stu ̄pa dome-like mound which is an aniconic representation of the Buddha.
s ́u ̄ dra member of the fourth or servile class.
sunna normative traditions regarding the words and actions of Muh.ammad
(see also h.adı ̄th).
s ́u ̄ nyata ̄ (shunyata) emptiness, voidness; Maha ̄ya ̄na Buddhist term,
especially important in Na ̄ga ̄rjuna’s philosophy.
su ̄ tra compilation of aphorisms and/or couplets, often in poetic language;
literally, “thread” or “string.”
svabha ̄va having being or existence on one’s own.
svaru ̄pa having its own form.
svayambhu self-existent, independent, as an icon which appears of its own
accord.
s ́veta ̄ mbara (shvet-ambara)“white-clad” Jain ascetics (see also: digambara).
ta ̄la ̄ meter or beat of music.
ta ̄ lapura ̄na stories/myths about specific temples or places; especially
developed during the twelfth to fifteenth centuries in South India.
ta ̄li a saffron-dyed string placed around the neck as part of the wedding
ritual.
tamas one of the three strands/qualities (gun.as) of which the universe is
comprised (see also: sattva,rajas).
tantra name given to oral, then written, texts in which the human body is
homologized to the cosmos; used for personal bhakti.
tantri an adherent of tantra.
tapas heat generated through ascetic practices; homologized to heat of the
Vedic sacrificial fire and its messenger (Agni) to the gods.
tat.alai (T) “head and foot”; the activity in which a devotee places his/her
head to the foot of a guru/deity.
tatha ̄ gata the “thus-gone-one” (namely, the Buddha).
tatha ̄ gatagarbha “the womb of the thus-gone-one”; Buddhist teaching that
the essence of the Buddha lives on in all human beings.
tat tvam asi “that thou art”; saying in Cha ̄ndogya Upanis.adthat refers to the
realization of one’sa ̄tmanas being of the same essence as the cosmic
brahman.
tejas majesty, glory, prestige.
tı ̄ka ̄ argument/apologetic in which one viewpoint (dars ́ana) is defended
over and against another view.
tı ̄rtha crossing place; sacred place.
tı ̄rthan.kara in Jainism, “one who has crossed the ford”; that is, one of twenty-
four in a line of “heroes/leaders” who have “crossed over” from this world
to one characterized by pure “jı ̄vic” existence (see also: jı ̄vaandajı ̄va).
tithi lunar day.
trata ̄ra “he who presides over all kings.”
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