| Ram Rajya: | The rule of Ram |
| Rangbhoomi: | Literally, the ground of colour. Stadia in ancient times where sports, performances and public functions would be staged |
| Rangoli: | Traditional colourful and geometric designs made with coloured powders or flowers as a sign of welcome |
| Rishi: | Man of knowledge |
| Sankat Mochan: | Literally, reliever from troubles. One of the names of Lord Hanuman |
| Sangam: | A confluence of two rivers |
| Sanyasi: | A person who renounces all his worldly possessions and desires to retreat to remote locations and devote his time to the pursuit of god and spirituality. In ancient India, it was common for people to take sanyas at an old age, once they had completed all their life’s duties |
| Sapt Sindhu: | Land of the seven rivers – Indus, Saraswati, Yamuna, Ganga, Sarayu, Brahmaputra and Narmada. This was the ancient name of North India |
| Saptrishi: | One of the ‘Group of seven Rishis’ |
| Saptrishi Uttradhikari: | Successors of the Saptrishis |
| Shakti Devi: | Mother Goddess; also Goddess of power and energy |
| Shamiana: | Canopy |
| Shloka: | Couplet |
| Shudhikaran: | The purification ceremony |
| Sindhu: | The first river |
| Somras: | Drink of the gods |
| Sundarban: | Sundar = beautiful; ban = forest. Hence, Sundarban means beautiful forest |
| Svarna: | Gold |
| Swadweep: | The Island of the individual. This is the land ruled by the Chandravanshi kings |
| Swadweepans: | People of Swadweep |
| Swaha: | Legend has it that Lord Agni’s wife is named Swaha. Hence it pleases Lord Agni, the God of Fire, if a disciple takes his wife’s name while worshipping the sacred fire. Another interpretation of Swaha is that it means offering of self |
| Tamra: | Bronze |
| Thali: | Plate |
| Varjish graha: | The exercise hall |
| Varun: | God of the water and the seas |
| Vijayibhav: | May you be victorious |
| Vikarma: | Carrier of bad fate |
| Vishnu: | The protector of the world and propagator of good. I believe that it is an ancient Hindu title for the greatest of leaders who would be remembered as the mightiest of gods |
| Vishwanath: | Literally, the Lord of the World. Usually refers to Lord Shiva, also known as Lord Rudra in his angry avatar. I believe Lord Rudra was a different individual from Lord Shiva. In this trilogy, I have used the term Vishwanath to refer to Lord Rudra |
| Yagna: | Sacrificial fire ceremony |
Amish is a 1974-born, IIM (Kolkata)-educated, boring banker turned happy author. The success of his debut book,
The Immortals of Meluha
(Book 1 of the Shiva Trilogy), encouraged him to give up a fourteen-year-old career in financial services to focus on writing. He is passionate about history, mythology and philosophy, finding beauty and meaning in all world religions.
Amish lives in Mumbai with his wife Preeti and son Neel.
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