* Indicates that the entry was obtained from the VedaBase glossary.
All other entries were obtained from the krishna.com glossary.

Vedic Sanskrit Glossary - H -

Hādīka — the father of Kṛtavarmān.

Haihayas — a dynasty of demoniac kings destroyed by Lord Paraśurāma.

halava — A sweet dish made from roasted grains, butter, sugar, and water or milk.

halava — a dessert made from toasted grains, butter, and sugar.

Haṁsa — Lord Viṣṇu’s incarnation as a swan, who gave instructions to Brahmā and his sons.

Hanumān — Lord Rāmacandra’s most faithful eternal servant, who has the body of a kimpuruṣa, a humanlike monkey. Hanumān, son of Añjanā, was minister to Sugrīva in the monkey kingdom Kiṣkindha.

Hanūmān — the great famous monkey devotee of Lord Rāmacandra. The eleventh portion of Rudra. He is the brother of Bhīma and the son of the wind-god, Vāyu, and Añjana, the daughter of Gautama Ṛṣi. The story of how Bhīma and Hanūmān met is told in the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata. Hanūmān gave a benediction to Bhīma that he would ride on the flagstaff of Arjuna’s chariot and strike terror into the Kaurava troops with earth trembling battle cries. He served the Supreme Lord in His incarnation as Lord Rāmacandra and assisted Him in defeating the demon Rāvaṇa.

Hara — Lord Śiva.

Harāsee: Rādhārāṇī

Hara — a name of Lord Śiva; See: Śiva

Hare Krishna Land — Name of the ISKCON temple in Mumbai, India.

Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra — a sixteen-word prayer composed of the names Hare, Kṛṣṇa, and Rāma: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare is the personal form of God's own happiness, His eternal consort, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Kṛṣṇa, “the all-attractive one,” and Rāma, “the all-pleasing one,” are names of God. This prayer means “My dear Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa, please engage me in Your devotional service.” The Vedas recommend the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra as the easiest and most sublime method of awakening one's dormant love of God; the great chant for deliverance. These names have been particularly recommended for chanting in this age.

Hare — The vocative form of Harā, another name of Rādhārāṇī; refers specifically to the internal spiritual energy of the Lord.

Hari — The Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu.

Hari — the Supreme Lord, who removes all obstacles to spiritual progress; Lord Viṣṇu, the seeing the Deity of the Lord.

Hari-bhakti-vilāsa — the ritual and devotional practices of the Gauḍīya-vaiṣṇava-sampradāya, codified into twenty chapters by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī and Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. The work represents extensive scriptural research and includes a Sanskrit commentary written by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī called Dig-darśiṇī Tika.

Hari-cakra — Kṛṣṇa’s Sudarśana weapon, the wheel.

Hari-kathā — topics of Lord Hari, Kṛṣṇa.

Hari-kīrtana — the chanting of the names of Lord Hari (Kṛṣṇa). See: Saṅkīrtana.

hari-nāma — The holy names of Kṛṣṇa and the process of chanting them in pure love.

hari-nāma-dīkṣā — Formal initiation of the disciple by the spiritual master into the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana — congregational chanting of the holy names of the Supreme Lord.

hari-nāmāmṛta — The nectar of chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names.

Hari-vaṁśa — the appendix to the Mahābhārata. It is a summary of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes by Śrīla Vyāsadeva.

Hari-varṣa — One of the nine divisions of Jambūdvīpa, the central part of the earthly planetary system. Lord Nṛsiṁha and Prahlāda reside in Hari-varṣa.

Haribol — “Chant the holy name.”

haricot beans — a member of the Phaseolus vulgaris species, which includes not only haricot but kidney beans, great northern beans, and pinto beans. These dried white beans, also knows as navy beans, are popular in soups, stews, and casseroles. They are well-used in Italian cooking and are known as fagiolo secco. They are available at grocery stores and supermarkets.

Haridāsa Ṭhākura — A great devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; known as the namācārya, the master who taught the chanting of the holy names by his own example.

Haridāsa Ṭhākura — although born in a Muslim family, he was a confidential associate of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was so absorbed in the nectar of the Holy Name that he chanted day and night, and it was his regular practice to chant 300,000 names of the Lord daily. Lord Caitanya made him the nāmācārya (teacher of chanting of the holy name).The Muslim government and caste-conscious Hindus attempted to persecute him, but all of their efforts failed, as he was under the direct protection of the Lord.

Haridāsa — ” Kṛṣṇa’s servant,” an epithet both for Uddhava and for Govardhana Hill.

Haridvāra (Hardwar) — a famous place of pilgrimage in the northern foothills of the Himālaya Mountains. This is where . Ajāmila went for purlfication, where Prajāpati Dakṣa performed his sacrifice and lost his daughter Satī, and where some drops of nectar falling from the hand of Mohinī-mūrti, the Lord's incarnation as a woman, landed. Because these drops of nectar fell, there is a Kumbha-melā every twelve years here. Nowadays the town is known as Haradwara, meaning “the gateway to Lord Śiva.”

Haridvāra — One of the seven sacred cities capable of granting liberation. It is located where the Ganges descends from the Himalayas to the plain of central India.

Hariloka — Vaikunṭḥa, the world of the Supreme Lord.

Harināma — Used in ISKCON to refer to public chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Harināma-yajña — congregational chanting of the holy names of the Supreme Lord, the recommended sacrifice for this age.

Hariścandra — the twenty-eighth king in the Tretā-yuga. He appeared in the dynasty of the sun as the son of Triśaṅku, and he is celebrated in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa as the pious king who satisfied Viśvāmitra Muni by sacrificing his kingdom, wife, and son.

harṣa — jubilation, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

Haryakṣasee: Hiraṇyākṣa

Hastināpura — The capital of the Kurus, located on the banks of the Gaṅgā, east of what is now Delhi.

Hastināpura — the ancient capital city of Bhārata-varṣa, or India. The Sanskrit word hasti means elephants and in this city there were many elephants kept. It occupies a portion of what is today called New Delhi; The capital city of the Pāṇḍavas. When Dhṛtarāṣṭra wanted to give the Pāṇḍavas half of the kingdom, this part was given.

hāsya-rasa — the indirect relationship of laughing.

haṭha-yoga — The system of practicing sitting postures for sense control.

haṭha-yoga — the practice of postures and breathing exercises for achieving purification and sense control.

hathi — elephant

Hayagrīva — Lord Viṣṇu’s incarnation with the head of a horse. He spoke the lost Vedas to Lord Brahmā.

Hayagriva — Lord Kṛṣṇa’s horse-headed incarnation, who returned the stolen Vedas to Brahmā.

Hayaśīrṣā — the horse-headed incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He spoke the Vedas to Lord Brahmā.

heavenly planets — the higher planets of the universe, residences of the demigods.

hell — hellish planets within this universe meant for the punishment and rectification of the sinful.

Herā-pañcamī festival — celebration of the coming of the goddess of fortune to the Guṇḍicā temple.

Hiḍimba — a Rākṣasa who fought with Bhīma and was killed. This incident is mentioned in the Ādi Parva of the Mahābhārata.

Hiḍimbī — the sister of Hiḍimba. She later married Bhīma and begot a son named Ghaṭotkaca.

Himalayas — The tallest mountains on earth, on India’s northern edge, described as the residence of sages, demigods, and incarnations like Lord Śiva, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and Vyāsadeva.

Himavān — the great mountain on the northern side of India. The Pāṇḍavas stayed for some time in this region.

Hindu — a newly-concocted name for members of various social and religious groups of India.

hingasafoetida

hiraṇmaya-mahat-tattva — the total material energy.

Hiraṇyadhanus — the father of Ekalavya, and the King of the Niśadhas, forest dwellers.

Hiraṇyakaśipu — One of the first great demons in the universe. He and his demonic brother Hiraṇyākṣa were previously doorkeepers of Vaikuṇṭha but were cursed when they refused entrance to the four Kumāra sages. Hiraṇyakaśipu’s son Prahlāda was a fully surrendered devotee of Viṣṇu. For persecuting Prahlāda, Hiraṇyakaśipu was killed by Lord Nṛsiṁha.

Hiraṇyakaśipu — a powerful demon and great atheist who tormented his son Prahlāda Mahārāja, a great devotee, and was killed by Kṛṣṇa in His incarnation as Nṛsiṁhadeva (the half man-half lion form of Lord Viṣṇu).

Hiraṇyākṣa — The demonic older brother of Hiraṇyakaśipu. When Hiraṇyākṣa tried to obstruct Lord Varāha from lifting the earth from the depths of the Garbha Ocean, the Lord killed him.

Hiraṇyākṣa — the demoniac son of Kaśyapa who was killed by Lord Varāha.

Hiraṇyavarman — a king of Daśārṇa. His daughter was married to Śikhaṇḍī.

Hlādinī śakti — Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure potency.

Holī — a major Hindu holiday celebrated on the last day of the bright fortnight of the month of Phalgun (February-March). This festival is said to be one of Kṛṣṇa’s favorates. The most popular activity is ther throwing of colored water and powder by participants on each other.

horseradish root — the root of the hardy perennial plant Armoracia rusticana. When scraped or bruised, these stout, white, fleshy, cylindrical roots emit their characteristic highly pungent, penetrating odour, plus volatile oils which cause tears to flow. Horseradish roots are generally peeled and grated and made into sauces to accompany savoury dishes. When choosing horseradish select large roots. The inside core is woody and is not used. Shred or grate the outside of the root, but use straight away and do not cook it, or else the pungent flavour will fade. Dehydrated powdered horseradish can be used as a substitute, but fresh is better. Fresh horseradish root is sometimes available at quality produce markets and greengrocer shops. The powdered horseradish is available at specialty shops and some supermarkets.

Hotravāhana — the maternal grandfather of Ambā. He recommended to Ambā that she approach Paraśurāma to influence Bhīṣma to marry her.

Hoysala — South Indian dynasty that ruled part of South India.

hṛdaya-grantha — lit., “the knot in the heart.” Refers to material bondage of the living entity resulting from sexual attraction.

Hṛṣikeśa — The Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, master of everyone’s senses.

Hṛṣīkeśa — a name of Kṛṣṇa meaning “the master of all senses.”

hṛta-jñāna — bereft of intelligence.

 

Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra


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