Ayurvedic Terms
A small selection of the most commonly used Ayurvedic terms
[Comprehensive glossaries of hundreds of Ayurvedic terms are included in the two works Ayurveda Lehrbuch – Caraka-Saṃhitā-Compendium and Ayurveda Materia Medica].
- agni
- fire; the digestive fire
- ākāśa
- ether, space
- ākāśīya
- Dravyas (substances) that are dominant in ākāśa. Such substances possess the qualities of soft, subtle, smooth and light.
- āma
- 1. raw, uncooked, undigested, unripe; 2. undigested food; the product of defective digestion and metabolism; digestive toxins, wastes.
- āmadoṣa
- Disorder, disease caused by āma
- amla
- sour
- amla rasa
- the sour taste
- anuvāsana
- oily enema
- ap
- the element of water
- apāna-vāyu
- One of the 5 types of vāyu. It is responsible for urination and defecation, ejaculation, menstruation and childbirth and has its seat in the bladder, penis, navel, thighs, groin and anus.
- ariṣṭha
- Fermented herbal drink, medicinal herbal wine made with herbal decoction, jaggery or honey, spices and madhuka indica.
- aroga
- Health, “Free from disease”
- āsava
- A fermented drink made with fresh herbal juice or a cold extract of herbs; medicinal herbal wine, prepared with sultanas, jaggery or honey, spices and madhuka indica.
- asthāpana
- non-oily enema
- asthi, asthi-dhātu
- bones, bone tissue
- ātma
- the individual spiritual soul
- āyus
- life
- bhū
- the element earth, also called prithivi
- brahman, paramātma, bhagavān
- 3 aspects of the Absolute: 1. brahman – impersonal form (all-pervading spiritual energy), 2. paramātma – the Lord as Supersoul in the heart of every living being, 3. bhagavān – the Personality of God in many spiritual forms.
- briṁhana
- tissue-building; substances with tissue-building effect.
- buddhi
- intelligence, intellect
- cūrṇa
- powder
- dhātus
- Body tissue types. 7 dhātus are: 1. rasa-dhātu (essence of food, food juice; lymph; plasma), 2. rakta-dhātu (blood), 3. māṃsa-dhātu, (muscle tissue) 4. medah-dhātu (fat tissue), 5. asthi-dhātu (bone tissue), 6. majjā (bone marrow), 7. śukra-dhātu (semen)
- doṣas
- The 3 life energies, energies regulating bodily functions; principles (and substances) regulating various functions of the body: vāta, pitta, kapha. When disturbed they cause faults, i.e. diseases, and since these three can easily be disturbed by wrong diet, wrong lifestyle and external factors, they are called doṣas, which literally means “faults”.
- ghṛta
- Ghee, butterfat, clarified butter
- guṇa
- Property, characteristic. In Ayurveda, 20 guṇas, properties of substances, are mentioned: heavy – light, cold – hot, moist – dry, dull – sharp, stable – mobile, solid – liquid, coarse – fine, smooth – rough, turbid – clear and hard – soft.
- guru
- 1. heavy, 2. teacher of Vedic knowledge
- indriyārthas
- The 5 knowledge-acquiring senses: sense of smell, sense of taste, sense of sight, sense of hearing, sense of touch
- īśvara
- The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead
- jatharāgni
- the chief digestive fire
- jñāna
- knowledge
- kāla
- time; season and stage of a disease
- kālaja
- disorder caused by time
- kapha
- mucus (śleṣma); mucus regulating energy in the body.
- karma
- 1. action, work, act, activity; 2. also used in the sense of karma-phala
- karmaja
- caused by karma
- karma-phala
- “Fruits” (phala), results, outcomes, consequences of actions. When people unfamiliar with Vedic and Ayurvedic words and terminology speak of karma, they actually mean karma-phala. [By the divine law of karma, people are forced to reap the fruits of their actions whether they like it or not.]
- karmendriyas
- The 5 working senses (arms, legs, tongue, genitals, anus)
- kaṣāya
- astringent
- kaṣāya rasa
- the astringent taste
- katu
- sharp, pungent
- katu rasa
- the pungent taste
- langhana
- reducing; reducing therapy; fasting
- lavana
- salt, salty
- lavana rasa
- the salty taste
- laghu
- light
- lekhana
- tissue-reducing
- lekhanīya
- Tissue-reducing, drugs with tissue-reducing effect
- madhura
- sweet
- madhura rasa
- the sweet taste
- mahābhūtas
- 5 “great elements” – 1. earth (bhu), 2. water (ap), 3. fire (tejas), 4. air (vāyu), 5. ether/space (ākāśa)
- majjā, majja-dhātu
- bone marrow
- māṃsa, māṃsa-dhātu
- flesh, muscle tissue
- manas
- spirit, mind
- mantra
- vedic, spiritual sound vibration
- medhah-dhātu, medas
- fat tissue
- nirāma
- (disease) “free from āma”
- pañca-karma
- 5 purification therapies: Head cleansing (śirovirecana), Emesis (vamana), Purgation (virecana), Enema (oily and non-oily enema – anuvāsana, asthāpana)
- paramātma
- supersoul, the supreme soul
- pitta
- fire; fire (metabolism) regulating energy in the body.
- prāna-vāyu
- One of the 5 types of vāyu. It is localised in the head, throat, chest, tongue, mouth and nose. Its functions are sneezing, belching, spitting, breathing, digestion, etc.
- pṛthivī
- the element earth
- parthiva
- Substances that are dominant in pṛthivī. They possess the properties of heavy, hard, dense, stable, coarse and are mainly sweet in taste.
- puruṣa
- 1. the Supreme Lord, 2. the spiritual person, the indestructible, eternal living being in the body.
- rajo-(guṇa)
- Material mode of passion
- rakta, rakta-dhātu
- blood
- rasa
- 1. taste (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, tart), 2. juice, liquid, 3. essence
- rasa-dhātu
- essence of food, food juice; lymph; plasma
- rasāyana
- rejuvenation; rejuvenating; rejuvenating elixir; agent that enhances rasa-dhātu (and thus also the other dhātus)
- roga
- disease, disorder
- rūkṣana
- Making rough and dry. Medical measure to reduce corpulence or fat
- sāma
- (Disorder) “associated with āma”
- samāna-vāyu
- One of the 5 kinds of vāyu. It is located near the digestive fire and in srotas that carry sweat, doshas and fluids.
- samhitā
- treatise, book
- sattva-(guṇa)
- Material mode of purity, clarity, virtue
- sat-cit-ānanda
- existence, knowledge and bliss
- śirovirecana
- Head-cleansing (by nasya, snorting of Anu-taila and other head-cleansing drugs)
- snehana
- oiling and moistening
- srotas
- fine body channels
- stambhana
- Therapeutic measure to stop the movement of mobile substances in the body (for example, diarrhoea)
- śukra, śukra-dhātu
- seed
- svedana
- diaphoretic, diaphoretic therapy
- taila
- oil, massage oil, sesame oil
- tamo-(guṇa)
- material mode of ignorance, darkness
- tejas
- the element of fire
- taijasa
- Dravyas (substances) that are mainly dominant in tejas. Such substances are slightly sour and salty and mainly pungent. They promote digestion, metabolism, radiance and healthy complexion.
- tikta
- bitter
- tikta rasa
- the bitter taste
- triguṇa
- The three modes of material nature: sattva (purity, clarity), rajas (passion), tamas (ignorance, dullness, darkness)
- udāna-vāyu
- One of the 5 kinds of vāyu. It is located in the navel, chest and throat. It is responsible for speech, effort, energy, strength, radiance.
- vamana
- Therapy to induce vomiting for cleansing the stomach
- vatis
- tablets, pills
- vāta
- Air; wind (vāyu); element, energy in the body that regulates movement, respiration, excretion, and other functions of the body
- vāyu
- Air; Wind. There are 5 vāyus in the body: apāna, samāna, udāna, vyāna and prāna-vāyu, which perform various functions.
- veda
- knowledge, science
- vidya
- knowledge
- virecana
- Therapy to produce purgation for cleansing the small intestine
- vyāna-vāyu
- One of the 5 types of vāyu. It pervades the whole body and is responsible for movement, expansion, contraction, blinking etc.