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Glossary of terms

This dictionary is not found in the treatise. It has been compiled from the very Sanskrit annotations that appear in parentheses next to each Russian word: annotations in twenty-two chapters 8,525, and at the top by frequency — function words, ca, tatra, tu. Here what remains is that which the reader stumbles over.

Whose work this is. The Russian translation of the Tantrasāra is by Gabriel Pradīpaka; it is reproduced here unchanged, and not a line of it did we write. The dictionary entries are selected from his notes, but the interpretations are written for this site and are not presented as his words. For the precise meaning, go where the term is discussed: the last column leads directly to those paragraphs.

The glossary is shared with that of the “Tantrāloka”](/en/ksh/ta/glossary/), and this is not laziness: “Tantrasāra” is the same “Tantrāloka,” condensed by Abhinavagupta himself into a single book. To explain tattva on one page of the site in one set of words, and on the neighboring page in another, would mean contradicting oneself for no reason. The thirty articles here are nonetheless original—almost all of them ritualistic: of the “Tantrāloka,” only the doctrinal half exists in Russian, whereas the “Tantrasāra” is translated in full, including the ritual from ablution to the Kaulika yajña.

The reverse path also exists: a Sanskrit word in the translation’s interlinear gloss leads here by itself.

The ♪ button pronounces the term. The sound is synthesized in advance from the Devanagari spelling using the voice Lekha (hi_IN) — this is not a recording of a reader and not a reference for pronunciation: be careful with aspirated, retroflex, and long vowels.

The voice reads according to the rules of Hindi, and Hindi swallows the final short “a”: शिव he pronounced “śiv”. Therefore, to a word ending in a consonant, a visarga is appended — and the voice pronounces the nominative case, śivaḥ, by which the word is named aloud. The only price for this is: at the end a slight aspiration is heard, which is not present in the spelling above the button.

Voice:

The Supreme and Its Names

TermSanskritDevanāgarīMeaningWhere in the text
ŚivaśivaशिवGod as the resting side of Reality — the Light of Consciousness, not different from His own Power. The most frequent word of the treatise: 376 occurrences.2 · 4 · 9
Bhairavabhairavaभैरवthe name of the Supreme Lord in Trika: He who holds the universe, bears it, and draws it back in. Not a “terrifying deity,” but the fullness of Consciousness.3 · 5 · 7
Anuttaraanuttaraअनुत्तर“that above which there is nothing”: the Supreme Reality from which everything proceeds and in which everything rests.1 · 3 · 4
Sadāśivasadāśivaसदाशिवthe third tattva: the stage where “I am this” still sounds with the emphasis on “I.”6 · 8 · 13
Īśvaraīśvaraईश्वरthe fourth tattva — and at the same time simply “the Lord.” Here the emphasis is already on “this”: the universe is seen clearly, and the “I” holds it.8 · 9 · 12
Maheśvaramaheśvaraमहेश्वरthe Great Lord. The word stands both as a name and as an indication that this lordship depends on nothing.4 · 22
Śrīkaṇṭhaśrīkaṇṭhaश्रीकण्ठ“fair-throated” — Śiva from whom the teaching’s transmission is traced in the treatise.6
Devīdevīदेवीthe Goddess — God’s Power, taken as His own inseparable side; in the Tantrāloka she is also the interlocutor who asks questions.13 · 20 · 22

Light, Response, and Power

TermSanskritDevanāgarīMeaningWhere in the text
Prakāśaprakāśaप्रकाशLight — that side of Reality by which it manifests. Without it nothing would be; without a response it would not know that it shines.1 · 8 · 13
Vimarśavimarśaविमर्शresponse, the self-awareness of Light: “this is I.” The pair to prakāśa, and the whole system rests on their being one.3 · 5 · 21
Citcitचित्Consciousness as such, the pure capacity to shine. Everything is composed of it: cinmaya — “consisting of Consciousness.”1 · 6 · 8
Saṁvidsaṁvidसंविद्Consciousness — not “my consciousness,” but that one by which anything at all is.4 · 5 · 22
Ānandaānandaआनन्दbliss — not pleasure, but the fullness of Consciousness content with itself.1 · 2 · 22
Spandaspandaस्पन्दquiver: not movement in space, but that stirring within Consciousness without which it would manifest nothing.4 · 5 · 6
Sphurattāsphurattāस्फुरत्ताflashing, shimmering — the same stirring taken as radiance.5 · 9
Śaktiśaktiशक्तिThe Power of God, His I-Consciousness: the same Reality taken as will and movement. Three hundred annotations — the second most frequent word of the treatise.1 · 9 · 22
Icchāicchāइच्छाwill, desire — the first of the three Powers: with it every manifestation begins.1 · 3 · 8
Jñānajñānaज्ञानknowledge — the second Power: that in which desire sees what it wants.1 · 6 · 11
Kriyākriyāक्रियाaction — the third Power: knowledge become deed.1 · 9 · 13
Svātantryasvātantryaस्वातन्त्र्यAbsolute Freedom — that which makes the Lord the Lord: the unconstrained possibility to manifest or not to manifest.1 · 3 · 4
Camatkāracamatkāraचमत्कारthe rapture of recognition — a flash in which Consciousness tastes itself.1 · 8
Parāmarśaparāmarśaपरामर्श“grasping”: that very act by which Consciousness touches itself and says “I.” Not a thought about oneself, but the very self-holding from which both the sounds of speech and the world emerge.3 · 4 · 13
Viśrāntiviśrāntiविश्रान्तिrest — not repose after work, but that into which every movement comes and in which it holds. “Resting in oneself” is bliss itself.3 · 5 · 9
Visargavisargaविसर्ग“emission”: that by which Fullness pours the world out of itself, losing nothing. It is also the sign — two dots with which the sound series ends.1 · 3 · 5
Pratibimbapratibimbaप्रतिबिम्बreflection. The third chapter rests on it: the world stands in Consciousness as a reflection in a mirror — and the original from which it is taken does not exist at all.3 · 8
Rasarasaरसjuice, taste: that by which a thing is grasped from within, not examined from without. Consciousness takes the world “with the juice of its own response.”3 · 6 · 22

Tattvas, paths and the world

TermSanskritDevanagariMeaningWhere in the text
Tattvatattvaतत्त्वbeginning, level of Reality; there are thirty-six of them—from Śiva down to the earth. The most frequent concept of the treatise after Śiva: 323 annotations.2 · 3 · 8
Adhvanadhvanअध्वन्path: a way of breaking the universe into a series through which it is traversed. There are six paths, three on the side of the word and three on the side of the thing.6 · 7 · 10
Kalākalāकलाportion, part—the largest division of the path: five kalās into which the whole universe is broken. Not to be confused with kāla, time.6 · 8 · 10
Varṇavarṇaवर्णsound of speech, letter—the smallest portion of the path on the side of the word.5 · 6 · 10
Padapadaपदword as a unit of the path—and generally "place, state."6 · 9 · 10
Bhuvanabhuvanaभुवनworld, inhabited region; there are a hundred and eighteen of them, and they are the most fractional portion of the path on the side of the thing.7 · 9 · 10
Viśvaviśvaविश्वuniverse as a whole—everything that exists, taken in a single glance.3 · 4 · 13
Jagatjagatजगत्world—that which moves.3 · 6 · 9
Māyāmāyāमायाthe Power by which the Lord conceals Himself and manifests the world as separate. Not deception, but measure: the sixth tattva.7 · 8 · 11
Kañcukakañcukaकञ्चुकcovering: five sheaths by which māyā cuts the boundless down to "so much"—kalā, vidyā, rāga, kāla-time, niyati.6 · 8 · 9
Prakṛtiprakṛtiप्रकृतिnature—that from which everything material is made; the thirteenth tattva.7 · 8 · 11
Puruṣapuruṣaपुरुषlimited being: Consciousness that has forgotten its boundlessness.1 · 7 · 8
Guṇaguṇaगुणthree threads from which nature is woven: sattva, rajas, tamas.6 · 7 · 8
Kāla (time)kālaकालtime—both as a covering that cuts eternity down to "now," and as the One who devours. Written with a long "ā," unlike the portion kalā.1 · 2 · 6
Sṛṣṭisṛṣṭiसृष्टिmanifestation, emission—the first of the five acts of the Lord.5 · 6 · 22
Vidyāvidyāविद्याknowledge—and that tattva (śuddhavidyā), on which "I" and "this" still hold together; below māyā it becomes the narrow knowledge of a single person.3 · 8 · 9
Aṇḍaaṇḍaअण्ड"egg"—the shell of the universe. There are four of them, nested one inside another: of the earth, of nature, of māyā, and of Power.6 · 7 · 8
Tanmātratanmātraतन्मात्र"only that": the subtle basis of an element—sound, touch, color, taste, smell, taken by themselves, before any thing.7 · 8
Indriyaindriyaइन्द्रियinstrument: five senses and five actions. Not the eye itself, but that by which one sees.3 · 7 · 8

Speech and word

TermSanskritDevanāgarīMeaningWhere in the text
Vācvācवाच्Speech — not sound, but that by which anything at all can be named and therefore be. It has four stages: the highest (parā), paśyantī, madhyamā and vaikharī.8 · 14 · 20
Paśyantīpaśyantīपश्यन्ती“seeing” — the second stage: the meaning is seen whole, but not yet broken into words.3
Madhyamāmadhyamāमध्यमा“middle” — the third: words are already separate, but sound within.3 · 14 · 22
Śabdaśabdaशब्दsound, word — what is heard, as opposed to what it means.3 · 5 · 8
Nādanādaनादhum, undifferentiated sounding, from which the sounds of speech are distinguished.6 · 13 · 22
Bindubinduबिन्दुpoint, drop: compressed into one, from which the many unfolds.3 · 6
Bījabījaबीजseed — a one-syllable mantra, from which a whole grows.3 · 5 · 15
Mātṛkāmātṛkāमातृका“mother” — the entire sound series as the mother of every word and every knowledge.13
Mantramantraमन्त्रa word by which one acts. For Abhinavagupta, the power of a mantra lies not in sound, but in Consciousness, which recognises itself through it.6 · 8 · 9
Vargavargaवर्गrow — a group of five consonants of one place of articulation (ka-varga, ca-varga). By them the whole alphabet is laid out, and by the alphabet — the whole world.3 · 4 · 8

Body, breath, focal points

TermSanskritDevanāgarīMeaningWhere in the text
Dehadehaदेहbody. In the Tantrāloka it is not an obstacle but the place where everything happens.5 · 11 · 20
Prāṇaprāṇaप्राणbreath-life — and its ascending current in particular.5 · 6 · 7
Apānaapānaअपानdescending current of breath, the pair to prāṇa.5 · 6
Udānaudānaउदानcurrent going upward along the central channel: the one that raises into Turīya.5 · 6
Nāḍīnāḍīनाडीchannel along which breath moves; there are three main ones.7 · 16
Cakracakraचक्रwheel: both a center in the body, and a circle of deities, and an assembly of initiates. Abhinavagupta uses all three senses.4 · 20 · 22
HṛdayahṛdayaहृदयHeart — not an organ but a center: that to which everything converges and from which everything issues.1 · 4 · 5
Madhyamadhyaमध्यmiddle — both the place between the two breaths, and that state which one enters through any interval.11 · 14 · 20
Dvādaśāntadvādaśāntaद्वादशान्त“end of twelve” — the point twelve fingers from the body or from the palate, where breath ends and begins.5 · 6 · 13
Aṅgulaaṅgulaअङ्गुलfinger as a measure of length: by it the path of breath is measured.6
Ucchāraucchāraउच्चारrising — a prolonged utterance by which consciousness is led upward along the central channel.5 · 22
Śūnyaśūnyaशून्यemptiness — a state in which there is nothing knowable. Not the goal: beyond it opens that for which even emptiness was an object.5 · 7 · 10

The knower and the knowable

TermSanskritDevanāgarīMeaningWhere in the text
Pramātṛpramātṛप्रमातृthe knower — the one for whom something exists. Its levels are seven, from Śiva to the bound being.4 · 5 · 9
Pramāṇapramāṇaप्रमाणmeans of cognition — that by which the knower takes the knowable.1 · 2 · 5
Prameyaprameyaप्रमेयthe knowable — that which is taken.4 · 5 · 6
Vedyavedyaवेद्यthe same knowable under another word; the pair to vedaka.5 · 6 · 9
Bodhabodhaबोधawakening, discernment — Consciousness taken as that which understands.3 · 4 · 5
Buddhibuddhiबुद्धिthe discriminating faculty: that which decides “this is that.”1 · 5 · 8
Manasmanasमनस्the mind: that which assembles impressions into an image.8 · 16 · 20
Ahaṅkāraahaṅkāraअहङ्कारthe “I-maker”: that by which an impersonal impression becomes “mine.”7 · 8
Cittacittaचित्तthe consciousness of an individual person — that which can be defiled and which is purified.3
Ajñānaajñānaअज्ञानignorance — not a lack of information, but incomplete knowledge taken as complete. Of two kinds: that seated in the being and that seated in the mind.1 · 11

Bonds

TermSanskritDevanagariMeaningWhere in the text
Malamalaमलdirt, stain: that by which consciousness is closed off from itself. There are three, and in the translation they are named in Russian: ānava — “I am incomplete,” from it the boundless becomes a point; māyiya — “this is not I,” the world becomes alien and separate; karma — “I am the doer,” hence the deed, the trace, and new birth.1 · 8 · 11
Pāśapāśaपाशnoose, bond — the general name for everything that holds a being bound.13 · 14 · 20
Paśupaśuपशुcattle — the bound being: the same Consciousness, but having forgotten itself.4 · 8 · 11
Bhedabhedaभेदdifference, separateness — that by which the bonds are held. 231 notes.3 · 6 · 9
Vikalpavikalpaविकल्पdiscriminating thought: that which cuts the one into “this” and “not this.”4 · 5 · 9
Saṁsārasaṁsāraसंसारcycle of births — and at the same time all of ordinary life.1 · 4 · 8
Karmakarmaकर्मन्deed — and its consequence. For Abhinavagupta, not fate, but a trace that is erased by initiation.3 · 8 · 11
Saṁskārasaṁskāraसंस्कारtrace left by a deed; and the rite by which it is set right.5 · 9 · 21
Vāsanāvāsanāवासनाhabit, accumulated inclination — and at the same time “fragrance.”4 · 5 · 14
Sakalasakalaसकल“with parts” — the bound being who has all three stains. Above him is pralayākala, who lacks the māyic one, and vijñānākala, who has only the first remaining.3 · 7 · 9

Paths and entry

TermSanskritDevanāgarīMeaningWhere in the text
Upāyaupāyaउपायmeans: the way by which a being comes to itself. Abhinavagupta has four of them, and the entire treatise is arranged according to them.5 · 11 · 19
Anupāyaanupāyaअनुपाय“without means” — not a path, but its absence: recognition without a single step.1 · 2
Śāmbhavaśāmbhavaशाम्भवthe path of Śambhu: entry by will alone, without reliance on thought or breath.1 · 3 · 4
Śāktaśāktaशाक्तthe path of Power: working with thought — displacing bad discriminative thought with pure thought.1 · 3 · 5
Āṇavaāṇavaआणवthe path of the limited being: reliance on body, breath, sound, and object.1 · 3 · 5
Samāveśasamāveśaसमावेशfull entry — that for the sake of which all means are set up.1 · 2 · 13
Āveśaāveśaआवेशentry, being possessed: the state when that to which one is devoted enters into a person.9 · 16 · 22
Yogayogaयोगunion — and the way to achieve it.9 · 11 · 22
Dhyānadhyānaध्यानcontemplation — holding an image until it becomes itself.2 · 4 · 5
Dhāraṇādhāraṇāधारणाconcentration: binding consciousness to a single place.4 · 12
Bhāvanābhāvanāभावनाcultivation: not imagination, but holding the truth until it becomes evident.4 · 10 · 13
Mudrāmudrāमुद्राseal: a position of body or consciousness by which a state is fixed.5 · 20 · 22
Kramakramaक्रमsuccession, sequence — and at the same time the name of a school. 245 notes: the Tantrāloka lays out almost everything by stages.4 · 15 · 20
Turyaturyaतुर्यthe Fourth — the state beyond waking, dreaming sleep, and dreamless sleep.5 · 9 · 10
Avasthāavasthāअवस्थाstate: waking, dreaming sleep, deep sleep — and the fourth, Turya, which is not beside them but through them.5 · 9 · 13
Abhyāsaabhyāsaअभ्यासrepetition — that by which what was once understood becomes one’s own. For Abhinavagupta it is not the building of a skill, but the returning of attention to the same place.1 · 4 · 5
Tarkatarkaतर्कreasoning. Of all the parts of yoga, Abhinavagupta places it first: correct reasoning (sattarka) itself dismantles the division that neither posture nor breath retention can take on.2 · 4

Dedication and ritual

TermSanskritDevanāgarīMeaningWhere in the text
Dīkṣādīkṣāदीक्षाinitiation: the rite by which the teacher burns away the bonds of the pupil. The greater part of the treatise is devoted to it.1 · 12 · 18
Guruguruगुरुteacher. For Abhinavagupta he is not a mentor but one through whom the Power acts.11 · 13 · 14
Śiṣyaśiṣyaशिष्यpupil — the one who is initiated.14 · 15 · 20
Śaktipātaśaktipātaशक्तिपातdescent of Power: the grace by which the Lord reveals Himself. Without it initiation has no force.11 · 13 · 15
Nyāsanyāsaन्यासplacement: the arrangement of mantras over the body, by which the body is made the body of the deity.12 · 13 · 22
Maṇḍalamaṇḍalaमण्डलcircle, diagram: the universe laid out on a plane, into which the pupil is led.3 · 14 · 16
Yāgayāgaयागsacrifice, service — the rite as a whole.4 · 13 · 20
Homahomaहोमlibation into the fire; for Abhinavagupta what is burnt is not butter but difference.4 · 13 · 14
Pūjāpūjāपूजाworship — service to the deity.2 · 18 · 20
Abhiṣekaabhiṣekaअभिषेकconsecration by sprinkling: that by which one is installed in office.9 · 18
Kulakulaकुलclan, family — and at the same time a totality: the body, the Power, the assembly of the initiated.1 · 20 · 22
Kaulakaulaकौलthat which pertains to the Kula: the tradition in which nothing is cast away as impure.22
Liṅgaliṅgaलिङ्गsign — both the object of worship and the mark by which one recognises.5 · 20 · 22
Devatādevatāदेवताdeity — and the circle of deities (devatā-cakra), whom in the rite one worships as powers of one's own Consciousness, not as alien persons.6 · 20 · 22
Sthaṇḍilasthaṇḍilaस्थण्डिलlevel ground on which the rite is performed — a place become a throne.5 · 7 · 22
Samayasamayaसमयthe rule of the initiated: the precepts accepted together with the first initiation. Samayin — one who keeps them.5 · 6 · 8
Pavitrakapavitrakaपवित्रकconsecrated cord — and the rite by which it is offered: with it, once a year, all that is unfinished and omitted is covered. The last chapter is devoted to it.20
Naimittikanaimittikaनैमित्तिकoccasional rite — as opposed to nitya, the daily one: the occasion may be a festival, a death, or simply an unlooked-for joy.13 · 19 · 20
Tarpaṇatarpaṇaतर्पणsatisfying: the libation by which the deities of the circle are nourished — and through them, oneself.4 · 20 · 22
Mūrtimūrtiमूर्तिimage, statue — one of the places where the rite is performed, on a par with the vessel, the fire, and one's own body.6 · 7 · 13
Kumbhakumbhaकुम्भvessel of water placed at the centre of the rite, in which the deity is present just as in the image.5 · 9 · 13
Arghapātraarghapātraअर्घपात्रoffering bowl: in it what the rite offers is mixed, and from it one also partakes.13 · 14 · 20
Astraastraअस्त्र"weapon" — the mantra by which the place is purified and obstruction warded off. One of the limb-mantras, on a par with the heart and the head.10 · 13 · 14
Vratavrataव्रतvow — an accepted restriction by which one holds oneself to what has been begun.4 · 17 · 18
Prāyaścittaprāyaścittaप्रायश्चित्तexpiation: that by which a broken rule or an unfinished rite is set right.11 · 17 · 20
Vīravīraवीर"hero" — a participant in the Kaula rite: one able to take it up without fear and without being seduced.12 · 20 · 22
Dānadānaदानgiving — and that which is given: one of the actions by which the rite is sustained.4 · 8 · 11

The Fruit

The termSanskritDevanāgarīMeaningWhere in the text
Mokṣamokṣaमोक्षliberation — is not a departure from the world, but the recognition that there was no bondage.1 · 3 · 11
Muktimuktiमुक्तिthe same liberation in other words; more often where the state is concerned.6 · 11 · 22
Siddhisiddhiसिद्धिperfection, superpower — and at the same time "that which has come true."4 · 5 · 20
Bhogabhogaभोगtasting, enjoyment. In Trika it is not opposed to liberation: the path leads to both.8 · 9 · 11
Svartipasvarūpaस्वरूपone's own essential nature — that which a being has always been.1 · 3 · 9
Pūrṇatāpūrṇatāपूर्णताfullness — a state in which there is nothing to add and nothing to desire.1 · 3 · 9
Phalaphalaफलfruit: that for the sake of which one acts — and that which comes out of what is done.5 · 11 · 21

Scripture

TermSanskritDevanāgarīMeaningWhere in the text
Śāstraśāstraशास्त्रscripture, instruction. Note 171: “Tantrāloka” continuously refers to other books of the tradition.1 · 11 · 21
Āgamaāgamaआगम“that which has come” — revelation received from the Lord, not deduced by the mind.1 · 4 · 21
Tantratantraतन्त्रbook of revelation — and at the same time “the warp of the fabric”: that by which everything is woven together.1 · 2 · 3
Trikatrikaत्रिक“triad” — the name of the school itself: Śiva, Śakti, and the bound being, taken as one.21
Mālinīmālinīमालिनी“she who wears a garland” — a sound series in reverse order, and the name of the tantra on which the treatise relies most heavily.13 · 20
Āhnikaāhnikaआह्निक“daily” — a chapter: as much as is examined in one day. There are thirty-seven of them.1 · 2 · 3

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