GLOSSARY

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Feel free to correct me if you find any errors; my knowledge of Sanskrit is pretty basic.😅

Tip: Stretch the vowels whenever you see a bar over them.

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Chapter One

Mirrortongue / Darpaneyi: A Kedharan (pseudo)language derived from Sanskrit. There are two spoken languages in Kedho the capital city: Mirrortongue and Folktongue (which is written in English). Darpana is Sanskrit for mirror.

Prānayama: (Praa-nah-yah-mah) a yogic breathing technique.

Uttarīya: (Ooh-tha-ree-yah) A shawl-like garment used to cover the upper body by draping it across the torso (like the top half of a saree.)

Rudraksha: (Roo-drak-shah) Literally, Lord Rudra's eye. The dried seed of the Rudraksha tree (Elaeocarpus ganitrus) is commonly believed to ward off evil.

Makara: Sanskrit word that presently translates to crocodile/alligator. It was initially used to refer to a chimeric, reptilian water-beast with the head of an elephant and is frequently portrayed alongside Hindu water dieties in temples. It is also the Sanskrit name for the Capricorn constellation.

Here are a few modern iterations of the creature.

(Art by Vincent-Covielloart from Deviantart)

(Art by Ajinkya Lad from Art-station)

In Kedhara, Makaras are three-foot-tall, greyish-blue skinned drakes with a snout, ears and tusks resembling an elephant's. Their tails expand out at the end to resemble a patch of water lillies. They lie on river surfaces and pretend to be drowning elephants by mimicking their cries to attract elephant herds. When an elephant grabs the makara's snout to help it, it is stunned by a small jolt of electricity before the makara drags it down with its sharp jaws. They make floating nests in their habitat to raise their young. They are rarely known to leave water.

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Chapter Two

Stambha: Sanskrit for pillar or column. The ones in this chapter serve as magical solar harvestors built to power cities. They are also called Soura-stambhas, sun pillars to differentiate them from Keerthi-stambhas (victory pillars erected by Kedharan kings) or Shanti-stambhas (peace pillars which have edicts of monks engraved on them).

Ucchaisravai: From Uchchaihsravas (Ooh-chai-srah-vas) the seven-headed celestial steed. He is usually regarded as the best of all horses in Hindu mythos, being one of the creatures (the butter/ the crème de la crème) who rose from the Churning of the Milk Ocean in the Samudramanthana story. Sometimes he's depicted as a winged horse instead of one with seven heads.

Mrichagopura: A combination of the words Mricha (made-up Kedharan for mage) and Gopura (Sanskrit for tower).

Srigāla: Sanskrit word for a male jackal.

Kavacha: Sanskrit word for armour. In this case it's a magical organic armor secreted from special birthmarks on a mage's skin. It's genetically inherited down a mage lineage alongside the Samudra's organ and has a constant colour scheme and resemblance. Patterns of the birthmarks secreting the armor however are unique to individuals. The birthmarks are traditionally defined with tattooing by Archmages at a young age.

Ācharya: Sanskrit word for teacher.

The Mirror Mother / Darpanāmba: The mysterious mother goddess worshipped by Kedhans. Also called the Moon Mother since the Kedharans see the moon as a giant celestial mirror and associate it with her.

Represented in sculptures as a woman dressed in a blue saree with a featureless oval (often smooth and reflective) face, with four arms, each holding a lotus bud, a conch shell, a pot of heavenly elixir and a baby. The baby represents the infant form of her divine son, the Great Hunter of the Stars.

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Chapter Three

Rākshasey: From Rākshasi, Sanskrit for demoness.

Māthula: Sanskrit for maternal uncle. In South Asia, people generally use terms denoting kin to respectfully address people while talking. For example a person might address a male older to them as an uncle (Māthula in Mirrortongue), a brother (Bhrāta in Mirrortongue), a father (Pitru in Mirrortongue) despite there being no actual relation between them.

Buddhavāsara: Sanskrit for Wednesday, meaning 'the Day of Mercury'.

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Chapter Four

Mātru: From the Sanskrit root 'Mātr', meaning mother/maternal.

Pitru: From the Sanskrit root 'Pitr', meaning father/paternal.

Ksheerakki: From Ksheera, Sanskrit for milk. It's a (made-up) sweet dish of semolina, butter and cardamom balls served with thick cream.

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Chapter Five

Catamaran: A type of twin-hulled sailboat having its name derived from the Tamil word Kattumaram.

Madhirā: An alcoholic drink.

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Chapter Six

Shreni: (Shray-nee) Sanskrit for guild. Used in Ancient India to describe guilds of traders, artisans and merchants. Used here to describe mage guilds.

Mangalyasutra: Derived from the mangalasutra, Sanskrit for sacred thread. It's a ceremonial scarlet thread used in marriage with a golden locket shaped like a leaf in Hinduism tied around the bride's neck. In Kedhara, both men and women tie it around their spouses' necks.

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Chapter Seven

Bhrāta: From the Sanskrit root Bhrātr meaning brother.

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Chapter Eight

Bhaginey: From Bhaginī, Sanskrit for sister.

Chaturanga: The ancient Indian form of chess. It has two subforms, one of which is the modern form and the other is more of a four-player game.

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Chapter Nine

Nishachara: Translates to nocturnal creatures as well as demons. In this case, they're the reanimated dead.

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Epilogue

Munivarya: Sanskrit term meaning great sage.

Whip-sword: The South Asian whip-sword is called the urumi (Malayalam), chuttuval (Tamil), ethunu kaduwa (Sinhalese) or āra (Hindi). It's a pretty deadly weapon, considering that its mastery came only after that of the sword and any carelessness could decapitate the weilder.

Here's an ārcha (a female martial artist in ancient Kerala, a state in the southern part of India) weilding one.

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Name meanings

Place names

Kedhara:
(Kay-dhara)
Sanskrit word for a field, a meadow or a plain.
The name of the Kingdom in which the events of Jackal Eka takes place

Kedho:
(Kay-dho)
A made-up shortening of the kingdom name.
The royal capital city.

Ketakey:
(Kay-tha-kay)
From Ketaka, Sanskrit word for the screw-pine or Pandanus tectorious which grows near water bodies. Its leaves were used to make hand-fans and mats.

Name of a former large port city close to the Ketaki (Kay-tha-ki) river, now reduced to a humble town. Ravaged by floods. Site of the newly made ghost/nishachara city.

Merricho:

Made up word from Mricha (made up) meaning mage in Mirrortongue. Port city near the sea and rivals to Kedho. The economic capital of Kedhara.

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People names

Daminey:
(Dah-mi-ney)
From Damini, the Sanskrit word for lightning.

(Important pronunciation rule! Here the 'd' is a soft 'd' that sounds like a 'th' or a 'dh'.)

Geeratha:
(Gee-rah-thah)
From Bhageeratha, the name of a legendary king who brought the river Ganga from the heavens to the Earth through sheer spiritual willpower in Hindu mythos.

Arassey:
(Arah-say)
From Arassi (Arah-see), a Tamil name meaning queen, empress or female ruler.

Vātika:
the Sanskrit word meaning (little) garden.

Hemantha:
(Hey-mantha) the Sanskrit word for late Autumn.

Amanthey:
(Ah-man-they)
From Amanthi, a Buddhist (Pali) name meaning Peace.

Hima:
Sanskrit word for snow.

Nazu:
From Nazo, the name of a Pashto poetess.

Kaustubha:
(Cow-stu-bah)
The name of a divine gemstone in Hindu mythology.

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PLAYLIST

Stuff that inspired me while writing
(And do not necessarily reflect the cultural aspects of Jackal Eka)

(A lion's share of inspo came from anime and game music.)

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Stuff that inspired the cultural aspects.
(My personal list is thrice as long as this one is tbh, but most of them are romantic hits which don't exactly set the mood for Arc 1.)

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