Mohenjo-Daro: Best preserved site in Indus Valley
Trefoil: Three-lobed
Veds: Body of sacred writings that took shape over these years
Upanishads: Metaphysical texts which examine the meaning of earlier Vedic hymns
Atman: Individual soul
Brahman: Universal soul
Samsara: Relentless cycles of birth, life, death, and rebirth
Buddha: "Enlightened One"; formed basis of Buddhist religion
Mahhavira: Founder of Jain religion
Pathfinder: Highly purified super-human beings
Dharma: Divinely ordained moral law believed to keep world from falling into chaos
Yakshi: female spirit associated with the productive forces of nature
Yakshas: Male counter part of yakshi
Ashokan Pillar: Monuments dedicated to Buddha, built by Ashoka
Axis Mundi: Axis of the world, joins the earth with the cosmos
Abacus: Slab forming the top of capital
Chakras: One of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body
Stupas: Religion monument enclosing a relic chamber
Dressed stone: Highly finished cut block of stone
Toranas: Stone gateways
Nirvana: Liberation from rebirth
Mandala: Diagram of the great cosmos
Viharas: Buddhist monastery
Mandapas: Halls
Garbhagriha: Houses an image of the temple deity; has a flat stone ceiling and windowless walls
Shikharas: Towers on stupas designed in the north
Amlakas: Crown shikharas; circular, cushion-like element
Vimanas: Towers on stupas designed in the south
Capstones: Crown vimanas
Chaitya: Meaning "sacred" usually an enshrined stupa
Sun window: Horse-shoe shaped window
Chaitya window: see sun window
Mithuna couples: Amorous male and female figures that evoka harmony and fertility of life
Mahayana: Result of the evolution that Buddhism went through during the Kushan perion
Iconography: Basic visual language
Sanghati: Monks robes
Lakshana: Two distinguishing marks on the Buddha
Urna: Tuft of white hair between eyebrows
Ushnisha: But or topknot
Mudras: Type of sign language used to get certain messages in art
Bodhisattva: Enlightened beings who postpone nirvana to help others achieve enlightenment
Finial: Sculpted ornament in the shape of a leaf or flower at the top of a gable, pinnacle, or similar structure
Lingham Shrine: A place of worship centered on an object or representation in the form of a phallus, which symbolizes the power of Shiva
Shakti: Divine energy understood as feminine
Bhakti: Devotional
Bkagavad Gita: Sanskrit text xomposed of 700 verse from the Mahabharata
