Vocabulary in Siddhartha

A member of the highest Hindu priestly caste, responsible for performing religious rituals and studying sacred texts; in this novel, the social and spiritual class Siddhartha is born into.

In Hindu philosophy, the individual soul or innermost self, believed to be identical with the universal spirit Brahman; Siddhartha seeks to understand and experience it directly.

The ultimate, universal soul or divine essence underlying all existence in Hindu thought; distinct from the priestly caste name, it is the cosmic absolute Siddhartha strives to unite with.

A sacred Sanskrit syllable chanted in Hindu and Buddhist practice, regarded as the sound of the universe and a path to spiritual unity; it recurs as a symbol of wholeness throughout the novel.

Wandering Hindu ascetics who renounce worldly life, own nothing, and practice severe self-denial in pursuit of spiritual liberation; Siddhartha joins them in the second chapter.

A person who gives up physical comforts and pleasures — food, shelter, possessions — as a spiritual discipline, believing self-denial leads to enlightenment.

Ritual washing of the body performed as an act of religious purification, not merely for cleanliness.

Going without food for an extended period as a spiritual or religious practice, used by the Samanas to discipline the body and detach from desire.

In this novel's philosophical sense, the deep inner identity or soul of a person — the core 'I' that Siddhartha seeks to discover beyond ego, thought, and sensation.

The historical Buddha, the Enlightened One, whose teachings Siddhartha and Govinda travel to hear; used here as a proper name for the founder of Buddhism.

The Buddhist state of liberation from suffering and the cycle of rebirth, achieved by extinguishing desire and the illusion of a permanent self.

The endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth in Hindu and Buddhist belief; also used in the novel as a name for the worldly life of pleasure and business that traps the soul.

A person whose occupation is rowing or poling a boat to carry passengers across a river; in the novel Vasudeva holds this role and it carries deep spiritual significance.

The term the novel uses for ordinary worldly people — merchants, lovers, gamblers — who live by appetite and emotion rather than spiritual seeking, seen with a mixture of compassion and distance.

The state of complete spiritual understanding and liberation from suffering and illusion; the goal Siddhartha pursues throughout the entire novel.

A formal set of religious or philosophical teachings presented as truth; Siddhartha respects Gotama's doctrine yet ultimately rejects following any fixed teaching as a path to wisdom.

The passing of the soul from one body to another after death, moving through different life forms across many rebirths; a core belief underlying the concept of samsara.

The disciplined practice of focusing or emptying the mind, used in the novel as a technique for moving beyond ordinary thought toward direct spiritual experience.

The practice of punishing or denying oneself as an expression of regret for wrongdoing or as a means of spiritual purification.

A woman who entertains wealthy or high-status men as a companion and lover in exchange for gifts or payment; Kamala holds this role in the novel.

The simple riverside dwelling where Vasudeva lives and works; it represents a life of humble, attentive service that becomes a model of wisdom for Siddhartha.

The state of all things being one — the mystical insight that the self, the river, and the universe are not separate but expressions of a single whole.

The Buddhist and Hindu idea that nothing in the physical or mental world lasts; all things arise and pass away, making attachment to them a source of suffering.

A person with no fixed home who travels from place to place; in the novel it describes the spiritual seeker who has left caste, family, and possessions behind.