Vedic Sanskrit Glossary - S -

sa-guṇa — “With qualities.” In reference to the Supreme Lord, the term signifies that He has form and personality.

śabda — Sound.

* Śabda — transcendental sound.

śabda-brahma — Transcendental sound, considered by Vedic philosophy to be self-evident proof of knowledge.

* śabda-brahma — transcendental sound vibration; the injunctions of the Vedas and Upaniṣads.

* śabda-pramāṇa — the evidence of transcendental sound, especially of the Vedas.

* śabda-tanmātra — the material element of sound vibration.

sabji — Vegetables.

* sabji — vegetable or vegetable dish.

sac-cid-ānanda — “Eternal existence, consciousness, and bliss,” the constitutional nature of the Supreme Lord and the finite living beings. The Supreme Lord’s sac-cid-ānanda nature is always manifest, but that of the jīvas is covered by material illusion when they rebel against the Lord.

* sac-cid-ānanda — the natural condition of spiritual life: eternal, full of knowledge and bliss.

* Sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha — [Bs. 5.1] — the Lord’s transcendental form, which is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss; the eternal transcendental form of the living entity.

Śacī — (-devī) The mother of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and wife of Jagannātha Miśra of Navadvīpa.

* Śacī-devī — the mother of Śri Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śacī-nandana — Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “the darling son of Śacī.”

* Śacīpati — see: Indra

* sacred thread — a thread worn by persons initiated into the chanting of the Gāyatrī mantra.

* Ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇa — the Supreme Lord who is complete with six opulences.

* Ṣaḍ-bhūja — the six-armed form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

sad-guru — A bona fide spiritual master.

* Sadāśiva — see: Śiva

sādhaka — A practitioner of devotional service or some other authorized spiritual discipline.

* sādhaka — a practitioner of sādhana-bhakti; one who is nearing the perfection of Brahman realization; one who is a suitable candidate for liberation.

sādhana — Practices for achieving pure devotional service; more generally, the means for achieving any goal.

* sādhana — the beginning phase of devotional service, consisting of regulated practice.

sādhana-bhakti — Pure devotional service in practice, which purifies the heart and brings one toward spontaneous loving service to the Supreme Lord.

* sādhana-bhakti — following the rules and regulations of devotional service to develop natural love for Kṛṣṇa.

sādhana-siddha — A devotee of the Supreme Lord who has become perfect by practicing sādhana-bhakti.

* sādhana-siddha — one who has attained perfection by executing the rules and regulations of devotional service.

sādhana-siddhi — The achievement of perfection by the practice of regulated devotional service.

sādhu — A saintly person.

* sādhu — a saint or Krishna conscious devotee, or Vaiṣṇava. A wandering holy man.

* sādhu-nindā — the offense of criticizing a Vaiṣṇava.

sādhu-saṅga — The association of saintly persons.

* sadhu-saṅga — the association of saintly persons.

* sādhu-varya — the best of gentlemen.

* Sādhyas — demigods inhabiting the heavenly planets.

* safflour oil — the oil extracted from the seed of the tall, thistle-like safflower plant (Carthamus tinctoriusi). The seeds are husked and pressed and the oil extracted by hydraulic or chemical means. Safflower oil is low in saturated fatty acids, has a mild flavour, has a high smoking point, and is suitable as a salad oil or a deep-frying oil.

* saffron — the slender dried stigmas of the flowers of Crocus sativus, grown commercially in Spain, Kashmir, and China. When the plants bloom, the brilliant stigmas (the female organs of the plants are hand-picked daily, just as the plants open in the early morning. About 210,000 dried stigmas, picked from about 70,000 flowers yield one pound of saffron. Understandably, cost of saffron production is very high, and saffron is the world's most expensive spice. After picking, the saffron is dried in sieves over low heat, then stored immediately. The final product is a compressed, highly aromatic matted mass of narrow, thread-like, dark-orange to reddish-brown strands about 2.5 cm (1-inch) long. Saffron has a pleasantly spicy, pungent, slightly bitter honey-like taste with such a potent colouring power that one part of its colouring component, known as crocin, is capable of colouring up to 150,000 parts of water unmistakably yellow. Saffron has enjoyed immense popularity throughout the world for centuries. By the sixteenth century, for instance, saffron was being extensively cultivated in England as a culinary spice. Its popularity today is limited to mainly Indian, French, Middle Eastern, and Spanish cuisines. The saffron strands should be soaked and ground or slightly dry-roasted and powdered before using. A big pinch of saffron is sufficient to colour a whole dish, but be sure to purchase the real thing--saffron is often adulterated. And remember, there is no such thing as cheap saffron! Saffron is available at Indian grocers, gourmet stores, and large Chinese medical centres, where it is known  as hoong fa (ask for the more expensive variety).

* sagar — lake.

* sagarbha-yogī — a yogī who worships the Supersoul in the Viṣṇu form.

* Saguṇa — “possessing attributes or qualities.” In reference to the Supreme Lord, the term signifies that He has spiritual, transcendental qualities.

Sahadeva — One of the twin sons of Mādrī, who were the youngest of the five Pāṇḍavas. At Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya sacrifice, Sahadeva had the honor of proposing that Kṛṣṇa be given the first worship.

* Sahadeva — Nakula's twin, and the fifth of the sons of Pāṇḍu, and younger brother of Arjuna. He was born of the union of the Aśvinī-kumāra demigods and Kuntī. He was reputed for knowledge of scriptures, and he was exceptionally handsome.

* Sahadeva — the son of Jarāsandha. He took the side of the Pāṇḍavas during the Kurukṣetra war and was killed by Droṇa.

sahajiyā — A class of pseudo devotees who take the conjugal pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs cheaply and who do not follow the proper regulations of vaidhi-bhakti.

* sahajiyās — a class of so-called devotees who, considering God cheap, ignore the scriptural injunctions and try to imitate the Lord’s pastimes; an offensive, immature devotee who does not follow proper devotional regulations.

* Sahasra-giti — thousand prayers composed by Nāmmālvāra.

* Sahasra-śīrṣā — a name for the Supreme Personality of Godhead meaning “He who has a thousand heads;” See also: Ananta

* Sahasra-vadana — the thousand-mouthed snake incarnation, called Śeṣa Nāga.

* sahib — “Lord”; title given to any gentlemen and usually to Europeans. This is a compliment.

* Śaibyā — one of the great archers on the side of the Pāṇḍavas during the Kurukṣetra war; one of the four horses that drove Lord Kṛṣṇa’s chariot; one of the wives of Lord Kṛṣṇa, after the Lord’s disappearance she entered fire and attained the spiritual world.

* sainika — the condition of threefold miseries.

* Sairandhrī — a name used by Draupadī during the Pāṇḍavas last year of exile in the kingdom of Virāṭa.

* Śaivism — the philosophy of the Śiva-sampradaya, the disciplic succession descending from Lord Śiva.

Śaivite — A devotee of Lord Śiva.

Śaivite — A worshiper of Lord Śiva as the Supreme Lord.

* Śaivite — devotee of Lord Śiva; one who worships Śiva as the Supreme Lord.

* sajātīya — a person within the intimate circle of the Lord.

* sajātīyāśaya-snigdha — pleasing to people of a similar nature.

* śāka — a leafy vegetable that was a favorite of Lord Caitanya's.

sakāma-bhakta — A devotee whose service attitude is mixed with material motives.

* sakāma-bhakta — a devotee with material desires.

Śakaṭa — (-asura) A demon who assumed the form of a cart. When Mother Yaśodā left the infant Kṛṣṇa sleeping under the cart, Kṛṣṇa kicked the cart with His little foot and killed the demon.

sakhī — Girlfriend, refers to Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī’s intimate girlfriends, who assist Her in Her service to Kṛṣṇa.

* Sakhī — gopīs who are close associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s and who expand the conjugal love of Kṛṣṇa and His enjoyment among the gopīs.

* sakhya — the devotional process of maintaining friendship with Kṛṣṇa.

* sakhya-prema — love of God in friendship.

* sakhya-rasa — a relationship with the Supreme Lord in devotional friendship.

* sakhya-rati — see: Sakhya-rasa above.

* Sākṣi-gopāla — the Deity of Kṛṣṇa who acted as a witness to the promise of an elder brāhmaṇa to a younger one.

śakti — Potency.

* śakti-tattva — persons who are plenary expansions of the Lord’s internal potency; the various energies of the Lord.

śakty-āveśa avatāra — An empowered incarnation, usually a finite jīva deputized to exemplify a particular opulence of the Supreme Lord.

* śaktyāveśa-avatāra — an empowered living entity who serves as an incarnation of the Lord; empowered by the Supreme Lord with one or more of the Lord’s opulences.

* śaktyāveśa-jīvas — see: Śaktyāveśa-avatāra above.

Śakuni — Duryodhana’s uncle who gambled with the Pāṇḍavas on Duryodhana’s behalf, forcing the Pāṇḍavas into exile.

* Śakuni — the evil brother of Gāndhārī and notorious friend of Duryodhana. He master-minded the great gambling match that sent the Pāṇḍavas into exile for 13 years. In the great Kurukṣetra war he was killed by Sahadeva.

* Śala — he was one of the sons of Somadatta, a Kuru King. His brothers were Bhūri and Bhūriśravas. He was killed by Sātyaki during the Kurukṣetra war.

* śāla — a hardwood tree found in northern India.

Śālagrāma-śilā — A deity of Lord Nārāyaṇa in the form of a small black stone marked with cakras and other symbols. These śilās, obtained only from one location on the river Gandaki and typically worshiped by brāhmaṇas in their homes, can each be recognized by unique markings as a specific incarnation of the Lord.

* Śālagrāma-śilā — the worshipable Deity of the Lord Nārāyaṇa in the form of a round stone. It is described in detail in the final canto of the Padma Purāṇa.

* sālokya — the liberation of residing on the same planet as the Supreme Lord.

* Sālokya-mukti — liberation of residing on the same planet as the Lord.

Śālva — A demon who used a flying city to attack Dvārakā and was killed by Kṛṣṇa.

* Śālva — a demon who desired Ambā for his wife. He was defeated by Bhīṣma in his attempt to win Ambā. He attacked Dvārakā with an airship made by the demon Maya. He was killed by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

* Śalya — the King of Madras. His sister was Mādrī who was married to Pāṇḍu. He wanted to join the side of the Pāṇḍavas during the Kurukṣetra war, but was tricked by Duryodhana into offering him his services. He was killed by Yudhiṣṭhira during the Kurukṣetra war.

Sāma Veda — One of the four Vedas, the original revealed scriptures. It contains sacred musical compositions based mostly on the hymns of the Ṛg Veda and employed in the more elaborate Vedic sacrifices, the soma-yajñas.

* Sāma Veda — one of the four original Vedas. It consists of musical settings of the sacrificial hymns. The Sāma Veda is rich with beautiful songs played by the various demigods. One of these songs is the Bṛhat-sāma, which has an exquisite melody and is sung at midnight.

* sama — control of the mind.

* sama-darśī — seeing with equal vision. Therefore, one who has knowledge of the soul and how the soul transmigrates from one body to another does not pay attention to the body, which is nothing but a covering dress. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ [Bg. 5.18]. Such a person sees the soul, which is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Therefore he is a sama-darśi, a learned person.

samādhi — 1. Fully matured meditation, the last of the eight steps of the yoga system taught by Patañjali. A perfected devotee of the Supreme Lord also achieves the same samādhi. 2. The tomb of a pure devotee of the Lord.

* samādhi — total absorption and trance of the mind and senses in consciousness of the Supreme Godhead and service to Him. The word samādhi also refers to the tomb where a great soul's body is laid after his departure from this world.

* samana-vayu — the internal bodily air which adjusts equilibrium. It is one of the five bodily airs controlled by the breathing exercises of the aṣtanga-yoga system.

* samatā — stage when one is fully attached to Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

* Sāmba — one of the heroic sons of Lord Kṛṣṇa born of Jāmbavatī.

Sāmba — One of Kṛṣṇa’s favorite sons, the first son of Jāmbavatī.

* sambal oelek — a hot condiment made from ground, fresh, hot red chilies, popular in Malay and Indonesian cuisine. It is often added to a dish for an extra-hot chili dimension, such as in Malaysian Hot Noodles with Tofu (Mie Goreng). Available at Asian grocery stores. To make 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of your own Sambal Oelek, pound together 2 hot red chillies and 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt.

sambandha — Knowledge of one’s original relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

* sambandha-jñāna — knowledge of one’s original relationship with the Lord.

* sambar powder — a zesty South Indian spice combination always added to the famous hot-and-sour dal dish called Sambar. Varieties of sambar powder are available, each with different combinations of ingredients. Varieties might contain ground, roasted red chilies, dried curry leaves, roasted and ground coriander, cumin mustard and fenugreek seeds, black peppercorns, turmeric, sesame seeds, and toasted and finely powdered chana dal, toovar dal, and urad dal. Sambar powder (also called sambar masala) is available at Indian grocery stores.

Śambara — The demonic son of Kaśyapa and Danu who kidnapped Pradyumna, Kṛṣṇa’s first son, when the boy was ten days old. Pradyumna later killed him.

* sambhoga — the ecstasy of the meeting and embracing of lovers.

* sambhrama-dāsya — one of the indirect relationships, respect.

* Śambhu-tattva — the principle of Lord Śiva.

Saṁhitas — The collections of mantras that comprise the original Vedas.

* Saṁhitās — supplementary Vedic literatures expressing the conclusions of particular self-realized authorities.

* sāmīpya — the liberation of becoming a personal associate of the Supreme Lord.

* sāmīpya-mukti — liberation of living as a personal associate of the Lord.

samosa — A savory, stuffed, deep-fried pastry.

* samosa — a deep-fried turnover, stuffed with cooked fruits or spiced vegetables.

sampradāya — A school of philosophy or religion. According to the Padma Purāṇa, there are four authorized Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas, founded by Lord Brahmā, the goddess Lakṣmī, Lord Śiva, and the four Kumāra sages. In Kali-yuga these schools have been reestablished by the ācaryas Madhva, Rāmānuja, Viṣṇu Svāmī, and Nimbarka. The sampradāya of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is officially connected with the Madhva line, but incorporates teachings of all four sampradāyas.

* sampradāya — a disciplic succession of spiritual masters, along with the followers in that tradition, through which spiritual knowledge is transmitted.

* sampradāya-ācāryas — founders of the four Vaiṣṇava schools; they include Śrī Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇusvāmī and Nimbārka.

* samprekṣya nāsikāgram — keeping one’s eyes half-open in the practice of yoga.

saṁsāra — The cycle of repeated birth and death, which continues until one gives up one’s rebellion against the Supreme Lord.

* saṁsāra — the cycle of repeated birth and death in the material world.

* saṁskāra — one of the Vedic reformatory rituals performed one by one from the time of conception until death for purifying a human being.

saṁskāras — Vedic purificatory rites of passage.

* saṁskṛta — purified.

* saṁsṛti — the cycle of repeated birth and death.

* Samvit-śakti — the knowledge portion of the Lord’s spiritual potency.

Sanaka — (-kumāra) The oldest of the first four sons of Lord Brahmā. Sanaka and his three brothers are great masters of yoga who teach the science of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness. His brothers are named Sanat, Sanandana, and Sanātana.

Sanātana Gosvāmī — One of the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana.

* Sanātana Gosvāmī — one of the Six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana who was authorized by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to establish and distribute the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He was the older brother of Rūpa Gosvāmī and was accepted by Rūpa Gosvāmī as his spiritual master. He and Rūpa Gosvāmī were both ministers in the Mohammedan court in Gauḍa, but renounced everything for the service of Lord Caitanya. The two brothers were ordered by Śrī Caitanya to write books establishing the philosophy of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism and to excavate the holy places in Vṛndāvana.

sanātana — Eternal.

* sanātana — eternal, having no beginning or end.

* Sanātana-dhāma — the eternal abode, the Vaikuṇṭha planets in the spiritual sky.

sanātana-dharma — The “eternal religion” described in the Vedic śrutis and smṛtis and practiced by faithful followers for countless generations.

* Sanātana-dharma — literally, the “eternal activity of the soul”, or the eternal religion of the living being–to render service to the Supreme Lord, which in this age is executed mainly by chanting the mahā-mantra. See also: Bhāgavata-dharma.

* sanātana-yoga — eternal activities performed by the living entity.

* sanctum sanctorum — inner sanctuary or altar room that contains the main Deity of the temple

* sandeśa — a delicate sweetmeat made with curd and sugar.

sandesha — A Bengali sweet made from fresh milk curd.

* Sandhinī-śakti — the existence potency of the Lord.

Sāndīpani — A sage residing in Avanti who was the teacher of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma after they moved to Mathurā. They learned from him all the sixty-four traditional arts in sixty-four days.

saṅga — Association.

* saṅgam — meeting point of two or more rivers.

* Sañjaya — charioteer and minister to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Sañjaya narrated the events of the Kurukṣetra war to Dhṛtarāṣṭra by the mercy of Vyāsa; also a former king of the Ikṣvāku dynasty.

* śaṅkā — doubt, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

Śaṅkara — (-ācārya) The most influential teacher of the impersonal Advaita philosophy in Kali-yuga. According to the Padma Purāṇa, he is an incarnation of Lord Śiva sent to earth by Kṛṣṇa to bewilder the atheistic with distortions of the teachings of Vedānta.

* Saṅkara — see: Śiva

* Śaṅkarācārya — an incarnation of Lord Śiva who appeared in South India at the end of the 7th century A.D. to re-establish the authority of the Vedic scriptures. He was a philosopher and lived about three hundred years before Rāmānuja. He did this at a time when India was under the sway of Buddhism, whose tenets deny the authority of the Vedas. He took sannyāsa at a very tender age and wrote commentaries establishing an impersonal philosophy similar to Buddhism, substituting Brahman (Spirit) for the void. He traveled all over India defeating the great scholars of the day and converting them to his doctrine of Māyāvāda, the advaita (non-dualism) interpretation of the Upaniṣads and Vedānta. He left the world at the age of 33.

Saṅkarṣaṇa — Another name of Lord Balarāma. Also, one of Lord Nārāyaṇa’s quadruple expansions in Vaikuṇṭha. Balarāma is the original Saṅkarṣaṇa, since Nārāyaṇa is Lord Balarāma’s expansion.

* Saṅkarṣaṇa — one of the four original expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual world; also, another name of Balarāma, given by Garga Muni.

* Śaṅkha — a son of King Viraṭa. He was killed Droṇa during the Kurukṣetra war; the conchshell held by Lord Viṣṇu.

Śaṅkhacūḍa — A demon killed by Kṛṣṇa for trying to kidnap Kṛṣṇa’s girlfriends.

* Saṅkhoddhāra — the place where the Lord killed Sankhāsura.

Sāṅkhya — The philosophical study of reality by analysis of its elements. Sāṅkhya was originally taught in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Kapiladeva, an incarnation of God, but was much later misrepresented in an atheistic form by another Kapila.

* sāṅkhya — analytical discrimination between spirit and matter and the path of devotional service as described by Lord Kapila, the son of Devahūti in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; analytical understanding of the body and the soul. See also: Sāṅkhya-yoga

* sāṅkhya-yoga — the process of linking with the Supreme by intellectually tracing out the source of creation.

saṅkīrtana — Congregational chanting of the names and glories of Kṛṣṇa, which is the prime means for spiritual success in the current Age of Kali.

* saṅkīrtana-yajña — the sacrifice prescribed for the Age of Kali, namely, congregational chanting of the name, fame and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

* Saṅkrāntī — the day when a Bengali month ends. Also, the passage of the sun or any other planet from one Zodiacal sign to another.

* sannipāti — a convulsive disease caused by combination of kapha, pitta, vāyu.

sannyāsa — The renounced order of life.

* sannyāsa — the renounced order, and fourth stage of Vedic spiritual life in the Vedic system of varṇāsrama-dharma, which is free from family relationships and in which all activities are completely dedicated to Kṛṣṇa. It is the order of ascetics who travel and constantly preach the message of Godhead for the benefit of all. The sannyāsī has no other purpose in life but to serve and please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he acts as the guru for the other divisions of society.

* sannyāsa-daṇḍa — the staff carried by a sannyāsī.

sannyāsī — A man in the renounced order, the final stage of spiritual progress in the varṇāśrama system. Sannyāsīs take a vow of lifetime celibacy.

* sannyāsī — one in the sannyāsa (renounced) order.

* Sanskrit — the oldest language in the world. The Vedas, or India's holy scriptures, are written in Sanskrit.

* śānta — peaceful.

śānta-bhakta — A devotee in the mood of śānta-rasa.

* śānta-bhaktas — devotees in the neutral stage of devotional service.

śānta-rasa — Passive love of God; the relationship with the Supreme Lord in neutrality.

* śānta-rasa — the marginal stage of devotional service, passive love of God; the relationship with the Supreme Lord in neutrality.

* śānta-rati — see: Śānta-rasa above.

* santan — see: Coconut milk

* Śantanu — the father of Bhīṣma by Gaṅgā. He gave Bhīṣma the benediction that he could die only when he wanted to. It was said that anything he touched with his two hands would become youthful.

śānti — Peace.

* Śāntipur — a village in the Ranaghat subdivision of the West Bengal district of Nadia. It is famous as the home of Śrī Advaita Ācārya, the associate of Lord Caitanya and incarnation of Mahā-Visṇu. It is close to Māyāpura.

* śāpa — a brāhmaṇa’s curse.

* Sapta-dvīpa — the seven islands of the earth.

* Sapta-suta — the seven sons, namely hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, worshiping the Deity and becoming a servant of the Lord.

* Sapta-tāla — the seven palm trees in Rāmacandra’s forest.

* sāra grass — a whitish reed.

* Śaradvān — the son of Gautama, and the father of Kṛpācārya.

* saralatā — simplicity.

sāram — Essence.

Śaraṇāgatī — The process of surrender; a collection of songs by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura; the name of an ISKCON farm in Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada.

Sarasvatī — The goddess of learning. Also, one of India’s great sacred rivers. In the modern age the river is almost totally invisible, but a short stretch of it appears from the Himalaya mountains, near Vyāsadeva’s āśrama, just north of Badarika. The Sarasvatī joins underground with the Gaṅga and Yamunā at Prayāga.

* Sarasvatī — goddess of learning. Wife of Lord Brahmā. She usually sits on a white swan and holds a veena (stringed instrument) in her hands.

* Sarga — the first material creation by Viṣṇu.

sari — Vedic women’s dress.

śārī — A female parrot.

* sārī — traditional Indian dress worn by Hindu women — six yards long as a rule; Vedic women's dress.

* Śārīraka-bhāṣya — Śaṅkarācārya’s commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra.

* śarīrī — the soul, owner of the body.

* Śārkarākṣa — lit. “those who have sand in their eyes”; those situated in the gross bodily conception of life.

* Sarmiṣṭhā — the second wife of King Yayāti. On account of overattachment to her, the king was cursed by Śukrācārya to lose his youth.

* Śārṅga — the bow of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

* sārṣṭi — the liberation of achieving equal opulence with the Lord.

* sārṣṭi-mukti — the liberation of achieving opulences equal to those of the Lord.

sārūpya — (-mukti) Of the five types of liberation, the one in which one attains a form similar to the body of God.

* sārūpya — the liberation of attaining a spiritual form like that of the Supreme Lord.

* sārūpya-mukti — the liberation of having the same bodily features as the Lord’s.

* sarva-jña — omniscient; one who knows everything — past, present and future.

* sarva-kāma — one who desires material perfection.

* sarva-kāma-deha — the body engaged for the satisfaction of all kinds of material desires.

* Sarva-kāmada — a name for the Supreme Personality of Godhead meaning “He who fulfills the desires of His devotees.”

* Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam — Kṛṣṇa, the cause of all causes [Bs. 5.1].

* Sarva-loka — all the material worlds.

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya — A prominent scholar of Navya-nyāya logic and Vedānta who tried to instruct Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and then surrendered to Him. He is regarded as being in fact one of Lord Caitanya’s closest eternal associates.

* Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya — a famous logician, adviser to King Pratāparudra of Orissa who surrendered to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

* sarvārambha-parityāgī — one who is indifferent to both pious and impious activities.

* Sarvātmā — see: Paramātmā

* sarvātma-nivedana — see: Ātma-nivedana.

* sāṣṭānga-pranāma (Daṇḍavat) — a respectful obeisance executed by prostrating eight limbs of the body, namely the thighs, feet, hands, chest, thoughts or devotion, head, voice, and closed eyes.

śāstra — Revealed scripture, or an authorized textbook in any subject.

* śāstra — the revealed scriptures, obeyed by all those who follow the Vedic teachings. Śās means “to regulate and direct” and tra means “an instrument”; Vedic literature.

* śāstra-cakṣuḥ — seeing everything through the medium of the Vedic literature.

* sat — eternal, unlimited existence.

Śaṭ-sandarbha — Treatises on the Vedic scriptures, written by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī.

* Sat-sandarbha — six Sanskrit works on the science of devotional service or Vaiṣṇava philosophy by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. These works present the entire philosophy and theology of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism in a systematic form. The six Sandarbhas are as follows: Tattva-sandarbha, Bhāgavata-sandarbha, Paramātma-sandarbha, Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha, Bhakti-sandarbha and Prīti-sandarbha. The Sat-sandarbha is also called Bhāgavata-sandarbha, as it is an exposition on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam The first four Sandarbhas are devoted to sambandha-tattva, which establishes Krṣṇa as the highest Deity and the most exclusive object of worship. The Bhakti-sandarbha deals with abhidheya-tattva, which is bhakti (devotion to Krṣna), and the Prīti-sandarbha is concerned with prayojana-tattva, pure love of Godhead.

* Śatānīka — the son of Nakula who was killed by Aśvatthāmā while awaking from sleep in his tent; the brother of King Virāṭa. He was killed by Droṇa during the Kurukṣetra war.

* Śatarūpā — the wife of Svāyambhuva Manu and mother of Devahūti.

* satī rite — voluntary suicide by a chaste widow at her husband’s funeral.

* Satī — the wife of Lord Śiva and the daughter of Dakṣa, who burned herself alive when her father insulted her husband; when a widow burns herself in her husband's cremation/funeral fire.

Śatrughna — The youngest of Lord Rāmacandra’s three brothers. He is an incarnation of Lord Aniruddha, one of the first four expansions of Lord Nārāyaṇa.

sattva — Goodness.

sattva-guṇa — Among the three modes of material nature, the mode of goodness. It encourages knowledge, peace, and purity.

* sattva-guṇa — the mode of material goodness, predominated by Lord Viṣṇu.

* Sattvatanu — Viṣṇu who expands the quality of goodness.

sattvic — Imbued with goodness.

* sāttvika — symptoms of ecstatic love coming from the transcendental platform; in the mode of goodness.

sāttvika-bhāvas — In the development of pure love of God, ecstasies that arise automatically, without conscious intention. They are eight in number.

* Sātvata scriptures — Vedic scriptures meant especially for the devotees of the Lord.

* Sātvata-pañcarātra — one of the Pañcarātras, consisting of a conversation between Nārada Muni and Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa describing the rules and regulations of devotional service.

* Sātvata-saṁhitās — scriptures that are products of the mode of goodness.

Satya — (-loka) Lord Brahmā’s planet, the topmost and purest region within the material creation.

* satya — truthfulness.

* satya-kāma — directing all of one’s desires to the Supreme Truth.

Satya-yuga — The first of four repeating ages that form the basic cycles of universal time. During its 1, 728,000 years, purity and spiritual competence are prominent.

* Satya-yuga — the first and best of the four cyclic ages of a mahā-yuga in the progression of universal time. Satya-yuga is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion. It is known as the golden age, when people lived as long as one hundred thousand years. It lasts 1,728,000 solar years.

Satyabhāmā — One of Kṛṣṇa’s eight principal queens, the daughter of Satrājit. At her request Kṛṣṇa brought the pārijāta flower by force from heaven.

* Satyabhāmā — one of the principal queens of Lord Kṛṣṇa during His pastimes in the city of Dvārakā.

* Satyadeva — a warrior from Kaliṅga who was killed by Bhīma during the Kurukṣetra war.

* Satyadhṛti — a renowned archer on the side of the Pāṇḍavas. He was killed by Droṇa during the Kurukṣetra war.

* satyāgraha — fasting for political purposes performed by Mahatma Gandhi.

* Satyajit — a brother of King Drupada. He was killed by Droṇa during the Kurukṣetra war.

* Sātyaki — the son of Śini, and a prominent member of the Yadu dynasty. He was an intimate friend of Lord Kṛṣṇa and student of Arjuna. He fought during the Kurukṣetra war and killed many kings on the side of the Kauravas.

* Satyaloka — Lord Brahmā’s abode, the highest planet in the material universe; also called Brahmaloka.

* Satyaṁ param — the Supreme Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa.

* Satyaratha — a brother of King Suśarma, the King of the Trigartas.

* Satyasena — another brother of King Suśarma, the King of the Trigartas. He was killed by Arjuna during the Kurukṣetra war.

* Satyavarma — another brother of King Suśarma, the King of the Trigartas.

* Satyavatī — the daughter of the fisherman King. She was the mother of Vyāsadeva by Paraśara Muni. She later married Mahārāja Śantanu and begot two children, Citrāṅgada and Vicitravīrya.

* Satyavrata Manu — one of the administrative demigods who are the fathers and lawgivers of mankind.

Satyavrata — A sage who encountered Lord Matsya, the fish incarnation of Viṣṇu, and later became the current Manu, Vaivasvata.

* Satyavrata — another brother of King Suśarma, the King of the Trigartas.

* Satyeṣu — another brother of King Suśarma, the King of the Trigartas. He was killed by Arjuna during the Kurukṣetra war.

* Saubha — the airship of King Śālva. It was created by the demon Maya, and Śālva used this airship to attack Dvārakā. It was destroyed by Lord Kṛṣṇa.

* Saubhari Muni — a powerful mystic who accidentally fell down to sex attraction.

Saubhari — A sage who while meditating under the water of the Yamunāsaw a pair of fish mating and became sexually aroused. He then approached King Mandhātā and begged from him the hand of his fifty daughters. After enjoying family life for some time, he revived his interest in renunciation.

* sauhṛdya — endeavor.

* Śaunaka Ṛṣi — one of the chief sages at the conclave of sages gathered at the forest of Naimiṣāraṇya when Sūta Gosvāmī spoke Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

* Sautrāmaṇi — a particular Vedic fire sacrifice offered to Lord Indra.

* Savitri — lady who saved her husband from death by her chastity.

sayujya — (-mukti) Of the five types of liberation, the one in which one merges into the existence of God and forgets one’s individual personality. Vaiṣṇavas consider it most unfavorable to devotional service.

* sāyujya — the liberation of merging into the spiritual effulgence of the Lord.

* sāyujya-mukti — the liberation of merging into the Brahman effulgence.

* semolina — the cream-coloured cereal obtained from hard durum-wheat grains in the middle stages of flour milling when the wheat germ, bran, and endosperm are separated. The first millings of the endosperm are known as semolina. Semolina is ground fine, medium, and coarse. Besides being used for making pasta in Italy, where semolina enjoys great popularity, it is also used in Indian cuisine, where it is known as sooji. It is simmered for fluffy sweet halava puddings or savoury vegetable dishes called upma. I find that medium- or coarse-ground semolina yields the best semolina halava. Semolina is available at Indian, Italian, or specialty grocers and some supermarkets.

* Śeṣa Nāga — an expansion of Lord Balarāma or Saṅkarṣaṇa who takes the form of a many-hooded serpent and serves as Lord Viṣṇu’s couch and other paraphernalia. He also holds the millions of universes on His hoods.

Śeṣa — See Ananta.

* Śeṣa-līlā — the last twenty-four years of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes.

* sesame oil — two types of sesame oil are referred to here. One is expressed from the roasted seeds of the annual plant Sesamum indicum. It is much favoured as a flavouring agent in Chinese and Korean cooking. It has a low smoking-point and a delicious roasted-sesame flavour. Generally this delicate brown oil is added as a final seasoning to a cooked dish. The golden oil expressed from the oil-rich unroasted sesame seeds has a slightly sweet smell and a clean taste. It has a higher smoking-point than roasted sesame oil and is used both as a salad oil and especially as a frying oil throughout the world, especially in Mexico and South India, where it is popular because it does not turn rancid, even in the hottest weather. Chinese sesame oil is available at Asian grocery stores, and the cold-expressed pale sesame oil is available at health food stores or well-stocked grocers and supermarkets.

* sesame paste — a commonly used ingredient in Chinese cooking, not to be confused with tahini. Chinese sesame paste is made from whole, roasted, crushed sesame seeds. The oily, nutty-flavoured paste with a consistency of thick peanut butter has distinct smoky overtones and adds a special touch to savoury dishes. It is available at Asian grocery stores.

* sesame seeds — the seeds of the cultivated annual plant Sesamum indicum, grown predominantly in India and China. These flat, pear-shaped seeds are generally lightly roasted to bring out the nutty flavour and are popular in many cuisines of the world. In western cuisine they are scattered on bread and cakes before baking; they are ground into a delicious Middle Eastern confection, called halva, and a semi-liquid paste called tahini; in Japanese cuisine they are roasted with sea salt and ground to a fine powder called gomashio a versatile condiment; and they are popular in many regional Indian cuisines.

sevā — Service.

* sevā — devotional service.

* sevā-aparādha — offenses in Deity worship.

Sevā-kuñja — The site of the rāsa dance in Vṛndāvana.

* sevā-pūjā — Deity worship.

* sevaka — a servant.

* sevya — one who is served.

shaphari fish — Cyprinus saphore, a small bright fish that glistens when darting about in shallow water.

shenai — A woodwind instrument, similar to an oboe.

shikha — A tuft of hair grown at the crown of the head of male Vaiṣṇavas.

shrikanda — A rich sweet prepared from condensed yogurt.

* shukla — white in the Satya-yuga.

* Shyama — Krsna appearing bluish in the Dvarapa-yuga.

Śibi — A pious king who was tested by the demigods Indra and Agni, disguised as a hawk and a pigeon. To save the life of the pigeon, Mahārāja Śibi allowed his own flesh to be eaten by the hawk. The two demigods then revealed their identities and blessed Śibi.

* sichuan peppercorns — the dried red berries of the small, feathery-leaved, spiny tree Xanthoxylum piperitum, grown in Sichuan province of South Eastern China. Sichuan peppercorns have a pungent smell, but only a faintly hot taste, and are an important ingredient in Chinese five-spice powder.

siddha — One who has perfected one’s spiritual practice.

* siddha — a perfected person, or mystic; a demigod from Siddhaloka; one who has realized the Brahman effulgence; a perfect devotee.

Siddha-bakula — The tree in Purī under which Haridāsa Ṭhākura lived and chanted the holy name.

* siddha-cāula — brown rice.

siddha-deha — The spiritual body.

* siddha-deha — a perfected spiritual body.

siddha-svarūpa — The perfection of one’s original spiritual characteristics.

* Siddhaloka — the heavenly planet whose inhabitants possess all mystic powers; the planets of materially perfect beings.

siddhānta — The perfect conclusion according to Vedic scriptures.

siddhāntic — Relating to siddhānta.

Siddhas — A class of celestial beings advanced in spiritual discipline and naturally possessed of the eight mystic powers, such as the abilities to become atomic in size and to control other people’s minds.

siddhi — Perfection; one of the eight mystic yogic perfections.

* siddhi-kāṇḍa — see: Jñāna-kāṇḍa.

* siddhi-lobhī — one who is greedy for material perfection.

* Siddhi-traya — philosophical work of Yāmunācārya

* siddhi-vraja — the mystic perfections.

* siddhis — mystic perfections usually acquired by yoga practice and natural to residents of Siddhaloka: becoming small like a particle (aṇimā-siddhi), or lighter than a soft feather (laghimā-siddhi), Get anything from everywhere (prāpti-siddhi), becoming heavier than the heaviest (mahimā-siddhi), create something wonderful or annihilate anything at will (īśitva-siddhi), to control all material elements (vaśitva-siddhi), possessing such power as will never be frustrated in any desire (prākāmya-siddhi), assuming any shape or form one may even whimsically desire (kāmāvasāyitā-siddhi).

* Sikhaṇḍī — the son of King Drupada, and the rebirth of Ambā, the daughter of the King of Kāśī. He was born to kill Bhīṣma, who he hated from his previous life. During the battle of Kurukṣetra, he fought in front of Arjuna, while attacking Bhīṣma. Bhīṣma dropped his weapons and this allowed Arjuna to fill Bhīṣma with arrows. Śikhaṇḍī was later killed by Aśvatthāmā, while awaking from sleep in the Pāṇḍavas camp.

* śikhara — curved temple tower or spire The roof of the sanctum sanctorum It is crowned by a cakra in a Lord Viṣṇu temple and a trident in a Lord Śiva temple

* śikhariṇī — a blend of yogurt and sugar candy.

śikṣa — Instruction.

śikṣā-guru — An instructing spiritual master.

* śikṣā-guru — an instructing spiritual master.

* Śikṣāṣṭaka — eight verses by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu glorifying the chanting of the Lord's holy name.

Śikṣāṣṭakam — Eight verses of instruction in devotional service written by Lord Caitanya.

* Siṁha-dvāra — the main gate of the Jagannātha temple.

siṁhāsana — Lit., “lion seat,” an altar or throne.

* siṁhāsana — sitting place.

* Śimulī — silk cotton tree.

* Sindhu — a province in Bharata that was ruled by Jayadratha.

* Śini — the father of Sātyaki, and a king of the Yadu dynasty.

Śiśumāra — A dolphin-shaped constellation encircling the polestar. It is sometimes worshiped as a visible form of the Supreme Lord.

* śiśumāra-cakra — the orbit of the polestar.

Śiśupāla — A king of Cedi who viciously insulted Kṛṣṇa at Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya sacrifice and lost his head to Kṛṣṇa’s Sudarśana disc.

* Śiśupāla — a king who was an enemy of Kṛṣṇa. The son of Damaghoṣa and King of Cedi. He was an incarnation of Jaya, a gatekeeper of Vaikuṇṭha. He was killed by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa during the Rājasūya sacrifice.

śiṣya — Disciple or student.

Sītā — (-devī) The eternal consort of Lord Rāmacandra. She appeared as the daughter of King Janaka of Videha.

* śītā — subordinate ecstatic symptoms including singing, yawning, etc.; a division of anubhāva.

* Sītā — the beloved consort of Lord Rāmacandra. She appeared in the house of Janaka Mahārāja, one of the twelve leading spiritual authorities in the universe. She was abducted by ten-headed demon, Ravana.

* Sītā-Rāma — the transcendental couple manifested as Lord Rāmacandra, Kṛṣṇa’s incarnation as the perfect king, and Lord Rāma’s eternal consort, Sītā.

 Śiva — The special expansion of the Supreme Lord who is uniquely neither God nor jīva. He energizes the material creation and, as the presiding deity of the mode of ignorance, controls the forces of destruction.

* Śiva — the guṇa-avatāra who is the superintendent of the mode of ignorance (tamoguṇa) and who takes charge of destroying the universe at the time of annihilation. He disguised himself as a Kirāta and fought with Arjuna over a boar. Lord Śiva was pleased with Arjuna and gave him a benediction of the Paśupati astra by which he could kill Jayadratha. He also gave a benediction to Aśvatthāmā that he could kill the remaining soldiers on the side of the Pāṇḍavas while they were sleeping in their tents. He is also considered the greatest Vaiṣṇava, or devotee, of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He is confused by some with the Supreme Lord.

* Śiva-liṅga — a rounded stone representation of Lord Śiva's genitals often worshiped as a Deity by Śaivites.

* Śiva-pūjā — worship of Lord Śiva's linga. See above.

* Śiva-rātrī — Lord Śiva's appearance day, celebrating his advent from between Lord Brahmā's eyebrows.

śiva-tattva — The unique category occupied by Lord Śiva, that of neither jīva nor God. He is infallible but comes into contact with the illusory material energy.

Śivaloka — The personal abode of Lord Śiva in the last shell that covers the material universe, the shell of false ego.

* Sivānanda Sena — a great householder devotee of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

* śivatama — the most auspicious.

Six Gosvāmīs — Six great disciples of Lord Caitanya who wrote many books on devotional service and established the major temples in Vṛndāvana.

* Six Gosvāmīs — they were deputed to go to Vṛndāvana to excavate the present places of pilgrimage. The present city of Vṛndāvana and the importance of Vrajabhūmi were thus disclosed by the will of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. See also: Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī.

* Skanda Purāṇa — one of the eighteen Purāṇas, or Vedic historical scriptures. It extensively describes Kali-yuga.

* śleṣokti — a statement having two meanings.

śloka — A stanza of Sanskrit verse.

* śloka — a Sanskrit verse.

smaraṇa — (m) The devotional practice of remembering or meditating on the Supreme Lord, especially by focusing on His names, forms, pastimes, and devotees.

* smaraṇam — the devotional process of remembering the Supreme Lord; constant thinking of Kṛṣṇa (one of the nine methods of devotional service).

* smarta — the popular name for followers of the Vedas who are overly attached to elevation and salvation. They are very careful about the latter, but often not the spirit, of scriptural injunctions, confounding the mundane with the spiritual. They are very fond of the smṛti-śāstras and are thus known as smartas.

* smārta-brāhmaṇa — a brāhmaṇa interested more in the external performance of the rules and rituals of the Vedas than in attaining Lord Kṛṣṇa, the goal of the Vedas; one who strictly follows the Vedic principles on the mundane platform.

* smārta-guru — a professional spiritual master.

* smārta-vidhi — the regulations of mundane religious activity.

smṛti — “What is remembered,” the secondary Vedic literatures, which need not be passed down verbatim but may be reworded by the sages who transmit them in each age. The Purāṇas and Dharma-śāstras are among the smṛtis.

* Smṛti — remembrance, a vyabhicāri-bhāva; revealed scriptures supplementary to the śruti, or original Vedic scriptures, which are the Vedas and Upaniṣads; scriptures compiled by living entities under transcendental direction; the corollaries of the Vedas.

* smṛty-ācārya — a spiritual master expert in the supplementary Vedic literatures.

* Snāna-yātrā — the bathing ceremony of Lord Jagannātha.

* sneha — affection for Kṛṣṇa, at which stage the lover cannot be without the beloved.

* snigdha — very peaceful.

* snowpeas — the young, sweet pea pods of Pisum saccaIatum, also called mange-tout in France. This delicately flavoured vegetable is a versatile cooking ingredient, especially in Chinese cooking, where it is stir-fried quickly to retain its flavour and colour. The pods should have their tops removed and their strings pulled away before use. They're available at Chinese grocers and supermarkets.

soma — The juice of a sacred plant, offered in the more elaborate Vedic sacrifices to the principal demigods. The performers of these sacrifices who are entitled to drink the soma juice gain elevation to heaven.

* Soma — the presiding deity of the moon.

* soma-rasa — a life-extending heavenly beverage available on the moon to demigods on the higher planets.

* Somadatta — the son of King Bālhīka and the grandson of King Pratīpa. He had three sons name Bhūri, Bhūriśravas, and Śala. He was killed by Sātyaki during the battle of Kurukṣetra.

* Somaka — a former king of Pāñcāla.

* Somarāja — Candra, the demigod in charge of the moon.

* soul — the eternal living entity, who is the marginal energy, eternally part and parcel of the Supreme Lord.

* sparśas — the consonants in the Sanskrit alphabet.

sphūrti — Vision.

* spirit soul — see: Jīva

* split peas — skinned and split, green or yellow dried peas. The green ones are especially good for cooking to a creamy puree. Yellow split peas can replace toovar or chana dal in a recipe. They are available at all supermarkets and grocery stores.

śrāddha — The offering of worship and food to one’s departed parents and forefathers, normally done once a year.

* śrāddha — the ceremony of making offerings to one’s ancestors to free them from suffering; firm faith and confidence.

 śraddhā — Faith.

* śrāddha-pātra — a plate (containing remnants of prasādam) offered to the forefathers and then to the best of the brāhmaṇas.

* śrama — fatigue, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

* śrauta-panthā — the acquirement of knowledge by hearing from scriptural authorities.

* śrauta-vākya — acceptance of the words of the revealed scripture and of the spiritual master.

śravaṇa — The primary devotional practice of hearing the glories of the Supreme Lord.

* sravaṇa — the devotional process of hearing about the Supreme Lord.

* sravaṇam kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ — [SB 7.5.23] — the devotional process of hearing and chanting about Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa.

* sravaṇam — hearing from an authorized source. (This is the chief of the nine methods of devotional service).

śravaṇaṁ-kīrtanam — Hearing and chanting, the basic methods of devotional service in practice.

śreyas — activities which are ultimately beneficial and auspicious when performed over time.

* śreyas — activities that are ultimately beneficial and auspicious.

* Sri (sree, shree, shri) — honorific prefix, to be used before the Deities name.

* Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya — a book of poems by Guṇarāja Khān, considered to be the first poetry book written in Bengal.

Śrī Lakṣmī — The eternal consort of the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa.

* Śrī Saila — sacred hill near Tirupati.

Śrī — A term of respect given to men, male deities, and sacred objects or literatures; a name for Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune.

* Śrī — the energy of Godhead that maintains the cosmic manifestation; See also: Śrīla

* Śrī-bhāṣya — the commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra by Rāmānujācārya.

* Srī-kaṇtha — a name for Lord Śiva meaning “he whose throat is beautifully blue.”

śrī-mūrti — The deity of the Supreme Lord established in a temple for regular worship.

Śrīdāmā — One of Kṛṣṇa’s closest friends, the brother of Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī.

Śrīdhara Svāmī — The author of the oldest existing commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

* Śrīdhara Svāmī — the author of the earliest extant Vaiṣṇava commentaries on Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Though a resident of Benares and a sannyāsī of Śaṅkara's Māyāvāda school of philosophy, he taught pure Vaiṣṇava philosophy. He was a devotee of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, and his works were highly regarded by Lord Caitanya, especially his Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gloss, Bhāvārtha-dīpikā. The Lord commented that anyone who wanted to write a commentary on Srīmad-Bhagavatam must follow the commentary of Srīdhara Svāmī.

Śrīla Prabhupāda — His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, the founder-ācārya of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

* Śrīla Prabhupāda — (1896-1977) His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. He is the tenth generation from Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The founder-ācārya, spiritual master of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Śrīla Prabhupāda was the widely-acclaimed author of more than seventy books on the science of pure bhakti-yoga, unalloyed Kṛṣṇa consciousness. His major works are annotated English translations of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. He was the world's most distinguished teacher of Vedic religion and thought. Śrīla Prabhupāda was a fully God conscious saint who had perfect realization of the Vedic scriptures. He worked incessantly to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. He guided his society and saw it grow to a worldwide confederation of hundreds of ashrams, schools, temples, institutes, and farm communities.

Śrīla — “Endowed by the goddess of fortune,” a respectful title used by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas for their spiritual masters.

* Śrīla — a title indicating possession of exceptional spiritual qualities. The most beautiful (spiritual) person.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam — Also known as the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, it teaches unalloyed devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

* Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam — the foremost of the eighteen Purāṇas, the complete science of God that establishes the supreme position of Lord Kṛṣṇa. It was glorified by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the amalam purāṇam, “the purest Purāṇa.” It was written by Śrīla Vyāsadeva as his commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra, and it deals exclusively with topics concerning the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Lord Kṛṣṇa) and His devotees. Śrīla Prabhupāda has given Bhaktivedanta purports in English and wonderfully presented it to the modern world, specifically to give a deep understanding of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīmān — “Having the favors of the goddess of fortune,” an honorific used with the names of respected males.

Śrīmatī — The female form of the title Śrīmān.

* Śrīnivāsa — a name of Viṣnu.

* Śrīnivāsācārya — a chief follower of the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana.

* Srīvāsa Ṭhākura — the incarnation of Śri Nārada Muni in Lord Caitanya's pastimes. An intimate associate of Lord Caitanya. His courtyard served as the birthplace of Lord Caitanya's saṅkīrtana movement, and his altar was the site of the mahā-prakāśa pastime (twenty-one hours of ecstatic manifestation) of Śrī Caitanya.

Śrīvatsa — A curl of white hair on the chest of Lord Viṣṇu that represents the goddess of fortune and distinguishes Him from His liberated devotees who have attained sārūpya.

* Śrīvatsa — the sign of the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, on the chest of Lord Viṣṇu, or Nārāyaṇa.

* śṛṅgāra — conjugal love of God; an array of garments worn for amorous purposes.

* sṛṣṭi-śakti — the power to create the cosmic manifestation.

* Srutakarmā — the son of Sahadeva by Draupadī. He fought in the battle of Kurukṣetra and was killed by Aśvatthāmā while rising from sleep in his tent.

* Srutakīrti — a son of Arjuna by Draupadī. He fought in the battle of Kurukṣetra and was killed by Aśvatthāmā while rising from sleep in his tent.

* Śrutāyudha — a king of Kaliṅga. He was the son of Varuṇa by Parṇāśā. He died on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra when he released his mace at Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. His mace could not be thrown at one who was not engaged in combat or it would come back and kill the one who threw it. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa was not engaged in combat, the mace came back and killed Śrutāyudha.

śruti — “What has been heard,” the original Vedas, meant to be passed on orally from generation to generation without change. They are considered coexistent with the Supreme Lord Himself and so in need of no author.

* śruti — knowledge via hearing; the original Vedic scriptures (the Vedas and Upaniṣads), given directly by the Supreme Lord.

* Śruti-gaṇa — the personified Vedas.

* Śruti-mantras — the hymns of the Vedas.

śruti-phala — Lit., “the fruit of hearing.” A benediction of material or spiritual success given as a result of faithfully hearing various pastimes of the Lord and His devotees.

* śruti-śāstra-nindana — offense of blaspheming the Vedic literature.

* star anise — the dried, hard, brown, star-shaped fruit of the small evergreen tree Illicium verum. Star anise has a licorice-like flavour and odour and is an ingredient in the Chinese five-spice powder.

* sthāna — the maintenance of the universe by Viṣṇu.

* sthāṇu-puruṣa — mistaking a dry tree without leaves for a person.

sthāyī-bhāva — Continuous love of Godhead in devotional service.

* sthāyi-bhāva — continuous love of Godhead in devotional service.

* sthita-dhīr-muni — (sthita — steady + dhīra — undisturbed + muni — sage) one who is always fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and as a result is undisturbed by material nature.

* stotra — a prayer.

* Stotra-ratna — book of prayers composed by Yamunācārya.

* strī — women.

* strī-sambhāṣaṇa — talking with women.

* stupa — hemispheric Buddhist monument of worship.

* su-snigdha — affectionate.

* su-viṣaya — regulated sense gratification according to the Vedas.

* Subala — the father of Śakuni and Gāndhārī. He was the King of Gāndhāra.

* śubha-dā — description of pure devotional service indicating that it bestows all good fortune.

Subhadrā — Kṛṣṇa’s sister, also known as Yogamāyā. She is Kṛṣṇa’s internal energy who arranges His pastimes and fosters spontaneous love for Him by making His intimate devotees forget He is God.

* Subhadrā — younger sister of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and an incarnation of Yogamāyā, the internal potency of the Supreme Lord. She married Arjuna, and begot Abhimanyu as her son. She is the yellow Deity found between Lord Jagannātha and Baladeva.

* Subrahmaṇya — Kārtikeya, the son of Lord Śiva. The god of war. Also known as Skanda.

Sudakshiṇa — A son of the king of Kāśī. After Kṛṣṇa killed that king, Sudakṣiṇa performed a fire sacrifice to unleash a demon to kill Kṛṣṇa. But the demon failed in that mission, returned to Kāśī, killed Sudakṣiṇa, and burned his city to the ground.

* Sudakṣiṇa — a King of Kāmbhoja. He brought an akṣauhiṇī division of troops for Duryodhana. He was killed by Arjuna during Kurukṣetra war. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

Sudāma Brāhmaṇa — A school classmate of Kṛṣṇa’s who later, being impoverished, visited Kṛṣṇa in Dvāraka to ask for aid. But he asked Him for nothing, and yet returned home to find his hut transformed into a palace.

* Sudāmā Vipra — a poor householder friend and devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa who was given immeasurable riches by the Lord.

* Sudāmā — one of the cowherd boy associates of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Sudarśana cakra — The disc weapon of Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu, which the Lord uses to dispatch those who dare to attack Him or His devotees.

* Sudarśana cakra — the disc weapon of the Supreme Lord.

* Sudarśana — the discus of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

śuddha-bhakta — A pure devotee of the Supreme Lord.

* śuddha-bhakti — pure devotional service.

* śuddha-bhāva — pure consciousness.

śuddha-nāma — The pure chanting of the name of the Supreme Lord.

śuddha-sattva — “Pure goodness,” the nonmaterial, incorruptible substance of the spiritual world. Also, the pure consciousness in which one can realize the Personality of Godhead.

* śuddha-sattva — the spiritual platform of pure goodness.

* Sūddīpta — the manifestation in a devotee of all eight ecstatic symptoms multiplied a thousand times and all visible at once.

* Sudeṣṇā — the wife of King Virāṭa. Draupadī spent the last year of exile as a maidservant to this queen. (Virāṭa Parva in Mahābhārata)

Sudharmā — The royal assembly hall of the Yadavas, which Kṛṣṇa brought by force from Indra’s heaven.

* Sudharmā — the royal assembly court of the Yadus at Dvārakā.

śūdra — A member of the laborer class, the last of the four occupational classes in the varṇāśrama social system.

* śūdra — a member of the fourth social order, laborer class, in the traditional Vedic social system. He is meant to render service to the three higher classes, namely the brāhmaṇas, the kṣatriyas, and the vaiśyas.

* śūdra-mahājana — a person born in a low family but raised to the platform of brāhmaṇa by initiation.

śūdrāṇī — A śūdra woman.

* śūdrāṇī — the wife of a śūdra.

* Sughoṣa — the conchshell of Nakula.

Sugrīva — The king of Kiṣkindha, a kingdom of monkeys. He and his monkey army helped Lord Rāma invade Laṅkā and defeat the demon Rāvaṇa.

Śuka — (-deva) A great renounced sage, son of Dvaipāyana Vyāsa. He heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from his father and later repeated it to Mahārāja Parīkṣit.

* śuka — parrot.

* Sukadeva Gosvāmī — an exhalted devotee who recited the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to King Parīkṣit during the last seven days of the King's life.

 Śukadeva Gosvāmī — The sage who originally spoke the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to King Parīkṣit just prior to the king’s death.

* sukham — happiness or pleasure.

* śukla — a person in the mode of goodness; also, a name for Lord Viṣṇu.

* śukla-cāula — white rice.

* Śukla-yajur Veda — a version of the Yajur Veda.

Sukra — (-ācārya) The spiritual master of the demons and ruling deity of the planet Venus. He instructed Bali not to give charity to Lord Vamana and rejected Bali when Bali disobeyed.

* Śukra — see: above

* Śukrācārya — the spiritual master of the demons.

* sukṛti — auspicious activity; pious persons.

* sukṛtina — pious persons who obey the rules of scripture and are devoted to the Supreme Lord.

* Sulocana — one of the one hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He was killed by Bhīma during the battle of Kurukṣetra. (Bhīṣma Parva in Mahābhārata)

* sumac — an important souring agent in Arab cuisine. The seeds of Rhus corioria are ground to a purple-red powder and used to add a sour, pleasantly astringent taste to recipes as a preferred substitute for lemon. The extracted juice of the soaked seeds is used in salads and in some vegetable dishes to impart a tamarind-like flavour. Sumac has a pleasant, rounded, fruity sourness which is well worth experimenting with. It is available at Middle Eastern grocers.

sumanaḥ flowers — Flowers of Feronia elephantum, the wood apple; dull red or greenish flowers born in panicles.

Sumeru — The great mountain that is the axis of the universe. It is also called Meru and Mahāmeru. It extends upward through the center of the earthly planetary system, and on its upper peak lies Satyaloka, the abode of Lord Brahmā.

* Sumeru — a great mountain situated at the center of the universe. It is the hub of the chariot of the sun.

* Sunābha — one of the one hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He was killed by Bhīma during the battle of Kurukṣetra. (Bhīṣma Parva in Mahābhārata)

* Sunanda — one of the chief personal servants of Lord Nārāyaṇa in His spiritual abode, Vaikuṇṭha.

Sundara-ārati — Evening worship of the Deity in the temple. Supersoul an expansion of the Supreme Lord as an all-pervading personal presence in the universe and in the heart of every living entity.

* Sunīthā — the wife of King Aṅga and mother of Vena.

* Sunīti — the mother of Dhruva Mahārāja.

* Suparṇa — another name for Garuḍa.

* supersoul — see: Paramātmā

* Supratīka — the name of King Bhagadatta’s elephant that was very formidable during the battle of Kurukṣetra. He was killed by Arjuna.

* supti — deep sleep, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

* surabhī cows — the cows in the spiritual world, which yield unlimited quantities of milk.

* suras — demigods, devotees.

Śūrasena — A great Yādava king, father of Vasudeva and Kuntī. The province of ūrasenā, which includes the Mathurā district, is named after him.

* Śūrasena — the father of Vasudeva and Pāthā.

* Suruci — the stepmother of Dhruva Mahārāja.

Sūrya — The sun-god, currently Vivasvān; also, the sun planet.

* Sūrya — the sun-god, who became the father of Karṇa. He is said to be the right eye of the Supreme Lord.

* Sūryadatta — a brother of King Virāṭa. He was killed by Droṇa during the battle of Kurukṣetra. (Karṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

* Suryaloka — the sun planet.

* Suśarmā — the King of the Trigartas. He was an ally of Duryodhana and brought an akṣauhiṇī division of troops to Kurukṣetra. He was very envious of Arjuna and was ultimately killed by Arjuna.

* suṣupti — deep sleep, one of the levels of material consciousness.

* Sūta Gosvāmī — the son of Romaharsaṇa. He was the great sage who related the discourse between Parīkṣit Mahārāja and Śukadeva Gosvāmī, which forms the basis of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. See also: Naimiṣāraṇya

 Sūta Gosvāmī — Ugraśravā, the son of Romaharṣaṇa who succeeded his father as speaker of the Purāṇas and epics to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya after his father was killed by Lord Balarāma. He spoke the Mahābhārata, all the Purāṇas, and finally Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

* Suta — the son of Vaidarbhī, or, in other words, one who is somewhat advanced in fruitive activities and who comes in contact with a devotee spiritual master. Such a person becomes interested in the subject matter of devotional service.

* sūta — a mixture of different castes.

Sutala — (-loka) Among the seven subterranean heavens, the one third closest to the earth. Bali Mahārāja lives there, with Lord Vāmana as the guard at his gate.

Sutapā — The husband of Pṛśni and father of the Supreme Lord’s incarnation Pṛśnigarbha. Sutapā in his previous life had been Kaśyapa, the father of Lord Vāmana, and after his life as Sutapā he became Vasudeva, Kṛṣṇa’s father.

* Sutapā — the name of Vasudeva in a previous birth.

* Sutasoma — the son of Bhīmasena and Draupadī. He was killed by Aśvatthāmā while awaking from sleep on the last night of the Kurukṣetra war.

sūtra — A Vedic aphorism.

* sūtra — the intermediate manifestation of the mahat-tattva, when it is predominated by the mode of passion; an aphorism expressing essential knowledge in minimum words; a book of such aphorisms.

* śva-paca — dog-eater.

* sva-sevana-śakti — the power to perform the personal service of the Supreme Lord.

svabhāva — One’s individual nature.

* svābhāvya — a scripture.

* svadharmas — specific duties of a particular body performed in accordance with religious principles in order to achieve liberation.

* svādhyāya — personal study of Vedic literature.

* Svāhā — the wife of Agni, the fire-god.

* svakīyā-rasa — relationship with Kṛṣṇa as a formally married wife.

svāmī — See swami.

* svāmī — one fully in control of his senses and mind; title of one in the renounced, or sannyāsa, order. See also: gosvāmī

* svāmī-nārāyaṇa — the impersonalist misconception that one can become God simply by adopting the dress of a sannyāsī.

* Svāṁśa — Kṛṣṇa’s plenary portions.

* Svāṅga-viśeṣābhāsa-rūpa — the form by which the Lord begets living entities in the material world .

* Svar — the upper material planets.

 Svar — (Svarga, Svargaloka) The heavenly domain (above Bhūvarloka) of Indra, king of the demigods.

* Svārājya-lakṣmī — the personal spiritual potency of the Lord.

svarāt — The independent quality of the Supreme Lord.

* svarāṭ — fully independent.

* svargaloka — the heavenly planets or abodes of the demigods in the material world.

Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī — Lord Caitanya’s secretary and constant companion who helped the Lord experience the attitude of Rādhārāṇī.

* Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī — the incarnation of the gopī Viśākha. He served as the secretary and intimate associate of Lord Caitanya at Purī and used to ease the pain of the Lord's feelings of separation by reciting appropriate verses and singing devotional songs.

svarūpa — Lit., “own form.” The true, essential nature of the soul, or of any particular thing.

* svarūpa — the living entity's original eternal relationship of service to the Lord, the real form of the soul.

* svarūpa-gata — the stage of understanding Kṛṣṇa in truth while still maintaining some material connection.

* svarūpa-lakṣaṇa — the characteristics of the soul when purified of all material contamination.

* svarūpa-sandhi — the meeting of similar ecstasies from separate causes.

svarūpa-siddhi — The perfection of one’s eternal relationship with Lord Kṛṣṇa.

* svarūpa-siddhi — the perfection of one’s eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord.

* svarūpa-upalabdhi — realization of one’s eternal service relationship with the Lord.

* svarūpa-vismṛti — forgetting one’s real constitutional position.

* Svayaṁ-rūpa — Kṛṣṇa’s original form as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana.

Svāyambhuva Manu — The original father of the human race.

* Svāyambhuva Manu — the Manu who appears first in Brahmā’s day and who was the grandfather of Dhruva Mahārāja.

svayaṁvara — The ceremony in which a princess may choose her own husband.

* svayaṁvara — the ceremony in which a princess is allowed to choose her husband.

* Sveta — a son of King Virāṭa. He was killed in a ferocious battle with grandfather Bhīṣma. (Bhīṣma Parva in Mahābhārata)

Śvetadvīpa — “The white island,” the abode of Lord Kśīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu. It is a spiritual planet manifest within the material world, in the Ocean of Milk.

* Svetadvīpa — the spiritual planet where Lord Viṣṇu resides within the material universe.

* Svetāśvatara Upaniṣad — one of the 108 Upaniṣads. It very clearly presents the Vaiṣṇava point of view regarding the Lord and the living entity.

swami — One who controls his senses; a title of one in the renounced order of life.

swamiji — Lit., “great master.” A common term of respect addressed to sannyāsīs.

śyāma — The dark-blue color, not seen in the material world, that is the hue of Kṛṣṇa’s body.

* Syāmānanda Gosvāmī (1535-1631) — one of the great Vaiṣṇava ācāryas who lived in Vṛndāvana after the time of Śrī Caitanya. He received the direct mercy of Rādhārāṇī in Vṛndāvana, was tutored in the bhakti-śāstras by Jīva Gosvāmī and delivered countless souls, especially in Orissa. He was initiated by Hṛdāya Caitanya dāsa and got the name Duḥkhi Kṛṣṇadāsa, but later he was called Syāmānanda by Jīva Gosvāmī, who noted his attraction for the Deity Śyāmāsundara.

Syamantaka — A jewel able to produce heaps of gold and assure prosperity and good health. The sun-god gave it to his devotee Satrājit, who lost it and suffered misfortune after refusing Kṛṣṇa’s request to place it in the care of King Ugrasena. Kṛṣṇa eventually recovered the jewel and returned it to Satrājit, who offered it to Kṛṣṇa along with his daughter Satyabhāmā.

Śyāmasundara — A name of Kṛṣṇa, meaning “blackish” and “beautiful.”

* Śyāmasundara — the name of Kṛṣṇa meaning “He who has a very beautiful blackish form.”