A plain-language glossary of the words you meet in writing and talk about Hindu civilizational and national thought — philosophy, shakha life, organisation, history and festivals. Each word is given in Devanagari and transliteration, with its literal meaning and how it is used.
Ideas and philosophy
धर्म
Dharma dharma
Literally: that which upholds
The order that sustains individual, family, society and cosmos — duty, righteousness and right conduct together. In national-thought writing it means the moral foundation of public life, not a particular religion or creed.
Origin: Sanskrit root dhṛ, "to hold, support".
Related: Dharma Rajya, Rashtra
राष्ट्र
Rashtra rāṣṭra
Literally: realm, nation
A people bound by a shared land, culture, memory and aspirations. Writers in this tradition distinguish rashtra (a cultural nation) from rajya (the state, a political institution).
Origin: Found in the Vedas, e.g. the Atharvaveda's Prithvi Sukta (12.1).
राज्य
Rajya rājya
Literally: kingdom, state
The state as a political and administrative institution — distinct from the rashtra, the cultural nation that exists before and beyond any government.
Related: Rashtra
हिन्दुत्व
Hindutva hindutva
Literally: Hindu-ness
Hindu identity understood as a cultural and civilizational — rather than only religious — identity, and its expression in national life. The term was popularised by V. D. Savarkar's 1923 essay "Essentials of Hindutva". Supporters describe it as an inclusive cultural nationalism; critics argue that it can marginalise religious minorities. In 1995 the Supreme Court observed in an election case that the word, in itself, can describe a "way of life".
Related: Hindu Rashtra, Punyabhumi
हिन्दू राष्ट्र
Hindu Rashtra hindū rāṣṭra
Literally: Hindu nation
The idea that India's national identity is rooted in its Hindu civilizational heritage. Proponents say they mean a cultural nation, not a theocratic state; critics see the idea as at odds with the secular Constitution of India. A frequently debated term.
स्वराज
Swaraj svarāja
Literally: self-rule
Self-government. Made a national goal by Dadabhai Naoroji (1906) and Bal Gangadhar Tilak ("Swaraj is my birthright"); for Gandhi (Hind Swaraj, 1909) it also meant inner self-rule.
Origin: sva (own) + rāj (rule).
Related: Swadeshi, Hindavi Swarajya
स्वदेशी
Swadeshi svadeśī
Literally: of one's own country
Preferring goods, skills and ideas of one's own country. A mass movement after the 1905 partition of Bengal; in later decades a call for economic self-reliance.
Related: Swaraj, Swadeshi Movement
सत्याग्रह
Satyagraha satyāgraha
Literally: holding firmly to truth
Gandhi's method of non-violent resistance, first used in South Africa (1906) and then in India's freedom struggle.
Origin: satya (truth) + āgraha (firm insistence).
Related: Swaraj
संगठन
Sangathan saṅgaṭhana
Literally: organisation, binding together
Organising society for collective strength. A watchword of reformers from Swami Shraddhananda to the founders of modern volunteer movements, who saw disunity as a cause of past weakness.
Related: Shakha, Samarasata
एकात्मता
Ekatmata ekātmatā
Literally: oneness of spirit
The sense that the people, regions and traditions of India share one spirit — celebrated in the Ekatmata Stotra.
Origin: eka (one) + ātman (self).
Related: Ekatma Manavvad, Ekatmata Stotra
एकात्म मानववाद
Ekatma Manavvad ekātma mānavavāda
Literally: integral humanism
Deendayal Upadhyaya's philosophy, set out in four lectures in Bombay in April 1965: a person is an integrated whole of body, mind, intellect and soul, and society and nature are a connected whole, so development must serve all of them together.
चिति
Chiti citi
Literally: consciousness
In Deendayal Upadhyaya's thought, the innate character or "soul" of a nation, which shapes what it considers right and wrong.
Related: Virat, Ekatma Manavvad
विराट्
Virat virāṭ
Literally: vast, mighty
In Integral Humanism, the collective life-energy of a nation that gives strength to its institutions, guided by its chiti.
Related: Chiti
अन्त्योदय
Antyodaya antyodaya
Literally: the rise of the last
The welfare of the poorest person first — a test for every public policy, associated with Deendayal Upadhyaya.
Origin: antya (last) + udaya (rise).
Related: Ekatma Manavvad, Seva
धर्मराज्य
Dharma Rajya dharmarājya
Literally: rule of dharma
A state governed by moral law and justice, in which even rulers are bound by dharma. Its exponents stress that it does not mean a theocracy.
सामाजिक समरसता
Samarasata sāmājika samarasatā
Literally: social harmony
Harmony across castes and communities, and the removal of untouchability and discrimination in daily life — a central theme of social reform work.
Origin: sama (equal) + rasa (essence, feeling).
Related: Panch Parivartan, Sangathan
सेवा
Seva sevā
Literally: service
Selfless service to society, especially to the poor, sick and disaster-struck, seen as a form of worship.
Related: Antyodaya
संस्कृति
Sanskriti saṃskṛti
Literally: culture, refinement
The shared values, arts, customs and ways of life of a people.
Origin: sam (well) + kṛ (to make).
Related: Rashtra
मातृभूमि
Matribhumi mātṛbhūmi
Literally: motherland
The land honoured as mother, as in the Prarthana's opening "namaste sadā vatsale mātṛbhūme".
Related: Bharat Mata, Punyabhumi
पुण्यभूमि
Punyabhumi puṇyabhūmi
Literally: holy land
In Savarkar's definition (1923), a Hindu is one who regards Bharat both as pitribhumi (fatherland) and punyabhumi (holy land). Critics point out that this definition excludes those whose holy places lie outside India.
Related: Hindutva, Matribhumi
पितृभूमि
Pitribhumi pitṛbhūmi
Literally: fatherland
The land of one's ancestors. Used with punyabhumi in Savarkar's 1923 definition of a Hindu.
Related: Punyabhumi, Matribhumi
वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam
Literally: the world is one family
An ideal from the Maha Upanishad and the Hitopadesha, often quoted to express the universal outlook of Indian thought.
Related: Dharma
पुरुषार्थ
Purushartha puruṣārtha
Literally: aims of human life
The four goals of life — dharma, artha (wealth), kama (desire) and moksha (liberation) — which Integral Humanism treats as a balanced whole.
Related: Ekatma Manavvad
वर्ण
Varna varṇa
Literally: colour, class
The classical fourfold division of society in Hindu texts. Modern reformers — from Dayananda and Vivekananda to Gandhi and Ambedkar — condemned birth-based hierarchy and untouchability; Ambedkar rejected the varna system altogether. Untouchability is abolished by Article 17 of the Constitution.
Related: Samarasata
Shakha words
शाखा
Shakha śākhā
Literally: branch
A daily local gathering of volunteers, usually for an hour, combining physical exercise, games, songs, discussion and a closing prayer.
Origin: Sanskrit śākhā, the branch of a tree — a local unit of a larger body.
Related: Swayamsevak, Prabhat Shakha, Sayam Shakha
स्वयंसेवक
Swayamsevak svayaṃsevaka
Literally: self-motivated volunteer
A volunteer who serves of their own will, without payment.
Origin: svayam (oneself) + sevaka (one who serves).
Related: Shakha, Karyakarta
भगवा ध्वज
Bhagwa Dhwaj bhagavā dhvaja
Literally: saffron flag
The double-pennant saffron flag, an ancient symbol of sacrifice, renunciation and Hindu tradition. In shakha practice it is regarded as the guru rather than any person.
Related: Dhwaj Pranam, Guru Dakshina
ध्वज प्रणाम
Dhwaj Pranam dhvaja praṇāma
Literally: salute to the flag
The salute offered to the Bhagwa Dhwaj at the start and end of a shakha, with the right palm held flat below the chin and the head slightly bowed.
Related: Bhagwa Dhwaj, Prarthana
प्रार्थना
Prarthana prārthanā
Literally: prayer
The Sanskrit prayer "Namaste Sada Vatsale Matribhume", sung at the close of every shakha. Its text was written by Narahari Narayan Bhide in 1939 and it was first sung publicly in 1940.
Related: Matribhumi, Shakha
मुख्य शिक्षक
Mukhya Shikshak mukhya śikṣaka
Literally: chief instructor
The volunteer who conducts the daily programme of a shakha.
गटनायक
Gatanayak gaṭanāyaka
Literally: group leader
A volunteer responsible for keeping in touch with a small group (gat) of members in one locality.
Related: Gan
गण
Gan gaṇa
Literally: group, troop
A group within a shakha, often by age — for example the shishu (children's) or tarun (youth) gan.
शिशु
Shishu śiśu
Literally: child
The youngest age-group in a shakha.
बाल
Bal bāla
Literally: boy, child
The school-age group in a shakha, between shishu and tarun.
तरुण
Tarun taruṇa
Literally: young
The youth group in a shakha.
सम्पत्
Sampat sampat
Literally: assembly
The word of command for falling into formation at the start of a shakha.
Related: Vikir
विकिर
Vikir vikira
Literally: scatter
The word of command for dispersing at the end of a shakha.
Origin: Sanskrit vi-kṝ, "to scatter".
Related: Sampat
बौद्धिक
Baudhik bauddhika
Literally: of the intellect
The talk or discussion session of a shakha or camp, on history, current issues, values or great lives.
Related: Sharirik
शारीरिक
Sharirik śārīrika
Literally: physical
The physical-training part of a shakha: exercises, drills, yoga and games.
खेल
Khel khela
Literally: game
Traditional team games such as kabaddi and kho-kho, played in every shakha to build fitness and team spirit.
Related: Sharirik
दण्ड
Dand daṇḍa
Literally: staff, stick
Training with a bamboo staff — an old Indian martial discipline used for fitness, coordination and self-defence.
नियुद्ध
Niyuddha niyuddha
Literally: close combat
Unarmed combat and self-defence training.
Related: Dand
योगचाप
Yogchap yogacāpa
Literally: yoga bow
A bamboo bow-shaped implement fitted with metal jingles, used in rhythmic group exercises.
सूर्य नमस्कार
Surya Namaskar sūrya namaskāra
Literally: salutation to the sun
A sequence of twelve postures with mantras, practised in many shakhas and schools.
Related: Sharirik
घोष
Ghosh ghoṣa
Literally: sound, proclamation
A band of Indian instruments — conch (shankh), bamboo flute (vamshi) and drums (anak, panav) — that plays for drills and processions.
Related: Path Sanchalan
सुभाषित
Subhashit subhāṣita
Literally: well said
A short Sanskrit verse of practical wisdom, recited and explained in a shakha.
Related: Amrit Vachan
अमृत वचन
Amrit Vachan amṛta vacana
Literally: nectar-like words
A short inspiring quotation from a great person, read out at a shakha.
Related: Subhashit
प्रभात शाखा
Prabhat Shakha prabhāta śākhā
Literally: morning branch
A shakha held at dawn.
Related: Shakha, Sayam Shakha
सायं शाखा
Sayam Shakha sāyaṃ śākhā
Literally: evening branch
A shakha held in the evening.
Related: Prabhat Shakha
मिलन
Milan milana
Literally: meeting
A weekly gathering, often for working people who cannot attend daily.
Related: Shakha
गणवेश
Ganvesh gaṇaveśa
Literally: uniform
The uniform worn at camps and route marches. In 2016 the long-standing khaki shorts were replaced by brown trousers.
Related: Path Sanchalan
Organisation
सरसंघचालक
Sarsanghchalak sarasaṅghacālaka
Literally: chief guide
The head and guide of the organisation founded in 1925. Each holder has named a successor.
Related: Sarkaryavah, Sanghchalak
सरकार्यवाह
Sarkaryavah sarakāryavāha
Literally: general secretary
The chief executive officer, elected every three years by the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha.
Related: Pratinidhi Sabha, Karyavah
संघचालक
Sanghchalak saṅghacālaka
Literally: guide
An honorary guide or patron at a given level — city, district, province.
Related: Sarsanghchalak
कार्यवाह
Karyavah kāryavāha
Literally: one who carries the work
The secretary responsible for organisational work at a level — from a single shakha up to the whole country.
Related: Sarkaryavah, Mukhya Shikshak
प्रचारक
Pracharak pracāraka
Literally: one who spreads
A full-time worker who devotes his life to the organisation, traditionally unmarried and without salary.
Related: Vistarak, Karyakarta
विस्तारक
Vistarak vistāraka
Literally: one who expands
A volunteer who gives full time for a limited period, often to start or strengthen work in a new area.
Related: Pracharak
कार्यकर्ता
Karyakarta kāryakartā
Literally: worker
An active volunteer with a responsibility.
Related: Swayamsevak, Pracharak
प्रान्त
Prant prānta
Literally: province
An organisational province, which may not match a state's boundaries.
क्षेत्र
Kshetra kṣetra
Literally: region
A region made up of several prants.
Related: Prant
विभाग
Vibhag vibhāga
Literally: division
A division within a prant, made up of several districts.
जिला
Zila jilā
Literally: district
A district-level unit.
खण्ड
Khand khaṇḍa
Literally: block
A rural block-level unit below the district.
नगर
Nagar nagara
Literally: town
An urban unit, made up of several bastis or localities.
बस्ती
Basti bastī
Literally: settlement, locality
The local neighbourhood that a shakha serves.
बैठक
Baithak baiṭhaka
Literally: sitting, meeting
A planning or review meeting of workers.
Related: Karyakarta
प्रतिनिधि सभा
Pratinidhi Sabha pratinidhi sabhā
Literally: representatives' assembly
The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the annual all-India assembly of elected representatives that elects the Sarkaryavah and passes resolutions.
Related: Sarkaryavah
शिक्षा वर्ग
Shiksha Varg śikṣā varga
Literally: training class
Residential training camps, held in stages from a short local camp to an advanced national camp at Nagpur.
Related: Karyakarta
गुरु दक्षिणा
Guru Dakshina guru dakṣiṇā
Literally: offering to the guru
An annual offering made before the Bhagwa Dhwaj, usually around Guru Purnima, by which the organisation funds itself from its own members.
Related: Bhagwa Dhwaj, Guru Purnima
History
वन्दे मातरम्
Vande Mataram vande mātaram
Literally: I bow to you, Mother
The song by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1875), included in his novel Anandamath (1882), which became the rallying cry of the freedom struggle. Its first two stanzas were adopted as the National Song in 1950.
Related: Bharat Mata, Swadeshi Movement
भारत माता
Bharat Mata bhārata mātā
Literally: Mother India
India personified as a mother goddess — popularised in the Swadeshi era, notably in Abanindranath Tagore's 1905 painting.
Related: Vande Mataram, Matribhumi
स्वदेशी आन्दोलन
Swadeshi Movement svadeśī āndolana
Literally: own-country movement
The 1905–11 movement against the partition of Bengal, which boycotted British goods and promoted Indian industry and education.
Related: Swadeshi, Vande Mataram
हिन्दवी स्वराज्य
Hindavi Swarajya hindavī svarājya
Literally: self-rule of the people of Hindustan
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's ideal of a sovereign kingdom of the people, built in the seventeenth century.
Related: Rajyabhishek, Swaraj
राज्याभिषेक
Rajyabhishek rājyābhiṣeka
Literally: royal consecration
Coronation — especially Shivaji Maharaj's coronation at Raigad on 6 June 1674, remembered as Hindu Samrajya Diwas.
Related: Hindu Samrajya Diwas, Ashta Pradhan
अष्टप्रधान
Ashta Pradhan aṣṭapradhāna
Literally: eight ministers
Shivaji Maharaj's council of eight ministers, each in charge of a department of government.
Related: Rajyabhishek
छत्रपति
Chhatrapati chatrapati
Literally: lord of the royal umbrella
The title of a sovereign king, taken by Shivaji Maharaj at his coronation.
Related: Rajyabhishek
शुद्धि
Shuddhi śuddhi
Literally: purification
The Arya Samaj movement (from the late nineteenth century) to welcome back into Hindu society those who had left it.
Related: Sangathan
भूदान
Bhoodan bhūdāna
Literally: gift of land
Vinoba Bhave's movement, begun in 1951, in which landowners gave land to the landless.
Related: Seva
एकात्मता स्तोत्र
Ekatmata Stotra ekātmatā stotra
Literally: hymn of oneness
A Sanskrit hymn of 33 verses naming the rivers, mountains, holy places, sages and heroes of Bharat, recited as a reminder of national unity.
Related: Ekatmata
विवेकानन्द शिला स्मारक
Vivekananda Rock Memorial vivekānanda śilā smāraka
Literally: Vivekananda rock memorial
The memorial at Kanyakumari, opened in 1970, built on the rock where Swami Vivekananda meditated in 1892. Its building was led by Eknath Ranade and funded by contributions from across India.
Related: Seva
राम जन्मभूमि
Ram Janmabhoomi rāma janmabhūmi
Literally: birthplace of Rama
The site in Ayodhya revered as Rama's birthplace, at the centre of a long legal and political dispute. The Babri mosque on the site was demolished in 1992; the Supreme Court awarded the site for a temple in November 2019, and the temple's consecration was held on 22 January 2024.
Related: Vijayadashami
पञ्च परिवर्तन
Panch Parivartan pañca parivartana
Literally: five transformations
Five social changes promoted in the centenary year (2025–26): social harmony, family values, care of the environment, self-reliance and national self-awareness, and civic duties.
Related: Samarasata, Seva
Festivals and observances
उत्सव
Utsav utsava
Literally: festival, celebration
A festival observed together. Six festivals are traditionally observed by shakhas: Varsha Pratipada, Hindu Samrajya Diwas, Guru Purnima, Raksha Bandhan, Vijayadashami and Makar Sankranti.
Related: Varsha Pratipada, Vijayadashami
वर्ष प्रतिपदा
Varsha Pratipada varṣa pratipadā
Literally: first day of the year
Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the Hindu New Year (Gudi Padwa, Ugadi). It is also the birth anniversary of Dr K. B. Hedgewar, born on this day in 1889.
Related: Utsav
हिन्दू साम्राज्य दिवस
Hindu Samrajya Diwas hindū sāmrājya divasa
Literally: day of Hindu sovereignty
The anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj's coronation, observed on Jyeshtha Shukla Trayodashi.
Related: Rajyabhishek, Hindavi Swarajya
गुरु पूर्णिमा
Guru Purnima guru pūrṇimā
Literally: full moon of the guru
Ashadha Purnima, honouring Veda Vyasa and all teachers; in shakhas, the day of offering guru dakshina before the Bhagwa Dhwaj.
Related: Guru Dakshina, Bhagwa Dhwaj
रक्षाबन्धन
Raksha Bandhan rakṣābandhana
Literally: bond of protection
Shravan Purnima, when sisters tie rakhi on brothers' wrists. Volunteer groups also celebrate it as a festival of brotherhood across society.
Related: Samarasata
विजयादशमी
Vijayadashami vijayādaśamī
Literally: the victorious tenth
Dussehra, the victory of good over evil. The organisation was founded on Vijayadashami in 1925, and its head gives an annual address at Nagpur on this day.
Related: Shastra Puja, Path Sanchalan
मकर संक्रान्ति
Makar Sankranti makara saṅkrānti
Literally: the Sun's entry into Capricorn
The festival of the Sun's northward journey, in mid-January — a time of sharing til-gud and goodwill.
Related: Utsav
शस्त्र पूजा
Shastra Puja śastra pūjā
Literally: worship of weapons
The traditional worship of weapons and tools on Vijayadashami.
Related: Vijayadashami
पथ संचलन
Path Sanchalan patha sañcalana
Literally: route march
A disciplined march through the streets in uniform, often with a ghosh band, held on festivals such as Vijayadashami.
Everyday words
नमस्ते
Namaste namaste
Literally: I bow to you
The everyday greeting with joined palms, honouring the divine in the other.
Origin: namaḥ (bow) + te (to you).
Related: Pranam
प्रणाम
Pranam praṇāma
Literally: respectful bow
A respectful greeting to elders and teachers.
Related: Namaste
जयघोष
Jaighosh jayaghoṣa
Literally: cry of victory
A collective slogan such as "Bharat Mata ki Jai", raised at the end of programmes.
Related: Bharat Mata ki Jai
भारत माता की जय
Bharat Mata ki Jai bhārata mātā kī jaya
Literally: victory to Mother India
The best-known national slogan, used widely since the freedom struggle.
Related: Bharat Mata, Jaighosh
साधना
Sadhana sādhanā
Literally: disciplined practice
Regular spiritual or personal discipline, such as daily prayer, study and service.
Related: Seva
सत्संग
Satsang satsaṅga
Literally: company of the good
A gathering for devotional singing, reading and discussion.
Related: Sadhana
संकल्प
Sankalp saṅkalpa
Literally: resolve
A solemn resolution or vow — taken before a puja, a vrat or a task of service.
Related: Sadhana
परिवार प्रबोधन
Kutumb Prabodhan parivāra prabodhana
Literally: awakening the family
Strengthening family values and togetherness — for example by sharing a meal and conversation weekly.
Related: Panch Parivartan
नागरिक कर्तव्य
Nagarik Kartavya nāgarika kartavya
Literally: civic duty
The duties of a citizen — obeying the law, keeping public places clean, voting and respecting others' rights — as listed among the Fundamental Duties in Article 51A of the Constitution.
Related: Panch Parivartan
Frequently asked questions
What does "Rashtriya Vichar" mean?
Rashtriya Vichar (राष्ट्रीय विचार) means "national thought" — the ideas of thinkers and movements about India as a civilization and nation.
What is a shakha?
A shakha is a daily local gathering of volunteers, usually for an hour, with physical exercise, games, songs, discussion and a closing prayer.
What is the difference between rashtra and rajya?
Rashtra is the nation as a people with a shared culture and land; rajya is the state as a political institution.
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Sources & copyright status
- V. D. Savarkar, "Essentials of Hindutva" (1923) — cited for the origin of terms; not reproduced (in copyright in India until the end of 2026)
- Deendayal Upadhyaya, Integral Humanism lectures, Bombay, April 1965 — concepts summarised in our own words
- Supreme Court of India, Ramesh Yeshwant Prabhoo v. Prabhakar Kashinath Kunte (1995) — for the "way of life" observation
- Constitution of India, Articles 17 and 51A — government document
- Aaj Tak, history of the Sangh prayer (29 September 2025) — Prarthana authorship and first singing
- News reports on the 2026 Vijayadashami address (Panch Parivartan)
- Historical facts: not subject to copyright.
- Commentary and translations on this page: original to The Hindu Book. © The Hindu Book, all rights reserved.
The Hindu Book is an independent educational platform. It is not affiliated with any political party, religious organisation or movement, and nothing here implies endorsement by any organisation. This page is published for education and review. If you hold rights in any material quoted here, or believe a source is misrepresented, please write to [email protected].