Sanskrit Words Beginning With S

This glossary provides definitions of Sanskrit words beginning with S and how they are used in Hindu teachings.

Sadharana Dharma

what is right in terms of the common duties and obligations to one's fellow human beings

Saguna

manifest, referring to manifest aspects of Brahman

Saivites

devotees of the deity Shiva

Sakara

'with form', referring to the manifest aspects of Brahman

Sakti

the female active energy in the universe

Samadhi

absorption, bliss, trance

Sama Veda

'Knowledge of Chants', one of the four Vedas

Samsara

worldly life or reincarnation

Samskaras

rituals and rites in one's life cycle

Sanatana Dharma

what is right for the universe; it is also synonymous with Hinduism

Sankhya

Vedic philosophy of cosmic principles

Sannyasin/Sannyasa

person at the last of the four stages of life, the stage of the wandering ascetic, stage of life of renunciation and liberation

Sanskrit

Vedic and mantric language

Santana Dharma

the eternal teaching; traditional name for the Hindu religion

Santoshi Ma

a modern Hindu goddess of prosperity and wish-fulfilment

Saptapadi

the seven steps taken by a couple during their marriage ceremony symbolizing seven different wishes for the future

Saraswati

Goddess of speech, learning, knowledge and wisdom

Sari

traditional dress for women consisting of a piece of material of five or six metres long which is draped around the body

Sat

the Being, Truth and Reality associated with Brahman as opposed to the non-being (asat) of the phenomenal world

Sati

voluntary burning of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre

Sati

consort of the God Shiva, also called Uma

Sattva

quality of truth or light; one of the three gunas or qualities in existence, associated with the preserving God Vishnu and representing light and spiritual evolution

Sautrantika

Buddhist philosophy of the momentariness of all things

Savitar

Vedic Sun god as the guide of Yoga

Savitr

Vedic solar deity

Shakti

the power of consciousness and spiritual evolution

Shankara

the great philosopher of non-dualistic Vedanta

Shiva

form of the Hindu trinity governing destruction and transcendence

Shudras

people of sensate values

Shunyavada

Buddhist philosophy that everything is void

Sita

the wife of Rama in the Hindu epic the Ramayana and an avatar of the Goddess Lakshmi

Skanda

the God of war

Smrti

literally 'memory' or 'remembered': a category of sacred scriptures which contains much popular and devotional literature

So'ham

natural mantric sound of the breath

Soma

Vedic God of bliss or equated also with a potent hallucinogenic drink

Sraddha

ceremonies for the deceased in the twelve days following cremation

Srauta

official sacrificial ritual of the Vedic period

Sri/Shri

the Goddess Lakshmi, consort of Lord Vishnu; also an honorific added before names as a mark of respect

Srotas

channel systems used in Ayurvedic medicine

Sruti

category of sacred scriptures which are 'heard' or cognized by the ancient seers

Sudra

the fourth of the Hindu four classes, traditionally the servant class

Surya

Vedic Sun God or god of the enlightened mind

Svadharma

what is right for an individual