Glossary of Hinduism Terms - R

R

• Rādhā (राधा): Rādhā is one of the gopis (cow-herding girls) of the forest of Vrindavan, Krishna plays with her during his upbringing as a young boy; The other Radha is the wife of the charioteer Adhiratha, who found an abandoned new-born boy, whom he named Karna.
• Rāhu (राहु): Rahu is a snake that swallows the sun or the moon causing eclipses. Rahu is one of the navagrahas.
• Raibhya (रैभ्य): A sage whose hermitage was situated on the banks of the Ganges, near Rishikesh, a place, which gets its name, from Lord Vishnu appearing to him as Hrishikesh. The Pandavas during their wanderings visited it. This ghat was very holy. Bharata, son of Dasaratha bathed here. Indra was cleansed of his sin of killing Vritra unfairly by bathing in this ghat. Sanatkumar became one with God. Aditi, mother of the gods, prayed here to be blessed with a son.
• Radheya (राधेय): Son of Radha, a name of Karna, who as a foundling was brought up as a son by Radha, the wife of the Charioteer Adhiratha.
• Rajasūya (राजसूय): A sacrifice performed by a king to be entitled to assume the title of "Emperor".
• Rā́kṣasaḥ (रा॑क्षस): A rakshasa alternately, raksasa or rakshas is a demon or unrighteous spirit in Hinduism.
• Rāma (राम): The Seventh Avatara of Vishnu. The life and heroic deeds of Rama are written in the Sanskrit epic, The Ramayana.
• Ramanaka dwīpa (रमणक द्वीप): The home of Kaliya Naga, a poisonous hydra, on the banks of Yamuna river.
• Rāmāyaṇa (रामायण): Part of the Hindu smriti, written by Valmiki. This epic of 24,000 verses in seven kandas (chapters or books) tells of a Raghuvamsa prince, Rama of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted by the rakshasa Ravana.
• Rāma-navamī (राम नवमी): A Hindu festival, celebrating of the birth of Lord Rama. The day falls on the Navami, ninth day of the Chaitra month of Hindu lunar year in 'Shukla paksha'.
• Rambhā (रम्‍भा): An apsara in the court of Indra.
• Ratī (रती): Ratī is the goddess of passion and lust, and a daughter of Daksha. She married Kamadeva, the God of love.
• Rāvaṇa (रावण): King of Lanka who abducted Sita, the beautiful wife of Ramachandra. Ravana is depicted in art with up to ten heads, signifying that he had knowledge spanning all the ten directions.
• Rewatī (रेवती): Daughter of Raja Rewat of Arntā who marries Balarama
• Ṝgveda (ऋग्वेद): The Rigveda is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns counted as the holiest of the four religious texts of Hindus, known as the Vedas.
• Rishabha (ऋषभ): Rsabha, the bull, a Hindu god mentioned in epic and Puranic literature, is an unusual avatar of Vishnu. The second note of the Indian gamut (Shadja, rishabha, gandhara, madhyama, panchama, daivata, nishada -sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni.)
• Ṛta (ऋतं): Vedic principle of natural order believed to regulate and coordinate the operation of the universe on the natural, moral and sacrificial levels.
• Ṛṣi (ऋषि): Rishi, also known as Mantradraṣṭa ("seer of the Mantras") and Vedavaktāra ("chanter of the Vedas") is a seer who "heard" (cf. śruti) the hymns of the Vedas. A rishi is regarded as a combination of a patriarch, a priest, a preceptor, an author of Vedic hymns, a sage, a saint, an ascetic, a prophet and a hermit into a single person.
• Rishyamūk (ऋष्यमूक): Mountain on which Sugriva dwelt.
• Rishyasringa (ऋष्यश्रृंग): Son of sage Vibhandaka, who had grown up seeing no mortal except his father. The king of Anga, which was afflicted with a dire famine, to bring rain and plenty, invited him.
• Rituparṇa (ऋतुपर्ण): The king of Ayodhya to whom Nala became the charioteer.
• Rohiṇi (रोहिणि): The wife of Vasudeva and mother of Balarama
• Romapada (रोमपद): King of Anga which was once visited by a great drought.
• Rudra (रुद्र): A Rigvedic god of the storm, the hunt, death, Nature and the Wind. Rudra is an early form of Shiva and a name of Shiva in the Shiva sahasranama.
• Rudra nritya (रुद्र नृत्‍य): Siva's cosmic dance of destruction.
• Rukma (रुक्‍म): Elder brother of Rukmani, Heir apparent to the throne of Vidarbha. When defeated by Balarama and Krishna he established a new city Bhojakata, ashamed to return to Kundinapura, the capital of Vidarbha, and ruled over it.
• Rukmiṇī (रुक्‍मिणी): Daughter of Raja Bhismak, born at Kundalpur. Rukmini was the first wife and queen of Krishna, the 8th avatar of Vishnu. She was an avatar of Lakshmi.
• Ruparekha (रूपरेखा): Lit. meaning a treak of Beauty. A statue in the throne of Vikramaditya.