Free tool
Sanskrit yoga flashcards
These Sanskrit yoga flashcards cover pose names, breath and pranayama words, the words teachers use in class and key ideas from yoga philosophy. Study a deck as flashcards or take a ten-question quiz. Spaced repetition saved in your browser brings back the words you miss sooner and the ones you know later.
Sanskrit Yoga Flashcards
82New
0Box 1
0Box 2
0Box 3
0Box 4
0Box 5
Nothing due in this deck.
Cards you get right come back after 1, 3, 7 and 16 days; a miss sends a card back to box 1.
Keys: Space to show, 1 or J for again, 2 or K for got it. Progress is saved in this browser only.
How do you use the flashcards?
- Pick a deck. Poses, Breath, Class words or Philosophy, or All to mix them. The number on each deck is how many cards it holds.
- Choose Flashcards or Quiz.
- In Flashcards, read the Sanskrit word, say what you think it means, then press Show meaning. Be honest: Got it if you knew it, Again if you did not.
- In Quiz, pick the right meaning from four choices. Turn on “Show the meaning, pick the Sanskrit” to quiz yourself the other way round.
The row of boxes above the card shows your progress in the deck: how many cards are new and how many sit in each of the five boxes. Each session gives you the cards due today first, then up to ten new ones.
Keyboard shortcuts
- Flashcards: Space shows the meaning, 1 or J marks it again, 2 or K marks it as known.
- Quiz: 1 to 4 picks an answer, Enter goes to the next question.
What are the decks?
- Poses. The Sanskrit names of the poses in our library, from Tadasana to Savasana, with the English name on the back. Where the glossary explains the name, you get that too, such as “ardha means half”.
- Breath. Prana, pranayama, ujjayi, nadi shodhana, kapalabhati, bhramari, kumbhaka and the bandhas.
- Class words. Words you are likely to hear in a class: asana, vinyasa, drishti, sankalpa, namaste, om, mudra and more.
- Philosophy. Ideas from the Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and the wider traditions, such as the yamas and niyamas, the koshas and the gunas.
Every card comes from our Sanskrit yoga glossary and the Sanskrit names in the pose library. “Read more” on a card opens the pose page or glossary entry.
How does spaced repetition help?
Spaced repetition shows a card again just as you are about to forget it. Cards you know well come back less and less often, so your time goes on the words you are still learning. This trainer uses the Leitner method: five boxes, with gaps of 0, 1, 3, 7 and 16 days. A miss always sends a card back to box 1. Quiz answers move cards between boxes too, so both modes count.
Tips for learning yoga Sanskrit
- Learn the building blocks. Many pose names are made of a few repeating words: ardha (half), eka pada (one foot), parivrtta (revolved), supta (reclined), utthita (extended) and asana (pose).
- Five minutes a day beats an hour once a week. The boxes are built for short, frequent sessions.
- Link words to shapes. After a card, open the pose page and look at the shape.
For the ideas behind the philosophy deck, the eight-limbed path of the Yoga Sutras is a clear place to start.
Privacy
There is no account and no tracking of your answers. Progress is saved in this browser only, and the Reset progress link clears it.
What this tool draws on
Every card links to the term's full page. These are the ones people look up most:
It is one of 28 free yoga and studio tools on the site, and none of them needs a sign-up.
Every card, deck by deck
The 197 words the flashcards use, for a quick read or if the trainer does not load. Pose names link to the pose page; other words link to their entry in the Sanskrit yoga glossary or the page that explains them.
Poses 82 words · sanskrit pose names and what they mean
| Sanskrit | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Adho Mukha Svanasana | Downward-Facing Dog |
| Adho Mukha Vrksasana | Handstand |
| Agnistambhasana | Fire Log Pose |
| Ananda Balasana | Happy Baby Pose |
| Anjaneyasana | Low Lunge |
| Ardha Chandrasana | Half Moon Pose |
| Ardha Matsyendrasana | Seated Twist |
| Ardha Padmasana | Half Lotus Pose |
| Ardha Pincha Mayurasana | Dolphin Pose |
| Ashta Chandrasana | Crescent Lunge |
| Astavakrasana | Eight Angle Pose |
| Baddha Konasana | Butterfly Pose |
| Bakasana | Crow Pose |
| Balasana | Child's Pose |
| Bharmanasana | Table Top Pose |
| Bhujangasana | Cobra Pose |
| Caterpillar Pose | A Yin name for a seated forward fold over straight legs, held with the spine allowed to round |
| Chaturanga Dandasana | Four-Limbed Staff Pose |
| Dandasana | Staff Pose |
| Dhanurasana | Bow Pose |
| Dragon Pose | A Yin name for a low lunge held for several minutes with the legs soft |
| Eka Pada Rajakapotasana | Pigeon Pose |
| Garudasana | Eagle Pose |
| Gomukhasana | Cow Face Pose |
| Halasana | Plow Pose |
| II and III | Warrior Poses |
| Janu Sirsasana | Head to Knee Pose |
| Malasana | Garland Pose |
| Mandukasana | Frog Pose |
| Marjaryasana Bitilasana | Cat-Cow |
| Matsyasana | Fish Pose |
| Natarajasana | Dancer Pose |
| Navasana | Boat Pose |
| Padmasana | Lotus Pose |
| Parighasana | Gate Pose |
| Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana | Revolved Head to Knee Pose |
| Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana | Compass Pose |
| Parsvottanasana | Pyramid Pose |
| Paschimottanasana | Seated Forward Bend |
| Phalakasana | Plank Pose |
| Prasarita Padottanasana | Wide Legged Forward Bend |
| Purvottanasana | Reverse Plank |
| Salabhasana | Locust Pose |
| Salamba Balasana | Supported Child's Pose |
| Salamba Bhujangasana | Sphinx Pose |
| Salamba Sarvangasana | Shoulder Stand |
| Savasana | Corpse Pose |
| Setu Bandha Sarvangasana | Bridge Pose |
| Siddhasana | Accomplished Pose |
| Simhasana | Lion Pose |
| Sirsasana | Headstand |
| Sukhasana | Easy Pose |
| Supta Baddha Konasana | Reclined Butterfly |
| Supta Matsyendrasana | Supine Twist |
| Supta Padangusthasana | Reclined Hand to Big Toe Pose |
| Supta Vajrasana | Saddle Pose in Yin yoga |
| Supta Virasana | Reclined Hero Pose |
| Surya Namaskar | Sun Salutation |
| Tadasana | Mountain Pose |
| Tittibhasana | Firefly Pose |
| Trikonasana | Triangle Pose |
| Urdhva Dhanurasana | Wheel Pose |
| Urdhva Mukha Svanasana | Upward-Facing Dog |
| Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana | Standing Split |
| Ustrasana | Camel Pose |
| Utkata Konasana | Wide Squat Pose |
| Utkatasana | Chair Pose |
| Uttana Shishosana | Puppy Pose |
| Uttanasana | Standing Forward Bend |
| Utthan Pristhasana | Lizard Pose |
| Utthita Parsvakonasana | Extended Side Angle |
| Utthita Tadasana | Star Pose |
| Vajrasana | Thunderbolt Pose |
| Vasisthasana | Side Plank |
| Viparita Karani | Legs Up the Wall |
| Virabhadrasana | The Warrior Poses |
| Virabhadrasana I | Warrior Poses |
| Virabhadrasana II | Warrior II |
| Virabhadrasana III | Warrior III |
| Virasana | Hero Pose |
| Vrksasana | Tree Pose |
| Vrschikasana | Scorpion Pose |
Breath 12 words · pranayama, bandhas and breath words
| Sanskrit | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bandha | A lock: a gentle muscular hold used to steady a posture or the breath |
| Bhramari | Bee breath: breathing out with a soft humming sound; bhramari means bee |
| Jalandhara Bandha | Throat lock: drawing the chin down toward the chest |
| Kapalabhati | Skull-shining breath: short, strong exhalations through the nose, each followed by a passive inhalation |
| Kumbhaka | Breath retention: a pause with the breath held in or out during pranayama |
| Mula Bandha | Root lock: a gentle lift of the pelvic floor |
| Nadi | A channel: in hatha and tantric texts, one of the pathways said to carry prana through the body |
| Nadi Shodhana | Alternate nostril breathing: breathing through one nostril at a time; the name means cleaning the channels |
| Prana | Breath, and by extension the life force that yoga texts say the breath carries |
| Pranayama | Breath practice: prana is breath or life force and ayama means extending or regulating it |
| Uddiyana Bandha | Upward-flying lock: drawing the belly in and up, usually after an exhalation |
| Ujjayi | A slow breath through the nose with a soft sound at the back of the throat, often used in flowing practice |
Class words 34 words · words a teacher may use in class
| Sanskrit | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Abhyasa | Steady, sustained practice; paired with vairagya in Yoga Sutra 1.12 |
| Aparigraha | Non-grasping or non-possessiveness: the fifth of the five yamas |
| Asana | A posture |
| Asteya | Non-stealing: the third of the five yamas |
| Brahmacharya | Traditionally celibacy, often read today as the wise use of energy: the fourth of the five yamas |
| Chakra | Literally a wheel: in traditional yoga texts, one of the centres pictured along the spine, most often counted as seven |
| Chitta | The mind or field of awareness; in the Yoga Sutras, what yoga brings to stillness |
| Dharana | The sixth limb: holding the attention on one point |
| Dhyana | The seventh limb: meditation, when that attention flows without effort |
| Drishti | A resting point for the eyes in a posture, which helps keep the attention steady |
| Guru | A teacher, especially a spiritual teacher; the literal meaning is heavy or weighty |
| Ishvara Pranidhana | Devotion or surrender to Ishvara, the Lord: the fifth of the five niyamas |
| Klesha | Affliction: in the Yoga Sutras, one of five causes of suffering, beginning with avidya, not seeing clearly |
| Mala | Garland: a string of beads, traditionally 108, used to count mantra repetitions |
| Mantra | A word, syllable or short phrase, usually Sanskrit, chanted or repeated silently as a focus for prayer or meditation |
| Mudra | A seal or gesture, usually made with the hands, such as the palms pressed together in anjali mudra |
| Namaste | A Sanskrit greeting meaning "I bow to you", said with the palms together at the chest |
| Om | A single syllable chanted at the start or close of many practices, described in the Upanishads as the sound of everything that exists |
| Pratyahara | The fifth limb: drawing the attention in from the senses |
| Samadhi | The eighth limb: complete absorption, where the one meditating and the object of meditation are no longer felt as separate |
| Sankalpa | An intention, set quietly at the start or the end of a practice |
| Santosha | Contentment: the second of the five niyamas |
| Satya | Truthfulness: the second of the five yamas |
| Saucha | Cleanliness or purity: the first of the five niyamas |
| Shala | A hall, house or room set aside for a purpose; a yoga shala is a place where yoga is practised |
| Shanti | Peace; often said three times at the close of a chant |
| Sthira sukha | Steady and easy: from Yoga Sutra 2.46, which asks that a posture be both stable and comfortable |
| Svadhyaya | Self-study, including the study of texts: the fourth of the five niyamas |
| Tapas | Heat or discipline, the effort of steady practice: the third of the five niyamas |
| Vairagya | Non-attachment or dispassion; paired with abhyasa in Yoga Sutra 1.12 |
| Vinyasa | Placing things in a particular order; in a class, moving from one posture to the next with the breath |
| Vritti | A movement or fluctuation of the mind; Yoga Sutra 1.2 defines yoga as the stilling of these |
| Yoga Nidra | Yogic sleep: a guided practice of deep relaxation done lying down, usually in Savasana |
| Yoga Sutras | A classical text attributed to Patanjali: short, dense lines that define yoga and set out the eight limbs |
Philosophy 69 words · ideas from the sutras, the gita and beyond
| Sanskrit | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ahimsa | Non-harming, in action, speech and thought: the first of the five yamas |
| Ajna | The sixth chakra of the modern seven-chakra system, pictured between the eyebrows and often called the third eye |
| Anahata | The heart chakra, fourth of the seven in the modern system, placed in the chest; anahata means unstruck |
| Ashram | A hermitage or community where students live and practise with a teacher |
| Ashtanga yoga | Eight-limbed yoga, the path outlined in the Yoga Sutras; also the name of a modern style practised as a fixed sequence |
| Atman | The self: in the Upanishads, the innermost self, which they teach is one with brahman |
| Ayurveda | The traditional medical system of India; the name joins ayus, life, and veda, knowledge |
| Bhagavad Gita | A classical Sanskrit poem, a conversation between the warrior Arjuna and Krishna, that sets out the paths of action, devotion and knowledge |
| Bhakti yoga | The yoga of devotion, practised through prayer, chanting and service |
| Bija | Seed: a one-syllable mantra, such as lam or yam, that tradition pairs with each chakra |
| Bodhisattva | In Mahayana Buddhism, one who seeks awakening and vows to help all beings reach it |
| Brahman | In the Upanishads and Vedanta, the single ultimate reality that underlies everything that exists |
| Dharma | What holds things together: the order of the world, right conduct and one's own duty; in Buddhism, the teaching of the Buddha |
| Dosha | In Ayurveda, one of three principles, vata, pitta and kapha, used to describe a person's constitution |
| Dukkha | A Pali word for suffering or unsatisfactoriness, the subject of the first of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths |
| Eight limbs of yoga | The eight-part outline of yoga in the Yoga Sutras, from ethics and posture to breath, concentration and meditation |
| Gayatri mantra | A verse from the Rig Veda addressed to Savitr, the sun, and one of the most widely recited mantras in Hindu practice |
| Guna | Quality or strand: in Samkhya and the Bhagavad Gita, one of the three qualities, sattva, rajas and tamas, said to make up all of nature |
| Hatha yoga | The branch of yoga built on postures, breath and bodily discipline; most studio yoga taught today grows out of it |
| Hatha Yoga Pradipika | A manual of hatha yoga written by Svatmarama in the fifteenth century, covering postures, breath control, locks and seals |
| Ida | In hatha and tantric texts, the channel on the left of the central channel, linked with the moon |
| Japa | The repetition of a mantra, aloud or silently, often counted on a mala |
| Jiva | The individual living self, bound in the cycle of birth and death, in Hindu and Jain thought |
| Jnana yoga | The yoga of knowledge, practised through study, reflection and questioning what the self is |
| Kapha | In Ayurveda, the dosha associated with water and earth and with structure and stability |
| Karma | Action, and the idea that intentional actions leave consequences that shape what follows |
| Karma yoga | The yoga of action: doing your work well without clinging to what it earns you, as taught in the Bhagavad Gita |
| Kirtan | Call-and-response chanting of divine names, usually with music; a central practice of bhakti yoga |
| Kosha | Sheath: one of five layers covering the self in the Taittiriya Upanishad, from the body of food to the body of bliss |
| Kriya | Action; in yoga, a specific practice or technique, such as the cleansing practices of hatha yoga or a set sequence in Kundalini yoga |
| Kundalini | In tantric and hatha texts, a force pictured as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine, said to rise through the chakras |
| Kundalini yoga | A style that combines breath work, chanting, movement and meditation, named for the image of a coiled energy at the base of the spine |
| Mandala | Circle: an ordered, usually round design used in Hindu and Buddhist practice as a map of the cosmos and a focus for meditation |
| Manipura | The solar plexus chakra, third of the seven in the modern system, placed at the navel; the name means city of jewels |
| Maya | Usually translated as illusion: in Advaita Vedanta, the power that makes the one reality appear as a changing world of many separate things |
| Metta | A Pali word for loving-kindness: friendly goodwill toward yourself and others, cultivated in a Buddhist meditation of the same name |
| Moksha | Liberation: release from samsara, the cycle of birth and death, and the highest aim in many Hindu traditions |
| Muladhara | The root chakra, first of the seven in the modern system, placed at the base of the spine; mula means root and adhara support |
| Nirvana | Literally blowing out: in Buddhism, the ending of craving and suffering, and release from the cycle of rebirth |
| Niyama | The second of the eight limbs: five observances, among them contentment and self-study |
| Om mani padme hum | The six-syllable Buddhist mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, recited above all in Tibetan Buddhism |
| Om namah shivaya | A Hindu mantra meaning roughly "Om, I bow to Shiva", central to devotion to Shiva |
| Om shanti | Om followed by shanti, peace; often chanted as om shanti shanti shanti at the close of a practice |
| Patanjali | The name traditionally given to the compiler of the Yoga Sutras; almost nothing about his life is known for certain |
| Pingala | In hatha and tantric texts, the channel on the right of the central channel, linked with the sun |
| Pitta | In Ayurveda, the dosha associated with fire and water and with digestion and heat |
| Prakriti | Nature or matter: in Samkhya philosophy, everything that changes, made of the three gunas and set against purusha |
| Purusha | Pure consciousness: in Samkhya and the Yoga Sutras, the unchanging witness, distinct from prakriti |
| Raja yoga | The "royal" path of meditation and mental discipline, usually identified with the Yoga Sutras |
| Rajas | Activity, passion and restlessness: the second of the three gunas |
| Sadhana | Spiritual practice, especially a regular, daily one |
| Sahasrara | The crown chakra, seventh and highest in the modern system, at or just above the top of the head and pictured as a lotus of a thousand petals |
| Samsara | The cycle of birth, death and rebirth, driven by karma, in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain thought |
| Samskara | An impression left in the mind by past actions and experiences, which shapes later habits and reactions |
| Sattva | Clarity, balance and lightness: the first of the three gunas |
| Seva | Selfless service, offered without expecting a reward |
| Shakti | Power or energy: in Hindu and tantric thought, the creative power of the divine, often pictured as feminine |
| Sushumna | The central channel along the spine in hatha and tantric texts, through which kundalini is said to rise |
| Svadhisthana | The sacral chakra, second of the seven in the modern system, placed just above Muladhara and linked with water |
| Swami | A title for a Hindu monk or religious teacher; literally owner or master |
| Tamas | Inertia, heaviness and dullness: the third of the three gunas |
| Tantra | A large body of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain texts and practices, composed from roughly the middle of the first millennium CE, centred on initiation, mantra, ritual and the subtle body |
| Upanishads | Philosophical texts that close the Vedas, composed over many centuries from roughly the seventh century BCE, asking what the self is and how it relates to brahman |
| Vata | In Ayurveda, the dosha associated with air and space and with movement |
| Vishuddha | The throat chakra, fifth of the seven in the modern system, linked with space and the seed syllable ham |
| Viveka | Discernment: the ability to tell what is lasting from what is not, valued above all in jnana yoga |
| Yama | The first of the eight limbs: five restraints, among them non-harming and truthfulness |
| Yogi | A person who practises yoga; yogini is the feminine form |
| Zen | The Japanese name for a school of Mahayana Buddhism centred on seated meditation; the word comes through the Chinese chan from the Sanskrit dhyana |
Questions
How does the spaced repetition in the Sanskrit flashcards work?
It uses five boxes. A new card you get right moves to box 2 and comes back the next day, then after 3, 7 and 16 days as it moves up. A card you miss goes back to box 1 and comes back in the same session.
Do the flashcards teach how to pronounce the Sanskrit words?
Not yet. Our glossary does not include pronunciation guides, and we would rather show none than guess. A teacher saying the word in class is the best guide; many pose pages give the meaning of each part of the name.
Which deck should I start with if I take yoga classes?
Start with Class words: asana, vinyasa, drishti, namaste and the other words a teacher is likely to use. Then move to Poses, which covers the Sanskrit names you will hear most often in a class.
Will clearing my browser data reset my flashcard progress?
Yes. Progress is saved only in this browser, with no account, so clearing site data or using a private window starts you from the beginning. The cards themselves never change.
Is yoga taught in Sanskrit?
Most classes are taught in the local language, with Sanskrit used for pose names, breath practices and a handful of class words like asana, vinyasa, drishti and namaste. The philosophy texts, such as the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, were written in Sanskrit, so their key ideas keep Sanskrit names.
Updated