Ontology

Avyaya — Indeclinables

Particles, indeclinables, and the grammatical skeleton of Sanskrit.

Comparative Linguistics

Bhūmi — The Earth

Land, soil, geography, and the natural ground of civilization.

Ancient Geography, Archaeobotany, Ecology

Brahma — The Sacred

Brahminic knowledge, ritual, and spiritual practice.

Agnihotra, Brahma Sutra, Brahman, Dharma

Dhī — Intellect and Cognition

Mind, intellect, perception, aesthetic experience, and knowledge.

Aesthetic Experience, Aesthetics, Consciousness, Epistemology

Dig — Direction and Space

The eight directions and the spatial ordering of the cosmos.

Ancient Geography, Cosmology

Kāla — Time

Time, seasons, cosmic cycles, and the ordering of history.

Ancient India, Ancient Indian History, Civilizational Thought, History

Kṣatriya — The Warrior

War, governance, kingship, and the political order.

Manuṣya — The Human

Human life, society, relations, and the categories of personhood.

Civilizational Consciousness, Culture, Human Evolution

Nānārtha — Polysemy

Words with multiple meanings — the semantic richness of Sanskrit.

Categories, Comparative Darshanas

Naraka — The Infernal

Hell realms, punishment, and the consequences of karma.

Afterlife, Karma

Nāṭya — Performance

Drama, dance, music, and the performing arts.

Aesthetic Education, Aesthetics, Arts Performance And Aesthetics

Pātāla — The Underworld

Nāgas, the underworld, and subterranean cosmology.

Cosmology

Pura — The City

Settlements, architecture, urban life, and built space.

Ancient Urban Sites, Civilizational Consciousness

Śabdādi — Sound and Language

Speech, sound, grammar, and the philosophy of language.

Bhartrhari, Comparative Linguistics

Śaila — Mountains

Mountains, rocks, and elevated geography.

Ancient Geography, Ecology

Saṅkīrṇa — The Mixed

Miscellaneous categories not covered by other vargas.

Categories

Siṃhādi — Animals

Animals, birds, and the natural world.

Animal Domestication, Cattle Genomics, Ecology

Śūdra — Craft and Service

Artisans, service vocations, and the material arts.

Svarga — The Celestial

The divine and celestial order — gods, heavens, and cosmic hierarchy.

Afterlife, Cosmology

Vaiśya — Commerce and Agriculture

Trade, agriculture, livestock, and the productive order.

Ancient Agriculture, Ancient Trade

Vanauṣadhi — Forest and Medicine

Plants, herbs, forests, and Āyurvedic knowledge.

Ancient Subsistence, Archaeobotany, Ecology

Vāri — Water

Rivers, oceans, rain, and aquatic life.

Ancient Geography, Ecology

Viśeṣyanighna — Adjectives

Qualifiers, attributes, and the adjectival vocabulary of Sanskrit.

Categories, Comparative Darshanas

Vyoma — The Sky

Sky, atmosphere, celestial bodies, and the heavens above.

Archaeoastronomy, Cosmology