Sanskrit - (Hinduism) an ancient language of India (the language of the Vedas and of Hinduism); an official language of India although it is now used only for religious purposesHindooism, Hinduism - a body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme beingof many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils Darsana - (from the Sanskrit word for `to see') one of six orthodox philosophical systems or viewpoints on the nature of reality and the release from bondage to karma Mimamsa - (from the Sanskrit word for `reflection' or `interpretation') one of six orthodox philosophical systems or viewpoints on ritual traditions rooted in the Vedas and the Brahmanas as opposed to Vedanta which relies mostly on the Upanishads Vedanta - (from the Sanskrit for `end of the Veda') one of six orthodox philosophical systems or viewpoints rooted in the Upanishads as opposed to Mimamsa which relies on the Vedas and Brahmanas Veda, Vedic literature - (from the Sanskrit word for `knowledge') any of the most ancient sacred writings of Hinduism written in early Sanskrit; traditionallly believed to comprise the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads Ayurveda - (Sanskrit) an ancient medical treatise summarizing the Hindu art of healing and prolonging life; sometimes regarded as a 5th Veda Sindhi - the Indic language of the Sindhi people Urdu - the official literary language of Pakistan, closely related to Hindi; widely used in India (mostly by Moslems); written in Arabic script Hindi - the most widely spoken of modern Indic vernaculars; spoken mostly in the north of India; along with English it is the official language of India; usually written in Devanagari script Bihari - the Indic language spoken in Bihar (and by some people in Pakistan and Bangladesh) Magadhan - a subfamily of Indic languages Mahratti, Marathi - an Indic language; the state language of Maharashtra in west central India; written in the Devanagari script Gujarati, Gujerati - the Indic language spoken by the people of India who live in Gujarat in western India Panjabi, Punjabi - the Indic language spoken by most people in Punjab in northwestern India Agni - (Sanskrit) god of fire in ancient and traditional India; one of the three chief deities of the Vedas Asvins - (literally `possessing horses' in Sanskrit) in Hinduism the twin chariot warriors conveying Surya optative, optative mood - a mood (as in Greek or Sanskrit) that expresses a wish or hope; expressed in English by modal verbs |