Glossary

Sanskrit and Vraj philosophical terms used across the Vachanamrut, Shikshapatri, and Bhaktachintamani, sourced verbatim from Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Bhuj-Kutch's own published Vachanamrut glossary appendix — not written by us.

33 resultsfor “Shree” · clear

Bãl-Mukund: The murti of Shree Krishna in His child svarup.
Baldevji: The elder brother of Shree Krishna. He is considered as a partial avatãr of Vishnu or an avatãr of Shesh, the serpent on which Vishnu sleeps. Baldevji was the symbol of strength, an obedient son, and an ideal brother and husband. Also called Balrãm.
Bhagvad Geetã: Song of Bhagvãn. One of the most popular Hindu shãstras. It comprises of a dialogue between Arjun and Shree Krishna, at the beginning of the battle between the feuding cousins, the Pãndavs and the Kauravs. The

chãdar: A thin blanket. Was used by Shreeji Mahãrãj during the cooler months.

Golok: 1) The dhãm of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn. 2) Also means Akshardhãm. The prefix ‘go’ means light; therefore, meaning the ‘lok of light’ – Akshardhãm.
gopi: Protectors of cows. Wives of the cowherds of Vrundãvan present during the time of Shree Krishna. Female bhaktas of Bhagvãn who represent the perfect love and bhakti towards Bhagvãn.
Gopinãthji: The murti of Shree Krishna Bhagvãn. Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn installed a murti of Gopinãthji Mahãrãj in Gadhadã, which was made to the exact size of Shreeji Mahãrãj.

Hanumãnji: A dev with the svarup of a monkey. He is courageous, brave, and a loyal bhakta of Shree Rãm.
haribhakta: A bhakta of Shree Hari. A bhakta of Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn.

ishta-dev: The preferred murti of Bhagvãn that worshiped by a person. Our ishta-dev is Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn; but, the ishta-dev of Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn was Shree Krishna.

Janmãshtami: Birthday of Shree Krishna – Shrãvan vadi 8. A fast if kept on this day, and it is celebrated with great festivity.

Kali-Yug: Age of Darkness. Fourth and present of the four ages that mark the time-scale of the world. Kali-Yug began in 3102 BCE, after Shree Krishna Bhagvãn left the earth. It lasts for 432,000 human years, of which over 5,000 years have already passed. The current Kali-Yug is estimated to end in the year 428,889 CE. Kali-Yug is when purity and righteousness have thoroughly diminished in comparison to what they were in Satya-Yug. People generally live to be not more than a hundred, and svabhãvs prevail in greater abundance than ever before.
Kapil Geetã: A portion of the Shreemad Bhãgvat consisting of Kapil- Dev's teachings to His mother, Devhuti.
Kapil-Dev: An avatãr of Bhagvãn. He incarnated in the svarup of a rushi to compile all the divine knowledge that had been destroyed. He gave the knowledge of the Sãnkhya philosophy to his mother Devhuti, which was later written in the Shreemad Bhãgvat by Vyãsji.
Krishna: 1) An avatãr of Bhagvãn. He incarnated in the svarup of a cowherd. This is considered to be a greater avatãr than the others, as Shree Krishna possessed all of the powers of Bhagvãn, whereas other avatãrs possessed less power. Shree Krishna conveyed the message of love and humanity to the world. Also, He recited the epic poem, the Bhagvad Geetã, to Arjun in which He stated: ‘Whenever dharma declines and adharma increases, I shall incarnate myself as a human to save the holy, to destroy the sin of the sinner, and to establish dharma. I come into being from yug to yug’. 2) In the Vachanãmrut, Shreeji Mahãrãj also uses the name “Shree Krishna” to describe Bhagvãn Purushottam Nãrãyan.

Nar-Nãrãyan: An avatãr of Bhagvãn. He incarnated in the svarup of twin brothers to kill a demon named Kunchi. Nar incarnated as Arjun, and Nãrãyan incarnated as Shree Krishna. Nar- Nãrãyan Bhagvãn forever performs tap in Badrikãshram for His bhaktas.
Nãrãyan-Muni: One of the names given to Shreeji Mahãrãj by Rãmãnand Swãmi at the time of His initiation as the head of the sampradãy. The other name given was Sahajãnand Swãmi.

Purãn: Ancient. A set of eighteen shãstras recording ancient Hindu events that incorporate ethical and spiritual teachings, most popular of which is the Shreemad Bhãgvat Purãn. The other seventeen Purãns are, namely: the Brahma Purãn, Padma Purãn, Vishnu Purãn, Vãyu Purãn, Nãrad Purãn, Mãrkandey Purãn, Agney Purãn, Bhavishya Purãn, Brahma-Vaivart Purãn, Ling Purãn, Varãh Purãn, Skand Purãn, Vãman Purãn, Kurma Purãn, Matsya Purãn, Garud Purãn, and Brahmãnd Purãn. Forms a portion of the Smruti.

Rãdhã/Rãdhikã: A sevak of Shree Krishna. She eternally performs His sevã in Akshardhãm.
Rãm/Rãmchandra: An avatãr of Bhagvãn. He incarnated in the svarup of a king. Shree Rãm was the perfect human, the perfect son, the perfect husband, and the perfect king. He was exiled to the forest for fourteen years, with His wife Sitãji and His brother Lakshmanji. When Sitãji was kidnapped by the demon Rãvan, Rãm saved her with the help of Hanumãnji and Lakshmanji, and killed Rãvan.
Rãmãyan: The story of Rãm. A shãstra narrating the story of Shree Rãm Bhagvãn, which includes His 14-year exile from the throne of Ayodhyã to the forest; Sitã’s abduction by the evil demon Rãvan; Rãm’s ultimate victory over Rãvan and his armies; and the return of Rãm and Sitã to Ayodhyã. It contains principles for society through the characteristics exhibited by Rãm, Sitã, Lakshmanji, and Bharatji.
Rãmnavmi: Birthday of Shree Rãm – Chaitra sud 9. A fast if kept on this day, and it is celebrated with great festivity. Also the birthday of Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn.
rãs-leelã: The divine rãs episode of Shree Krishna with the gopis of Vraj, which is narrated in the chapters 29-33 in the tenth skandh of Shreemad Bhãgvat. Also called rãs-panch- ãdhyãyi.

Shree: 1) Name of Lakshmi. 2) Used before the names of Bhagvãn and devs to signify their high status.
Shreemad Bhãgvat: Most popular of the eighteen Purãns written by Vyãsji. It narrates the life, leelãs, and charitras of various avatãrs of Bhagvãn, particularly Shree Krishna Bhagvãn. One of the eight shãstras accepted as trustworthy by Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn.
Shrivatsa: Divine marking found on the chests of murtis of Bhagvãn and Shree Krishna, similar to a birthmark.
Sitãji: The wife of Shree Rãm. Also called Jãnki, Vaidehi, and Maithili.
Smruti: That which is remembered. The Smruti shãstras were written after remembering past events. These include the Purãns, Upanishads, Mahãbhãrat, Rãmãyan, and Shreemad Bhãgvat.
Swãminãrãyan: 1) The lord of the whole world. Creator and destroyer of everything, 2) The mantra (mahã-mantra) given by Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn to His bhaktas in when Faneni, after He became head of the sampradãy. Eventually people began to identify Shreeji Mahãrãj by this mantra and called Him Swãminãrãyan Bhagvãn. The mantra holds power greater than any other mantra. The greatness of the mantra is described in ‘Je Swãminãrãyan Nãm Leshe’ from Shree Hari-Leelãmrut.

Vaishnav: Follower of Bhagvãn’s various avatãrs, in particular Shree Krishna Bhagvãn. Relating to Vishnu.
Ved-Stuti: A portion of the Shreemad Bhãgvat (skandh ten) in which the Veds praise the glory and greatness of Bhagvãn.
Vishvarup: Literally means ‘svarup of the world’. This svarup was shown to Arjun by Shree Krishna Bhagvãn. The svarup consists of four different forms: Vãsudev, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and Sankarshan. They each have different roles and responsibilities in a brahmãnd (Virãt-Purush). Sankarshan, Aniruddha, and Pradyumna are the sagun svarups of Vãsudev Bhagvãn, and it is the strength of the upãsanã of Virãt-Purush that he becomes capable of performing the activities of creation, sustenance, and destruction. Also, as long as Virãt-Purush worships these three, his association with Mãyã – in the form of creation, sustenance, and destruction – is not broken. It is when he worships Vãsudev Bhagvãn, who is nirgun, that Virãt- Purush abandons Mãyã and becomes brahm-rup.
Vyãs: An avatãr of Bhagvãn born to Satyavati and Parãshar Rushi. Bhagvãn incarnated in the svarup of a great scholar. Vyãs made divisions in the Veds, and wrote eighteen Purãns, including Shreemad Bhãgvat.