Sanskrit Dictionary: 500 Most Common Words with English Meaning
Devanagari · IAST · English · Grouped by category
The 500 Sanskrit words every learner should know — grouped by category, with Devanagari script, IAST transliteration, English meaning, and etymology notes showing how these ancient words connect to modern English. Learning Sanskrit vocabulary is learning the roots of language itself.
🕉️ Spiritual & Philosophical
| Devanagari | IAST | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| आत्मन् | ātman | the self, the soul — the eternal witness within |
| ब्रह्मन् | brahman | the absolute reality, the universal consciousness |
| धर्म | dharma | righteousness, duty, cosmic order, the right way of living |
| कर्म | karma | action and its consequence; the law of cause and effect |
| मोक्ष | mokṣa | liberation from the cycle of rebirth; ultimate freedom |
| माया | māyā | illusion, the power that makes the absolute appear as the many |
| अहिंसा | ahiṃsā | non-violence, not causing harm in thought, word, or deed |
| सत्य | satya | truth; the quality of being in accord with reality |
| शान्ति | śānti | peace; stillness; the calm that transcends circumstance |
| आनन्द | ānanda | bliss, joy — not happiness from external events but inner fullness |
| चित्त | citta | mind-stuff; the mental field that receives and processes experience |
| प्राण | prāṇa | life force; breath; the vital energy animating all living beings |
| गुरु | guru | teacher; literally "the heavy one" — one who dispels darkness |
| शिष्य | śiṣya | student, disciple — one who learns from a guru |
| विद्या | vidyā | knowledge, learning, wisdom — the opposite of avidya (ignorance) |
| अविद्या | avidyā | ignorance — the root cause of suffering in Vedanta philosophy |
| समाधि | samādhi | absorption; the deepest state of meditation; union with the object |
| बोध | bodha | awakening, understanding; the root of "Buddha" (the awakened one) |
| श्रद्धा | śraddhā | faith based on experience and reason; trust earned through practice |
| भक्ति | bhakti | devotion; love directed toward the divine; the path of the heart |
🌿 Nature & Universe
| Devanagari | IAST | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| आकाश | ākāśa | space, sky, ether — the subtlest of the five elements |
| वायु | vāyu | air, wind; the god of wind; the element of air |
| अग्नि | agni | fire; the god of fire; the digestive fire within the body (in Ayurveda) |
| जल | jala | water; the element of water |
| पृथिवी | pṛthivī | earth; the earth goddess; the solid element |
| सूर्य | sūrya | the sun; the solar deity; source of light and life |
| चन्द्र | candra | the moon; the lunar deity; associated with mind and emotion |
| नद | nada | sound, river, stream — nada yoga is the yoga of sound |
| वन | vana | forest; the word "jungle" comes from Sanskrit jangala (wild land) |
| पर्वत | parvata | mountain; hill; the dwelling place of Shiva |
🧠 Human Body & Mind
| Devanagari | IAST | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| शिर | śira | head; śiras in Sanskrit, sheer in some dialects |
| नेत्र | netra | eye; "netra" gives "nethra" in South Indian names |
| कर्ण | karṇa | ear; Karna in Mahabharata means "earring" (he was born with golden earrings) |
| नासा | nāsā | nose; the word "nasal" in English comes from this Sanskrit root via Latin |
| हृदय | hṛdaya | heart; the physical heart and the seat of consciousness |
| हस्त | hasta | hand; mudra means a gesture of the hand or seal |
| पाद | pāda | foot, step, quarter; also a verse-quarter in Sanskrit poetry |
| मनस् | manas | mind; the faculty that receives sensory input and generates emotion |
| बुद्धि | buddhi | intellect; the faculty of discrimination and decision |
| अहङ्कार | ahaṃkāra | ego; literally "I-maker" — the faculty that creates the sense of "I" |
⏳ Time & Numbers
| Devanagari | IAST | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| एक | eka | one — ekam ("the one") is a Vedic name for the absolute |
| द्वि | dvi | two — "dvi" gives "two" (English), "deux" (French), "zwei" (German) |
| त्रि | tri | three — "tri" gives "three" (English), "tres" (Spanish), "trois" (French) |
| चतुर् | catur | four — gives "quarter" (English via Latin quattuor) |
| पञ्च | pañca | five — gives "punch" (the five-ingredient drink) and "pentagon" |
| काल | kāla | time; also "the black one" — a name for death and for Shiva |
| दिन | dina | day; gives "din" in Urdu/Hindi |
| रात्रि | rātri | night; the sacred night; Mahashivaratri = the Great Night of Shiva |
| युग | yuga | age, era — Satya, Treta, Dvapara, Kali yuga are the four cosmic ages |
| क्षण | kṣaṇa | moment; an infinitesimally small unit of time |
⚡ Common Verbs (Roots)
| Devanagari | IAST | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| गम् | gam | to go — gives "come" (English), "vehiculum" (Latin) |
| आगम् | āgam | to come — Agama means "that which has come" (sacred text) |
| भू | bhū | to be, to become — gives "be" (English), Bhumi (earth, "that which is") |
| अस् | as | to be — Sanskrit "asti" (is) gives Latin "est", English "is" |
| वद् | vad | to speak — Veda means "that which has been spoken/known" |
| श्रु | śru | to hear — Shruti (heard scripture) vs Smriti (remembered scripture) |
| दृश् | dṛś | to see — Darshana (philosophy; "that which is seen") |
| ज्ञा | jñā | to know — gives "know" (English), gnosis (Greek), cognitive (Latin) |
| कृ | kṛ | to do, to make — Karma = "that which is done"; Sanskrit = "well-made" |
| नम् | nam | to bow — Namaste = "I bow to the divine in you" |
🧘 Yoga & Meditation
| Devanagari | IAST | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| योग | yoga | union; the practice of joining individual consciousness with universal |
| आसन | āsana | seat, posture — any stable and comfortable position |
| प्राणायाम | prāṇāyāma | breath regulation; extension of prana through breath control |
| ध्यान | dhyāna | meditation; sustained attention on a single object without interruption |
| मुद्रा | mudrā | seal, gesture — hand positions in yoga that direct prana |
| मन्त्र | mantra | sacred sound; literally "that which protects the mind" |
| चक्र | cakra | wheel; energy centres in the subtle body |
| नाड़ी | nāḍī | channel; the subtle energy pathways through which prana flows |
| कुण्डलिनी | kuṇḍalinī | coiled one; the dormant spiritual energy at the base of the spine |
| शवासन | śavāsana | corpse pose; shava = corpse + asana = pose; the final relaxation |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest way to learn Sanskrit vocabulary?
Group words by theme (spiritual, body, nature) and learn 5 words per day with their Devanagari and IAST. Recognizing Sanskrit roots is key — once you know "kṛ" (to do), you understand karma, Sanskrit, Vishwakarma, and many more.
How many Sanskrit words are there?
The Sanskrit language has over 100,000 root words (dhatus) and an almost infinite potential for compound words (samasa). Classical texts like the Rigveda use approximately 10,000 distinct words. The everyday vocabulary needed to read texts like the Bhagavad Gita comfortably is around 2,000–3,000 words.
Are Sanskrit and Hindi dictionaries the same?
No. Hindi uses many Sanskrit-origin words but has also borrowed from Persian, Arabic, and English. Sanskrit vocabulary is more precise, has more distinctions (e.g., three types of "sh"), and follows stricter grammatical rules. A Sanskrit dictionary (like Monier-Williams) is the authoritative reference.
What is the best Sanskrit-English dictionary?
Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899) remains the gold standard and is available free online at monier-williams.sanskrit.cas.sc.edu. For beginners, Apte's Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary is more approachable. VedaLingo provides contextual vocabulary learning within mantras and texts.
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