Here are some words or concepts that are not so obvious for the reader. I always take care to stay strictly in the spirit of the Mahabharata (English* translation between 1883 and 1896 by Kisari Mohan Ganguli), and the Vishnu Purana (English* translation based on Professor H. H. Wilson's work by Manmath Nath Dutt, printed in 1896). Any sectarian interpretation has been avoided.
* Victorian English (some words and conjugations are not commonly used anymore, but are still comprehensible).
Each entry is related to a specific article (follow the links!) including some comments of the translators and many original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
CATURVYUHA : or Chatur-vyūha ("Four emanations"), is an ancient Indian religious concept initially focusing on the four earthly emanations (Vyūhas) of the Supreme deity Nārāyaṇa (or Vishnu).
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
JIVA: In Hinduism the jiva (Sanskrit: जीव, IAST: jīva) is a living being, or any entity imbued with a life force.
KD: Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
KARMA : Le karma est le reflet de nos actions antérieures qui se manifeste dans notre vie actuelle.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
MAHABHARATA: The Mahābhārata, Sanskrit: महाभारतम्, Mahābhāratam, is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
MAHAT: The Mahat (the Great One) is the first reality to emerge from Prakriti. It has a universal aspect as the source of the world, and a physical aspect as intelligence or buddhi in the living beings. It is responsible for rationality and discriminating awareness.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
MOKSHA: emancipation. Freedom from saṃsāra, the cycle of death and rebirth.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
NARAYANA: (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: Nārāyaṇa) is known as one who is in yogic slumber on the celestial waters, referring to Lord Maha Vishnu. He is also known as the "Purusha" and is considered as the Supreme being in Vaishnavism.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana..
PRAKRITI: the primal matter.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
PURANAS : The word Purana ( Sanskrit: पुराण, purāṇa) literally means "ancient, old", and it is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly myths, legends and other traditional lore.
PURUSHA : Hinduism refers to Purusha as Brahma(n), the Soul of the universe, the universal Spirit present everywhere, in everything and everyone, all the times.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
SANKHYA and YOGA philosophies (compared) : Sankhya and Yoga are two of the six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
VISHNU PURANA: The Vishnu Purana (IAST: Viṣṇu Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas*, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra* text in the Vaishnavism* literature corpus. Vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata, is credited as the compiler of the Puranas.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana.
YUGA : Yuga in Hinduism is an epoch or era within a four-age cycle. It starts with the Krita (or Satya) Yuga, followed by the Treta Yuga and the Dvapara Yuga and finally the Kali Yuga. We are currently in the Kali yuga.
KD : Notes and original extracts of the Mahabharata and of the Vishnu Purana..
