṇa gives the full calendar, from Snāna Yātrā to Cāturmāsya.

The Aṣṭākṣarī is the eight-syllable mantra Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya. The Narasiṃha Purāṇa calls it the complete path for the Kali Yuga, open to everyone.

Japa-yoga is the steady repetition of a mantra or sacred name as a path to mokṣa. The Mahābhārata's Jāpakopākhyāna calls it the highest of all practices.

The Aṣṭamūrti teaching says Śiva is present in all creation through eight forms, from earth and water to the sun, the moon and the ātman.

Jāti-Varṇa Nirṇaya is the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa’s teaching on birth-communities and social roles: the sacred origin of the artisan communities and the duties of each varṇa.

In the Skanda Purāṇa, Nārada Ṛṣi teaches Arjuna the eight limbs of yoga and shows that, practised with devotion, they lead to liberation.

The Vāyu Purāṇa tells of twelve Jaya devas born from Brahmā's mouth, who refused to have children and were cursed to be born again in every manvantara.

Aśvahṛdaya, "the heart of horses", is the divine knowledge of horses that made King Nala the finest charioteer in the world.

In the Śiva Purāṇa's account of the Bāṇāsura war, Śiva's fever-weapon and Viṣṇu's cooling fever-weapon fight each other, and Śiva's jvara wins.

The Aśvamedha is the great horse yajña of kings. Śrī Rāma performed it after returning from Laṅkā, and Daśaratha before the birth of his sons.

The Mahābhārata's Mokṣadharma Parva tells how jvara (fever) was born from Śiva's anger at Dakṣa's yajña, and why it touches every living being.

The Aśvamedha is the greatest royal yajña of the Vedic tradition. Śrī Rāma performed it after the Laṅkā war, and at its assembly Kuśa and Lava first sang the Rāmāyaṇa.

The Jyeṣṭhā Snāna is the great yearly bathing festival of Śrī Jagannātha at Puruṣottama Kṣetra, held on the tenth day of the bright half of Jyeṣṭha.

Asi is the divine sword that Brahmā brought forth at the start of creation to protect dharma. It passed from Rudra through devas, ṛṣis and kings to the Pāṇḍavas.

How the Kūrma, Brahmāṇḍa and Viṣṇu Purāṇas describe the placing of the sun, moon, planets and stars, the winds that move them, and the sun's chariot.

In the Rāmāyaṇa, the ṛṣi Jābāli argues that duties to the dead are only custom, and Śrī Rāma answers in defence of the Vedas and dharma.

The twelve Jyotirliṅgas are lasting forms of Śiva's endless liṅga of light, set at twelve holy places on earth, as the Kedāra Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa explains.

An astra is a divine weapon, called forth with a mantra (a sacred sound formula) and usually received as a gift from a deva or a ṛṣi.

In the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Śiva tells Śrī Rāma how one endless liṅga was cut into twelve pieces that became the Jyotirliṅgas, and names Rāmeśvara as the twelfth.

The ātivāhika devatās are five divine beings who carry the soul of a departed sannyāsī upward to Śiva's realm, as taught in the Śiva Purāṇa's Kailāsa Saṃhitā.

Jyotiṣa, the Vedāṅga of astronomy and astrology, is called the eye of the Veda. The Agni Purāṇa gives it in short form: auspicious times, marriage rules and the units of time.

In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa teaches Uddhava the truth of the self: what the ātman is and is not, how bondage arises, and how the freed one lives.

The Kūrma Purāṇa describes Kailāsa, the mountain home of Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī, its beings and holy waters, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa's tapas there.

Avimukta, "the never-forsaken", is the most sacred name of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī). Śiva never leaves it, and all who die there receive the tāraka mantra and mokṣa.

In the Śiva Purāṇa, Śiva teaches Pārvatī the signs that show how much of a person's life remains, so that people turn to dharma and spiritual practice in time.

Āyurveda is the sacred science of life and health that Dhanvantari taught to Suśruta, as set out in the Agni Purāṇa and the Garuḍa Purāṇa.

In the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Viṣṇu in the form of a monkey teaches the victorious asura Tāraka about kāla, time, which rules all beings and all victories.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa calls Āyurveda the fifth Veda, made by Brahmā. It gives its line of teachers, the form of jvara (fever) and health rules for the seasons.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa teaches that kāla, time, rules every being, even Brahmā, and is Bhagavān Viṣṇu's own form, which the wise honour rather than fear.

Baiḍāla-vrata, the "cat's vow", is a parable Bhīṣma tells in the Mahābhārata about a cat that pretends to be holy so it can catch its prey.

In the Śiva Purāṇa, each member of the Trimūrti lives on a time scale that is only one unit of the next, up to Sadāśiva, whose breath has no measure.

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, one of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas of the Sanātana tradition, contains an extensive and detailed account of the fourteen Manvantaras that together constitute one Kalpa, or a single…

Balā and Atibalā are two divine vidyās that Viśvāmitra gave to Śrī Rāma on the banks of the Sarayū, freeing him from hunger, thirst, tiredness and illness.

In the Mausala Parva of the Mahābhārata, Vyāsa teaches the grieving Arjuna that Kāla, Time, is the seed and root of the whole world, bringing both rise and ruin.

A Bāṇaliṅga is a smooth natural stone from the Narmadā river, honoured as a self-formed Śivaliṅga and the highest of all liṅga forms.

The Kūrma Purāṇa counts time from the blink of an eye to the life of Brahmā, names the present age the Vārāha Kalpa, and calls Kāla a form of Maheśvara.

The Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa teaches that bhakti, loving devotion to Bhagavān Viṣṇu, is the highest and most direct path to liberation in the Kali Yuga.

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa teaches that each tithi, or lunar day, belongs to a particular devatā, and that pūjā on that devatā's tithi brings greater fruit.

The Bhāgavata dharmas are Śrī Kṛṣṇa's last teaching to Uddhava: see him in every being, offer every act to him, and bow to all creatures as his forms.

Kālamāna is the Purāṇic system of measuring time, from the blink of an eye up to the day of Brahmā, as the Nārada Purāṇa sets it out.

The Bhāgavata-lakṣaṇas are the forty-plus qualities of a true devotee, taught by Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa to the brāhmaṇa Rāmānuja at Ākāśagaṅgā on Veṅkaṭādri.

Kālarātri, the Night of Time, appears in the Sauptika Parva as a dark woman in red who leads away the warriors slain in Aśvatthāmā's night attack.

The Bhāgavata Māhātmya describes the glory of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata: what it is, how it was handed down, and why Śrī Kṛṣṇa is present wherever it is heard.

Kali-Puruṣa is the being who rules the Kali Yuga. The Purāṇas describe his family line, his nature, his surrender to Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa and his final defeat.

Bhakṣya-abhakṣya vicāra is the teaching on what may and may not be eaten. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa gives rules on vessels, fasts, tithis, seasons and meat.

The Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Brahma Purāṇa and Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa describe the signs of the Kali Yuga and its one blessing: freedom through singing the names of Viṣṇu.

Bhakti is loving devotion to Bhagavān Viṣṇu. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Kapila teaches Devahūti that bhakti is both the path to liberation and liberation itself.

Chapter 54 of the Narasiṃha Purāṇa describes the signs of the Kali Yuga and gives one remedy: singing the names of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa.

In the Uttara Kāṇḍa of the Rāmacaritamānas, Kākabhuśuṇḍi explains to Garuḍa why bhakti is easier, safer and more joyful than the path of jñāna.

Kalki is the tenth avatāra of Bhagavān Viṣṇu, who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga to destroy adharma and begin a new Kṛta Yuga.

Bhārata Varṣa is the sacred land between the southern ocean and the Himālaya, the karma-bhūmi where dharma, yajña and mokṣa can be won by human effort.

The Kāma-Vṛkṣa, the tree of desire, is an image from the Mahābhārata that pictures all of worldly life as one great tree, which is cut down by knowledge of the ātman.

Bhasma is the sacred ash worn by Śiva and his devotees. The Liṅga and Padma Purāṇas explain its meaning, its power to burn away pāpa, and how it is made.

The kāma-vyasanas are three harmful habits born of desire that Sītā named in her advice to Śrī Rāma: lying, desire for another’s wife, and killing without just cause.

The Bhojakas are brāhmaṇas born from the body of Bhagavān Sūrya to perform his pūjā for ever. The Bhaviṣya Purāṇa gives their origin and their dharma.

The Kandukeśvara liṅga in Kāśī arose from the ball with which Pārvatī killed the asuras Vidala and Utpala during her ball game, as told in the Śiva Purāṇa.

Chapter 30 of the Narasiṃha Purāṇa describes the shape of the universe: seven dvīpas and oceans, Mount Meru, twenty-one svargas and the path of Sūrya.

In the Brahma Purāṇa, Viśvāmitra teaches that the fruit of any action depends on the bhāva, the inner feeling, with which it is done.

The Bhuvana-vinyāsa of the Vāyu Purāṇa maps the universe around Meru Parvata: its gardens, lakes, rivers, mountains, and the homes of devas, yakṣas, nāgas and asuras.

Karma-vipāka is the ripening of karma after death. The Garuḍa Purāṇa describes the soul's journey to Yama and lists which wrong deeds lead to which rebirths.

The Bhuvanakośa of the Skanda Purāṇa's Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa describes the seven upper lokas, the seven lower worlds, the sacred earth, and the two paths of the soul after death.

The Kūrma Purāṇa teaches karma-yoga: doing one's duty without attachment to results and offering every action to Brahman, the path known as brahmārpaṇa.

The Bilvadala Māhātmya teaches the great merit of offering an unbroken three-lobed bilva leaf to Bhagavān Śiva, told through the story of the brāhmaṇa Ghaṇṭa.

The Kaumāra-vyākaraṇa is the Sanskrit grammar taught by Skanda (Kumāra) to Kātyāyana in the Agni Purāṇa, covering sandhi, cases, compounds, suffixes and verbs.

The Vāyu Purāṇa tells how Brahmā's eight mind-born sons, the great ṛṣis, were born again from the fire of Brahmā's yajña at the start of the Vaivasvata Manvantara.

The Kaurava Kula is the hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Gāndhārī, led by Duryodhana, who stood against the five Pāṇḍavas in the Mahābhārata.

In the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śiva teaches Nārada the nature of Brahman: Kṛṣṇa as the one supreme light, with Viṣṇu, Brahmā, Śiva and Durgā as four forms of that light.

Kāvya-śāstra is the science of Sanskrit literature and the performing arts, taught by Agni Deva in the Agni Purāṇa: poetry, drama, rasa, style, dance and figures of speech.

Brahma-vijñāna is the direct knowledge of Brahman. The Agni Purāṇa teaches it in four chapters, showing that the true Self is not the body or mind but Brahman itself.

Khagola is the sphere of the sky in the Matsya Purāṇa: the sun and moon, the paths of the nakṣatras, Dhruva the pole star, and the chariots of the planets.

Brahmahatyā, the killing of a brāhmaṇa, is the gravest of the great pāpas. The Mahābhārata tells how it pursued Indra and how its weight was shared out.

The kirīṭa was the divine crown given to Arjuna by his father Indra. In the last duel with Karṇa, the nāga Aśvasena's arrow struck it from Arjuna's head.

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa tells how Indra, after killing Vṛtra, was seized by brahmahatyā and shared it with the earth, trees, water and women, each receiving a boon in return.

The kopa-gṛha, the chamber of displeasure, was a palace room where a queen showed deep anger. Kaikeyī's entry into it began the chain of events that sent Rāma into exile.

When Viṣṇu settled 18,000 brāhmaṇas at Dharmāraṇya, they were arranged in 24 gotras, each protected by a yoginī as its kula-devatā (family devī).

The Agni Purāṇa contains a Sanskrit word-book, arranged in groups (vargas) like the Amarakośa, covering devas, realms, plants, people, the varṇas and grammar.

In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma answers Yudhiṣṭhira with a long praise of brāhmaṇas, calling them the bridge of dharma on which all four varṇas stand.

In the Mārgaśīrṣa Māsa Māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa declares that the name Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the greatest remedy for pāpa in the Kali Yuga.

A brāhmaṇa-śāpa is the curse of a brāhmaṇa, a force that cannot be undone. In the Mausala Parva, such a curse brought about the end of the Vṛṣṇi and Andhaka clans.

The Kṛttivāseśvara Liṅga of Kāśī arose from the body of the asura Gajāsura, whose elephant hide Śiva agreed to wear for ever.

The Brahmaśiras, "the head of Brahmā", is one of the most destructive divine weapons in the Mahābhārata, used by Aśvatthāmā and Arjuna at the end of the Kurukṣetra war.

Kṣamā-pratāpa-viveka is the wisdom to know when to show patient forbearance and when to act with bold force, as taught in the Mahābhārata's Vana Parva.

At the end of his Aśvamedha, Śrī Rāma declared Caitra the first and greatest month, and Sītā proclaimed the Akṣaya Māsa for women, as told in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Kṣara is all that changes and perishes; akṣara is what never changes. The Mahābhārata's Mokṣadharma Parva explains this pair as the key to liberation.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa praises Caitra as the greatest month because Śrī Rāma was born in it, and gives rules for the Caitra bath and the gifts to give in this month.

In the Udyoga Parva, Bhīma names eighteen kings whose deaths in the Kurukṣetra War would end or cripple their family lines (kula-kṣaya).

Chandas is the science of Sanskrit metre, one of the six Vedāṅgas and the "feet" of the Veda, taught in detail in the Agni Purāṇa and the Nārada Purāṇa.

The Kumāra-grahas are beings that can trouble or guard children up to age sixteen. The Mahābhārata's Vana Parva tells how they arose at the birth of Skanda.

The Candra Vaṃśa, or Lunar Dynasty, begins with Soma, born of Atri Ṛṣi, and leads through Purūravas and Yayāti to the Yādavas, Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas.

The Narasiṃha Purāṇa explains how to perform a homa of one lakh or one crore offerings, and says it brings peace to the whole land.

In the Mahābhārata's Nārāyaṇīya, the Catur-vyūha is Nārāyaṇa's fourfold form: Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, showing both how creation unfolds and the path back.

What happens to a person after the body dies? The Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata answer this in detail.

The twenty-four mūrtis of Bhagavān Viṣṇu are named forms told apart by how the conch, discus, mace and lotus are held in his four hands, as taught in the Agni Purāṇa.

The Śiva Purāṇa's Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā explains the two forms in which Śiva receives pūjā: the formless liṅga and the mūrti with form. Both are Śiva himself.

The Caturvyūha is the teaching of the four vyūhas of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, as explained in the Mārkaṇḍeya, Agni and Kūrma Purāṇas.

Liṅga Lakṣaṇa is the Purāṇic teaching on the size, proportions and placement of the Śivaliṅga, set out in full in Chapter 262 of the Matsya Purāṇa.

Chāyā Puruṣa, "the shadow-person", is Śiva's teaching in the Śiva Purāṇa on reading one's own shadow as a sign of one's inner state and as a path to liberation.

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa teaches the greatness of the Śivaliṅga: its eternal nature, its meaning, the kinds of liṅga, and the grace it gives.

The seven cirañjīvīs, Aśvatthāmā, Bali, Vyāsa, Hanumān, Vibhīṣaṇa, Kṛpa and Paraśurāma, live on through the ages, each with a special role, as the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa teaches.

The Kūrma Purāṇa presents the Śiva-liṅga as the formless Brahman made reachable in pūjā, praises Kāśī as Śiva's own liṅga-abode, and lists his 28 yogācārya avatāras.

The Cūḍāmaṇi is the crest-jewel Sītā Devī gave Hanumān in Laṅkā as a token for Śrī Rāma. It came from Indra to King Janaka, who gave it to Sītā at her wedding.

Liṅgārcana is the pūjā of the Śivaliṅga. The Liṅga Purāṇa teaches both the outer ritual of sixteen offerings and the inner, mental pūjā that ends in Śivo'haṃ.

The Padma Purāṇa's Uttara Khaṇḍa sorts the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas into three groups of six, sāttvika, rājasa and tāmasa, by the guṇa that is strongest in each.

How the Purāṇas describe the creation of the world: from Nārāyaṇa alone, through the sacred sound OM, the cosmic egg and Brahmā, to the many kinds of beings.

Daiva is destiny, the unseen force of past karma; puruṣakāra is human effort. The Mahābhārata teaches that the two work together, and that the wise act fully in the service of what daiva requires.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa tells how the sixty daughters of Dakṣa Prajāpati married Dharma, Kaśyapa, Candra and others, and how their children filled the three worlds with every kind of being.

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa lists the daughters of Dakṣa: twenty-seven who married Soma as the nakṣatras, and sixteen who married Kaśyapa and became mothers of all kinds of beings.

Dāna-dharma is the sacred duty of giving. The Purāṇas teach that food is the greatest gift, describe the cow-gifts and great gifts in detail, and explain how to give well.

The Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya teaches who is a worthy receiver of dāna (sacred giving) and which gifts made on the holy hill of Veṅkaṭādri bring the greatest merit.

In the Vana Parva, Mārkaṇḍeya Maharṣi teaches Yudhiṣṭhira which gifts bear fruit and which are wasted, who deserves a gift, why food is the greatest gift, and what true purity is.

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa traces the dānavas, children of Kaśyapa and Danu: their chief Vipracitti, Rāhu, the Paulomas and Kālakeyas, and Maya's daughter Mandodarī.

The dāru mūrti is Brahman appearing in wood: the sacred wooden forms of Jagannātha, Balabhadra, Subhadrā and Sudarśana at Puruṣottama Kṣetra (Purī), open to all for liberation.

The Narasiṃha Purāṇa lists the ten avatāras of Viṣṇu in Chapter 36 and tells their stories in Chapters 37–54. Its list names Balarāma, not Rāma, among the ten.

The Yugādis and Manvantarādis are the tithis on which the four yugas and fourteen manvantaras begin. Dāna given on these days is said to bring endless merit.

In the Virāṭa Parva, Arjuna reveals himself to Prince Uttara by declaring his ten names, from Arjuna and Phālguna to Savyasācī and Dhanañjaya, each with its own meaning.

The Deha Rāmāyaṇa is the inner teaching that every event of the Rāmāyaṇa is also each ātman's journey from Bhagavān Viṣṇu, through māyā, back to liberation.

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa lists twelve great wars between the devas and the asuras, from the time of Narasiṃha to the Dvāpara Yuga, each a test of dharma against adharma.

The Vāyu Purāṇa describes the families of devas and ṛṣis of the Svāyambhuva Manvantara, the first age of our kalpa, ruled by Svāyambhuva Manu.

Devadatta is the divine conch of Arjuna, called the greatest of all śaṅkhas, whose thundering sound announced him in battle.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa teaches which devatā to approach for each desire, while showing that only bhakti to Bhagavān Śrī Hari leads to mokṣa.

Dhanurveda is the Vedic science of archery, weapons and warfare. The Agni Purāṇa explains it in detail across four chapters, from bow-making to battle stances.

Dharma is one of the most important ideas in Sanātana Dharma.

The Dharmaratha, the chariot of dharma, is Śrī Rāma's teaching to Vibhīṣaṇa in the Rāmacaritamānas: a chariot built entirely of virtues, whose rider cannot be defeated.

The Dhvajāropaṇa Vrata is the yearly vow of raising a flag at a Viṣṇu temple, taught in the Yāga Kāṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Dhyāna yoga is steady, unbroken meditation on the Paramātman as the path to liberation, as taught by Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the Mokṣadharma Parva of the Mahābhārata.

Digvijaya, "victory in all directions", is a king's campaign to win the loyalty of kings in all four directions, needed before the Rājasūya yajña.

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa traces the family line of the divine elephants from Sāma to the four chief dik-gajas, Airāvata, Kumuda, Añjana and Vāmana, who guard the directions.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells how Śrī Rāma shared out the rule of the seven continents among his sons, brothers and allies after his digvijaya.

The Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa describes divyas: sacred ordeals of fire, water, poison, the balance and oath, used to reveal the truth when evidence fails.

Divyāstras are divine weapons, each linked with a deva, called up by mantra. Arjuna gained fourteen of them in svarga before the Kurukṣetra war.

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa names the sixteen children of Duḥsaha and Nirmārṣṭi, each of whom troubles people in a particular way, and gives the means of protection.

Dūta dharma is the rule that a messenger carries his master's words and must never be killed for them, as seen in the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa describes how Viṣṇu as Sūrya travels through the twelve months, each with a different group of seven companions led by an Āditya.

The twelve Jyotirliṅgas are Śiva's permanent, self-revealed presence at twelve holy places in Bhārata, as told in the Śatarudra Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa.

The Dvādaśa Mahājanas are the twelve great knowers of dharma named by Yama in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, who alone truly know the secret dharma of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa.

The Dvādaśapatra yoga of the Vāmana Purāṇa pictures Viṣṇu's body as a wheel of twelve petals, matching twelve parts of the body, the rāśis and the months.

In every Dvāpara Yuga, Viṣṇu comes as a Vyāsa to arrange the Vedas. The Kūrma and Vāyu Purāṇas list these Vyāsas, of whom Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana is the twenty-fifth.

Dyūta is the game of dice in Vedic and epic tradition. In the Mahābhārata, the dice game at Hastināpura tests the Kuru court's grasp of dharma.

The Mahābhārata's Udyoga Parva speaks of eight prayogas, or ways of using the divine astras, knowledge that marks a true master of weapons.

The Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya teaches eight types of bhakti toward Veṅkaṭeśvara, from love for his devotees to living fully in his refuge.

The Skanda Purāṇa's Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa names eight grades of brāhmaṇa, rising from one who is a brāhmaṇa by birth only to the fully realised muni.

The Ekādaśa Rudra are eleven avatāras of Śiva born to Kaśyapa and Surabhi to defend the devas, as told in the Śatarudra Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa.

In the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Garuḍa reveals that the leading vānaras of Śrī Rāma's army were the eleven Rudras, and that Hanumān is Śiva himself.

Ekāntika Dharma, or Bhāgavata Dharma, is undivided devotion to Vāsudeva joined with one's own dharma and detachment, taught in the Vāsudeva Māhātmya as the easiest path to liberation.

Śrī Rāma's ekapatnī vrata, his vow of faithfulness to Sītā alone, is one of his three lifelong vows, tested again and again in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

The Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa describes five great Śiva Liṅgas at Guptakṣetra, where the river Mahī meets the sea, each with its own story and blessings.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa lists forty-four avatāras of Bhagavān Viṣṇu, far more than the well-known ten, and names the tithis on which the ten main avatāras appeared.

The Vāmana Purāṇa traces four Śaiva traditions, the Śaiva, Pāśupata, Kāruṇika-Siddhānta and Kāpālika, back to the events in the Dārukāvana forest.

The Purāṇas teach four kinds of pralaya (dissolution): daily, at the end of Brahmā's day, at the end of his life, and the final freedom of the self through jñāna.

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa teaches that Gaṇeśa comes as a different avatāra in each yuga: Mahotkaṭa, Mayūreśvara, Gajānana and Dhūmravarṇa.

In the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa, Mahākāla teaches Kālabhīti about the four yugas, the twenty-eight Vyāsas and the signs of the Kali Yuga.

Gadā-yuddha is combat with the mace in the Mahābhārata. Its most famous example is the final duel between Bhīmasena and Duryodhana, both pupils of Balarāma.

The Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa explains how elephants came to be, names the eight elephants of the directions, and sorts elephants into four classes and eight forests.

The Brahmāṇḍa and Vāyu Purāṇas teach gāndharva, the divine science of music: the seven svaras, three grāmas, twenty-one mūrchanās, tānas and ornaments.

Gāndharva vivāha is a marriage by mutual desire, without ritual fire, parents or purohitas. The Mahābhārata treats it as valid, especially for kṣatriyas.

Gandharvas and apsarās are the celestial musicians and dancers. The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa lists their clans and groups, and tells how Urvaśī was born from Nārāyaṇa's thigh.

Gāṇḍīva is the divine bow of Arjuna in the Mahābhārata. It passed from Brahmā through many divine keepers to Arjuna, and at the end was returned to Varuṇa.

The Gaṇeśa Dvādaśanāma is a set of twelve names of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa from the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa. Chanting them at dawn or dusk is said to remove every obstacle.

The Gaṇeśa Gītā is a spiritual teaching in the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa in which Gajānana, Gaṇeśa's avatāra of the Dvāpara Yuga, teaches King Vareṇya the path to mokṣa.

The Gaṇeśa Sahasranāma is the thousand names of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa, which Gaṇeśa taught to Śiva so that Śiva could destroy the three cities of Tripura.

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa describes how the sun moves around Meru, how it is protected at dawn and dusk, its chariot as a picture of the year, and how time is measured.

Gāruḍī Vidyā is the sacred knowledge that Viṣṇu gave to Garuḍa for removing poison and restoring life. The Garuḍa Purāṇa ties it to five element maṇḍalas.

The Āgneyāstra is the divine fire-weapon of Agni, used by King Kuvalāśva to destroy the asura Dhundhu and by Aśvatthāmā in the Kurukṣetra war.

The Gāyatrī is the most sacred mantra of the Vedas, the mother of mantras. The Agni and Liṅga Purāṇas explain its words, its 24 syllables, its practice and its forms.

The Agni-Vaṃśa traces how the one sacred fire, Agni, became forty-nine fires, each with its own work in yajña and in the world.

Book 12 of the Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa gives the thousand names of Gāyatrī, with her Kavaca, Hṛdaya and Stotra, and honours her as the Parāśakti and mother of the Vedas.

Agra-pūjā is the honour of first pūjā at a great assembly or yajña. At Yudhiṣṭhira's Rājasūya, Bhīṣma chose Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and Śiśupāla objected.

The Kūrma and Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇas describe Bhārata-varṣa as the karma-bhūmi, the land of action, with its seven mountain ranges, sacred rivers and peoples.

Āhnika is the daily routine of a devoted follower of dharma, from rising before dawn through bathing, saṃdhyāvandana, pūjā, śrāddha and meals, as taught in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa.

The Gītā-Sāra is a short summary of the Bhagavad Gītā's teaching, given by Agni-deva in the Agni Purāṇa, with further versions in the Garuḍa Purāṇa.

The Aiṣīka Astra is a divine weapon made from a blade of grass or reed, given its power by mantra and tapas rather than by its material.

Goloka is the supreme eternal abode of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, above Vaikuṇṭha and Śivaloka, where he lives with Rādhā, the gopas and the gopīs. It remains even when all worlds dissolve.

In the Skanda Purāṇa's Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Aitareya teaches his mother to see the body clearly, and that purity of mind is the highest purity.

Gotra and pravara are the family lines by which brāhmaṇas trace their descent from the ancient ṛṣis. The Matsya Purāṇa lists them and their marriage rules.

Ajagara-vṛtti, "the python's way", is a way of life in which one seeks nothing and calmly accepts whatever time and karma bring.

Chapter 144 of the Matsya Purāṇa teaches five grades of ṛṣi, the inner state in which mantras are revealed, and lists 92 ṛṣis who saw the Vedic mantras.

Ajñātavāsa was the thirteenth year of the Pāṇḍavas' exile, which they had to spend in disguise, unrecognised, at the court of King Virāṭa.