Glossary
areca—a variety of palm
ashram—hermitage
asthra—weapon, missile or arrow
powered by supernatural forces
asura—a demon
Brahma Rishi—an enlightened
sage
dharba—a stiff grass generally
collected for ritual purposes
durbar—court
Gandharva—a supernatural
being
mantra—syllables with magic
potency
margosa—a shade tree whose leaves
are bitter
Maya—illusion
musth—a secretion on the forehead
of an elephant during mating season
Pushya—a star
rakshasa—a demon
sadhu—a recluse or saint
sanyasi—an ascetic
shastra—scriptures
simsupa—a tree
vanji—a rare flowering creeper,
which blooms once in twelve years
veena—a stringed musical
instrument
yagna—a sacrifice
yaksha—a demigod
yojana—a measure of distance,
usually of about 5 miles