The Wrestler’s Body "glossary"

Glossary

ACHĀR,: spiced vegetable pickle.
ADITI,: mother of the gods; earth.
ĀDITYA,: sun; son of the earth.
AGNI,: fire; god of fire associated with energy on ritual occasions.
AHIMSĀ,: non-violence.
AHIR,: caste group whose traditional occupation is herding and dairying; synonymous with the label Yadav.
AKHĀṚĀ,: any association organized for the practice of a specific art or hobby, most often used to designate a wrestling gymnasium.
AMRIT,: elixir.
ĀNAND,: satisfaction, peace, contentment.
APARIGRAHA,: self-sufficient, independent.
ĀRTĪ PŪJĀ,: ritual performed with fire, usually at a designated time.
ĀSAN,: yogic exercises.
ĀSHRAM,: monastery or hermitage.
ASATYA,: falsehood; a lie.
ĀTMĀ,: soul.
ĀYURVEDA,: science of Hindu medicine (Ayurvedic).
BĀBĀ (BĀBĀ JĪ),: title of friendly respect used to refer to a sadhu or holy man.
BAGAL DUBBĀ,: wrestling move.
BAJRANG,: title given to Hanuman meaning “stout” or “strong.”
BAL,: physical strength, brute force.
BĀN,: pair-exercise done by pushing against a partner’s arms.
BANĀRSĪ,: person from Banaras or a characteristic trait or fashion of the people from Banaras.
BANYAN,: tree (Ficus indica) that puts out aerial roots and has religious significance in folk religion; in Hindi, bargad.
BARĀT,: groom’s party in a wedding ceremony.
BATĀSĀ,: crystallized, aerated sugar drops used as prasad offerings in religious worship.
BESAN,: gram pulse flour.
BEṬHAK,: deep knee bends.
BHAGWĀN,: generic term for God.
BHAKTĪ (BHAKTA),: devotional religion (a practitioner of bhakti).
BHĀKUṚĪ,: a wrestling move.
BHĀNG,: hashish.
BINDĪ,: auspicious mark placed on the forehead.
BRAHMACHARYA,: first stage in the fourfold Hindu life cycle scheme of development; celibacy.
BRAHMACHĀRĪ,: one who is celibate; a young disciple.
BHŪMIHĀR,: landed-gentry caste group.
BRĀHMAN,: member of the priestly caste.
BUDDHI,: wisdom.
CHAMĀR,: low-ranking “untouchable” caste; leather workers.
CHANDĀ,: donation; collection.
CHAṆḌĀL,: “untouchable” caste group, often those who work at cremation ground.
CHANĀ,: chickpeas, a common item in prasad offerings.
CHĀṬ,: savory snack prepared in small specialty stores and sold in streetside stalls.
CHAṬNĪ,: spicy sauce; condiment.
CHELĀ,: disciple or follower.
CHAUK,: crossroads or central square.
CHŪRAN,: digestive powder sold in herbalist stores and by street vendors; remedy for stomach disorders.
CHŪṚĪDĀR PAYJĀMĀ,: loose-fitting, drawstring pants that are tight at the ankle and calf.
DĀDĀ,: elder; grandfather; boss.
DĀL,: lentils.
DAM KASĪ,: stamina.
ḌAṆḌ,: jackknifing push-ups.
ḌAṆḌ-ṬHONK,: chest beating and arm slapping, the prelude to a competitive bout.
DANGAL,: wrestling tournament.
DARBĀR,: royal court.
DARSHAN,: the visual encounter with god in worship; to do darshan is to go see the image of god in a temple.
DASNĀMĪ,: name of the ten monastic orders founded by the followers of Shankaracharya.
DĀW,: wrestling move.
DEVTĀ,: god.
ḌHĀK,: wrestling move.
ḌHĀKULĪ,: twists and flips practiced by wrestlers to increase the strength and flexibility of their neck muscles.
DHARMASHĀLĀ,: rest house for pilgrims.
DHARMA,: religion; moral principle of religious duty.
DHĀTU,: primary substance of the body; semen; mineral.
DHOBĪ PAṬ,: wrestling move which resembles the movement of a washerman beating clothes.
ḌHOL,: drum, the short form of dholak; a two-sided drum beaten with a curved stick.
DHOTĪ,: loincloth; long white garment.
DISHĀ MAIDĀN,: open plain used for defecation.
DOSH,: imperfection, illness, mistake.
GADĀ,: weighted club used for exercise.
GADDĀ,: mat, as in wrestling mat.
GANESH,: elephant-headed god; Shiva’s son.
GAR NĀL,: circular stone weight hung around the neck for exercising.
GHARĀNĀ,: particular substyle of an art form associated with a specific artist and his or her disciples.
GHĀṬ,: river bank; usually designated for bathing, ritual performance, or cremation.
GHĪ,: clarified butter.
GOD,: lap.
GOSHĀLĀ,: cow protection shelter; cowshed.
GWĀL,: herder, dairyman.
GRIHASTHA,: second stage in the fourfold Hindu life cycle scheme; a householder.
GALĪ,: narrow lane.
GUṚ,: hard molasses.
GURUKUL,: traditional school structured around the principles of a guru-chela relationship.
HALDĪ,: turmeric.
HAṬHA YOGA,: branch of yoga which emphasizes rigorous physical postures.
HĀTH,: hand; measure of one swing in exercise.
HIJṚĀ,: an Indian gender category which is neither male nor female; full-time female impersonator who is a member of a social group.
ISHṬA DEVTĀ,: one’s personal god.
ĪSHVAR PRAṆIDHĀN,: focused concentration on god; closeness to god through worship.
JAJMĀNĪ,: the system of reciprocal exchange that obtains between members of different castes; patron-client relationship.
JĀNGHIYĀ,: briefs; wrestling trunks.
JĀṬ,: powerful rural caste group in western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab.
JHĀṚ,: wrestling move.
JĪVANMUKTI,: having left life; a hermit’s attitude.
JOR,: wrestling when done as a form of exercise.
JOṚĪ,: pair of wooden clubs.
KĀLĀJĀNGH,: wrestling move.
KALARIPPAYATTU,: southwestern Indian martial art.
KALIYUG,: dark and final epoch in Hindu cosmology; a time when immorality reigns and social institutions are subverted.
KALĀ,: art.
KAMDAMAN,: controlled sensuality; continence.
KAPH,: phlegm.
KARMA,: fate; work; moral work.
KASE LANGOṬ KE,: celibate; firm or tight g-string.
KHĀDĪ,: rough homespun cotton.
KHĪR,: rice-puddinglike drink often served at Yadav weddings.
KHULĀ ḌANGAL,: free or open wrestling competition.
KHURĀK,: diet.
KRIYĀ,: action; work.
KSHATRIYA,: varna category used loosely to designate a number of caste groups who identify themselves as warriorlike or of royal heritage.
KUMBHAK,: breath control leading to stamina.
KUṆḌALINĪ,: the experience of enlightenment achieved through yoga and meditation; vital energy which is “ignited” through disciplined yogic practices.
KUṆḌ,: pond; tank.
KURTĀ,: a long, loose-fitting, uncuffed shirt.
KUSHTĪ,: wrestling in its competitive manifestation.
LAḌḌŪ,: besan flour sweets often used as prasad.
LANGOṬ,: g-string, worn as an undergarment by men and as a protective covering by wrestlers during practice, worn underneath the janghiya.
LANGŪR DAUṚ,: running like a monkey; an exercise done by wrestlers in the pit.
LASSĪ,: milkshake made of yogurt, milk, and sugar.
LĪLĀ,: divine play.
LINGAM,: iconic, phallic form of Lord Shiva.
LOHĀ,: iron.
MAHĀDEV,: Great God; Shiva.
MAHANT,: abbot; head of a monastic order.
MAHĀRĀJ,: honorific title used to refer to a holy man or Brahman.
MAHĀVĪR,: Great Courageous (or Hero); Hanuman.
MAIDĀN,: open plain; central park area.
MALLA,: classical term for wrestler.
MALLAYUDDHA,: classical wrestling combat.
MALLAVIDYĀ,: wrestling knowledge.
MANDIR,: Hindu temple.
MANTRA,: secret, sacred slogan.
MARĀṬHĀ,: term used loosely to refer to the people of Maharashtra.
MASJID,: Muslim place of worship; mosque.
MAST,: intoxicated with pleasure.
MĀYĀ,: illusion.
MAZDŪR (MAZDOOR),: laborer.
MEHANDI (MENDĪ),: henna; vegetable dye.
MIṬṬĪ,: earth.
MOKSHA,: release; salvation achieved through self-realization.
MULTĀNĪ,: wrestling move.
MŪRTI,: image of god.
NĀG,: cobra.
NĀGĀ,: one of the Dasnami orders known for its martial form of asceticism.
NĀĪ,: barber caste.
NĀL,: stone weight.
NĀM KAMĀNĀ,: to make a name for oneself.
NĪM,: margosa tree (Melia azadirachta).
NIRODH,: retention, control; often used to mean birth control.
NIYAM,: rules of right conduct; fundamental principle in yoga.
NŪRĀ,: fake; fraud.
OJ (OJAS),: the luster of vitality or virility.
PĀN,: a betel-leaf, lime-paste, betel-nut, spice, and condiment concoction, mildly narcotic.
PANCHĀYAT,: a quorum; council of five.
PAINTRĀ,: wrestling stance.
PĀRAS,: stone that can turn base metal to gold.
PAW,: a quarter of a liter.
PAHALWĀN,: wrestler.
PECH,: countermove in wrestling.
PHARSĀ,: heavy hoe or spade.
PĪPAL,: Ficus religiosa.
PITTA,: bile.
PRADHĀN,: chief; head official.
PRĀṆA,: one of the five vital airs; vital breath.
PRĀṆĀYĀMA,: disciplined or controlled breathing.
PRASĀD,: ritual food offerings.
RAI,: gentry caste group.
RĀJĀ,: king; lord.
RĀJAS,: one of the three “personality” characteristics which also characterizes certain food items; agitated, aggressive, hot.
RĀJPŪT,: an encompassing caste category which is roughly equivalent to the varna Kshatriya category; those who belong to a martial caste.
RASA,: juice; sauce; soup.
RITU,: season.
SĀDHU,: mendicant; one who lives on alms and has renounced the world.
SAKHĪ,: wrestling move.
SALĀMĪ,: salute to the pit.
SAMĀDHI,: condition of absolute release from worldly constraints; shrines dedicated to those who have achieved this condition.
SAMĀJ,: society; social organization.
SANTOSH,: satisfaction, contentment.
SANNYĀS (SANNYĀSI),: world renunciation (world renouncer).
SAT GURU,: true or great guru.
SATSANG,: fellowship; fraternity.
SVAPNA DOSH,: wet dream; night emission of semen.
SĀPHĀ,: a head cloth.
SARWAJANIK,: public.
SĀTTVA,: one of the three “personality” characteristics which also characterizes various food items; cool, calm, white, peaceful.
SATYA,: truth; truthfulness.
SAWĀRĪ,: being a passenger; the superior position in wrestling; type of exercise.
SEER,: one-fourth of a given measure.
SHAKTĪ,: divine, supernatural energy.
SHAKTĪ SHĀLĪ,: an aura of energized strength which characterizes an invigorated wrestler.
SHĀNT,: peace and tranquility.
SHARĪR,: body.
SHAUK,: hobby.
SHĪRSHĀSAN,: head stand.
SHAUCH,: cleaning out impurities; defecation and urination.
SHŪDRA,: varna category designating menial, service castes.
SINDŪR,: vermilion.
SUKRAM PAYAS,: bright milk; semen.
SŪRYA,: sun.
SŪRYA NAMASKĀR,: salute to the sun; a type of exercise.
SWĀDHYĀYA,: self-control; study.
SWĀGAT,: welcome; to honor.
TAMAS,: one of the three “personality” characteristics which is also characteristic of various food items; dull, dark, lethargic.
TAP (TAPAS),: austerity; sensory control; mortification.
ṬHĀKUR,: honorific meaning lord or master; often used as a form of address by wealthy Rajputs.
ṬHAṆḌĀĪ,: a cooling drink.
ṬHEKEDĀR,: contractor.
ṬĪKA,: mark of vermilion paste placed on the forehead by a priest during rituals and darshan.
TIL,: very small seed from the sesame plant.
URAD,: type of lentil.
USTĀD,: teacher; one who is proficient in a particular art or skill.
VĀNAR,: monkey.
VARṆA,: color; system of ranked classification which provides the model for caste stratification.
VĀT,: one of the humors of the body.
VĀYU,: wind, air.
VIBHŪTI,: ashes; power; energy.
VĪRYA,: semen.
VṚṢṆYAM PAYAS,: virile “seedlike” milk.
VYAKTITWA,: character; personal identity.
VYĀYĀM,: exercise.
VYĀYĀMSHĀLĀ,: gymnasium; synonymous with akhara but with a slight connotation of an exercise gym rather than a wrestling gym.
YAM,: first principle in yoga; root meaning.
YONI,: vagina; base; source.
ZAMĪNDĀR,: wealthy landowner; landed gentry of northern India before independence.