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Mādhava: of Madhu (sweetness, the blooming) name for Krishna as the blooming hero, the sweet Lord, of the gopis; or to Mā, the goddess of Fortune, as the spouse of the Goddess of Fortune.

- S'rīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has explained the various meanings of the word mādhava as follows: 'Mādhava normally indicates Krishna to be "the Lord, who is the consort of the goddess of fortune, Lakshmī." This name also implies that Lord Krishna descended in the dynasty of Madhu. Since the spring season is also known as Mādhava, it is understood that as soon as Lord Krishna entered the Vrindāvana forest, it automatically exhibited all the opulences of spring, becoming filled with flowers, breezes and a celestial atmosphere. Another reason Lord Krishna is known as Mādhava is that He enjoys His pastimes in madhu, the taste of conjugal love.' (from the purport to 10.15: 2)

Mādrī: the co-wife (with Kuntī) of King Pāndu and mother of Nakula and Sahadeva.

Māndhātā: Yuvanās'va's son Māndhātā ruled by the power of the Infallible One the surface of the earth with its seven continents as its one and only master. He also in full awareness of the true self worshiped Yajńa, the Lord of Sacrifices, the God and Supersoul of everyone above the sensual, in great ritualistic performances. From where the sun rises above the horizon to everywhere speaks one of the field of action of the son of Yuvanās'va, Māndhātā (9.6: 33-37).

Mārishā: The lotus-eyed daughter sage K a n d u got from the heavenly girl named Pramlocā. She was left to the (divinity of the) trees to care for her, (4.30: 13) and later married by the trees to the Pra cetas to pacify them (4.30: 48). From her Daksha took birth again after his demise in offense with Lord S' iva (6.4: 15).

Mārkandeya Rishi: the son of Mrikandu and foremost descendant of Bhrigu who till the end of the kalpa as the only soul remaining as a sage meditates in the Himalayas and became known as the eternal celibate yielding to no temptation of Kāmadeva (Cupid) - sent by I ndra - whatsoever. He receives from Vishnu the vision of His bewildering potency and finally the vision of the Lord Himself with His foot in His mouth lying on a banana leaf. He was visited by Nara-Nārāyana and ultimately glorified by lord S'iva. Discussed in 12.8-10.

Mārkandeya Purāna: see Purānas.

Māsa: month. The vedic months, their names, their rulers and their correspondence to the gregorian calendar are described in 12.11: 33-45. The months of end April to the end of September know 31 days in a row as a consequence of the indian nirayana year which leaps the month to the hour-angle relative to the stars and not regularly every second month the way the old roman calendar did originally and the gregorian calendar still does more or less.

Mātsarya: jealousy, an anartha.

Māyā: (not-this; what is not): that what is not, the deluding quality of the material is, also called mahā-māyā (see also yoga-māyā); separateness from Krishna.)

- Because of her does, by identifying itself with the deluding material energy (ahamkāra), the individual soul think itself the lord and supreme enjoyer over the creation; that is to say: with the body (the senses), the mind and the material intelligence, with the consequence of losing the eternal bond (svarūpa) with the Lord, the thus conditioned soul indulges in the pursuit of worldly pleasure and gets because of this more and more entangled in the cycle of birth and death (see samsāra).

- Bewilderment; the forgetfulness about one's relation with Krishna.

Māyāvāda: the doctrine affirming the world to be illusion. Related to the doctrine of vedānta and bhuddhism.

1) The philosophical school to which the māyāvādīs belong, as opposed to the bhāgavatas.

2) Name of the philosophy the māyāvādīs adhere to.

Māyāvādi: With this name are all adherents indicated of the two main philosophies known as impersonalism, or s'ankarism (preaching oneness of the soul with Brahman), and the nihilism (also known as the philosophy of voidism), that is related to Buddhism (which denies the existence of God).

- In the strict sense of the term not to confuse with the esoterical philosophers who express themselves indirectly and who are affirmed by Krishna as being of His love (see also 11.21: 35).

- But mainly is this title used for those to whom the Absolute Truth is without a form, personality, intelligence, senses etc., and who therefore reject the existence of God as the Supreme Personality, or who think that the form and activities of the Supreme Lord would be subject to the influence of māyā, the deluding material energy (the term māyāvādī can also be used as an adjective (singular) meaning 'typical for māyāvādīs'.)

- In the broader sense, retorically used as a general negative: (one speaking of illusion) Nonofficial spiritual teachers or non-ācāryas who do not instruct by example, or who are not capable of giving one a better stability in transcendence. Narrowly defined: adherents of impersonalism (oneness, s'ankarism) and nihilism (voidism, denial of god and soul).

- Spiritual teachers outside a by the Lord enforced disciplic succession.

- Therapists and other mental healthcare people who deny Krishna, but despite of that want to give spiritual directions.

- False teachers and preachers, prophets, cheaters and/or charlatans who allure people with nice discourses, but estrange them from God and their fellow man by some or another cult.

- Someone following the misery of vedic heresy which found its beginning with king Arhat who misinterpreted the example of Rishabadeva after His disappearance (see 5.6: 9).

- Follower of buddhism.

Mada: false pride, arrogance (see anartha).

- Hilarity, rapture, excitement, inspiration, intoxication; ardent passion for; sexual desire or enjoyment, wantonness, lust, ruttishness, rut, pride, arrogance, presumption, conceit of or about; intoxication or insanity personified.

- Any exhilarating or intoxicating drink, spirituous liquor, wine, Soma; honey; the fluid or juice that exudes from a rutting elephant; semen; musk.

- Any beautiful object.

- A river.

- Name of the 7th astrological mansion.

- Any agricultural implement (as a plough).

Madana: Cupid, the demigod giving lusty desires to living beings.

Madana-Mohana: name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He who even captivates Cupid.

Madhu: (sweet, delicious, pleasant, charming) Krishna is sometimes described as the Lord of, or the enemy of Madhu or Madhusūdana with Madhu being a demon defeated by Him of which the story is not found in the Bhāgavatam but in the Ramāyana. He was a brother of Kaitabha and father of Lavana. As Mādhava He is then the Sweet Lord descended.

- Madhu as being the Vrishni-descendant of Devakshatra the son of Devarāta. From Madhu there was Kuruvas'a who begot Anu (see 9.24: 5).

- A descendant of Priyavrata: from Utkalā Marīci's wife Saraghā there was a child named Madhu and from Madhu his wife Sumanā came a son Vīravrata (5.15: 14-15).

- Name of the first month of the Hindu-calendar (Caitra, March-April).

- The season of spring.

Madhusūdana: (killer of Madhu) name of Krishna as the one who kills the demons.

Madhvācārya: a thirteenth-century Vaishnava spiritual master who preached the theistic philosophy of pure dualism.

Madhya: kind of world or planet (see loka).

Madhyama: (middle) second rank devotion; association with Krishna and His devotees without recognizing His omnipresence (see adhikāri, 11.2: 46).

Maha: literally: great. See Mahā-prabhu. Also used for the external material potency of Yogamāyā.

Mahābhāgavata: pure devotee, traveling preachers vaishnava; paramparā-sannyāsī (see also uttama and bhāgavata).

Mahābhārata: epic relating the history of Bharata varsha, the empire of India that controlled the world five thousand years ago. It deals with the struggle of the nobles of the Vedic culture at the time of Krishna from which is taken the Gītā (see Vyāsadeva).

Mahā-bhāva: the highest stage of love for God.

Mahābhūta: the five physical, gross elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether or sky.

Mahādeva: 'great god', see S'iva.

Mahājanas: they represent the highest authorities in the spiritual field. The 'fathers of the religion', all great devotees, numbering twelve: Brahmā, S'iva, Manu, Kapila, Nārada Muni, Kumāra, Prahlāda, Bhīshma, S'ukadeva  Gosvāmī, Yamarāja, Janaka and Bali Mahārāja.

Mahā-laksmī: see Lakshmī.

Mahāmantra: ('the great mantra'), the song of redemption, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. called Mahā because of the fact that it can be as well as aloud as softly, alone as well as together be sung or chanted. Broadcasted by Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the remedy to liberate the material man in Kali-yuga from the deluding power of matter and to awaken God and the ecstasy of a spiritual life (see also mantra, gāyatrī).

Mahāmāyā: 'the great illusion'. The bewildering potency of the material world (see also yogamāyā).

Mahāprabhu: great master, name of Lord Caitanya.

Mahāprasāda: food that is offered to the Mūrtis.

Mahāpurusha: the great person, the original person, the Supreme Person (see also virāth purusha)

Mahārāja: great king.

- Honorary title for an ācārya.

Mahāratha: invincible, never defeated warrior. Warrior all by himself able to withstand, so one says, thousands of enemies at the same time.

Mahār(i)shi: a great Rishi or seer, any great sage or saint.

- Ten Mahārishis that sprouted with Manu Svāyambhuva from Brahmā: Marīci, Atri, Angirā, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Pracetas, Vasishthha, Bhrigu, Nārada (see 3.12: 21-22); also called the ten Prajāpatis; sometimes the number is restricted to seven (see 8.1 & 8.13), and sometimes are Daksha, Dharma, Gautama, Kanva, Vālmīki, Vyāsa, Manu and Vibhāndhaka added (see e.g. 4.29: 42-44).

- Name of lord S'iva.

Maharloka: the higher world, the greater world of the vedic verses, the world of the seers to which one attains after prolonged penances as a vānaprastha, see loka.

- The abode of those saints who survive a destruction of the world (M.W.)

Mahat-tattva: ('the great principle, the principle of cosmic intelligence') the complete of material nature in her original undifferentiated form (see tattva, brahman).

- As the great principle we have the false ego, the three modes, the five elements, the individual way and the eleven senses (the five senses of action and perception, including the mind) as the material body of the living entity that sprouted from the egg that is the universe (3.32: 29).

- Also called mahā-brahman: the complete of the twenty-four elements of material nature.

- The Intelllect. The cosmic intelligence also called mahat.

- The second of the so called sankhya-tattvas.

- Name of one of Durga's servants.

Mahātmā: (literally: great soul): he who is perfectly convinced that Krishna is all and is therefore surrendered to Him fully absorbed in devotional service to the Lord (see also ātmā).

Mahā-Vishnu: another name for Kāranodakas'āyī Vishnu.

Mahā-yajńas: the five great sacrifices, are defined as follows: pāthho homas'cātithīnām saparyā tarpanam balih - "reciting the Vedas, offering oblations into the sacrificial fire, waiting on guests, making offerings to the forefathers, and offering (a share of one's food) to living entities in general."

- Prabhupāda: "This yajńa is also known as pańca-sūnā. Knowingly or unknowingly, everyone, specifically the householder, is committing five kinds of sinful activities. When we receive water from a water pitcher, we kill many germs that are in it. Similarly, when we use a grinding machine or take foodstuffs, we kill many germs. When sweeping the floor or igniting a fire, we kill many germs. When we walk on the street we kill many ants and other insects. Consciously or unconsciously, in all our different activities we are killing. Therefore it is incumbent upon every householder to perform the pańca-sūnā sacrifice to rid himself of the reactions to such sinful activities."

Mahāyuga: period of four yugas, named Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali, together covering 4.32 million years taking 1/1000 day of Brahmā. Individual duration: 1200 x 360 years to multiply with a factor of respectively 4, 3, 2 en 1. To this constitute 360 earthly years one year of the gods.

Mahes'vara: name of S'iva meaning the great lord.

Maithunya āgāra: the material world as a prison of sexuality; one is locked up in ones lusts.

Maireya: the intoxicating drink that the Yadus, the family clan of Krishna, drank just before their self-destruction at Prabhāsa (see 11.30: 12, 6.1: 58-60 and vārunī).

Maitreya Muni: the great sage who in the S'rīmad-Bhāgavatam in Canto three and four is described as the one imparting fundamental Vedic truths to Vidura.

Makara-dhvaja: a name for the demigod Cupid.

Manas: the mind or the thinking that one liberates with a mantra (manas trayate).

Mandara: the golden mountain used for churning the ocean in the fight between the suras and the asuras (see 8.5, 6 & 7).

Mādhāi: see Jagāi and Mādhāi.

Mandir (mandira): (any waiting or abiding-place, habitation, dwelling, house, palace, temple, town, camp) Hindu temple.

- The body.

- The sea.

- Hollow back of the knee.

Mangala-ārati: ceremony before sunrise to salute the Lord, with offerings of food, lamps, whisks, flowers and incense.

Manimān: name of the Lord as the One with the Kaustubha jewel.

Mantra: sound vibration or series of sounds freeing the mind (manas).

- The best known mantras are the pranāva, the gāyatrī and the mahāmantra.

- There is also a shield of mantras: see kavaca.

- The mantra AUM, the pranava or omkāra must according Krishna by a yogī three times a day ten times be resonated in the nose (see 11.14: 35).

Manu: impersonation of Krishna as the ruler, father and legislator of humanity. There are fourteen of them for each day of Brahmā or kalpa (see mahāyuga) 308.6 millions of years ruling. Present Manu, the seventh: S'rāddhadeva (also called Vaivasvata see further image and S.B. 8.1).

- Writer of the Manu-samhitā.

- The first earthly creature created from Brahmā

- The fourteen Manus appearing in one day of Brahmā are: (1) Svāyambhuva, (2) Svārocisha, (3) Uttama, (4) Tāmasa, (5) Raivata, (6) Cākshusha, (7) Vaivasvata, (8) Sāvarni, (9) Daksha-sāvarni, (10) Brahma-sāvarni, (11) Dharma-sāvarni, (12) Rudra-sāvarni, (13) Deva-sāvarni and (14) Indra-sāvarni.

- To each period of Manu there is the sixfold of the Lord (see 12.7: 15).

Manu-samhitā: the lawbook of mankind written by Manu.

Manu (Svāyambhuva): the founding father of mankind and the grandfather of Dhruva  Mahārāja.

Manvantara: a period of Manu of which there are fourteen in a day of Brahmā (see further 3.11: 23).

Manvantara-avatāras: also named vaibhava-avatāras; the incarnations to the reighns of the Manu s, of which there are fourteen in a day of Brahmā (see image and S.B. 8.1).

- (S.B. 8.1, 5 & 13): (1) Yajńa, (2) Vibhu, (3) Satyasena, (4) Hari, (5) Vaikunthha, (6) Ajita, (7) Vāmana, (8) Sārvabhauma, (9) Rishabha, (10) Vishvaksena, (11) Dharmasetu, (12) Sudhāmā, (13) Yoges'vara and (14) Brīhadbhānu.

Marīci: one of the seven great sages who were directly born from Lord Brahmā (see mahārishi).

Maruts: 'the flashing one's';

- Associates of king Indra.

- The gods of the wind.

- Gods or godheads in general.

- Children of Diti (wife of Kasyapa Muni see S.B. 3.14) seven or seven times seven in number (S.B. 6.18).

Ma(taji): mother. Name of all female devotees.

Math: name for a school of vaishnavas who on their turn are part of a certain division (sampradāya) or branch of Vishnu-devotion. Name of the math for the West as founded by Swami  Prabhupāda: ISKCON.

Mathurā: the capital where Krishna was born, His parents were incarcerated and where He defeated His bad uncle Kamsa.

- His original dwelling place after Vrindāvana.

Matsya: the fish-incarnation of the Lord protecting Satyavrata Muni, the planet earth and the herbs (see 8: 24).

Maura: carbonized iron, a type of iron used for maces, the gigantic clubs used in battles.

Mausala-līlā: Krishna's illusory disappearance and appearance as a material form. A game to bewilder the demoniac and to defend the World.

- The by Lord Krishna wanted self-destruction of the Yadu-dynasty.

Maya Dānava: the architect of the a sura s challenging Lord S'iva's dominance which led to the fall of the city of Tripura (see 7.10).

Meru: the central, transcendental mountain, the highest mountain on which Lord Brahmā is sitting. It is situated in Ilāvrita-varsha, the central region. Must holistically be taken as the center of as well the spiritual as the material world, thus as well galactic, as the center of the universe, as spiritual, as the highest that one possibly can attain in contemplation and transcendence.

Menakā: the famous society girl of the heavenly planets who seduced the sage Vis'vāmitra.

Mīmāmsā: one of the six darshanas; purva-mimāmsā also called karma-mimāmsā, concerns the ritual nature of the earlier portion of the Vedas dealing with predominantly the mantras and the brahmanas. It is called purva because it, logically spoken, precedes, or is earlier (purva) than, the uttara-mimāmsā, which is another name for the vedānta vision.

Mitra: the controlling deity of everything running to its end (see 2.6:9) associated with Yamarāja, the Lord of death and retribution.

Mithila: see Nimi.

Mleccha: offensive meateater.

- A foreigner, barbarian, non-Aryan, man of an outcast race.

- Any person who does not speak Sanskrit and does not conform to the usual Hindu institutions.

- A person who lives by agriculture or by making weapons.

- A wicked or bad man, a sinner.

- He who eats beef and indulges in self-contradictory statements and is devoid of righteousness and purity of conduct (according the law-giver Baudhāyana).

- Copper; vermilion.

Modes of material nature (gunas): three in number: sattva-guna (goodness), rajo-guna (passion) and tamo-guna (ignorance). They are the different influences of the bewildering material energy upon the living beings and things. They e.g. determine how the soul, bound or conditioned by it, thinks and acts (see also māyā).

Mogha: useless, in vain, concerning the material existence.

Moha: bewilderment. An illusion of power in controlling and enjoying. Follows anger. Consists of misconception, misattribution (wrong attribution); leads to a confusion of memory and the fall of intelligence.

- Illusion, see also māyā (sammoha: of illusion).

- Self-deception; one of the five great obstacles (with ahamkāra, kāma, mada en anvasthitva) or avidhyā, ignorance, because of which the planet with a lack of sacrifice gets neglected.

Mohinī-mūrti: Krishna's incarnation as the most beautiful woman to pacify the suras en asuras fighting about Mandara, the mountain of gold (8.9)

- The woman because of which Lord S'iva fell down madly intoxicated running after her (8.12).

Moksha: liberation, see further under mukti.

Monism: the from the viewpoint of dualism (see vedānta) heretical theory according which the individual living being in all respects is equal to God and therefore can only be one with Him.

- Of S'ukadeva is in 1.4: 4 mentioned that he, despite of being a devotee, was a balanced monist before he, not being recognized as the teacher of the teachers of example, the first ācārya who spoke the Bhāgavatam, frequented the houses of the people for his sustenance.

Mridanga: a drum played at two sides made of clay, bronze or plastic that is often used in devotional service.

Mrida: lord S'iva as the compassionate one.

Mrityu: death, dying; death in person, the god of disease. Sometimes: the god of love.

Mudgala, Uńchavritti: a famous king who followed the practice of gathering grains left behind in the fields after the harvest. Yet still he was hospitable toward uninvited guests, even after his family had been suffering in poverty for six months. Thus he also went to Brahmaloka (hailed in 10.72: 21).

- S'ānti's son Sus'ānti had Puruja, Arka was his son and from him generated Bharmyās'va who had five sons with Mudgala as the eldest. He prayed to them: 'My sons, if you're really capable, then care for all the different states'. Thus received they the name the Pańcāla s (to the five states). From Mudgala was there a line consisting of brahmins known as Maudgalya (9.21: 31-33).

Mūdha: fool, dull slave of work or donkey.

Mudrā: gesture. The gestures of the Lord represent the essence of purposeful action (12.11: 16).

Mukti (Moksha): the final liberation from material existence meaning that one restores one's eternal bond with Krishna in arriving at devotional service unto Him (see also: svarūpa and kaivalya).

- Liberation or redemption. With this usually is indicated that one escapes the strict laws of material nature (birth, disease, old age and death).

- Vimukti is the special liberation of devotees on the spiritual platform of love and affection with the Lord.

- Further also (according the Mayavadī concept) to unify oneself with Brahman in the sense of trying to destroy the ego (ahankāra) with the purpose of becoming one with the Absolute (which is thus an artificial, concocted form of liberation). The ultimate liberation of the human being means that it restores its eternal bond eternal, personal bond with God, S'rī Krishna.

- Ramanuja (see vedānta): we become just like God but for two aspects: one remains a spark, an atomic soul, and one is of a limited creativity.

- Madhvā (see vedānta): there are four degrees of Moksha:

1) sālokya: the enrapturing vision of a God in heaven.

2) sāmapiya: living in the proximity of God, like the sages do.

3) sārūpya: living like a servant of God, with a form equal to His.

4) sāyujya: merging with the body of God - the prerogative of the Gods.

- Lord Kapila in S. B.3.29: 13: Without being of My service, will pure devotees not even when being offered these, accept to be living on the same planet, to have the same opulence, to be a personal associate, to have the same bodily features or to be in oneness (the so-called five forms of liberation of sālokya, sārsti, sāmipya, sārūpya and ekatva).

Mukti-devi: the goddess granting Liberation.

Mukunda: the Lord of Liberation, Krishna as the one redeeming.

Muni: wise or self-realized soul. E.g. Nārada Muni (see also stitha  prajńa, rishi and sādhu)

Murāri: Lord Krishna as the enemy of Mura, a demon defending the city of Prāgjyotisha (Bhauma's capital) with a trident (see 10.59).

Muraripu (Muradvis'a): a name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, the killer of the demon Mura (see 10.59).

Mūrti: idol, portrait, image, object of devotion and worship (see 11.27).

- Idol of Krishna Himself, also called arcā-form, considered a veritable incarnation of Him (manifestation).

- Difficulty (see also 3.29: 24 -25 and 7.14: 40, 11.3*4).

- Remembered in eight forms (11: 27: 12).

- Manifestation of the Personal form of God in certain kinds of material; like one finds in temples. (see also vigraha)

- A deity, an in a temple normally formally installed image of a godhead, with which a certain spiritual culture is defended.

- But also as being of a lesser importance than the sage to be respected in person: mūrtis are there for beginners, see 10.48: 31, 3.29: 25, B.G. 18: 68 & 69, 10.86: 54, 12.10: 23.

- The material type of devotion (see prākrita) in the western countries or to the western model in the east consists mainly of the worship of God in His impersonal form: clocks, timeschedules and calenders are worshiped as the one and all of God.

- From Mūrti, the wife of Dharma and the daughter of Daksha, He took the form of Nara-Nārāyana (2.7: 6).

 

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