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Dictionary
| S.No. | Word - M | Sound | Description | Key Word |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | madhya | Middle; moderate; central | Madhya has the connotation of ‘middle’, ‘moderate’ and ‘central’. Patañjali, in the process of explaining the stages in attaining Samādhi (Sūtra 1.22) explains the different persons evince different levels of interest towards yoga and put in different levels of effort towards it. A moderate level of interest or effort may be called madhyamātra (mātrā meaning ‘quantity’). Madhya is also one of the kinds of prāṇāyāma (q.v.). | m |
| 2 | mahabandha | Mahābandha (bandha) | Mahābandha is one of the ten mudrās mentioned in Haṭhayoga. The procedure is as follows: The left heel must be kept on the perineum. The right foot is kept on top of the left thigh. Then, after inhaling, the chin is to be firmly placed on the heart area. The anus is contracted and the mind placed on the Suṣumnā. After holding the breath for as long as possible, the person must exhale slowly. After practising it on the left side, this bandha must be practised on the right side. | m |
| 3 | mahabhutam | Great creature; great being; gross element | Mahābhūta is composed of mahat meaning ‘great’ or ‘big’ and bhūta. In this compound, bhūta is used in two meaning: ‘creature’ (or ‘living being’) or ‘element’ (the five classical elements). ‘Great being’ refers to a great person or creature. ‘Great element’ refers to the five elements (see pañcabhūta), esp. when they are being distinguished from the tanmātras, which may be viewed as subtle elements (see tanmātra). | m |
| 4 | mahakhaga | Great (or big) bird | Prāṇa which rises along the Suṣumnā (see kuṇḍalinī) is likened to a large bird. This comparison is especially used when specifying the uḍḍiyāna bandha whose name literally means flying upwards (also a reference to prāṇa moving upwards). | m |
| 5 | mahamudra | Mahāmudrā (procedure) | Mahāmudrā literally means ‘great mudrā’. Two versions exist – one is used in the worship of Devī while the other method is one of the ten mudrās specified in Haṭhayoga. The mudrā used for worship of Devī is also called āvāhanī, vyāpikā or trikhaṇḍā. This mudrā is performed by joining and holding both the little fingers upwards, holding the ring finger of the right hand on that of the left hand and hold them with the pointing fingers, joining the middle fingers and the thumbs pointing upwards and little fingers pointing downwards. Worship of Devī with this and other mudrās is a form of dhāraṇā. The procedure in Haṭhayoga is as follows: with the left heel, the perineum is pressed. The right leg is extended and held firmly with both hands. The throat is contracted and prāṇa is held above (i.e. in the Suṣumnā). After this, the yogī must exhale slowly (without any haste) and release the mudrā. | m |
| 6 | mahat | Great; big; Mahat (Sāṅkhya) | Mahat in general parlance, means ‘great’ or ‘big’. In Sāṅkhya, mahat is the first evolute that arises from Prakṛti. It further changes into ahaṅkāra which is the basis of creation (see ahaṅkāra). Mahat is usually given the same role as the intellect (see buddhi). It is the mental capacity that engages in logical discourse and thought. It is directly perceivable (vyakta) unlike prakṛti which is not (avyakta). Once different creatures gain separate existence (through separate bodies), mahat and ahaṅkāra split themselves so as to exist in each of these bodies. | m |
| 7 | maitri | Friendship; friendliness; benevolence | Maitrī means ‘friendliness’. The goal of yoga is to calm the mind. However, so long as the yogī continues to live, he interacts with the world outside, including the people in it. So as to retain calmness and continue in the path of yoga while interacting with people, Yogasūtra (1.33) suggests strategies. With a person who is happy, the yogī must show friendliness. With a person who is sad, the yogī displays compassion. With those who engage in virtuous acts (puṇya, q.v.) or in the acts themselves, the yogī must show joy. With those who engage in vice (pāpa, q.v.) and in those acts themselves, the yogī shows indifference. By developing these emotions or making existing emotions orderly in this manner, the yogī is able to maintain calmness of mind, even when interacting with regular people, and is able to progress in the path of yoga. | m |
| 8 | makara | The sound ‘m’ | The sound ‘m’ is the third component of the sound ‘Om’ (called praṇava, q.v.). It is often associated with Lord Śiva. Like ‘a’ and ‘u’, ‘m’ is also associated with several objects across texts. These associations are used for the purpose of dhyāna on the praṇava. | m |
| 9 | manas | Mind | Manas means ‘mind’. It is one of the eleven indriyas described in Sāṅkhya (see indriya). The mind receives information from the various sense organs (jñānendriyas) and provides information to the motor organs (karmendriyas) to act. Most of the activities of the mind are put together under citta in yoga (see citta). | m |
| 10 | manasa | Mental; mind | As an adjective, mānasa means ‘mental’. It is one of the kinds of japa (‘prayer’ or ‘chanting’) that is done mentally (see japa). As a noun, mānasa is a synonym of manas (mind, q.v.). | m |
| 11 | mandookasanam | Maṇḍūkāsana (āsana) | Maṇḍūkāsana, meaning ‘frog posture’, is an āsana in Haṭhayoga. The forelegs are bent and placed under the thighs. The soles of the two feet are turned upwards, with the big toes touching each other. The knees remain separated. | m |
| 12 | manipoorakam | Maṇipūraka (cakra) | The maṇipūraka is one of the main cakras enumerated across texts (see cakra). It is located in the region of the navel. It is pictured as a ten-petalled lotus which is of the colour of lightning and clouds and is very fiery. This is the residence of Viṣṇu and dhyāna here leads to the sight of Viṣṇu. | m |
| 13 | manipooram | See maṇipūraka | See maṇipūraka | m |
| 14 | manojavitva | Speedy as the mind (siddhi) | When the mind rests on the thought of one object, it can be quickly applied on the thought of another object. The mind can be thought of as moving from one object to another. Within an instant, it can go to the other end of the world and return. ‘Speediness’ of a mind thus becomes an expression. Though particular dhāraṇas, the yogī can get the ability to travel from one place to another instantaneously. This siddhi is called manojavitva. | m |
| 15 | manonmani | See samādhi | See samādhi | m |
| 16 | mantra | Sacred syllable (or set of syllables) | A mantra is a syllable or a set of syllables that are sacred. Mantras may be used for a variety of purposes. They are commonly used in worship of deities. They can be used to get siddhis (q.v.). The entire Vedic canon is treated as a set of mantras that are studied and used in various ways. | m |
| 17 | marut | See vāyu | See vāyu | m |
| 18 | mati | Thought; intention; inclination; opinion; belief; view; devotion; worship; prayer; intelligence | Mati has four major meanings. Firstly it can mean ‘thought’, and thus ‘intention’ or ‘inclination’. Secondly, it can mean ‘opinion’, ‘belief’ or ‘view’, It can also mean ‘devotion’ and ‘worship’ or ‘prayer’ (see also bhakti). Finally, it can mean ‘intelligence’, in which sense it is a synonym of buddhi (q.v.). | m |
| 19 | matra | Measure; moment (measure of time); mora (prosody); element; tanmātra | Mātrā means ‘measure’ (of any kind) and may be used w.r.t. size, quantity, duration, number, or any other measurable quantity. In compounds such as adhimātra (meaning ‘excess quantity’), it shows up as ‘mātra’. Mātrā is also a measure of time, commonly used to measure the length of prāṇāyāma in yoga. Its length is usually equated with nimeṣa which means ‘blinking’, but is used as a time unit. The definition of nimeṣa varies from text to text. Some examples: Manusmṛti (1.64) gives 177 milliseconds, Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra (2.38) gives 240 milliseconds, Śrīpati’s Siddhānta Śekhara (1.13) gives 89 milliseconds and the Viṣṇupurāṇa (1.3.8) gives 213 milliseconds. Mātrā (in grammar and prosody) also refers to the time taken to pronounce a short syllable such as ‘a’, ‘ki’, ‘sa’, etc. This is also used as a time unit (a variant is used in astronomy) and is 200 milliseconds long (based on Āryabhaṭīya 2.1-2). Mātrā in some cases means ‘element’ (see pañcabhūta) or ‘tanmātra’ (q.v.). | m |
| 20 | matrasparsha | Contact with objects | Mātrāsparśa is composed of mātrā which refers to the objects (viṣaya) and sparśa meaning ‘touch’. Contact of the sense organs (indriyas) with the sense objects is the cause of happiness, sadness and other sensations. These are, by nature, fleeting and of the nature of pairs (see dvandva). These are avoided through the step of pratyāhāra and avoiding the pairs. | m |
| 21 | Matsyendra | Matsyendra (person); Matsyendrāsana (āsana) | Matsyendra is the name of one of the oldest propounders of the practice of Haṭhayoga. An āsana is named after him. To perform this: the right foot is placed under the left buttock and the left foot is placed outside the right knee. The practitioner takes hold of the right foot with the left hand and left foot with the right hand. | m |
| 22 | mauna | Silence (esp. as an oath) | Mauna means ‘silence’. It is kept as an oath in some situations. There are two kinds of mauna: ākāra-mauna, where the person does not speak but communicates in other ways, such as by using gestures or through writing, and kāṣṭha-mauna, where the person does not communicate in any way. | m |
| 23 | mayurasanam | Mayūrāsana (āsana) | Mayūrāsana is composed of mayūra meaning ‘peacock’ and āsana (q.v.). To perform this āsana, the hands must be firmly placed on the ground. The two elbows are placed next to the navel. The whole body is then lifted on the hands such that it appears as a stick and is horizontal and parallel to the floor. | m |
| 24 | meru | Meru (mountain); backbone (vertebrae) | Meru is the name of a large mountain that appears in stories (also called sumeru). It is pictured as being several kilometres in height and as the abode of Brahmā and the Devas. The sun, moon, planets and stars revolve around it in the cosmology put forth in these stories. India is located to the southern side of this mountain. In some texts in Haṭhayoga, meru refers to the vertebral column (i.e. the backbone). | m |
| 25 | mitahara | Food in correct quantity (see atīvabhojana) | Food in correct quantity (see atīvabhojana) | m |
| 26 | moha | Delusion; confusion | Moha means ‘delusion’ or ‘confusion’. It is the representative quality of tamas (q.v.) and refers to the inability of a person to act decisively. In such cases, the intellectual faculty does not function with any clarity, and in this sense, moha (and tamas) is the direct opposite of sattva (q.v.) which represents clarity (see guṇa). | m |
| 27 | moksha | Release; liberation; Mokṣa (concept) | Mokṣa means ‘release’ or ‘liberation’, and derives from the root ‘muc’ meaning ‘to release’. Mokṣa, in philosophy, refers to the escape from saṃsāra (q.v.). Different schools of philosophy view mokṣa in different ways. In Sāṅkhya and Yoga, the separation of puruṣa from prakṛti is known as mokṣa. In Advaita Vedānta, mokṣa occurs when the jīva realises that its true nature is the same as Brahman. In Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedanta, mokṣa occurs when the jīva realises that its true nature is of servitude to Brahman by virtue of being its body. In both cases, this happens when puruṣa (jīva) gets discriminative knowledge (viveka-khyāti). | m |
| 28 | mrudu | Soft; tender; slight | Mṛdu has the meanings ‘soft’, ‘tender’ or ‘slight’. Patañjali, in the process of explaining the stages in attaining Samādhi (Sūtra 1.22) explains that different persons evince different levels of interest towards yoga and put in different levels of effort towards it. A low level of interest or effort is called mṛdumātra (mātrā meaning ‘quantity’). | m |
| 29 | mruthyu | See maraṇa | See maraṇa | m |
| 30 | muda | Deluded; foolish; confused; gone astray; forgetful | Mūḍha generally has the connotations of ‘deluded’, ‘foolish’, ‘confused’ or ‘gone astray’. In the context of yoga, it is one of the states of citta (see bhūmi). The mind occupies a variety of states, however these have been classified into five: kṣipta (fickle), mūḍha (forgetful), vikṣipta (distracted), ekāgra (one-pointed) and niruddha (restrained). In this state, the person may be confused, i.e. he may not understand matters, or forgetful, i.e. recollect matters. | m |
| 31 | mudita | Joy | Muditā means ‘joy’. It is not possible for a yogī to live in complete isolation since there will inevitably be interaction with other people. Yogasūtra (1.33) suggests strategies that the yogī can use to ensure that the mind remains calm even when such interactions take place. With people who do virtuous acts (puṇya, q.v.) or when seeing such an act taking place, the yogī should express happiness (see maitrī for details). | m |
| 32 | mudra | Seal; stamp; token; gesture (esp. of the hand); Mudrā (procedure) | Mudrā, in general parlance, refers to a ‘seal’, ‘stamp’ or ‘token’ such as one issued by an authority (e.g. stamps for currency, authorisation or passes). In several subjects (dance, worship, yoga, etc.) it refers to gestures, esp. those performed using the hands. Depending on the subject, these gestures are given symbolic significance. Ten mudrās are enumerated in certain texts for the worship of Devī, and in Haṭhayoga. The list for worship of Devī is given below (based on Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa 3.42 and Yoginīhṛdayatantra 1.56-71): 1. Mahāmudrā 2. Saṃkṣobhiṇī 3. Vidrāviṇī 4. Ākarṣiṇī 5. Vaśaṃkarī 6. Unmādinī 7. Mahāṅkuśā 8. Khecarī 9. Bījamudrā 10. Yonimudrā These are performed using the hands and in a particular order during the worship procedure. They are meant to please Devī and are a kind of dhāraṇā. Another set of ten is used in Haṭhayoga (based on Haṭhayoga Pradīpikā). These are: 1. Mahāmudrā 2. Mahābandha 3. Mahāvedha 4. Khecarī 5. Uḍḍiyāna 6. Mūlabandha 7. Jālandharabandha 8. Viparītakaraṇī 9. Vajrolī 10. Śakticālana Three of these are bandhas (q.v.). Once in an āsana, the person can either perform a prāṇāyāma (which involves control of breath) or any of these mudrās. These mudrās represent a diverse set of procedures that accompany āsanas and are not prāṇāyāmas. Other texts give different lists of mudrās; for example, Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā lists 25 mudrās. | m |
| 33 | mukta | Liberated; attained mokṣa (q.v.) | Liberated; attained mokṣa (q.v.) | m |
| 34 | muktasanam | Muktāsana (āsana) | Muktāsana is a kind of āsana. Haṭhayoga Pradīpikā holds that this is the same as the siddhāsana, although some authors say that it is a variant (see siddhāsana). | m |
| 35 | mukti | See mokṣa | See mokṣa | m |
| 36 | mulabandha | Mūlabandha (procedure) | Mūlabandha is one of the three bandhas (q.v.) and one of the ten mudrās (q.v.) mentioned in Haṭhayoga. To perform this mudrā, the person must press the perineum with the heel and constrict the anus, pulling apāna upwards. This causes prāṇa to enter the Suṣumnā (see kuṇḍalinī). | m |
| 37 | muladhara | Mūlādhāra (cakra) | Mūlādhāra is the lowest cakra present on the Suṣumnā. It is composed of mūla meaning ‘root’ and ādhāra meaning ‘foundation’ or ‘base’. It is the base of the Suṣumnā and sustains the entire nāḍī. Kuṇḍalinī is naturally located at this spot. It is surrounded by an area having dimension of around four aṅgulas (around 7.5 cm) which comprises the cakra. Its colour is golden. It is pictured as a lotus with four petals. Its centre is in the shape of a hexagon. Efforts to raise kuṇḍalinī focus on this cakra first, so as to awaken kuṇḍalinī (q.v.). | m |
| 38 | mulaprakruti | See prakṛti | See prakṛti | m |