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Sâmkhya : one of the six philosophical systems which follows and recognizes the pre-eminence of the Veda teachings in hinduism. Sâmkhya is the former one and had been composed during the Buddha life period. The Sâmkhya does not postulate the existence of any God; according to this system, the World is made of two separate entities : the Consciousness (Purusha), of passive (non active) nature, and the Matter (Prakriti), of dynamic nature. When both entities interact with each other, they produce the phenomenon world (Manifestation). Prakriti is characterized by its potential functions : rajas, tamas, sattwa

Samsâra : the world as it is conceived in hinduism and buddhism, i.e. a fluctuating whole of impermanent events. The most usual meaning of samsâra names the endless cycle of births, lives and deaths that all the living beings have to experiment, according to the karma they have accumulated in previous lives

Sanskrit : language generally believed to be of Indo-Aryan origin. From its origin, the sanskrit has progressively complexified its structure to express most accurate and subtle concepts on philosophy, religion and metaphysics in ancient sacred texts (Veda, Upanishad, etc.)

Saptamâtrikâ : the divine Seven Mothers (mâtrikâ) have the following names : Brâhmî, Mâheshvarî, Kaumârî,Vaisnavi, Vârâhî, Indranî, Châmundâ

Sarasvatî : goddess of arts and literature. As goddess of parole, Sarasvatî is called Vak Devi. She is the Brahmâ's Shakti. She is usually represented as a beautiful sitting woman, holding in hands a mâlâ, a book and She plays vînâ. Sarasvatî is also a mythical river, whose existence in ancient times has been scientifically proved. The myth associates Sarasvatî with Gangâ and Yamunâ

Sat-Chit-Ananda : sanskrit word which designates Universe as the substratum of Beingness (Sat), Consciousness (Chit) and unutterable Experience (Ananda). For Shankarâchârya, this concept is similar to the Brahman concept

Sattwa : one of the three Guna. For Shri Aurobindo, sattwa is the usual state of light, the balanced force qualitatively expressed in good, harmony, happiness and light

Serpentine : soft stone of dark olive-green color, used to carve small statues in Orissa; one also uses the same word to name a hard light yellow colored stone, used for the making of small statues, often painted

Shakti : female counterpart of a god. Actually, the Shakti is the creation power of a god, his personified energy, without whom He is unable to act. The most important Shakti are the Brahmâ's (Sarasvatî), the Vishnu's (Lakshmî) and the Shiva's (Pârvatî). But they have many other names, according to their mood : benevolent (Pârvatî, Umâ), or awful (Durgâ, Kâlî)... The relationship between the Shakti and the Goddess Mothers of the mediterranean civilizations is obvious, according to some scholars. Shakti worship is widely spread all over India and its temples are visited by innumerable pilgrims

Shakti Pîtha : one of the many (several dozens, different figures are indicated in different sources) holy places where the dismembered body of Goddess Satî, the first spouse of God Shiva, felt down on Earth
Shala : monolithic temple in the form of a hall opening by a porch, with a ship bottom-like roof. This temple type can be seen in Mahabalipuram, for instance

Shani : Saturn, one of the nine Planets, considered as the Navagraha goddesses; Shani holds a trident, a bow and a spear; He is son of Sun (Surya). Usual in all the Tamil Nadu temples, the Planets worship takes a great daily importance. Nine circumambulations are requested around the pedestal where the Graha mûrti (statues) stay, as well as a nine lamps offering

Shankha : sea conch, an usual Vishnu emblem

Shankarâchârya : a mystic 8 th centuried philosopher, born in Kerala in a Nambutiri Brahmane family. Endowed with an unsurpassed mind, he deepened and diffused the "advaita" doctrine of the Vedanta. Advaita means "One without a second one"; this vision (darshana) of the Ultimate Reality is based upon the Maya concept. Maya is the power of illusion which distorts the Reality. Shankarâchârya travelled throughout the whole country, founded many monasteries, and the major monastic orders. He wrote most important texts who were commented latter by a lot of scholars

Shastra : word which designates non-religious ancient texts, although they were written in Sanskrit; they are mainly related to philosophy

Shekavatî : Râjasthân north-western part (north-west of Jaipur), famous for its haveli, 19 th and 20 th-centuried painted mansions which belonged to rich merchants. The main city in this region is Mandawa

Shesha : celestial serpent. Between two cycles of the Manifested World, Vishnu is lying, deeply asleep, on Shesha's body. Very beautiful representations of this famous myth can be admired in Buddhanilkantha (Nepal), Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Badami (Karnataka) where Vishnu is sitting, etc.

Shikhara : pyramidal-shaped tower, with curved or straight corners. The shikhara is located above the temple garbhagriha in the northern temple style (Nagara style). Must be compared with vimâna and deul. The vimâna is a pyramidal-shaped tower above the sanctuary of a dravidian-style temple in south India. The deul is, in Orissa, the local name of the shikhara : generaly built on a square frame, it has curved corners

Shaiva : Shiva worshipper. Some of them are rambling saddhus (ascetics). Being often naked, they hold a trident and have long hair, sometimes matted (jata); they cover themselves with sacrificial ashes (vibhuti). More usually, Shaiva people may be identified thanks to three horizontal bands of ashes (or sandal paste), that they put on their forehead; this is the tripundraka, also worn by Shiva. These bands represent the three elements which compose the sound OM

Shiva : one generally states that Shiva is the principle of destruction. But He is also the Creator since the Universe is a permanent cycle of creation-destruction. Shiva assumes several roles : Shiva is the perfect ascetic, the model for all those who renounce to the mundane life. Shiva is the Power of Creation worshipped everywhere as the symbolic form of the lingam. Al last, Shiva, as the Shiva Nâtarâja , is the divine dancer whose movements create and destroy worlds

Shiva Nâtarâja : Shiva as King (Râja) of the cosmic dance. His fully dynamic dance enters within a halo of flames (prabhamandala). His left foot is raised. In His right hand, He holds a damaru, small two-sided drum which helps Him to punctuate the rhythm of world destruction. Another hand holds a flame, symbol of Knowledge. One more hand shows the position (mudra) of "lack of fear" (abhaya), while the last hand is flexibly turned to the raised foot. The foot on the ground tramples down on Apasmara, the Dwarf of Epilepsy, a symbol of the ignorance (avidya) which links to the apparent world. The God face is calm and His look is turned inward. His head-dress is a closely matted chignon (jata-mukuta), adorned with the Moon crescent. Ganges River flows (goddess Gangâ is sometimes represented in Shiva's hair) from both sides of His head

Shiva Natesha : a synonym word for Nâtarâja

Shiva Tandava : the Destructive Shiva dancing form. Destruction cannot be avoided and even is necessary. Without destruction, Creation cannot happen, according to the cosmological hindu conception. Shiva is the God of yogi since, at the human (let's say microcosmic) level, the destruction of our desires and attachments is a requisite condition to re-birth on higher levels able to lead us to higher knowledge i.e. moksha, liberation

Siddhi : power, success; this term is usually understood in an esoteric sense (for instance, some Yoga practices develop "powers")

Skanda : Shiva's son, therefore Ganesh's brother, Skanda was born from a direct (i.e. without any female contribution) semen spurt of His father, falling on Earth. Besides, His name means "Sperm spurt". Also called, Kârtikeya ("Son of the Pleiads" - a group of stars), Subrahmânya ("Dear to Brahmin people", South India), Kumâra ("The Teenager"), Murugan ("The Boy", South India du Sud), etc.; The Mahâbhârata mentions 31 Skanda names

Smarta : usual ritual of the Pañcha-Devata (Five main Deities)

Steatite : soft stone called soap stone

Stûpa : typically buddhist commemorative monument. Its hemispheric shape is put on a square basis. A stupa is a solid form but it contains sometimes sacred relics. The top is made of several levels of parasols fixed on a pole. One finds important stupas in Sri Lankâ (where they are called dagoba), in Nepal (Swayambûnâth and Bodnâth near Kathmandu), in Indonesia (Borobudur, Java), and, of course, in India (Sanchi, Sarnath, Bodhgayâ)

Sûrya : deity of Sun; according to a common opinion, Sûrya would have a Persian origin. He is often represented wearing horseman boots. He travels through the sky on His chariot pulled by seven horses, and conducted by Aruna, the coachman. The worldwide famous Konarak temple (Orissa) is dedicated to Sûrya

Sushumna : the most important Nadi, which carries the pure vital energy (prana). The sushumna nadi (channel) is generally not working in man who has not balanced the energies of tamas and râjas which respectively flow through the Ida Nadi and Pingala Nadi

Svastika : cross of which ends are right-turned, the swastika is the representation of the solar chariot. It's a beneficial symbol known thousands years ago. Swastika is often drawn on house outer walls. Its malevolent use as "croix gammée" by the Nazis made unfortunately the swastika impopular in Europe

Svayambû-mûrti : "born from Himself"; this term names certain highly praised and worshipped god mûrti (statues). These are believed to bring great powers. Most often, the svayambû-mûrti are lingam, but some Ganesh, for instance, are svayambû-mûrti too

Svetâmbara : "Those who wear white cloths". In the Jain religion, there are two branches : the "svetâmbara", who are most numerous, and the "dîgambara" ("Those who are dressed with sky"), that is to say naked, who follow a very ascetic path

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