The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

'4 GLOSSARY
Sathsdra. The unending cycle of life and rebirth.
Sahghdrdma. Buddhist monastery.
Sannyastn. A Hindu religious mendicant.
Santhaghdra. Village assembly hall in the form of a
flat-roofed edifice without walls.
Sdstra. A text or manual devoted to the rules and
principles of a craft, i.e. architecture, painting, or
sculpture.
Sikhara. Spire, tower. Typical form of Indo-Aryan
architecture.
Silpa sdstra. Manual of architecture, etc.
Silpin. Craftsman.
Simhdsana. Lion throne.
Siva. The third member of the Hindu Trinity, emblematic
both of destruction and procreative power.
Stambha. Pillar.
Stupa. Buddhist relic mound.
Stupika. The topmost portion of a South Indian
shrine, usually including both the kalasa or pot and
the vertical finial above it.
Suet. Needle, cross bar of a vedika.
Sudra. The serf class in Hinduism.
Sutra. Sacred text, usually one attributed to the
Buddha himself.
Sutradhdra. Architect or carpenter.
Tdndaia. Siva's dance in the cemeteries and burninggrounds,
emblematic of his cosmic function of
creation and destruction.
Tahka. A Tibetan banner or sacred picture.
Tapas. The generation of concentrated energy by the
gods for creation. In yogic practice the exercise of
ascetic will power so concentrated that it dissolves or
melts all resistance to lift the human to the divine or
cosmic level.
Thalam. A palm, or the distance from brow to chin,
used in systems of proportion for determining the
height of Indian images.
Tirthamkdra. One of the twenty-four Jain sages or
patriarchs who attained perfection in
of time.
earlier cycles
Torana. Gate of the enclosure of a Buddhist stupa.
Tribhanga. Pose of the three bends in the dance and in
art.
Trikdya. Doctrine of the three bodies of the Buddha
in Mahayana Buddhism.
Trimala. The three superimposed rings of masonry at
the base of a Singhalese dagaba.
Trimurti. Having three forms or shapes, as Brahma,
Visnu, and Siva. Sometimes applied to the triune
aspect of Siva Mahesa.
Trxratna. Trident symbol of the three jewels: the
Buddha, the Law, and the Order.
Trisula. Trident emblem of Siva.
Urnd. Whorl of hair on the brow of the Buddha.
Urusrnga. The small turrets clustered on the successive
levels of a sikhara and duplicating its shape in
miniature.
Usnisa. Protuberance on head of the Buddha emblematic
of his more than mortal knowledge and
consciousness.
Vais'ya. The cultivator caste in Hinduism.
Vajra. Diamond, thunderbolt. Destroying but indestructible
emblem of Buddhist and Hindu deities.
Vajradhdtu Mandala. In esoteric Buddhism, the
magic diagram of the Spiritual World.
Vajrdsana. Adamantine throne of the Great Enlightenment.
Veda. Term applied to the four religious books containing
the sacred knowledge for the performance of
Brahmanic priestly ritual. The most famous of these
works, composed in the first millennium B.C., is the
Rig Veda.
Vedika. Railing or fence of a sacred enclosure, such as
the Buddhist stupa.
Vesara. Type of temple characteristic of Central India
in the form of a Buddhist chaitya-hall.
Vihdra. A Buddhist monastery.
Vimdna. Term applied to a temple as a whole, comprising
the sanctuary and attached porches.
Visnu ( Vishnu). The Preserver, second member of the
Hindu Trinity.
Wdhalkada. Frontispiece or platform attached to
Singhalese stupa or dagaba.
Yajna. Sacrifice.
Yaksha and Yakshi. Dravidian nature spirits associated
with fertility.
Yd lis.
Fantastic monsters made up of parts of lion,
horse, and elephant.
Yasti. Mast or pole of Buddhist stupa.
Yoga. Communication with universal spirit by practice
of ecstatic meditation.
Yupa. Sacrificial post.