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Mara - the evil spirit who tempted Buddha.

Matali - Indra's charioteer.

Mathura - a city in India where Buddha was said to have been born.

Meru - a mythical mountain in the very center of the Earth, surrounded by four mountain ranges on the four sides of the world, where the gods lived.

Mumai - in Indian folklore, a mischievous spirit. He likes to scare people.

Nadin - the mount of the god Shiva.

Nāga - a spirit or demon inhabiting the underground city of Bhogovati, half-human, half-serpent in appearance, a messenger of Vishnu. One of the serpentine species descended from Kadru, the daughter of the god Daksha. Nāga often appeared as pests, for example, the multi-headed serpent Kaliya, who was subservient to Krishna. However, not all Nāga were malevolent and destructive. Among the Nāga kings was the multi-headed Vasuki, whom gods and demons used to spin Mount Mandra while churning butter from the ocean. Elsewhere, it is said that the world rested on his many heads (when he moves, he causes earthquakes). Another Nāga, Anāntā, is Vishnu's resting place between absorptions and emanations from the cosmos. Nāga were particularly hostile towards Garuda, whose mother, Vināta, ancestor of all birds, was Kadru's sister. Nāga are often depicted as cobras.

Nandin - a white bull, the mount of Shiva.

Naraka - the afterlife, the general name for all the circles of hell.

Nirvana – in a figurative sense; the complete cessation of individual existence. According to Buddhists, for example, it is only a relative nothingness, positively defined as immortality and ineffable happiness.

Pandawa - the hill where Buddha stayed and meditated.

Patala - the underworld inhabited by demonic beings.

Pinaka - the trident of Shiva.

Pipal - the sacred tree of Buddha.

The Puranas are a collection of Hindu religious texts composed between 250 and 1700 CE. They are the largest source of Indian myths. There are eighteen major Puranas and many smaller ones. The Ramayana is one of the two great Sanskrit epics (the other being the Mahabharata). Compiled between 200 BC and 200 CE, it focused on the life and heroic deeds of the god Rama and encompassed a wealth of other mythological material.

Purusha - hero, friend of Ahti.

Pushpaka - a huge, wonderful, flying chariot, directed by the driver's mind.

Tuonela - the first conscious being.

Radha was one of the gopis, young women from the cattle-herding tribe among whom Krishna was raised. Radha was Krishna's favorite gopi, and the couple's romantic relationship (it is uncertain whether Radha became one of Krishna's many wives) is considered a symbol of the intimacy between the god and his followers.

Rakshasa - a demon who arranges marriage by kidnapping.

Rama - the legendary hero of the Ramayana.

Ravana – in Indian mythology, a great, indestructible demon. He fought Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu.

Rita, Rita - in Vedism it was the eternal law, the order of the universe, the power ruling the cosmic and moral order, guarded by the god Varuna.

Sansara - the transmigration of souls, the equivalent of reincarnation.

The Seven Sages, or Rishis, are seven men of great wisdom and spiritual strength who frequently appear in Indian myths. These Seven Sages are: Atri, Bharadwaja, Gautama, Damajgni, Kashyapa, Vasishta, and Vishwamitra.

Sita – the Indian monkey king. Sugriva was overthrown by his brother Valin. One of his ministers, Hanuman, enlisted the aid of Rama, who killed Valin and restored Sugriva to the throne. Sugriva reciprocated by helping Rama defeat the demon Ravana.

Shakti - personification of god's energy in female form.

Siesza - legendary snake.

Sugriwa - the legendary king of monkeys.

Surabhi – the divine cow of abundance, mother of all cattle. Surabhi was said to be one of the treasures created by churning butter from the ocean.

Swarga - the heavenly paradise of Yama, later Indra, on Mount Meru.

Tami - patron saint of the Yamuna River.

Taraka - a cannibalistic demon.

Tilottama - the most beautiful of women, created from the most precious jewels at the behest of Brahma.

Twashri - Brahmin, enemy of Indra.

Churning butter from the ocean - the great act of creation (the transformation of chaos into cosmic order) undertaken by the gods (known as Devas) and demons