Mayasabha (Sanskrit) [from maya illusion + sabha assembly]

An assemblage of illusions; one of the wonderful gifts given to the Pandavas in the Mahabharata by Mayasura.

(See also: Mayasabha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Agneyastra (Sanskrit). The fiery missiles or weapons used by the Gods in the exoteric Puranas and the Mahabharata the magic weapons said to have been wielded by the adept-race (the fourth), the Atlanteans.

This "weapon of fire" was given by Bharadwaja to Agnivesa, the son of Agni, and by him to Drona, though the Vishnu Purana contradicts this, saying that it was given by the sage Aurva to King Sagara, his chela. They are frequently mentioned in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

(See also: Agneyastra, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Krishna: A Divine Incarnation born in India about three thousand years ago, Whose teachings to His disciple Arjuna on the eve of the Great India (Mahabharata) War comprise the Bhagavad Gita.

(See also: Krishna, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Bhagavad Gita: "The Song of God." The sacred philosophical text often called "the Hindu Bible," part of the epic Mahabharata by Vyasa; the most popular sacred text in Hinduism.

(See also: Bhagavad Gita, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Kurukshetra:

Kurukshetra: A holy pilgrimage place going back to the oldest Vedic times; close to present New Delhi in India. Place where the war, described in the Mahabharata, took place and where Krishna spoke His Gita to Arjuna.

(See also: Kurukshetra, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Pandavarani (Sanskrit) [from Pandava son of Pandu + arani figuratively mother]

Matrix or mother of the Pandavas; a title given to Kunti in the Mahabharata. Similar to surarani (matrix or mother of the gods) because surarani is used for Aditi (space).

(See also: Pandavarani, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Kurukshetra Kuruksetra (Sanskrit) The plain upon which the great battle between the Kurus and Pandavas took place, as told in the Mahabharata. Modern scholars place it in northwest India near Delhi, where there is a plain which to this day is called the Plain of Kurukshetra.

(See also: Kurukshetra, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Lokapala-sabha-varnana (Sanskrit) (from lokapala world protector + sabha assembly + varnana description)

The description of the assembling of the world protectors (or kings); one of the subsections of the Mahabharata.

(See also: Lokapala-sabha-varnana, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Kauravya (Sanskrit) King of the nagas or initiates in Patala (geographically the Americas) at least some 5000 years ago. Krishna's disciple, Arjuna, is said in the Mahabharata to have traveled to Patala and to have married Ulupi, the daughter of King Kauravya.

(See also: Kauravya, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Jahnavi (Sanskrit) Jahnu's daughter; applied to the river Ganges. In the Mahabharata, when the Ganges came from heaven it flowed over the earth and inundated the sacrificial ground of Jahnu, who drank up its waters. He consented to discharge them from his ears, and hence the river is regarded as his daughter.

(See also: Jahnavi, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Karna (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root kri to pour forth, scatter, throw out)

Radiant; a son of Kunti by Surya, the sun, before her marriage to Pandu. Therefore, Karna was a half-brother of the Pandava princes, but sided with the Kurus in the great conflict of the Mahabharata.

(See also: Karna, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Aghora (Sanskrit) (from a not + the verbal root ghur to frighten)

Nonterrifying; as a masculine noun, a title of Siva in the Mahabharata; also of a devotee of Siva and his consort Durga. As a feminine noun, the fourteenth day of the dark half of Bhadra (a rainy month in August-September) sacred to Siva.

(See also: Aghora, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Aurva (Sanskrit) A rishi, son of Urva and grandson of Bhrigu, mentioned in the Rig-Veda (8:102:4). The Mahabharata relates that Aurva was the preceptor of Sagara (whose mother he saved from the funeral pyre), on whom he bestowed the agneyastra (fiery weapon).

(See also: Aurva, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Ulupi (Sanskrit) The daughter of Kauravya, king of the nagas of Patala -- the initiates in ancient prehistoric America, according to Blavatsky. When Arjuna, the disciple of Krishna, traveled to Patala, Ulupi fell in love with the stalwart bowman and married him (cf Mahabharata).

(See also: Ulupi, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Ramayana (Sanskrit). The famous epic poem collated with the Mahabharata. It looks as if this poem was either the original of the Iliad or vice versa, except that in Ramayana the allies of Rama are monkeys, led by Hanuman, and monster birds and other animals, all of whom fight against the Rakshasas, or demons and giants of Lanka.

(See also: Ramayana, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Bhagavad-gita (Sanskrit). Lit., "the Lord’s Song". A portion of the Mahabharata, the great epic poem of India. It contains a dialogue wherein Krishna - the "Charioteer" - and Arjuna, his Chela, have a discussion upon the highest spiritual philosophy. The work is pre-eminently occult or esoteric.

(See also: Bhagavad-gita, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Tishya tisya (Sanskrit) The sixth or eighth nakshatra (asterism); also a name in the Mahabharata and Harivansa for kali yuga (the fourth age, our present age) which commenced at the death of Krishna in 3102 BC.

(See also: Tishya tisya, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Suta Gosvami

Ugrashrava, the son of Romaharshana who succeeded his father as speaker of the Puranas and epics to the sages at Naimisharanya after his father was killed by Lord Balarama. He spoke the Mahabharata, all the Puranas, and finally Srimad-Bhagavatam.

(See also: Suta Gosvami, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Janmajaya

Parikshit’s eldest son, the next emperor of the Kuru dynasty. After Parikshit died, Janamejaya heard the Mahabharata from Dvaipayana Vyasa’s disciple Vaishampayana.

(See also: Janmajaya, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Bhagavad-gita

The essential teachings on progressive spiritual life and pure devotion to the Supreme Lord spoken by the Supreme Lord Himself, Krishna, to His friend Arjuna at Kurukshetra in the last moments before the great battle. Vyasadeva included the Bhagavad-gita in the Bhishma-parva of the Mahabharata.

(See also: Bhagavad-gita, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Arjuna:

Arjuna ("White"): one of the five Pandava princes who fought in the great war depicted in the Mahabharata, disciple of the God-man Krishna whose teachings can be found in the Bhagavad Gita

(See also: Arjuna, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Bhagvad Gita:

a part of the famous Hindu epic 'Mahabharata'. Teachings of Lord Krishna to his disciple Arjuna at the commencement of the battle of Kurukshetra, with explanations on sannyasa yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and jnana yoga.

(See also: Bhagvad Gita, Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)