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Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

Raga - a deep attachment which is permeated by spontaneous and intense absorption in the object of one’s affection. The primary characteristic of raga is a deep and overpowering thirst for the object of one’s affection. The desire for water is called thirst. When the body is deprived of water, thirst arises. The greater the thirst, the greater the longing for water. When this thirst reaches the point that without water one can no longer maintain the body, it is known as an overpowering thirst. Similarly, when the loving thirst to please the object of one’s affection becomes so intense that in the absence of such service one is on the verge of giving up his life, it is known as raga.
Raga-marga - the path of raga, or spontaneous attachment; see raganuga.
Ragamayi bhakti - bhakti which is permeated with raga, or spontaneous affection. Ragamayi bhakti is not within sadhana. It refers to the stage after prema has arisen. In the beginning, there is prema, which then develops into sneha, mana, pranaya, raga, anuraga, bhava and mahabhava. When prema attains the state of raga it is called ragamayi. It comes after one takes his birth in the womb of a gopi and attains the association of Krsna’s ragatmika-bhaktas. By that association, first prema will come and then it will gradually evolve to the stage of raga and on up to mahabhava. The word trsna used here means ‘thirst’ to drink Krsna, His form (rupa), taste (rasa), smell (gandha), sound (sabda) and touch (sparsa). The word premamayi is a general term that can indicate the stage of prema anywhere in its development from the stage of sneha right up to the stage of mahabhava.
Raganuga-bhakti - bhakti which follows in the wake of the ragatmika nature present in the hearts of the Lord’s eternal associates in Vraja is known as raganuga-bhakti.
Raganuga-prakrti - nature which impels one to follow the soul’s spontaneous attraction toward Krsna. When the intelligence is liberated from the bondage of maya, human nature no longer needs to be governed by rules and prohibitions; rather, it is prompted by spontaneous love. The raganuga nature is the unadulterated nature of the jiva. It is svabhava-siddha (the perfected state of the self), cinmiaya (transcendental), and jasa-mukta (free from bondage to dull matter).
Raganuga-sadhana - Sri Rupa Gosvami’s conclusions regarding the method for performing raganuga-bhajana are stated in Bhaktirasamrta-sindhu (1.2.294-296) as follows: “One should constantly remember one’s dearest nava-kisora Sri Nanda-nandana and the beloved associates of Krsna who are possessed of sajatiya-bhava or the identical mood for which one aspires. One should always reside in Sri Vraja-dhama with great attachment for hearing topics regarding Krsna and His devotees. If one is physically unable to live in Vraja, one should do so mentally. This is the method of raganuga-bhakti-sadhana.” Sri Rupa Gosvami continues: “A sadhaka who has lobha for raganuga-bhakti should serve Sri Krsna both in the sadhaka-rupa and the siddha-rupa in accordance with the bhava of the Vrajaparikaras who possess the same mood for which he aspires. The angas of bhakti such as sravana, kirtana, sri guru-padasraya, and others in regard to vaidhi-bhakti, are also useful and necessary in raganuga-bhakti. But judicious sadhakas will adopt only those angas which nourish their specific bhava, avoiding those which hamper it.”
Examples of the angas of bhakti in regard to raganuga-sadhana are as follows: sravanam in madhura-rasa means that one will hear how a maidservant serves Lalita, Visakha, Radha and Krsna. Kirtana means that one will learn how to do pati-vancanam, that is speaking sweet words to the husband in order to cheat him and go to participate in the lila of Radha and Krsna. Smaranam means to remember how Lalita and Visakha are rendering service to Srimati Radharani. Pada-sevanam means to take Srimati Radharani to meet with Krsna at night. Arcanam is done with the corner of the eyes. When Krsna is returning from the cow-pastures with the cowherd boys and the cows, all the gopis are standing at their doorsteps doing arcana with the corner of their eyes. Everything is there; the flame is there, water is there, sneha, mana, pranaya and everything else is there. Krsna also accepts their worship with the corner of His eyes. This is called arcana. Atma-nivedanam means gopijana-vallabhaya svaha: “I am the maidservant of Radha and Krsna, and I am offering my entire being to Them.”
Ragatmika - one in whose heart there naturally and eternally exists a deep spontaneous desire to love and serve Sri Krsna; one whose bhakti is permeated with raga. This specifically refers to the eternal residents of Vraja, who are attracted to Sri Krsna in a mood of intimate love, free from any conception of the Lord’s opulence or majesty (aisvarya-jnana).
Rajas - (See rajo-guna).
Rajasika - of the nature of rajo-guna.
Rajo-guna - the quality or nature of living beings which is characterised by intense activity and passion.
Rama-navami - the appearance day of Sri Rama which occurs on the ninth day of the light lunar fortnight of the month of Caitra (March-April).
Ranjakata - in chapter twenty-one ranjakata is used to mean attraction. The special implication is that a person’s heart becomes ‘colored’, or dyed very thoroughly by an object due to his strong attachment for it. That is the state of raga. When the person sees the beautiful object, his vision at once becomes drawn to it, and his heart becomes colored. Then, even if the beautiful object goes out of his sight, still his heart continues to perceive it everywhere. The coloring of the heart is called ranjakata and the strong attachment that is established in the heart when the consciousness becomes dyed in this way is known as raga.
Rasa - (1) the spiritual transformation of the heart which takes place when the perfectional state of love for Krsna, known as rati, is converted into liquid emotions by combination with various types of transcendental ecstasies. In Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (2.1.5) bhakti-rasa is defined: “When the sthayibhava, or the permanent emotion of the heart in one of the five primary relationships of neutrality, servitude, friendship, parental affection, or conjugal love, mixes with vibhava, anubhava, sattvika-bhava, and vyabhicaribhava, thus producing an extraordinary taste in the heart of the bhakta, it is called bhakti-rasa.”
The explanation of bhakti as rasa is the unique contribution of Srila Rupa Gosvami. The common view is that rasa applies to the emotional experience of poetry or drama. This theory of rasa originated from the natya-sastra of Bharata Muni, a famous work on Sanskrit poetics and drama. Rupa Gosvami’s explanation of how rasa is generated is exactly in accordance with Bharata Muni’s definition; yet he has explained the experience of rasa in terms of bhakti, or love for Krsna. Thus, there is both a transcendental and secular conception of rasa. (2) the state of aesthetic consciousness.
Rasaraja - the emperor of rasa; one who is supreme in relishing the mellows of rasa; this is a name for Sri Krsna who is akhila-rasamrtamurti, the embodiment of the essence of all rasa.
Rasika-bhakta - one who is able to relish bhakti-rasa within his heart. At the stage of bhava, a bhakta’s heart becomes infused with suddha-sattva from the heart of one of Krsna’s eternal associates in Vraja. This suddha-sattva is then known as krsna-rati, the first dawning of divine love. When this permanent sentiment of love combines with other ecstatic emotions, it generates the unique experience of bhakti-rasa. One who is eligible to taste this rasa is known as a rasika-bhakta.
Rati - (1) attachment, fondness for. (2) a stage in the development of bhakti which is synonymous with bhava (see bhava-bhakti).
Riramsa - means the desire to taste Krsna for one’s own enjoyment, not for Krsna’s pleasure. If that riramsa is to please Krsna, then it comes in the category of kama and prema. Riramsa should be present in kamanuga, whether it is tat-tad-bhava-icchamayi or sambhogaicchamayi; riramsa is present in both. Riramsa is present in tad-tadbhava-icchamayi, but it is tasted when the gopis and Krsna meet together. And in sambhoga-icchamayi, the gopis are meeting with Krsna in order to please Him. Riramsa is also present in Kubja, but only to satisfy herself. Riramsa is not for one’s personal enjoyment in sambhoga-icchamayi and tat-tad-bhava-icchamayi.
If one has this riramsa toward Krsna and is practicing strictly according to vaidhi-bhakti then he will attain to the class of Krsna’s queens in Dvaraka. In vaidhi-bhakti one worships Laksmi-Narayana. Sadhakas who have riramsa towards Krsna will attain Krsna, but their kama will be of the nature of Dvaraka, so they will follow the mahisis (queens). Vaidhi means to be married by sastravidhi. In the vaidhi-bhava, one desires to have Krsna as one’s husband. One may desire the Krsna of Vraja, but there is no marriage in Vraja. Therefore, one cannot obtain Vraja bhava; instead, one will attain Dvaraka.
Rsi - a great sage learned in the Vedas.
Ruci - taste. This is the fifth stage in the development of the creeper of bhakti. Ruci develops after one has acquired steadiness in bhajana. At this stage, with the awakening of actual taste, one’s attraction to spiritual matters, such as hearing, chanting, and other such devotional practices, exceeds one’s attraction to any type of material activity.
Ruh - an Islamic term for the soul.
Ruh-mujarrad - an Islamic term for the liberated soul.