Sanskrit is the sacred language of India; the language of much of sacred literature, philosophy, and religion.

Sanskrit is supposed to have originated from a very early Aryan language that was refined and polished to express the truths of the seers of ancient India.

Hence its etymological meaning ‘perfected’, ‘polished’, from the verbal root kri plus the suffix san which means ‘to make perfect, complete’

sanskrit writing

The Sanskrit script is known as Devanagari from deva – God, naraga – city. Various modern languages ​​of India use varied forms of Devanagari, such as Hindi.

Writing may be older than language itself, having originated in as yet unknown clouds of our past history.

Essential Sanskrit Terms for Understanding Various Indian Religions

Term Meaning

Arya A holy man; a man of the highest aspirations, the noblest religious dispositions coupled with unwavering courage in the upward march of the human race, and one who gave himself over to the Divine Will. (from the verb root ri to rise upwards)

Ārvyvārta Land of the Saints, and an ancient name for India

Anarya Profane, without aspirations, (an – no)

Bhāratavarsha The land (varsha) of the Bharatas (the descendants of the great Bharata), a name for India

Bharata Bharata was a powerful and celebrated hero and monarch of ancient India.

Bhātratas The people of India

Dharma Duty, righteousness, law, order (from the verbal root dhŗi – to uphold or establish).

Dharmas Used in the plural means the ordered duties of religious and social life.

Sanātana Dharma The ‘Religion or Eternal Truth’, used as a synonym for Hinduism

Adharma Not righteousness; the shadow and denial of truth and divine values; the reactionary force that generates evil, ignorance, darkness and resistance to growth.

Svadharma One’s own law of action (sva) and being in harmony with divine intention

Satya ‘That which IS’, Truth, Reality. (Sat is the present participle of the verbal root as – to be)

Satyāgraha ‘Hold on to the Truth’ (from the verbal root grah – to sixteen, hold)

Mahātma Gandhi Mahātma Gandhi started a Satyāgraha campaign whose main aspect was non-violent disobedience to unjust laws

Ahiņsā No injury, no violence. (from a – not and hiņs – to insult

Ŗishi A seer of truth. To the seer-wise. He who sees the true law of being directly by inner vision.

Āchārya A spiritual guide; a teacher who invests the young student with the sacrificial thread and instructs him in the Vedas, India’s oldest wisdom writings, and teaches him the laws of sacrifice and religious mysteries.

Bhakta A devotee of God, or a representative or symbol of God

Bhakti devotion (from the verbal root bhaj – to love, revere)

Sadhu A holy man, a saint

Mahatma A great soul. A magnanimous man, extremely wise. a title of respect

Svāmi A lord, owner, a spiritual preceptor, a learned Brahmin

Guru A spiritual teacher or guide. (gŗī – invoke, praise)

A Guru is someone who has the ability to pass on his realizations to those who look to him for wisdom.

There may be an external Guru or Guide who removes ignorance by the radiant light of his divine wisdom from the internal Guru (or Ātman – Being) who is the spiritual Guide who works through the intuitive part of man.

Gurudeva The Divine Teacher, a divinely enlightened being