Sanskrit Vocabulary
30 essential words for Bhagavad Gita study. Each includes Devanagari, transliteration, pronunciation, meaning, and common mistakes.
आत्मन्
ātman
Pronunciation: AHT-man · Syllables: āt-man
The eternal individual soul; the true self beyond body and mind
⚠ Common mistake: Often confused with mind (manas) or ego (ahankara). Atman is the witness, not the thinker.
ब्रह्मन्
brahman
Pronunciation: BRAHM-an · Syllables: brah-man
The universal, ultimate reality; the source of all existence
⚠ Common mistake: Not to be confused with Brahma (the creator deity) or Brahmin (priest caste).
धर्म
dharma
Pronunciation: DHAR-ma · Syllables: dhar-ma
Right duty; cosmic law; ethical conduct; one's personal calling
⚠ Common mistake: Dharma is not religion in the Western sense. It is closer to 'right order' or 'duty.'
कर्म
karma
Pronunciation: KAR-ma · Syllables: kar-ma
Action; the law of action and its consequences
⚠ Common mistake: In the West, karma is often misunderstood as 'fate.' In the Gita, karma is active — you create it through choices.
योग
yoga
Pronunciation: YOH-ga · Syllables: yo-ga
Union; a path or method of spiritual practice; also: skill in action
⚠ Common mistake: Yoga in the Gita is primarily about mental states and action, not physical postures.
भक्ति
bhakti
Pronunciation: BHAK-tee · Syllables: bhak-ti
Devotion; loving surrender to the divine
⚠ Common mistake: Bhakti is not mere emotion. It is a disciplined, sustained orientation of love.
ज्ञान
jñāna
Pronunciation: NYAH-na (j is silent) · Syllables: jñā-na
Knowledge; wisdom; specifically, direct knowledge of reality
⚠ Common mistake: Jnana is not intellectual knowledge — it is direct experiential wisdom.
मोक्ष
mokṣa
Pronunciation: MOHK-sha · Syllables: mok-ṣa
Liberation; freedom from the cycle of birth and death
⚠ Common mistake: Moksha is not death or annihilation — it is liberation into full awareness.
श्रद्धा
śraddhā
Pronunciation: SHRAD-dhaa · Syllables: śrad-dhā
Faith; trust; conviction based on experience and inquiry
⚠ Common mistake: Shraddha is not blind belief. It is earned trust, like faith in a reliable teacher.
सत्त्व
sattva
Pronunciation: SAHT-tva · Syllables: sat-tva
The quality of clarity, goodness, and harmony; one of the three gunas
⚠ Common mistake: Sattva is not perfection — even sattva binds the soul (though more gently than rajas or tamas).
रजस्
rajas
Pronunciation: RAH-jas · Syllables: ra-jas
The quality of passion, activity, and agitation; one of the three gunas
⚠ Common mistake: Rajas is not always negative — it drives achievement. But unchecked, it creates anxiety and ego.
तमस्
tamas
Pronunciation: TAH-mas · Syllables: ta-mas
The quality of inertia, darkness, and delusion; one of the three gunas
⚠ Common mistake: Tamas is not rest — it is unconscious inertia. Healthy rest is sattvic.
माया
māyā
Pronunciation: MAH-yaa · Syllables: mā-yā
Illusion; the power that makes the temporary appear permanent
⚠ Common mistake: Maya does not mean the world is unreal. It means we misperceive it as permanent and self-sufficient.
प्रकृति
prakṛti
Pronunciation: PRA-kriti · Syllables: pra-kṛ-ti
Material nature; the field of all physical and mental phenomena
⚠ Common mistake: Prakriti includes the mind and intellect — not just the physical body.
पुरुष
puruṣa
Pronunciation: PU-ru-sha · Syllables: pu-ru-ṣa
The pure witness; the soul in relation to nature; the observer
⚠ Common mistake: Purusha in the Gita is not the same as the Samkhya purusha — Krishna (Purushottama) transcends even this.
यज्ञ
yajña
Pronunciation: YAG-nya · Syllables: yaj-ña
Sacred offering; sacrifice; selfless action as an act of devotion
⚠ Common mistake: Yajna in the Gita is not just ritual. Any selfless, skilled action becomes yajna.
अहिंसा
ahiṃsā
Pronunciation: a-HIM-saa · Syllables: a-hiṃ-sā
Non-violence; non-harm in thought, word, and deed
⚠ Common mistake: Ahimsa does not mean passivity. Arjuna's non-violence (initially) was actually adharma — avoidance of duty.
अहंकार
ahaṃkāra
Pronunciation: a-han-KAH-ra · Syllables: a-haṃ-kā-ra
Ego; the 'I-maker'; the false identification of self with body and mind
⚠ Common mistake: Ahankara is not the same as confidence or identity. It is specifically the illusion of being separate from the whole.
बुद्धि
buddhi
Pronunciation: BUDH-dhi · Syllables: bud-dhi
Intellect; the higher faculty of discrimination and decision-making
⚠ Common mistake: Buddhi is not the same as intelligence (IQ). It is specifically the discriminating faculty — knowing right from wrong, real from unreal.
मनस्
manas
Pronunciation: MA-nas · Syllables: ma-nas
The lower mind; the sense-processing faculty; the doubting, wavering mind
⚠ Common mistake: Manas is not the whole mind. It is specifically the reactive, sense-oriented aspect, as opposed to buddhi (discrimination).
चित्त
citta
Pronunciation: CHIT-ta · Syllables: cit-ta
The field of consciousness; the storehouse of memories and impressions (samskaras)
⚠ Common mistake: Chitta is broader than thoughts — it includes the unconscious impressions that shape behavior.
स्वधर्म
svadharma
Pronunciation: sva-DHAR-ma · Syllables: sva-dhar-ma
One's own duty; personal dharma specific to one's nature and role
⚠ Common mistake: Svadharma is not selfish — it is the dharma that serves the whole through your unique gifts.
निष्काम
niṣkāma
Pronunciation: nish-KAH-ma · Syllables: niṣ-kā-ma
Without desire; desireless (niṣ = without, kāma = desire)
⚠ Common mistake: Nishkama does not mean not caring about the work. It means not clinging to the fruit.
वैराग्य
vairāgya
Pronunciation: vai-RAHG-ya · Syllables: vai-rā-gya
Non-attachment; dispassion; the ability to release outcomes without aversion
⚠ Common mistake: Vairagya is not indifference or coldness. It is like a lotus leaf — wet but not soaked.
समत्वम्
samatvam
Pronunciation: sa-MAT-vam · Syllables: sa-mat-vam
Equanimity; evenness of mind; the Gita's definition of yoga
⚠ Common mistake: Samatvam is not flatness of emotion — it is stability beneath all emotions, like the ocean beneath waves.
अभ्यास
abhyāsa
Pronunciation: ab-HYAH-sa · Syllables: ab-hyā-sa
Practice; repeated training; sustained effort
⚠ Common mistake: Abhyasa does not require massive sessions. Small, consistent practice is abhyasa. Sporadic intensity is not.
मुक्त
mukta
Pronunciation: MOOK-ta · Syllables: muk-ta
Liberated; free; one who has attained moksha
⚠ Common mistake: Mukta does not mean dead or ascetic. A mukta person can be fully engaged in the world — but without bondage.
संसार
saṃsāra
Pronunciation: sam-SAH-ra · Syllables: saṃ-sā-ra
The cycle of birth and death; the world of change and impermanence
⚠ Common mistake: Samsara is not just reincarnation — it is the cycle of seeking, grasping, losing, and seeking again in every moment.
अवतार
avatāra
Pronunciation: a-va-TAH-ra · Syllables: a-va-tā-ra
Divine descent; the divine taking physical form; an incarnation
⚠ Common mistake: Avatara is not mythology. It is the principle that the divine becomes manifest when needed — in history, in a teacher, in a teaching.
गुण
guṇa
Pronunciation: GU-na · Syllables: gu-ṇa
Quality; attribute; one of the three fundamental qualities of nature (sattva, rajas, tamas)
⚠ Common mistake: Gunas are qualities, not fixed categories. You move between them constantly based on food, environment, and activity.