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Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

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Daivi-maya - the divine potency of Krsna which acts in the material world to bewilder the living entities who are seeking material enjoyment separate from their eternal and natural relationship with Krsna. This external potency consists of the three qualities of nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance.
Damaru - a drum played by Lord Siva; a small two-headed drum shaped like an hour-glass which, held in one hand, is played by twisting one’s wrist. The swinging actions causes a ball at the end of each of two strings which are attached to the drum to hit the drum ends at each turn.
Dansavat-pranama - prostrated obeisances; literally, falling like a danda (stick) to offer obeisances.
Darsana - seeing, meeting, visiting with, beholding. This word is used primarily in reference to beholding the Deity or advanced bhaktas. Darsana also means doctrine or philosophical system, as in vedanta-darsana.
Dasa - a servant; a servant of Krsna.
Dasa - state, condition; disposition; phase, stage.
Dasa-mula - ‘ten-roots’. In the Ayur-veda, the science of herbal medicine, there are ten roots which, when combined together produce a tonic which sustains life and counteracts disease. Similarly, there are ten ontological principles. When these are properly understood and realized, they destroy the disease of material existence and give life to the soul. The first of these principles is known as pramana, the evidence which establishes the existence of the fundamental truths. The other nine principles are known as prameya, the truths which are to be established. The pramana refers to the Vedic literature and in particular to the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Bhagavatam is the essence of all the Vedas; it reveals the most intimate loving feature of the Lord‚ as well as the soul’s potential to unite with the Lord and His eternal associates in their play of divine loving exchange. Of the nine prameyas, the first seven relate to sambandha-jnana, knowledge of the interrelationship between Sri Bhagavan, His energies, and the living beings, both conditioned and liberated. The eighth prameya relates to abhidheya-jnana, knowledge of the means by which the living entity can become established in an eternal loving relationship with Him. The ninth prameya relates to prayojana, the ultimate goal to be attained by pursuit of the transcendental path. That goal is known as krsna-prema, and it takes on infinite varieties when manifest in the different bhaktas possessing variegated moods of divine love.
Dasi - a female maidservant of Krsna or Srimati Radhika.
Dasya - (1) the second of the five primary relationships with the Lord which is established in the stages of bhava or prema; love or attraction to Krsna which is expressed in the mood of a servant. (2) in this world the general relationship of practicing bhaktas toward Him is known as krsna-dasya or bhagavad-dasya. This means simply to recognize that one’s true identity is to be a servant of Krsna.
Dasyam - one of the angas of sadhana-bhakti; to render service with the pure egoism of being a servant of Krsna. Only when one renders service with this attitude, giving up false conceptions of the self, can one’s bhajana practices attain perfection. According to Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.183) there are two kinds of dasya: in its beginning form, dasya means to offer all of one’s activities to Sri Bhagavan, and in its mature stage, dasya means to render all kinds of services to Him with the feeling that ‘I am a servant of Sri Krsna, and He is my master.’ This attitude is called kainkarya. Dasyam is one of the nine primary angas of bhakti.
Deva-bhasa - ‘the language of the gods’, the language spoken in the celestial planets; Sanskrit.
Devas - celestial deities; beings situated in the celestial planets who are endowed with great piety, tremendous lifespans, and superior mental and physical prowess. They are entrusted with specific powers for the purpose of universal administration.
Devatas - same as devas.
Devi-bhagavata and Devi-gita -  are two books that the saktas promote as proving that Devi is the supreme personality. However, the great acaryas and later scholars have not accepted them as authoritative.
Dhama - a holy place of pilgrimage; the abode of the Lord where He appears and enacts His transcendental pastimes.
Dharma - from the verbal root dhr meaning ‘to sustain’; lit. that which sustains; 1) the natural, characteristic function of a thing; that which cannot be separated from its nature; 2) religion in general. 3) the socio-religious duties prescribed in sastra for different classes of persons in the varnasrama system; one’s fixed occupation in relation to the highest ideals known to man. Dharma is aspired for by persons who not only desire enjoyment in this world, but who hanker for something more, like Svarga. For this it is necessary to follow the religious codes outlined in sastra. By following the religious duties prescribed according to varnasrama, one can enjoy happiness in this life and attain Svarga. The performance of dharmika duties is foremost for such people, and therefore their purusartha (goal of life) is known as dharma.There are many types of dharma. Stri-dharma (a woman’s dharma) refers to the duties, behaviour etc., that sustain the proper nature of a woman. Similarly, dharmas such as purusa-dharma, brahmana-dharma, sudra-dharma; and sannyasa-dharma, are described in dharma-sastras. Ultimately, however, dharma means the natural attraction of the part for the whole, the jiva for Krsna. All of these other dharmas are only related to this temporary body, therefore, in the midst of performing them, one must cultivate atma-dharma, the soul’s eternal occupation as servant of Krsna, so that one can reach the point, either now or tomorrow, of sarva-dharman parityajya, giving up all secondary dharmas and taking full shelter of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna.
Dharma-sastra - religious sastras, such as Manu-samhita, delineating the codes of behavior for human beings.
Dharma-visaya - the object of the soul’s spiritual function; the object of prema; Sri Krsna.
Diksa - receiving initiation from a spiritual master. In the Bhaktisandarbha (Anuccheda 283) Jiva Gosvami has defined diksa as follows: divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sanksayam tasmad dikseti sa prokta desikais tattva-kovikaih - “Learned exponents of the Absolute Truth declare that the process by which the spiritual master imparts divya-jnana to the disciple and eradicates all sins is known as diksa.” He then explains divya-jnana, or divine knowledge: divyam jnanam hy atra srimati mantre bhagavat svarupajnanam tena bhagavata-sambandha-visesa-jnanam ca - “Divya-jnana is transcendental knowledge of the Lord’s form and one’s specific relationship with the Lord contained within a mantra.” This means at the time of intiation, the guru gives the disciple a mantra which, in course of time, reveals the particular form of the Lord who is the object of one’s worship and the bhakta’s specific relationship with the Lord in one of the relationships of dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, or madhurya.
Diksa-guru - initiating spiritual master. One who gives a mantra in accordance with the regulations of sastra to a qualified candidate for the purpose of worshiping Sri Bhagavan and realizing Him through that mantra is known as a diksa or mantra-guru.
Diksa-mantra - the mantras given by the guru at the time of initiation. These mantras include the maha-mantra, brahma-gayatri, gurumantra, guru-gayatri, gaura-mantra, gaura-gayatri, gopala-mantra, and kama-gayatri. The guru’s internal mood of service to Radha and Krsna is transmitted through the medium of these mantras. This is indicated in the following sloka from Bhakti-sandarbha (Anuccheda 237): yo mantram sa gurum saksat yo guru sa hari svayam gurur yasya bhavet tustas tasya tusto harim svayam - “The mantra (which is given by the guru) is itself the guru, and the guru is directly the Supreme Lord Hari. He with whom the spiritual master is pleased also obtains the pleasure of Sri Hari Himself.” These mantras are invested with divya-jnana, or transcendental knowledge of Krsna’s form and one’s specific relationship with Him (see also diksa and mantra).
Divya-nama - the transcendental name of Sri Krsna.
Divya-lila - transcendental pastimes.
Dravya - objects such as a table, a chair, and so on.
Drsha-niscaya - firm determination or resolve.
Dhrstata - a state of being reckless, bold or courageous. In chapter twenty-one it is refering to those gopis who have left their husbands and sons, and have abandoned all the rules and regulations of varnasrama-dharma. The Dvaraka queens do not want to leave all these things; they want to follow their husbands, and the rules and regulations of varnasrama-dharma. That is why it is said here that they give up the quality of dhrstata and serve Krsna just like a housewife. Those who have left all these things and who have the quality of dhrstata are called sakhis
Durjati - degraded birth or caste.
Durjati-dosa - the defect of a degraded birth; the defect of having taken birth in a sinful or outcaste family. Such a defect is due to prarabdha-karma.
Duskrti - impious or sinful deeds.
Dvija - anyone among the brahmanas, ksatriyas, or vaisyas who has received a ‘second birth’ through the upanayana-samskara of being invested with the sacred thread, which prepares one for studying the Vedas.

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