Page 48 - Sri Canakya Niti

Glossary

for worshipping demigods. (The other three are the Ṛg, Sāma and
Yajur Vedas.)
Avantikā—an ancient Indian city (now known as Ujjain) in Madhya
Pradesh.
Ayodhyā—the capital of King Daśaratha and his son, Lord
Rāmacandra, who ruled over the land of Kośala.
Āyur-veda(-śāstra)—the ancient Vedic science of medicine. (Āyur
refers to longevity.)
B

Bābājī—a reclusive saint who lives away from society and embraces
a life of extreme austerity.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa—a prominent eighteenth-century Gauḍīya
Vaiṣṇava ācārya.
Banaras—Vārāṇasī, a holy city in northern India on the bank of the
Ganges.
Bazaar—market.
Bhagavad-gītā—a portion of the great epic Mahābhārata, and one of
the central sacred scriptures of Vaiṣṇavism.
Bhagavān—the Supreme Lord.
Bhāgavata (Purāṇa)—the most prominent of the eighteen Purāṇas
(ancient histories) and especially relevant to Vaiṣṇavas.
Bhajana—(1) a musical rendering of a devotional poem; (2) intense
personal spiritual practice.
Bhajanānandī—“one who takes pleasure in bhajana”; a devotee
who withdraws from the world and focuses on spiritual practice.
Bhakta—a devotee of the Supreme Lord. See also: Vaiṣṇava.
Bhakti—See: Devotional service.
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura (1874–1937)—the powerful
preacher of the message of Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over India during

the first half of the twentieth century, and the spiritual master of His
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