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N

 

Nāgas: snakes of heaven, inhabitants of Nāgaloka. (see also Ananta  S'esha); they have a human face but a snake's body. Known snakes: Vāsuki of the churning of the ocean on the back of Kūrma and Takshaka, the snakebird that killed emperor Parīkchit at the end of the reading of the Bhāgavatam by S'uka.

- Snakedevil.

- people with snakelike bodies or such a character.

- A cruel person.

- The air escaping with belching (one of the five airs of the body).

- The best or most excellent of a sort.

Nābhi: a king, the son of Āgnīdhra and grandson of Priyavrata who was a son of Manu, who desiring to have sons with Merudevī who was childless, with great attention offered prayers in worship of the Supreme Lord Vishnu, the enjoyer of all sacrifices and so came to father the avatāra R ishabha (see 5.3).

Nāma: name, holy name, see also Harināma.

Nāmācārya: teacher in the chanting of the holy name (see also ācārya).

Nārada Muni: a great devotee of the Lord, who freely moves about in the spiritual and material world to disseminate the glories of the Lord (is also considered an avatāra and named bhagavān). His story is explained in 1.5: 23-31. He was cursed by Daksha for spoiling the youths with his pleading for the renounced order in 6.5, his previous life he explains in 7.15. 69-77, the canto consisting entirely of his instructions.

- First among the devotees, patron of the devotees. Purely transcendental personality, teacher of Vyāsa deva, pupil of Brahmā. Known for his vinā (stringed instrument).

- He incited Vyāsadeva to write the Bhāgavatam.

- He is counted among the ten sons of Brahmā, the mahārishi s.

- Belongs to the Pańca-tattva in the form of S'rī  Vāsādi.

Nārada-pancarātra: Nārada  Muni's book on the methods of mūrti-worship and mantra-meditation.

Nārāyana: (path of man, God of man, son of the original man): Vishnu-tattva-avatāra. He in whom all reside. Is presented with four arms as the one resisting worldly temptations in the holding out of heavenly beauties (see Vishnu).

- Plenary expansion of Krishna with four hands, holding the conch, the disc, the mace and the lotusflower.

- Lord of the heavenly worlds, the Vaikunthha planets.

- Name of the Supreme Personality of God, He who is the source and destination of all living beings (see also Vishnu and purusha).

- The part (or lead) of God relating to man, that source from which the waters originated. (10.14: 14).

- Monier Williams dictionary: 'the son of the original Man with whom he is generally associated; he is identified with Brahmā, with Vishnu or Krishna; the Apsara Urvas'i is said to have sprung from his thigh; elsewhere he is regarded as Kas'yapa or Angirasa, also as chief of the Sādhyas, and with the Jains as the eigth of the nine black Vāsudeva s; the Purusha-hymn is said to have been composed by Him....'

- Sage Nārāyana: for the welfare, in this and the next life, of the human beings abiding in dharma, jńāna and self-control in Bhārata-varsha, has he been performing penances from the beginning of Brahmā's day (see 10.87: 6).

Nahusha: Ancestor of Yadu. Of a son of Purūravā, Āyu, there was the powerful son of Nahusha and other sons. Nahusha got Yayāti (also called Nāhusha) as his son plus five others (9.17: 1-3). He is known by the brahmins to be forced down from his elevated position, because of insulting Indra's wife S'acī, because of which he degraded to the life of a snake (9.18: 1-3).

- S'rīdhara Svāmī: 'He became puffed up when he temporarily assumed the post of Indra. When out of pride Nahusha ordered some brāhmanas to carry him in a palanquin to an illicit meeting with Lord Indra's chaste wife, S'acī, the brāhmanas made him fall down from his position and become an old man.'

Naimishāranya: the sacred forest in central India that is considered the exact middle of the universe. Here the sages listened to Sūta Gosvāmī telling the story of S'ukadeva  Gosvāmī relating the Bhāgavatam to Parīkchit (see S.B. 1.1: 4).

Nais (-kama) karma: selfless work free from desire (see akarma).

Naiskarma: see akarma.

Nakula: one of Arjuna's younger brothers; twin brother of Sahadeva.

Nanda Mahārāja: the king of Vraja Lord Krishna's foster father.

Nanda-nandana: a name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna, who is the darling son of Nanda  Mahārāja.

Nanda and Sunanda: principal associates of the Lord in Vaikunthha who came to get Dhruva in a celestial chariot at the end of his life and addressed him with wisdom (4.12: 23-27).

- Nanda and Sunanda as the foster father of Krishna and his younger brother (10.34: 4).

Nara-Nārāyana: an incarnation of Lord Krishna appearing as two sages to teach by their example the practice of austerities (see 5.19: 9-15 2.7: 6, 4.1: 49-57, 11.4, 12.8: 35) (see also Vishnu).

- From Mūrti, the wife of Dharma and the daughter of Daksha, He took the form of Nara-Nārāyana (man, the course of man). Thus by seeing the strength of His personal penances the Supreme Lord never would see His vows broken by the celestial beauties that came to Him with Cupid (2.7: 6).

- Monier-Williams dictionary: Nara: the primeval Man or eternal Spirit pervading the universe (always associated with Nārāyana, son of the primeval man'), both are considered either as gods or sages and accordingly called devau.'

Narādhama: (literally: lowest among man): those politically and societally developed, but who have no religious principles.

Naraka: hell, the hellish planets, a hellish life. Described in 5.26.

- Another name of Bhaumā sura.

Narottama dāsa Thhākur: vaishnava-spiritual teacher in the disciplic line of Lord S'rī Caitanya  Mahāprabhu; pupil of Krisna dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī and the spiritual teacher of Visvanātha Cakravartī Thhākur. Composed many of the Vaishnava Bhajans.

Nastān: the being destroyed of the careless.

- nasta as a break in the disciplic succession; scattered.

Nature, gross or material: another name for energy, material (see s'akti, dharma, māyā, yoga-māyā).

Nava-mūrti: the nine forms of the Lord: the catur vyūha (Vāsudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha) Nārāyana, Varāha, Nrisimha, Hayagrīva and Vāmana (also is Brahmā mentioned in stead of the latter) (see also 11.16: 32).

Nava-yogendras: see yogendra.

Nawab Hussain Shah: the muslim governor of Bengal during the time of Lord S'rī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's appearance.

Neti neti: this nor that: the way Prahlāda meditates on the essence of the Soul. See 7.7: 23 and also 12.6: 32-33.

Nihilism: atheistic teaching according which everything originally came from the 'void' and finally will return to the void again (see Māyāvādīs).

Nidhana: (having no property, poor but also: settling, destroying, finding an end) the characteristic of all who are conquered; term used for all who were defeated at Kurukshetra, term for all who are not as Arjuna with Krishna (11.19: 12).

Nidhis: The eight treasures or nidhis of Kuvera of whom is said that he also has only eight teeth (see also kos'a).

- S'rīla S'rīdhara Svāmī mentions: padma, mahāpadma, matsya, kūrma, audaka (growing in water), nīla, mukunda en s'ankha (the conch).

- Or to the M.W. lexicon: padma (purity, lotus), mahāpadma (great lotus, refuge), makara (matsya, fish, related to the crest-jewel or shark-shaped earrings of Krishna), kacchapa (also kūrma, support or tortoise), mukunda (giver of liberation), nanda (happiness, or a flute), nīla (a residence) en karva (love). They are also personified with the eight attendants of Kuvera or Lakshmī.

Nimi: the son of Ikshvāku and father of a son called Vaideha; he was also known as Videha for losing his body as he was cursed by Vasishthha for not following his instructions. The godly trying to revive him he denied the wish to revive and thus was his body churned. Because of that were the son Vaideha born from that churning and city he founded both named Mithila (see 9.13 for his story). De dynasty had always good ties with the Vishnu-avatāra, Sītā the wife of Rāma came from the dynasty through King Janaka and also Krishna had fine relations with the faithful ruler Bahulas'va of Mithila (see 10.87).

Nimitta: the material cause, the direct, efficient cause. The period or moment of time which may be regared as causing the event (see also kārana).

Nimitta-matram: the remote cause; logic to the causality of the divine (see also kārana, upādāna).

Nirahankāra: freedom from false ego (see ahamkāra).

Nirās'īh: causelessness; to have no ulterior motive, leading motive for obedience to the spiritual teacher.

Nirguna: to be above the modes of nature. Nature of Krishna-consciousness (see guna).

- Characteristic of Krishna, His being above the material modes (see also Adhoks'aja).

Nirguna-brahma: the impersonal concept of the Absolute Truth as being without qualities.

Nirmama: (see also aparigraha) indifferent, unselfish, freedom from greed or possessiveness, vow of poverty, sharing with others (see also yama and the S'ikshāshthaka).

Nirukta: the practice and process of the explicit use of the names of the Lord in pronouncing, explaining and defining the mantras and verses aloud as they are written and thus arriving at the knowledge of the Vedas.

Nirvāna: the end of one's material activities or one's material existence, which with the Vaishnavas doesn't mean that one denies spiritual activities or a spiritual existence (see e.g. 11.9: 12).

- State of being in which the material existence recedes; it precedes all spiritual, devotional activity.

- Final emancipation, beautitude, complete bliss, perfect calm, being immersed, quieted, extinguished, immovable, vanished.

Nishāda: see Bāhuka.

Nitya: eternal (continuing, maintaining).

Nitya-mukta: eternally liberated. Characteristic of the liberated, spiritual being. The state of most of the living beings. Also called nitya-siddha as opposed to nitya-baddha, eternally bound (see also: svarūpa.)

- The question of the confusing issue of at the same time being bound and being free as a soul was raised by Uddhava in 11.10: 35-37.

Nityānanda: Pańca-tattva-incarnation (avatāra) of Lord Balarāma. The original spiritual teacher of the Caitanya-mission. Most important (eternal) companion of Lord Caitanya. Also celebrated as Bhagavān. Was a grihastha.

- Incarnation of Lord Baladeva (see Balarāma).

Nivritti-mārga: the path of liberation (see also apavarga). There are two dharmas: nivritti and pravritti or duties relating to detachment and duties relating to attachment (see 3-32: 2, 4.4: 20, 7.15: 47, 11.10: 4 and pravritti-mārga).

Niyama: (restraining, checking, holding back, preventing, controlling) Krishna's term for regulation, the things one has to do in devotional service.

- According to Krishna: 'cleanliness (internal and external), doing the rosary, penance, austerity, sacrifice, trustfulness, hospitality, worship of Me, visiting holy places, acting and desiring for the Supreme, contentment and serving the spiritual master' (11.19: 33-35)

- With Patańjali is niyama the second part of the eightfold of yoga concerning the observances. Consists of: saucam (purity), tapas, (penance), svādhyāya (study), santosha (contentment), dhānam (charity) of īs'varapranidhāna (to dedicate oneself to Him).

- Any fixed rule or law, necessity, obligation or agreement.

Niyamya: having restrained or to be restrained, limited, checked, bound, restricted, defined.

Non-devotee: everyone who, contrary to the devotee, ignores or rejects the principles of devotional service.

Nonviolence: real nonviolence means that one does nothing of which whatever other living being, be it man, animal or plant, unnecessarily has to suffer or experience fear or because of which one hinders its spiritual progress (see ahimsā).

Nriga: king in the sūrya-vams'a who turned into a chameleon over an affair of stealing from a brahmin but was released by Krishna (9.1: 11-12, 9.2: 17 & 10: 64).

Nrisimha-deva: half-man half-lion incarnation of Lord Krishna who liberated Prahlāda Mahārāja by killing the demoniac leader Hiranyakas'ipu (S.B. 7: 8).

Nyāya: method, standard, rule, axioma, plan, manner, the right approach, justice, logical argument, inference (see further darshanas, nyāyika and pramāna).

Nyāya-s'āstra: by the Vedic science of epistemology, the nyāya-s'āstra, it is understood that the knowledge of an object (prameya) depends on a valid method of knowing (pramāna) (see 11.21: 10; pp 10.86: 54).

Nyāyika: Logic; standard logic in vedic philosophy comprises (not unlike the cartesian method or nyāya of doubt, division, order and completeness):

vishaya, or, general thesis,
sams'aya, or an expression of doubt,
pūrva-paksha, or opposing argument,
siddhānta, or conclusion and
sangati, the summary.

The sangati, or final word, is that one should become a pure devotee of the Personality of Godhead and worship the Lord's lotus feet (see also 11.3: 35-40; see also S'rīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thhākur as quoted in pp 11.3: 40).

- Kavirāja Gosvāmī has said to this, s'rī-krishna-caitanya-dayā karaha vicāra vicāra karile citte pābe camatkāra: 'If you are indeed interested in logic and argument, kindly apply them to the mercy of S'rī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. If you do so, you will find such mercy strikingly wonderful.' (Cc. Ādi 8.15).

 

 

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