Glossary of terms


Anjali : Clasping the two hands in prayer
Apacharam : Offense against the Lord
Apourusheyam : Not created by anyone; Vedas
Arthapancakam : Five important concepts to know, namely, (i) the Lord, (ii) self, (iii) means to salvation (moksha), (iv) impedements for salvation (moksha), and (v) the nature of salvation
Athiseshan : The snake bed of Lord Sriman Narayana. Athiseshan is a nithyasoori who serves the Lord. Among his avatharas are Laksmana and Sri Ramanuja. the oldest Dravids language and the fact that the essence of the Vedas
Azvars : The twelve God intoxicated saints who sung the hymns collectively known as Dhivya Prabhandham. The names of the tweleve Azhvars are Poigai, Bootham, Pey, Thirumazisai, Periyazhvar, Andal, Madurakavi, Nammazhvar, Thiruppan Azhvar, Kulasekara Azhvar, Thoindaradippodi Azhvar, and Thirumangai Azhvar.
Baddha Jivathma : An individal soul bound in samsara
Dhivya Dhampati : The divine couple, Sriman Narayana and divine mother Sri Lakshmi
Dhivya Desam : A temple town celebrated by an Azhvar song
Dhivyasoori : The twelve Azhvars
Dhivya Prabhandham : The Tamil hymns sung by the twelve Azvars. Since these are in Tamil, the oldest Dravids language and the fact that the essence of the Vedas are found in these hymns, they are also called Dravida Vedas.
Ijjyai : Sacrifice; Worship done at about noon time
Moksham : Salvation; Life in Sri Vaikuntam where Muktas perform uninteruppted service to the Lord.
Muktha Jivathma : One of three kinds of souls. Mukta is a released soul from the bondage of samsara, into Moksham.
Nithyasoori : Individual souls who were never in bondage in samsara. They serve Lord Sriman Narayana. They include the divine weapons and ornaments of the Lords, Athiseshan, Garudan, Visvaksena, and so on.
Prapatti : Unconditional surrender at the feet of the Lord. Also known as Sadyopaya.
Samsara : Bondage in worldly life experiencing grief and limited pleasure in cycles.
Uhbaya Vedantam : The essence of Vedas and Dhivya Prabhandham
Upaya : Means for attaining salvation (Moksha)
Urdhava Pundaram : The relegious markings wore on twelve places on the body, including the the forehead.
Vedas : The four sacred texts, Rg, Ejur, Sama, and Atharvana

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