Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Colossians (Kannada Destination Language)
Legend
- Status:
BASELINE REUSE= term and rendering carried forward exactly from the Romanstranslation_memory.json;NEW= new term proposed for this curriculum. - Risk: Critical / High / Medium / Low, per the risk tier definitions in the baseline
doctrine_risk_registry.json. - First Occurrence: chapter:verse where the term is first load-bearing in Colossians.
A. Terms Reused Exactly from the Romans Baseline (BASELINE REUSE)
| Term (Eng.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occurrence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grace | ಕೃಪೆ | kṛpe | High | 1:2 | Greeting formula; also closes the letter (4:18). Grace-vs-merit distinction (baseline) reinforced by 3:13’s χαρίζομαι (forgiving) sharing this root. |
| peace | ಶಾಂತಿ | śānti | Medium | 1:2 | Also 1:20 (cosmic peace through the cross) and 3:15 (peace of Christ ruling hearts). |
| faith | ನಂಬಿಕೆ | nambike | High | 1:4 | Trust specifically in Christ Jesus (1:4); also 2:5, 2:7, 2:12. |
| saints / holy ones | ಪವಿತ್ರ ಜನರು | pavitra janaru | High | 1:2 | Corporate designation for all believers, never an ascetic elite (baseline note on ಶರಣರು applies equally here). |
| holy | ಪವಿತ್ರ | pavitra | High | 1:22 | ”holy and blameless and above reproach” (1:22); also 3:12. |
| gospel | ಸುವಾರ್ತೆ | suvārte | High | 1:5 | The one saving proclamation, now also explicitly tied to “the mystery… now revealed” (1:26-27). |
| Holy Spirit | ಪವಿತ್ರಾತ್ಮ | Pavitrātma | Critical | 1:8 | ”your love in the Spirit.” |
| power of God | ದೇವರ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ | Dēvara Sāmarthya | High | 1:11 | Never ಶಕ್ತಿ; extends to ἐνέργεια/energeia (1:29, 2:12) as a collocation. |
| thanksgiving | ಕೃತಜ್ಞತಾಸ್ತುತಿ | kṛtajñatāstuti | Low | 1:12 | Recurs at 2:7, 3:15, 3:17, 4:2. |
| church | ಸಭೆ | sabhe | Medium | 1:18 | The Church as Christ’s body (1:18, 1:24); a congregation meeting in a home (4:15), never a temple-building. |
| lord | ಕರ್ತ | karta | Critical | 1:3 | ”Lord Jesus Christ,” passim; climaxes at 3:17, 3:23-24 (“serving the Lord Christ”). |
| jesus | ಯೇಸು | Yēsu | Critical | 1:1 | Passim. |
| god | ದೇವರು | Dēvaru | Critical | 1:2 | Passim; underlies the θεότης (deity/Godhead, 2:9) discussion — see Section B. |
| father | ತಂದೆ | Tande | Critical | 1:2 | ”God our Father” (1:2, 1:3, 1:12); “thanks to God the Father” (3:17). |
| called | ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ | kareyalpaṭṭa | High | 3:15 | ”to which indeed you were called in one body.” |
| exhort / encourage | ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸುವುದು | prōtsāhisuvudu | Low | 2:2, 4:8 | ”that their hearts may be encouraged” (2:2); “that he may encourage your hearts” (4:8). |
| resurrection (doctrine anchor) | ಪುನರುತ್ಥಾನ | punarutthāna | Critical | 1:18 | The noun itself does not occur in Colossians, but the doctrine is invoked at 1:18 (“firstborn from the dead”), 2:12, 2:13, and 3:1 (“raised with Christ”) — every occurrence must be reviewed against this Critical baseline term and NEVER rendered with ಪುನರ್ಜನ್ಮ. |
| kingdom of God (pattern) | ದೇವರ ರಾಜ್ಯ | Dēvara Rājya | Medium | 1:13 | Pattern extended to “the kingdom of his beloved Son” — see ಮಗನ ರಾಜ್ಯ, Section B. |
| son of God (pattern) | ದೇವರ ಮಗ | Dēvara Maga | Critical | 1:13 | Pattern extended to “his beloved Son” (1:13) — see Section B. |
| election (pattern) | ದೇವರ ಆಯ್ಕೆ | Dēvara Āyke | High | 3:12 | Pattern extended to “God’s chosen ones” (ἐκλεκτοί) — see Section B. |
| law (do not confuse) | ನಿಯಮಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ | niyamaśāstra | High | 2:14 (contrast) | Reserved exclusively for Torah/Mosaic Law; Colossians’ δόγματα (2:14, 2:20) and στοιχεῖα (2:8, 2:20) are DIFFERENT terms requiring their own NEW glossary entries (Section B) — never collapse all three into ನಿಯಮಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ. |
| sin | ಪಾಪ | pāpa | High | 1:14 | ”forgiveness of sins” (1:14); also 2:13 (in different form, παράπτωμα — see Section B, trespasses). |
B. New Terms Required for Colossians (NEW — Proposed for Translation Memory Extension)
B.1 Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ over Creation
| Term (Eng.) | Greek (translit.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occ. | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| image | εἰκών (eikōn) | ಪ್ರತಿರೂಪ | pratirūpa | Critical | 1:15 | Must not be read as a temporary avataric appearance-form; names Christ’s eternal, essential self-disclosure of the invisible God. |
| invisible | ἀόρατος (aoratos) | ಅದೃಶ್ಯ | adṛśya | Medium | 1:15 | Guard against a purely impersonal-Brahman reading of divine invisibility. |
| firstborn | πρωτότοκος (prototokos) | ಚೊಚ್ಚಲ | coccala | Critical | 1:15 | Supreme rank/heirship, NOT first-created being; risk of collision with Puranic divine genealogies and Sharana/Aikya-attainment narratives. Mandatory translator note at every occurrence (1:15, 1:18). |
| creation / creature | κτίσις (ktisis) | ಸೃಷ್ಟಿ | sṛṣṭi | High | 1:15 | Shared vocabulary with Hindu sṛṣṭi-sthiti-laya cosmic-cycle cosmology; context must establish linear, purposive, personal creation. |
| created | κτίζω (ktizō) | ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿತು | sṛṣṭisalpaṭṭitu | High | 1:16 | Same risk class as above; passive form must not permit an emanationist/pantheist reading. |
| thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities | θρόνοι, κυριότητες, ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι | ಸಿಂಹಾಸನಗಳು, ಪ್ರಭುತ್ವಗಳು, ದೊರೆತನಗಳು, ಅಧಿಕಾರಗಳು | siṃhāsanagaḷu, prabhutvagaḷu, doretanagaḷu, adhikāragaḷu | High | 1:16 | Direct resonance with Karnataka’s village deities, navagraha (planetary powers), and coastal Bhuta/Daiva spirits; all must be taught as Christ’s subordinate creatures, never independent objects of veneration. |
| before all things | πρὸ πάντων (pro pantōn) | ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮೊದಲು | ellakkinta modalu | High | 1:17 | Must preserve BOTH temporal pre-existence and supreme ontological rank, excluding any Arian-adjacent reading. |
| hold together | συνέστηκεν (synestēken) | ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಆತನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ನಿಂತಿವೆ | ellavū ātanalli oṭṭāgi nintive | High | 1:17 | Risk of pantheistic “cosmic glue” reading (echoing Brahman-as-substratum); anchor to Christ’s personal sustaining agency. |
| beginning | ἀρχή (archē) | ಆದಿ | ādi | Medium | 1:18 | Must be rendered with a DIFFERENT Kannada word than ἀρχαί/rulers (ಪ್ರಭುತ್ವಗಳು) to preserve Paul’s wordplay: Christ is the ἀρχή (source), not one of the ἀρχαί (ranked rulers). |
| preeminence | πρωτεύων (prōteuōn) | ಎಲ್ಲದರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊದಲಿಗನಾಗುವುದು | elladaralli modaliganāguvudu | Medium | 1:18 | Ensure “in everything” is not narrowed. |
| dwell (fullness) | κατοικέω (katoikeō) | ವಾಸಿಸು | vāsisu | High | 1:19 | Permanent indwelling, not episodic avataric visitation; pair with “permanently” (ಶಾಶ್ವತವಾಗಿ) in phrasing. |
B.2 Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
| Term (Eng.) | Greek (translit.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occ. | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fullness | πλήρωμα (plērōma) | ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣತೆ | sampūrṇate | Critical | 1:19 | Highest-risk new term in the book. Direct collision with the Upanishadic pūrṇam (fullness of Brahman, from which all emanates and to which all returns). Must always be anchored “in Christ” (ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತನಲ್ಲಿ) — a unique, historical, bodily indwelling, not a diffuse cosmic plenum. Recurs at 2:9. Keep terminologically distinct from ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣತೆ (teleios/teleiotēs, “maturity/completeness,” 1:28, 3:14, 4:12). |
| deity / Godhead | θεότης (theotēs) | ದೇವತ್ವ | dēvatva | Critical | 2:9 | Must not be read as one deity’s portion of “godhood” shared among many devas, nor the Lingayat Aikya state’s shared divine nature; asserts the ENTIRE, undivided nature of the ONE God. Always paired with ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ/ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣತೆ. |
| bodily | σωματικῶς (sōmatikōs) | ದೈಹಿಕವಾಗಿ | daihikavāgi | Critical | 2:9 | Excludes docetic/visionary/symbolic readings; reinforces ದೇಹಧಾರಣೆ (baseline Incarnation doctrine, Critical) and rules out any avataric appearance-only pattern. |
B.3 Reconciliation through the Cross
| Term (Eng.) | Greek (translit.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occ. | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| reconcile | ἀποκαταλλάσσω (apokatallassō) | ಸಂಧಾನಪಡಿಸು | sandhānapaḍisu | Critical | 1:20 | Risk of reading as a negotiated settlement between equals (ಸಂಧಾನ’s secular register) or a non-dual resolution of apparent difference; must be anchored to “through the blood of his cross” as God’s unilateral, gracious, historical act. Recurs 1:21-22. |
| make peace | εἰρηνοποιέω (eirēnopoieō) | ಶಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಉಂಟುಮಾಡಿ | śāntiyannu uṇṭumāḍi | High | 1:20 | An objective, cosmic, once-for-all accomplishment at the cross, not an inner tranquility achieved through meditative discipline. |
| blood | αἷμα (haima) | ರಕ್ತ | rakta | Medium | 1:20 | Sacrificial-atoning sense requires OT background support for readers with low OT literacy. |
| cross | σταυρός (stauros) | ಶಿಲುಬೆ | śilube | Medium | 1:20 | Established term; brief cultural framing of Roman execution practice recommended. |
| alienated / hostile in mind | ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι / ἐχθροὺς τῇ διανοίᾳ | ಅನ್ಯರಾಗಿದ್ದವರು / ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ವೈರಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದವರು | anyarāgiddavaru / manassinalli vairigaḷāgiddavaru | Medium | 1:21 | Prior condition of humanity before reconciliation. |
| deliver / rescue | ῥύομαι (rhyomai) | ಬಿಡಿಸಿದನು | biḍisidanu | High | 1:13 | Decisive rescue by a personal God from an actual hostile dominion; connects to ರಕ್ಷಣೆ (baseline Salvation, Critical). |
| redemption | ἀπολύτρωσις (apolytrōsis) | ವಿಮೋಚನೆ | vimōcane | Critical | 1:14 | Root-shares “release” sense with the forbidden ಮೋಕ್ಷ; must always be anchored “from sin” / “through his blood,” never left as a generalized liberation. |
| forgiveness | ἄφεσις (aphesis) | ಕ್ಷಮೆ | kṣame | High | 1:14 | Pair consistently with ಪಾಪ as ಪಾಪಕ್ಷಮೆ. |
| disarmed / triumphing | ἀπεκδυσάμενος / θριαμβεύσας | ನಿಶ್ಶಸ್ತ್ರಗೊಳಿಸಿ … ಜಯೋತ್ಸವ ಮಾಡಿದನು | niśśastragoḷisi … jayōtsava māḍidanu | High | 2:15 | Roman military “triumph” image requires cultural framing; positive-resonance/necessary-distinction note re: coastal Bhuta Kola spirit-binding ritual — Christ’s victory is total, final, and needs no ongoing ritual mediation. |
| record of debt | χειρόγραφον (cheirographon) | ಸಾಲದ ಪತ್ರ | sālada patra | Medium/High | 2:14 | Total, immediate cancellation at the cross, contrastable with (and superior to) an incremental karmic-ledger concept. |
| legal demands / regulations | δόγματα (dogmata) | ವಿಧಿಗಳು | vidhigaḷu | Medium | 2:14 | Kept distinct from ನಿಯಮಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ (Torah specifically); broader referent including the false teachers’ ascetic rules. |
B.4 Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
| Term (Eng.) | Greek (translit.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occ. | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mystery | μυστήριον (mystērion) | ರಹಸ್ಯ | rahasya | Critical | 1:26 | Direct collision with Vedantic/Tantric guhya-rahasya (esoteric, initiate-only teaching); Paul’s mystery moves oppositely — once hidden, NOW PUBLICLY REVEALED. Mandatory “ಈಗ ಪ್ರಕಟವಾಗಿದೆ” (now revealed) note at every occurrence (1:26-27, 2:2, 4:3). |
| wisdom | σοφία (sophia) | ಜ್ಞಾನ | jñāna | High | 1:9 | Shared vocabulary with Hindu jñāna-mārga (path of knowledge to mokṣa); must be qualified as Spirit-given, Christ-centered wisdom, not self-realized enlightenment. |
| knowledge / full knowledge | γνῶσις / ἐπίγνωσις (gnōsis / epignōsis) | ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ / ಪೂರ್ಣ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ | tiḷuvaḷike / pūrṇa tiḷuvaḷike | High | 1:9-10 | Dravidian-root choice to reduce (not eliminate) resonance with Vedantic ātma-jñāna and the Lingayat vachana concept of ಅರಿವು (awakened spiritual awareness on the shatsthala path). Always anchor to “of Christ” / “of God’s will,” not self-attained insight. |
| philosophy | φιλοσοφία (philosophia) | ತತ್ವಜ್ಞಾನ | tattvajñāna | Medium/High | 2:8 | Not a blanket condemnation of Vedanta, Samkhya, or Veerashaiva philosophical reflection; targets the specific syncretistic Colossian error. |
| human tradition | παράδοσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων | ಮನುಷ್ಯರ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯ | manuṣyara sampradāya | High | 2:8 | ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯ is the exact word for Karnataka’s honored devotional/philosophical lineages (Haridasa, Veerashaiva sampradaya); clarify the critique targets tradition that supplants Christ’s sufficiency, not heritage as such. |
| elemental spirits of the world | στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου | ಲೋಕದ ಮೂಲತತ್ವಗಳು | lokada mūlatatvagaḷu | Critical | 2:8 | Direct collision with pañcabhūta (five-elements) cosmology and navagraha (planetary/astrological fatalism); clarify as basic religious/cosmic bondage-principles rendered powerless by Christ, not a claim about physical elements. Recurs 2:20. |
| worship of angels | θρησκεία τῶν ἀγγέλων | ದೇವದೂತರ ಆರಾಧನೆ | dēvadūtara ārādhane | Critical | 2:18 | Direct collision with grāma devate (village deity) veneration and coastal Bhuta/Daiva spirit-worship; worship belongs to Christ alone, supreme over every created power. |
| self-made religion / will-worship | ἐθελοθρησκία (ethelothrēskia) | ಸ್ವಇಚ್ಛಾ ಆರಾಧನೆ | svēcchā ārādhane | High | 2:23 | Distinguish carefully from Lingayat kayaka’s dignified sacred-work ethic; targets asceticism pursued as a self-generated means of controlling sin, explicitly said to fail at that very goal. |
| shadow / substance | σκιά / σῶμα (2nd sense) | ನೆರಳು / ನಿಜಸ್ವರೂಪ | neraḷu / nijasvarūpa | Medium | 2:17 | σῶμα here means “reality,” a DIFFERENT sense from “body” (ದೇಹ) used elsewhere in the letter (1:18, 1:24); must not be rendered ದೇಹ here. |
| plausible arguments / delude | πιθανολογία / παραλογίζομαι | ಮನವೊಲಿಸುವ ವಾದಗಳಿಂದ ಮೋಸಗೊಳಿಸು | manavolisuva vādagaḷinda mōsagoḷisu | Medium | 2:4 | Rhetorical danger of the false teaching. |
B.5 Christ as Head of the Church
| Term (Eng.) | Greek (translit.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occ. | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| head | κεφαλή (kephalē) | ತಲೆ | tale | Critical | 1:18 | Must not be flattened to a titular/succeeded office (as with a living human guru or maṭha head); Christ is the SAME living, resurrected, exclusive, organically life-giving Head, never replaced. Recurs 2:10, 2:19. |
| body (church) | σῶμα (sōma, 1st sense) | ದೇಹ | deha | High | 1:18 | Living, organic union with the Head, not mere organizational membership; keep distinct from the 2:17 second sense (see B.4). |
| church | ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) | ಸಭೆ | sabhe | Medium | 1:18 | BASELINE REUSE — see Section A. |
B.6 Union with Christ (Died and Raised With Him)
| Term (Eng.) | Greek (translit.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occ. | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| circumcision (of Christ) | περιτομή (peritomē) | ಸುನ್ನತಿ | sunnati | Medium | 2:11 | Metaphorical removal of the sinful nature in union with Christ; not the literal rite nor local bodily-marking customs. |
| baptism | βάπτισμα (baptisma) | ದೀಕ್ಷಾಸ್ನಾನ | dīkṣāsnāna | High | 2:12 | ದೀಕ್ಷೆ is the precise term for Hindu/Lingayat guru-mediated initiation (including the iṣṭaliṅga rite); Christian baptism signifies union with Christ’s own finished death/resurrection, not guru-mediated empowerment. |
| made alive together | συζωοποιέω (syzōopoieō) | ಜೊತೆಯಾಗಿ ಜೀವಂತಗೊಳಿಸಿದನು | joteyāgi jīvantagoḷisidanu | High | 2:13 | Real participation in Christ’s own resurrection life; ties to Critical ಪುನರುತ್ಥಾನ doctrine. |
| raised with Christ | συνηγέρθητε (synēgerthēte) | ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಎಬ್ಬಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿರಿ | Kristanondige ebbisalpaṭṭiri | Critical | 3:1 | Already-accomplished status grounded in Christ’s own bodily resurrection; not a future cyclical rebirth nor a mystical merger stage. |
| died / hidden with Christ | ἀπεθάνετε / κέκρυπται | ಸತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಿ … ಬಚ್ಚಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ | sattiddīri … baccciṭṭide | Critical | 3:3 | The old identity has genuinely ended; new life is secured — as a distinct person in relationship — within God himself, never dissolved into an impersonal divine ground. |
| seated at the right hand | ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ καθήμενος | ದೇವರ ಬಲಗಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತಿದ್ದಾನೆ | Dēvara balagaḍeyalli kuḷitiddāne | Medium | 3:1 | Position of supreme honor and completed work. |
B.7 Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
| Term (Eng.) | Greek (translit.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occ. | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| old self | παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος (palaios anthrōpos) | ಹಳೆಯ ಮನುಷ್ಯ | haḷeya manuṣya | High | 3:9 | A decisively-ended, past-tense reality (paired with “you have died,” 3:3), not an ongoing self-effort project. |
| new self | νέος/καινός ἄνθρωπος | ಹೊಸ ಮನುಷ್ಯ | hosa manuṣya | High | 3:10 | Renewed “after the image of its Creator” — direct echo of εἰκών (1:15); restores Christ-like, God-reflecting personhood in relationship, never dissolving individual identity. |
| put off / put on | ἀποτίθημι / ἐνδύω | ತೆಗೆದುಹಾಕು / ಧರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳು | tegeduhāku / dharisikoḷḷu | Medium | 3:8-10 | Clothing metaphor connecting to baptismal imagery. |
| renewed | ἀνακαινούμενον (anakainoumenon) | ನವೀಕರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಿರುವ | navīkarisalpaḍuttiruva | High | 3:10 | Ongoing Spirit-empowered transformation (ties to ಪವಿತ್ರೀಕರಣ, baseline Sanctification), not self-directed ascetic stage-advancement. |
| chosen ones | ἐκλεκτοί (eklektoi) | ದೇವರಿಂದ ಆಯ್ಕೆಗೊಂಡ ಜನರು | Dēvarinda āykegoṇḍa janaru | High | 3:12 | Extends baseline’s ದೇವರ ಆಯ್ಕೆ (election) pattern; God’s sovereign choice, never fate (ಹಣೆಬರಹ) or karma. |
| perfect / mature | τέλειος / τελειότης (teleios / teleiotēs) | ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣ / ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣತೆ | paripūrṇa / paripūrṇate | High | 1:28 | Risk of assimilation to the Lingayat shatsthala path’s self-attained perfection culminating in Aikya; anchor as a Spirit-given standing “in Christ,” never self-cultivated ascent. Keep distinct from ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣತೆ (plērōma). Recurs 3:14, 4:12. |
| no Greek/Jew… | Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος κτλ. | ಗ್ರೀಕ್ ಮತ್ತು ಯೆಹೂದ್ಯ … ದಾಸ, ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ | (as listed) | High | 3:11 | Full identity-erasure “in Christ” must not be softened; genuine partial resonance with the Lingayat reform movement’s historic anti-caste stance, sharpened by “Christ is all, and in all.” |
B.8 Household Codes
| Term (Eng.) | Greek (translit.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occ. | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| submit / be subject | ὑποτάσσεσθε (hypotassesthe) | ಅಧೀನರಾಗಿರಿ | adhīnarāgiri | High | 3:18 | Must be taught alongside the paired reciprocal commands (husbands love, fathers do not provoke, masters act justly) so the “in the Lord” Christ-centered framing is not lost in either direction. |
| bondservants / slaves | δοῦλοι (douloi) | ದಾಸರು | dāsaru | High | 3:22 | ದಾಸ is the Haridasa bhakti tradition’s own honored devotional self-designation (“servant of the Lord,” Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa). Genuine point of contact via 3:24 (“you are serving the Lord Christ”) universalizing servant-identity to all believers — but 3:22’s address to actual institutional bondage must not be spiritualized away. |
| masters | κύριοι (kyrioi) | ಯಜಮಾನರು | yajamānaru | Medium | 4:1 | Accountable to “a Master in heaven” (4:1) — subverts any reading endorsing unaccountable permanent hierarchy. |
| working for the Lord, not men | ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ | ಕರ್ತನಿಗಾಗಿ, ಮನುಷ್ಯರಿಗಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲ | Kartanigāgi, manuṣyarigāgi alla | High | 3:23 | Resonance with (and necessary distinction from) Lingayat kayaka ethic: labor dignified as worship, but reward is a granted inheritance (ಬಾಧ್ಯತೆ), not a self-earned status. |
| inheritance | κληρονομία (klēronomia) | ಬಾಧ್ಯತೆ | bādhyate | Medium/High | 1:12 | Full, permanent son-and-heir status (connects to baseline’s ದತ್ತು ಪುತ್ರತ್ವ, Adoption); recurs as reward-for-service at 3:24. |
B.9 Supporting / Contextual Terms (Lower Risk, Full-Book Coverage)
| Term (Eng.) | Greek (translit.) | Kannada | Transliteration | Risk | First Occ. | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| beloved Son | υἱὸς τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ | ಆತನ ಪ್ರಿಯ ಮಗ | ātana priya maga | Critical | 1:13 | Extends baseline’s ದೇವರ ಮಗ (Sonship, Critical); Hebraic idiom rendered naturally, retaining full eternal Sonship. |
| domain of darkness / kingdom of light | ἐξουσία τοῦ σκότους / βασιλεία | ಕತ್ತಲೆಯ ಅಧಿಕಾರ / [ಆತನ ಪ್ರಿಯ] ಮಗನ ರಾಜ್ಯ | kattaleya adhikāra / [ātana priya] magana rājya | High | 1:13 | Moral-spiritual transfer of allegiance under a personal Lord, not a metaphysical light/dark dualism of equal cosmic forces. |
| bearing fruit | καρποφορέω (karpophoreō) | ಫಲ ಕೊಡುವುದು | phala koḍuvudu | Low | 1:6 | Standard organic-growth metaphor. |
| worthy | ἀξίως (axiōs) | ಯೋಗ್ಯವಾಗಿ | yōgyavāgi | Medium | 1:10 | Fitting response to grace already given, not a qualifying prerequisite. |
| stewardship | οἰκονομία (oikonomia) | ಉಸ್ತುವಾರಿ | ustuvāri | Low | 1:25 | Standard administrative term. |
| minister / servant | διάκονος (diakonos) | ಸೇವಕ | sēvaka | Low/Medium | 1:7 | Distinguish generic servant from later formal office by context. |
| energy / working | ἐνέργεια (energeia) | ಕಾರ್ಯಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ | kāryasāmarthya | High | 1:29 | Extends baseline’s ದೇವರ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ; never ಶಕ್ತಿ. |
| trespasses | παραπτώματα (paraptōmata) | ಅಪರಾಧಗಳು | aparādhagaḷu | Medium | 2:13 | Distinguished from generic ಪಾಪ where concrete offenses/debt imagery is emphasized. |
| vice list (5 terms) | πορνεία κτλ. | ಜಾರತ್ವ, ಅಶುದ್ಧತೆ, ಕಾಮಾಭಿಲಾಷೆ, ದುರಾಶೆ, ಲೋಭ | (as listed) | Medium | 3:5 | Standard NT vice catalogue; “covetousness… is idolatry” equation worth preserving. |
| virtue list (5 terms) | σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ κτλ. | ಕರುಣೆಯ ಹೃದಯ, ದಯೆ, ದೀನಮನಸ್ಸು, ಸಾಧುತ್ವ, ದೀರ್ಘಶಾಂತಿ | (as listed) | Medium | 3:12 | Humility (ದೀನಮನಸ್ಸು) must flow from secure gift-identity, not caste-conditioned self-abasement. |
| forbearing / forgiving | ἀνεχόμενοι / χαριζόμενοι | ಸಹಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು, ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ | sahisikoṇḍu, kṣamisi | Medium/High | 3:13 | χαρίζομαι shares root with χάρις/ಕೃಪೆ — forgiveness modeled on grace, not negotiated equal-party reconciliation. |
| love / bond of perfection | ἀγάπη / σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος | ಪ್ರೀತಿ … ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣತೆಯ ಬಂಧ | prīti … paripūrṇateya bandha | Medium | 3:14 | Keep ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣತೆ (this verse) distinct from ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣತೆ (plērōma, 1:19/2:9) despite shared root. |
| psalms, hymns, spiritual songs | ψαλμοῖς, ὕμνοις, ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς | ಕೀರ್ತನೆಗಳು, ಸ್ತುತಿಗೀತೆಗಳು, ಆತ್ಮಿಕ ಹಾಡುಗಳು | kīrtanegaḷu, stutigītegaḷu, ātmika hāḍugaḷu | Medium | 3:16 | ಕೀರ್ತನೆ shared with Haridasa kirtane devotional-song genre; must be anchored to praise of the Lord Jesus specifically (3:17). |
| open door for the word | θύραν τοῦ λόγου | ವಾಕ್ಯಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಬಾಗಿಲು ತೆರೆಯುವುದು | vākyakkāgi bāgilu tereyuvudu | Medium | 4:3 | Connects to baseline Mission/Evangelism doctrines; “mystery” recurs here — reinforcing that it is to be proclaimed openly. |
| walk in wisdom toward outsiders | περιπατεῖτε ἐν σοφίᾳ πρὸς τοὺς ἔξω | ಹೊರಗಿನವರ ಕಡೆಗೆ ಜ್ಞಾನದಿಂದ ನಡೆಯಿರಿ | horaginavara kaḍege jñānadinda naḍeyiri | Medium | 4:5 | Non-confrontational, witness-oriented framing per baseline Evangelism note. |
| fellow servant / fellow prisoner | σύνδουλος / συναιχμάλωτος | ಜೊತೆ ಸೇವಕ / ಜೊತೆ ಸೆರೆಯಾಳು | jote sēvaka / jote sereyāḷu | Low | 4:7 | Standard; reinforces universal servant-of-Christ identity. |
Risk Summary (Colossians-Specific New Terms)
| Risk Tier | Count (New Terms) | Review Routing (per baseline framework) |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 13 | Human theologian — every occurrence |
| High | 24 | Human theologian |
| Medium | 21 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 8 | Automated review |
Note: This count covers newly proposed Colossians-specific terms only (Section B). Terms carried forward under BASELINE REUSE (Section A) retain their original risk tier and review routing from the Romans doctrine_risk_registry.json unchanged.
Full-book coverage confirmed: Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Colossians have each been reviewed for load-bearing theological vocabulary; no chapter is silently omitted. Chapter 1 (including the core passage 1:15-20) and Chapter 2 carry the highest concentration of Critical-risk new terminology (image, firstborn, fullness, deity/Godhead, reconciliation, mystery, elemental spirits, worship of angels); Chapter 3 carries the Union-with-Christ and Old-Self/New-Self and Household Code doctrines; Chapter 4, while lower in doctrinal density, still contributes terms connecting to Mission, Prayer, and the closing benediction’s reprise of ಕೃಪೆ (grace).
Critical Risk Terms
Resurrection
Approved rendering: ಪುನರುತ್ಥಾನ
Transliteration: punarutthāna
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ಪುನರ್ಜನ್ಮ
Inherited from Romans package. The noun does not occur verbatim in Colossians, but the doctrine is invoked at 1:18 (‘firstborn from the dead’), 2:12-13, and 3:1 (‘raised with Christ’); NEVER ಪುನರ್ಜನ್ಮ, and never a stage toward Aikya-dissolution of identity.
Lord
Approved rendering: ಕರ್ತ
Transliteration: karta
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ಸ್ವಾಮಿ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. ‘Lord Jesus Christ’ passim; climaxes at 3:17, 3:23-24, ‘you are serving the Lord Christ.’ NEVER ಸ್ವಾಮಿ (guru/jangama honorific implying one teacher among several, or eventual Aikya-merger).
Son Of God
Approved rendering: ದೇವರ ಮಗ
Transliteration: Dēvara Maga
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ದೇವಮಾನವ
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ / υἱὸς τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the idiom ‘Son of his love’ (1:13, ಆತನ ಪ್ರಿಯ ಮಗ) and 1:15’s ‘image of the invisible God’; full eternal Sonship, not an honorific bestowed on an especially devoted or enlightened figure.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: ದೇಹಧಾರಣೆ
Transliteration: dēhadhāraṇe
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: ಅವತಾರ
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies ‘bodily’ (ದೈಹಿಕವಾಗಿ, 2:9) and ‘body of his flesh’ (1:22); NEVER ಅವತಾರ, especially salient for Haridasa Krishna-bhakti readers, and distinct from a Lingayat Sharana-attainment reading of Christ.
Jesus
Approved rendering: ಯೇಸು
Transliteration: Yēsu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ಈಸಾ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Passim throughout Colossians. Never ಈಸಾ (Muslim/Urdu-associated form).
God
Approved rendering: ದೇವರು
Transliteration: Dēvaru
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ಭಗವಂತ, ಪರಶಿವ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Passim; underlies the θεότης (deity/Godhead, 2:9) discussion. Never ಭಗವಂತ or ಪರಶಿವ; guard against a Lingayat-background reader’s mental substitution of ಪರಶಿವ, since Parashiva’s relation to the devotee still ends in Aikya-merger.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: ಪವಿತ್ರಾತ್ಮ
Transliteration: Pavitrātma
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ಪರಮಾತ್ಮ
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. ‘Your love in the Spirit’ (1:8). NEVER ಪರಮಾತ್ಮ (impersonal/monistic Universal Self).
Father
Approved rendering: ತಂದೆ
Transliteration: Tande
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಕರ್ತ
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. ‘God our Father’ (1:2, 1:3, 1:12); ‘thanks to God the Father’ (3:17).
Christ
Approved rendering: ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತ
Transliteration: Krista
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ / Deity of Christ
Established Kannada Christian transliteration per the Romans package’s transliteration standards, used constantly throughout Colossians (‘Christ Jesus,’ ‘in Christ,’ ‘the Lord Christ’). Newly formalized as its own entry here because Colossians’ density of Christological titles requires explicit, non-negotiable consistency; never substitute a title implying one avatar or teacher among several.
Image
Approved rendering: ಪ್ರತಿರೂಪ
Transliteration: pratirūpa
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ಅವತಾರ ರೂಪ
Original: εἰκών
Category: Christology
Established Kannada Christian term (Genesis 1:26-27). Risks assimilation to the avatāra pattern of a deity’s chosen temporary form; must be kept distinct from ದೇಹಧಾರಣೆ (incarnation) — εἰκών names WHO Christ eternally is, not WHAT happened at a point in time. Mandatory translator note at 1:15.
Firstborn
Approved rendering: ಚೊಚ್ಚಲ
Transliteration: coccala
Doctrine: The Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Rejected alternatives: ಮೊದಲು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟವನು
Original: πρωτότοκος
Category: Christology
Supreme rank/heirship (cf. Psalm 89:27), NOT first-created being. Everyday Kannada birth-order sense risks an Arian-adjacent reading or absorption into Puranic divine genealogies or a Sharana/Aikya-attainment narrative. Mandatory translator note at every occurrence (1:15, 1:18), reinforced by v.16’s exclusion of Christ from the class of created things.
Fullness
Approved rendering: ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣತೆ
Transliteration: sampūrṇate
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Rejected alternatives: ಪೂರ್ಣತ್ವ
Original: πλήρωμα
Category: Christology
Highest-risk new term in the book. Direct convergence with the Isha Upanishad’s pūrṇam (Brahman’s fullness). Mandatory translator note at every occurrence (1:19, 2:9), always anchored ‘in Christ’ (ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತನಲ್ಲಿ), never a diffuse cosmic plenum. Keep distinct from ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣತೆ (teleios/teleiotēs).
Deity Godhead
Approved rendering: ದೇವತ್ವ
Transliteration: dēvatva
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Rejected alternatives: ದೈವಿಕತೆ
Original: θεότης
Category: Christology
Must not be read as a shareable/attainable divine quality (many devas’ ‘devatva,’ or a Lingayat devotee’s Aikya-attained nature). Asserts the ENTIRE, undivided nature of the ONE God (2:9); always pair with ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ/ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣತೆ, never in isolation.
Bodily
Approved rendering: ದೈಹಿಕವಾಗಿ
Transliteration: daihikavāgi
Doctrine: Incarnation and Humanity of Christ
Original: σωματικῶς
Category: Christology
Excludes docetic, purely visionary, or symbolic readings of Christ’s indwelling deity (2:9); reinforces ದೇಹಧಾರಣೆ and rules out any avataric appearance-only pattern.
Head
Approved rendering: ತಲೆ
Transliteration: tale
Doctrine: Christ as Head of the Church
Rejected alternatives: ಗುರು, ಮಠಾಧಿಪತಿ
Original: κεφαλή
Category: Church
Must not flatten to a titular/succeeded office (living human guru or maṭha head). Christ is the SAME living, resurrected, exclusive Head across all time, never replaced. Mandatory translator note at every occurrence (1:18, 2:10, 2:19).
Reconcile
Approved rendering: ಸಂಧಾನಪಡಿಸು
Transliteration: sandhānapaḍisu
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Rejected alternatives: ಏಕೀಕರಿಸು
Original: ἀποκαταλλάσσω
Category: Salvation
ಸಂಧಾನ risks reading as a negotiated settlement between equals, or an Advaitic non-dual resolution of apparent difference. Mandatory translator note anchoring every occurrence (1:20, 1:21-22) to ‘through the blood of his cross’ — God’s unilateral, gracious, historical act.
Redemption
Approved rendering: ವಿಮೋಚನೆ
Transliteration: vimōcane
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Rejected alternatives: ಮೋಕ್ಷ
Original: ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Salvation
Shares a ‘release’ root with forbidden ಮೋಕ್ಷ. Must always be anchored ‘ಪಾಪದಿಂದ’ (from sin) or ‘ರಕ್ತದ ಮೂಲಕ’ (through his blood, 1:14) — never a generalized liberation from rebirth’s cycle.
Mystery
Approved rendering: ರಹಸ್ಯ
Transliteration: rahasya
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Now Revealed
Rejected alternatives: ಗುಹ್ಯ, ನಿಗೂಢ
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Revelation
ರಹಸ್ಯ is the precise word for esoteric guhya-rahasya/initiate-only teaching. Paul’s mystērion moves oppositely — once hidden, NOW PUBLICLY REVEALED. Mandatory ‘ಈಗ ಪ್ರಕಟವಾಗಿದೆ’ (now revealed) collocation at every occurrence (1:26-27, 2:2, 4:3).
Elemental Spirits
Approved rendering: ಲೋಕದ ಮೂಲತತ್ವಗಳು
Transliteration: lokada mūlatatvagaḷu
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Rejected alternatives: ಪಂಚಭೂತಗಳು, ಗ್ರಹಗಳ ಶಕ್ತಿ
Original: στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου
Category: False Teaching
Direct collision with pañcabhūta (five-elements) cosmology and navagraha astrological fatalism. Must be clarified as bondage-principles rendered powerless by Christ (2:8, 2:20), not physical elements or astral bodies themselves.
Worship Of Angels
Approved rendering: ದೇವದೂತರ ಆರಾಧನೆ
Transliteration: dēvadūtara ārādhane
Doctrine: Christ’s Supremacy over Spiritual Powers
Original: θρησκεία τῶν ἀγγέλων
Category: False Teaching
Direct collision with grāma devate veneration and coastal Tulu Bhuta/Daiva spirit-worship (2:18). Worship belongs to Christ alone, supreme over every created power.
Raised With Christ
Approved rendering: ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಎಬ್ಬಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿರಿ
Transliteration: Kristanondige ebbisalpaṭṭiri
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Original: συνηγέρθητε
Category: Salvation
Already-accomplished status (3:1) grounded in Christ’s own bodily resurrection; not a future cyclical rebirth nor a stage toward mystical merger.
Died Hidden With Christ
Approved rendering: ನೀವು ಸತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಿ … ಬಚ್ಚಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ
Transliteration: nīvu sattiddīri … baccciṭṭide
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Original: ἀπεθάνετε / κέκρυπται
Category: Salvation
Core statement of Union with Christ (3:3); the old self has genuinely ended, and the believer’s life is securely kept as a distinct person in relationship within God, never dissolved into an impersonal divine ground.
Beloved Son
Approved rendering: ಆತನ ಪ್ರಿಯ ಮಗ
Transliteration: ātana priya maga
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: υἱὸς τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ
Category: Christology
Hebraic idiom (1:13) rendered naturally; must retain full eternal Sonship, not merely ‘a dear son’ in an ordinary familial sense.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: ಸುವಾರ್ತೆ
Transliteration: suvārte
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: ಸುದ್ದಿ
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. In Colossians tied explicitly to ‘the mystery… now revealed’ (1:26-27) and its universal proclamation ‘in all creation under heaven’ (1:23); must retain the sense of one authoritative, historically-fulfilled announcement, not a devotional teaching among Karnataka’s many traditions.
Grace
Approved rendering: ಕೃಪೆ
Transliteration: kṛpe
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: ಕರ್ಮಫಲ, ಪುಣ್ಯ
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Opens (1:2, 1:6) and closes (4:18) the letter; also underlies χαρίζομαι (‘forgiving,’ 3:13) — forgiveness modeled on unearned favor, not a negotiated settlement between equals nor the kayaka-dasoha ethic of favor answered by disciplined service.
Faith
Approved rendering: ನಂಬಿಕೆ
Transliteration: nambike
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: ಭಕ್ತಿ
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. ‘Your faith in Christ Jesus’ (1:4); ‘firmness of your faith in Christ’ (2:5); distinct from ಭಕ್ತಿ (devotional surrender) directed toward a chosen personal deity in Haridasa or Lingayat practice.
Called
Approved rendering: ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ
Transliteration: kareyalpaṭṭa
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: ಆಮಂತ್ರಿತ
Original: κλητός / καλέω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. ‘To which indeed you were called in one body’ (3:15); God’s sovereign summons uniting believers into a single corporate body.
Calling
Approved rendering: ಕರೆ
Transliteration: kare
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: ಆಹ್ವಾನ
Inherited from Romans package. Noun form retained for consistency though the Colossians text favors the participle ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ (3:15).
Holy
Approved rendering: ಪವಿತ್ರ
Transliteration: pavitra
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ಶುದ್ಧ
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. ‘To present you holy and blameless and above reproach’ (1:22); ‘as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved’ (3:12); moral-relational holiness, not ritual purity.
Saints
Approved rendering: ಪವಿತ್ರ ಜನರು
Transliteration: pavitra janaru
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: ಶರಣರು, ಸಂತರು
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Recipients of the letter (1:2) and the church’s ‘love for all the saints’ (1:4); NEVER ಶರಣರು, the Veerashaiva Sharana poet-saint title implying attained Aikya status.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: ಪವಿತ್ರೀಕರಣ
Transliteration: pavitrīkaraṇa
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ಶುದ್ಧೀಕರಣ
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies ‘renewed’ (ನವೀಕರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಿರುವ, 3:10) and ‘mature/perfect’ (1:28, 3:14, 4:12) language; the Spirit’s ongoing work, not self-directed ascetic stage-advancement toward Aikya.
Adoption
Approved rendering: ದತ್ತು ಪುತ್ರತ್ವ
Transliteration: dattu putratva
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: ದತ್ತು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies ‘the inheritance of the saints in light’ (1:12) and the servant’s ‘inheritance as reward’ (3:24); full, permanent son-and-heir status, not a partial or conditional share.
Law
Approved rendering: ನಿಯಮಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ
Transliteration: niyamaśāstra
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: ಧರ್ಮ
Original: νόμος (contrast term; not used verbatim, reserved by contrast with δόγματα/στοιχεῖα)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Reserved exclusively for Torah/Mosaic Law; Colossians’ δόγματα (2:14, ವಿಧಿಗಳು) and στοιχεῖα (2:8, 2:20, ಲೋಕದ ಮೂಲತತ್ವಗಳು) are DIFFERENT terms and must never be collapsed into ನಿಯಮಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ.
Sin
Approved rendering: ಪಾಪ
Transliteration: pāpa
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: ಅಧರ್ಮ
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. ‘Forgiveness of sins’ (1:14); distinguish from παράπτωμα (‘trespasses,’ 2:13, ಅಪರಾಧಗಳು), which emphasizes concrete offenses/debt imagery.
Glory
Approved rendering: ಮಹಿಮೆ
Transliteration: mahime
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ತೇಜಸ್ಸು
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (1:27); ‘you also will appear with him in glory’ (3:4); personal, relational glory shared with a distinct, personal Christ, not an impersonal radiance or dissolving illumination.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: ದೇವರ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ
Transliteration: Dēvara Sāmarthya
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: ಶಕ್ತಿ
Original: δύναμις / κράτος
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. ‘Strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might’ (1:11); extends to ಕಾರ್ಯಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ (ἐνέργεια, 1:29, 2:12) as a collocation. NEVER ಶಕ್ತಿ (Shakta/Chamundeshwari collision).
Election
Approved rendering: ದೇವರ ಆಯ್ಕೆ
Transliteration: Dēvara Āyke
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: ಹಣೆಬರಹ, ವಿಧಿ
Original: ἐκλογή / ἐκλεκτοί
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Pattern extended to ‘God’s chosen ones’ (ἐκλεκτοί, 3:12, ದೇವರಿಂದ ಆಯ್ಕೆಗೊಂಡ ಜನರು); never ಹಣೆಬರಹ (fatalism) or impersonal karma-destiny.
Creation
Approved rendering: ಸೃಷ್ಟಿ
Transliteration: sṛṣṭi
Doctrine: The Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: κτίσις
Category: Creation
Only viable Kannada term but identical to the word for Brahma’s cyclical sṛṣṭi-sthiti-laya cosmos; context (‘by him,’ ‘through him,’ ‘for him’) must establish single, linear, purposive creation by a personal Creator distinct from it.
Created
Approved rendering: ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿತು
Transliteration: sṛṣṭisalpaṭṭitu
Doctrine: The Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: κτίζω
Category: Creation
The passive ‘were created’ (1:16) must not soften into an impersonal ‘came to be’ permitting a pantheistic/emanationist reading.
Spiritual Powers Hierarchy
Approved rendering: ಸಿಂಹಾಸನಗಳು, ಪ್ರಭುತ್ವಗಳು, ದೊರೆತನಗಳು, ಅಧಿಕಾರಗಳು
Transliteration: siṃhāsanagaḷu, prabhutvagaḷu, doretanagaḷu, adhikāragaḷu
Doctrine: Christ’s Supremacy over Spiritual Powers
Original: θρόνοι, κυριότητες, ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι
Category: Creation
Direct resonance with Karnataka’s populated cosmos of intermediary beings (grāma devate, navagraha, coastal Bhuta/Daiva spirits). Must always be paired with the doctrinal frame that ALL such powers are Christ’s created, subordinate, already-defeated creatures (2:15), never independent objects of reverence or ritual placation.
Before All Things
Approved rendering: ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮೊದಲು
Transliteration: ellakkinta modalu
Doctrine: The Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: πρὸ πάντων
Category: Christology
Must preserve BOTH temporal pre-existence and supreme ontological rank; a purely temporal rendering risks an Arian-adjacent reading.
Hold Together
Approved rendering: ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಆತನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ನಿಂತಿವೆ
Transliteration: ellavū ātanalli oṭṭāgi nintive
Doctrine: The Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: συνέστηκεν (from συνίστημι)
Category: Christology
Risk of a pantheistic ‘cosmic glue’ reading (echoing Brahman-as-substratum); must anchor to Christ’s personal, sustaining agency (‘in him’).
Dwell Permanently
Approved rendering: ವಾಸಿಸು
Transliteration: vāsisu
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Original: κατοικέω
Category: Christology
Permanence (e.g. ಶಾಶ್ವತವಾಗಿ ವಾಸಿಸಿತು) must be clear to distinguish this from temporary divine visitation or avataric descent-and-withdrawal (1:19).
Body Of Christ
Approved rendering: ದೇಹ
Transliteration: deha
Doctrine: Christ as Head of the Church
Original: σῶμα (first sense)
Category: Church
Church as Christ’s living, organic body (1:18, 1:24), reading as ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತನ ದೇಹವಾದ ಸಭೆ. The SAME Greek word σῶμα recurs at 2:17 with a different sense (‘reality’) — that occurrence requires ನಿಜಸ್ವರೂಪ instead, never ದೇಹ.
Make Peace
Approved rendering: ಶಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಉಂಟುಮಾಡಿ
Transliteration: śāntiyannu uṇṭumāḍi
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: εἰρηνοποιέω
Category: Salvation
An objective, cosmic, once-for-all accomplishment at the cross (1:20), not inner tranquility achieved through meditative discipline.
Deliver Rescue
Approved rendering: ಬಿಡಿಸಿದನು
Transliteration: biḍisidanu
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ῥύομαι
Category: Salvation
Decisive, completed rescue by a personal God from an actual hostile dominion (1:13); connects to Critical ರಕ್ಷಣೆ doctrine, not liberation from an impersonal cosmic cycle.
Forgiveness
Approved rendering: ಕ್ಷಮೆ
Transliteration: kṣame
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ἄφεσις
Category: Salvation
Pair consistently with ಪಾಪ as ಪಾಪಕ್ಷಮೆ (‘forgiveness of sins,’ 1:14).
Disarmed Triumphing
Approved rendering: ನಿಶ್ಶಸ್ತ್ರಗೊಳಿಸಿ … ಜಯೋತ್ಸವ ಮಾಡಿದನು
Transliteration: niśśastragoḷisi … jayōtsava māḍidanu
Doctrine: Christ’s Supremacy over Spiritual Powers
Original: ἀπεκδυσάμενος / θριαμβεύσας
Category: Salvation
Roman military ‘triumph’ image requires cultural framing (2:15). Point of contact with coastal Bhuta Kola spirit-binding intuition, but Christ’s victory is total, final, and needs no ongoing ritual mediation.
Wisdom
Approved rendering: ಜ್ಞಾನ
Transliteration: jñāna
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge Hidden in Christ
Original: σοφία
Category: Faith
Shares vocabulary with Hindu jñāna-mārga; must always be qualified as Spirit-given, Christ-centered wisdom (1:9; 2:3), never self-realized enlightenment.
Knowledge
Approved rendering: ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ / ಪೂರ್ಣ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ
Transliteration: tiḷuvaḷike / pūrṇa tiḷuvaḷike
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge Hidden in Christ
Rejected alternatives: ಅರಿವು
Original: γνῶσις / ἐπίγνωσις
Category: Faith
Dravidian-root choice to reduce (not eliminate) resonance with Vedantic ātma-jñāna and the Lingayat vachana concept of ಅರಿವು. Always anchor to ‘of Christ’/‘of God’s will’ (1:9-10, 2:2-3).
Human Tradition
Approved rendering: ಮನುಷ್ಯರ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯ
Transliteration: manuṣyara sampradāya
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: παράδοσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων
Category: False Teaching
ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯ is the precise word for Karnataka’s honored devotional/philosophical lineages (Haridasa sampradaya, Veerashaiva sampradaya); critique targets tradition that supplants Christ’s sufficiency, not heritage as such (2:8).
Self Made Religion
Approved rendering: ಸ್ವಇಚ್ಛಾ ಆರಾಧನೆ
Transliteration: svēcchā ārādhane
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: ἐθελοθρησκία
Category: False Teaching
Distinguish carefully from Lingayat kayaka’s dignified sacred-work ethic; targets asceticism as a self-generated means of controlling sin, explicitly said to fail at that goal (2:23).
Baptism
Approved rendering: ದೀಕ್ಷಾಸ್ನಾನ
Transliteration: dīkṣāsnāna
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Rejected alternatives: ದೀಕ್ಷೆ ಮಾತ್ರ
Original: βάπτισμα
Category: Sanctification
ದೀಕ್ಷೆ alone is the precise term for Hindu/Lingayat guru-mediated initiation (including the iṣṭaliṅga rite). Christian baptism (2:12) signifies union with Christ’s own finished death/resurrection, not guru-mediated empowerment.
Made Alive Together
Approved rendering: ಜೊತೆಯಾಗಿ ಜೀವಂತಗೊಳಿಸಿದನು
Transliteration: joteyāgi jīvantagoḷisidanu
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Original: συζωοποιέω
Category: Salvation
Real participation in Christ’s own resurrection life (2:13), not generic spiritual revival; ties to Critical ಪುನರುತ್ಥಾನ doctrine.
Old Self
Approved rendering: ಹಳೆಯ ಮನುಷ್ಯ
Transliteration: haḷeya manuṣya
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος
Category: Sanctification
Read alongside 3:3’s ‘you have died’ — a decisive, completed act (3:9), not an ongoing self-effort project of gradual self-perfection.
New Self
Approved rendering: ಹೊಸ ಮನುಷ್ಯ
Transliteration: hosa manuṣya
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: νέος / καινός ἄνθρωπος
Category: Sanctification
Renewed ‘after the image of its Creator’ (3:10), echoing εἰκών (1:15); restores Christ-like, God-reflecting personhood in relationship, never dissolving individual identity.
Renewed
Approved rendering: ನವೀಕರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಿರುವ
Transliteration: navīkarisalpaḍuttiruva
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἀνακαινούμενον
Category: Sanctification
The Spirit’s ongoing, progressive transformation (3:10); not self-directed moral self-improvement or ascetic stage-advancement.
Chosen Ones
Approved rendering: ದೇವರಿಂದ ಆಯ್ಕೆಗೊಂಡ ಜನರು
Transliteration: Dēvarinda āykegoṇḍa janaru
Doctrine: Election and Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: ಹಣೆಬರಹ, ವಿಧಿ
Original: ἐκλεκτοί
Category: Salvation
Extends the ದೇವರ ಆಯ್ಕೆ pattern (3:12); God’s sovereign, personal choice, never impersonal fate or karma-determined destiny.
Perfect Mature
Approved rendering: ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣ / ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣತೆ
Transliteration: paripūrṇa / paripūrṇate
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣತೆ
Original: τέλειος / τελειότης
Category: Sanctification
Risk of assimilation to the Lingayat shatsthala path’s self-attained perfection culminating in Aikya. Must be anchored as Spirit-given standing ‘in Christ’ (1:28, 3:14, 4:12), kept strictly distinct from ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣತೆ (fullness of deity) despite the shared root.
No Distinction In Christ
Approved rendering: ಗ್ರೀಕ್ ಮತ್ತು ಯೆಹೂದ್ಯ, ಸುನ್ನತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಸುನ್ನತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದವರು, ಅನಾಗರಿಕ, ಸಿಥಿಯನ್, ದಾಸ, ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ
Transliteration: grīk mattu yehūdya, sunnati mattu sunnatiyilladavaru, anāgarika, sithiyan, dāsa, svatantra
Doctrine: Unity of All Peoples in Christ
Original: Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος
Category: Church
Total identity-erasure ‘in Christ’ (3:11) must not be softened. Genuine partial resonance with the Lingayat reform movement’s historic anti-caste stance, sharpened by ‘Christ is all, and in all.‘
Submit Be Subject
Approved rendering: ಅಧೀನರಾಗಿರಿ
Transliteration: adhīnarāgiri
Doctrine: Household Codes
Original: ὑποτάσσεσθε
Category: Household
Must always be taught alongside its paired reciprocal commands (husbands love, fathers do not provoke, masters act justly) so the ‘in the Lord’ framing (3:18) is not collapsed into an unqualified permanent hierarchy.
Bondservants
Approved rendering: ದಾಸರು
Transliteration: dāsaru
Doctrine: Household Codes
Rejected alternatives: ಸೇವಕ
Original: δοῦλοι
Category: Household
ದಾಸ is also the Haridasa bhakti tradition’s honored devotional self-designation. Genuine point of contact via 3:24’s ‘you are serving the Lord Christ,’ but 3:22’s address to actual institutional bondage must not be spiritualized away; never weaken to ಸೇವಕ.
Working For The Lord
Approved rendering: ಕರ್ತನಿಗಾಗಿ, ಮನುಷ್ಯರಿಗಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲ
Transliteration: Kartanigāgi, manuṣyarigāgi alla
Doctrine: Household Codes
Original: ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις
Category: Household
Resonance with — and necessary distinction from — the Lingayat kayaka ethic (3:23): labor dignified as worship, but the reward (ಬಾಧ್ಯತೆ) is a granted inheritance, not a self-earned status.
Inheritance
Approved rendering: ಬಾಧ್ಯತೆ
Transliteration: bādhyate
Doctrine: Inheritance and Adoption into God’s Family
Original: κληρονομία
Category: Salvation
Full, permanent son-and-heir status (1:12); also the servant’s ‘reward’ (3:24) — must retain graciously granted status, not wages earned through strict merit-transaction.
Domain Of Darkness Kingdom Of Light
Approved rendering: ಕತ್ತಲೆಯ ಅಧಿಕಾರ / [ಆತನ ಪ್ರಿಯ] ಮಗನ ರಾಜ್ಯ
Transliteration: kattaleya adhikāra / [ātana priya] magana rājya
Doctrine: Transfer into the Kingdom of the Son
Original: ἐξουσία τοῦ σκότους / βασιλεία τοῦ υἱοῦ
Category: Kingdom
A moral-spiritual transfer of allegiance under a personal Lord (1:13), not a metaphysical dualism of two co-equal cosmic forces (Samkhya guna theory or folk light/dark dualism).
Energy Working
Approved rendering: ಕಾರ್ಯಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ
Transliteration: kāryasāmarthya
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: ಶಕ್ತಿ
Original: ἐνέργεια
Category: God
Extends ದೇವರ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ (1:29, 2:12); NEVER ಶಕ್ತಿ.
Medium Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: ಅಪೊಸ್ತಲ
Transliteration: apostala
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: ಗುರು, ಜಂಗಮ
Inherited from Romans package. Opens the letter, ‘Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God’ (1:1); a delegated, sent commission, not a self-attained teaching status like ಗುರು or the Lingayat ಜಂಗಮ office.
Peace
Approved rendering: ಶಾಂತಿ
Transliteration: śānti
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: ಮನಶ್ಶಾಂತಿ
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Greeting (1:2); ‘making peace by the blood of his cross’ (1:20); ‘let the peace of Christ rule’ (3:15). Distinguish from ಮನಶ್ಶಾಂತಿ, inner tranquility sought through bhakti devotion or Lingayat meditative discipline.
Church
Approved rendering: ಸಭೆ
Transliteration: sabhe
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ, ಗುಡಿ
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Christ as head ‘of the body, the church’ (1:18, 1:24); a house-congregation (4:15). Never ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ/ಗುಡಿ (Hindu temple).
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: ದೇವರ ರಾಜ್ಯ
Transliteration: Dēvara Rājya
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ / τοῦ υἱοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Pattern extended to ‘the kingdom of his beloved Son’ (1:13, ಆತನ ಪ್ರಿಯ ಮಗನ ರಾಜ್ಯ); God’s sovereign reign entered by transfer of allegiance, not conquest of an equal rival realm.
Intercession
Approved rendering: ಮಧ್ಯಸ್ಥಿಕೆ
Transliteration: madhyasthike
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies Colossians’ prayer references (1:9, 4:2-3, 4:12, e.g. Epaphras ‘always struggling on your behalf in his prayers’); direct access to God through Christ, distinct from bhakti puja/kirtane or iṣṭaliṅga meditative discipline.
Mission
Approved rendering: ಮಿಷನ್ / ಸುವಾರ್ತಾ ಪ್ರಸಾರ
Transliteration: miṣan / suvārtā prasāra
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Inherited from Romans package. ಸುವಾರ್ತಾ ಪ್ರಸಾರ preferred; underlies ‘open door for the word’ (4:3) and ‘walk in wisdom toward outsiders’ (4:5), given colonial-era connotations of ಮಿಷನ್.
Invisible
Approved rendering: ಅದೃಶ್ಯ
Transliteration: adṛśya
Doctrine: The Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: ἀόρατος
Category: God
1:15, 1:16 (‘invisible’ powers). Avoid implying God is invisible merely as an unmanifest cosmic principle (a monistic Brahman-like reading) rather than a personal being revealed uniquely in Christ.
Beginning
Approved rendering: ಆದಿ
Transliteration: ādi
Doctrine: Christ as Head of the Church
Rejected alternatives: ಪ್ರಭುತ್ವಗಳು
Original: ἀρχή
Category: Christology
Must be a DIFFERENT Kannada word from ἀρχαί/‘rulers’ (ಪ್ರಭುತ್ವಗಳು) to preserve Paul’s wordplay: Christ is the ἀρχή (source), not one of the ranked ἀρχαί (1:18).
Preeminence
Approved rendering: ಎಲ್ಲದರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊದಲಿಗನಾಗುವುದು
Transliteration: elladaralli modaliganāguvudu
Doctrine: The Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: πρωτεύων
Category: Christology
Ensure ‘in everything’ (1:18) is not narrowed or softened.
Blood
Approved rendering: ರಕ್ತ
Transliteration: rakta
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: αἷμα
Category: Salvation
Sacrificial-atoning sense (1:20) requires OT background support given low OT narrative literacy.
Cross
Approved rendering: ಶಿಲುಬೆ
Transliteration: śilube
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: σταυρός
Category: Salvation
Established term (1:20); brief cultural framing of Roman execution practice recommended.
Alienated Hostile
Approved rendering: ಅನ್ಯರಾಗಿದ್ದವರು / ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ವೈರಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದವರು
Transliteration: anyarāgiddavaru / manassinalli vairigaḷāgiddavaru
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι / ἐχθροὺς τῇ διανοίᾳ
Category: Salvation
Humanity’s prior condition (1:21) before reconciliation; low ambiguity risk.
Record Of Debt
Approved rendering: ಸಾಲದ ಪತ್ರ
Transliteration: sālada patra
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: χειρόγραφον
Category: Salvation
Total, immediate cancellation at the cross (2:14) — favorably contrastable with the popular karmic-ledger concept worked off incrementally; make the contrast explicit in teaching.
Legal Demands
Approved rendering: ವಿಧಿಗಳು
Transliteration: vidhigaḷu
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: δόγματα
Category: Covenant
Kept distinct from ನಿಯಮಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ (Torah); broader referent including the false teachers’ additional ascetic rules (2:14, 2:20-21).
Philosophy
Approved rendering: ತತ್ವಜ್ಞಾನ
Transliteration: tattvajñāna
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: φιλοσοφία
Category: False Teaching
Not a blanket condemnation of Vedanta/Samkhya/Veerashaiva reasoned reflection; targets the specific syncretistic error of 2:8.
Shadow Substance
Approved rendering: ನೆರಳು / ನಿಜಸ್ವರೂಪ
Transliteration: neraḷu / nijasvarūpa
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Rejected alternatives: ದೇಹ (rejected for this sense)
Original: σκιά / σῶμα (second sense)
Category: False Teaching
σῶμα here (2:17) means ‘reality,’ a DIFFERENT sense from ‘body’ (ದೇಹ) used elsewhere; must never be rendered ದೇಹ in this verse.
Plausible Arguments
Approved rendering: ಮನವೊಲಿಸುವ ವಾದಗಳಿಂದ ಮೋಸಗೊಳಿಸು
Transliteration: manavolisuva vādagaḷinda mōsagoḷisu
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching and Syncretism
Original: πιθανολογία / παραλογίζομαι
Category: False Teaching
Names the rhetorical danger of the Colossian false teaching (2:4); standard vocabulary.
Circumcision Of Christ
Approved rendering: ಸುನ್ನತಿ
Transliteration: sunnati
Doctrine: Union with Christ
Original: περιτομή
Category: Sanctification
Established rite-term used metaphorically for the removal of the sinful nature in union with Christ (2:11); not the literal Jewish rite or unrelated local body-marking custom.
Seated At The Right Hand
Approved rendering: ದೇವರ ಬಲಗಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತಿದ್ದಾನೆ
Transliteration: Dēvara balagaḍeyalli kuḷitiddāne
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ καθήμενος
Category: Christology
Position of supreme honor and completed redemptive work (3:1).
Put Off Put On
Approved rendering: ತೆಗೆದುಹಾಕು / ಧರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳು
Transliteration: tegeduhāku / dharisikoḷḷu
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: ἀποτίθημι / ἐνδύω
Category: Sanctification
Clothing-metaphor connecting to baptismal imagery (3:8-10).
Masters
Approved rendering: ಯಜಮಾನರು
Transliteration: yajamānaru
Doctrine: Household Codes
Original: κύριοι
Category: Household
4:1’s appeal to ‘a Master in heaven’ subverts any reading endorsing unaccountable, permanent hierarchy.
Worthy
Approved rendering: ಯೋಗ್ಯವಾಗಿ
Transliteration: yōgyavāgi
Doctrine: Grace
Original: ἀξίως
Category: Faith
A fitting response to grace already given (1:10), not a qualifying prerequisite for it — a distinction resonant with Vedantic adhikāra (‘worthiness/qualification’ for a spiritual path).
Trespasses
Approved rendering: ಅಪರಾಧಗಳು
Transliteration: aparādhagaḷu
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: παραπτώματα
Category: Sin
Distinguished from generic ಪಾಪ where the text emphasizes concrete offenses/debt imagery (‘dead in your trespasses,’ 2:13).
Vice List
Approved rendering: ಜಾರತ್ವ, ಅಶುದ್ಧತೆ, ಕಾಮಾಭಿಲಾಷೆ, ದುರಾಶೆ, ಲೋಭ
Transliteration: jāratva, aśuddhate, kāmābhilāṣe, durāśe, lōbha
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: πορνεία, ἀκαθαρσία, πάθος, ἐπιθυμία κακή, πλεονεξία
Category: Ethics
Standard NT vice-list vocabulary (3:5); preserve the striking equation of covetousness with idolatry.
Virtue List
Approved rendering: ಕರುಣೆಯ ಹೃದಯ, ದಯೆ, ದೀನಮನಸ್ಸು, ಸಾಧುತ್ವ, ದೀರ್ಘಶಾಂತಿ
Transliteration: karuṇeya hṛdaya, daye, dīnamanassu, sādhutva, dīrghaśānti
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ, χρηστότης, ταπεινοφροσύνη, πραΰτης, μακροθυμία
Category: Ethics
ದೀನಮನಸ್ಸು (humility, 3:12) must flow from secure gift-given identity, not enforced social self-abasement or caste-conditioned submission.
Forbearing Forgiving
Approved rendering: ಸಹಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು, ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ
Transliteration: sahisikoṇḍu, kṣamisi
Doctrine: Grace
Original: ἀνεχόμενοι / χαριζόμενοι
Category: Ethics
χαρίζομαι shares its root with χάρις/ಕೃಪೆ (3:13) — forgiveness modeled on unearned favor, not a negotiated reconciliation of equals.
Love Bond Of Perfection
Approved rendering: ಪ್ರೀತಿ … ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣತೆಯ ಬಂಧ
Transliteration: prīti … paripūrṇateya bandha
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Rejected alternatives: ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣತೆಯ ಬಂಧ
Original: ἀγάπη / σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος
Category: Ethics
Keep τελειότης (‘completeness,’ an ethical virtue, 3:14) and πλήρωμα (‘fullness of deity’) terminologically distinguishable in Kannada despite the shared ಪೂರ್ಣ root.
Psalms Hymns Spiritual Songs
Approved rendering: ಕೀರ್ತನೆಗಳು, ಸ್ತುತಿಗೀತೆಗಳು, ಆತ್ಮಿಕ ಹಾಡುಗಳು
Transliteration: kīrtanegaḷu, stutigītegaḷu, ātmika hāḍugaḷu
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship and Mutual Edification
Original: ψαλμοῖς, ὕμνοις, ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς
Category: Worship
ಕೀರ್ತನೆ is shared vocabulary with the Haridasa bhakti kirtane devotional-song genre; must be anchored to praise of the Lord Jesus specifically (3:16-17), not a generic devotional-song genre interchangeable with kirtane addressed to another deity.
Open Door For The Word
Approved rendering: ವಾಕ್ಯಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಬಾಗಿಲು ತೆರೆಯುವುದು
Transliteration: vākyakkāgi bāgilu tereyuvudu
Doctrine: Mission and Evangelism to Outsiders
Original: θύραν τοῦ λόγου
Category: Mission
Connects to Mission/Evangelism doctrines (4:3); reinforces that the ‘mystery’ is to be proclaimed openly, not restricted.
Walk In Wisdom Toward Outsiders
Approved rendering: ಹೊರಗಿನವರ ಕಡೆಗೆ ಜ್ಞಾನದಿಂದ ನಡೆಯಿರಿ
Transliteration: horaginavara kaḍege jñānadinda naḍeyiri
Doctrine: Mission and Evangelism to Outsiders
Original: περιπατεῖτε ἐν σοφίᾳ πρὸς τοὺς ἔξω
Category: Mission
Non-confrontational, witness-oriented framing (4:5) given Karnataka’s religious plurality and communities’ pride in their own reform/devotional traditions.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: ದೇವರ ಕೋಪ
Transliteration: Dēvara Kōpa
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: God
Must retain personal, moral, righteous judgment (3:6), not an impersonal cosmic retribution mechanism akin to karma.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: ಕೃತಜ್ಞತಾಸ್ತುತಿ
Transliteration: kṛtajñatāstuti
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Recurs densely in Colossians (1:3, 1:12, 2:7, 3:15, 3:17, 4:2); standard term, minor risk of over-ritualization only.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: ಅನ್ಯೋನ್ಯತೆ
Transliteration: anyōnyate
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: ಸ್ನೇಹ
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies ‘teaching and admonishing one another’ (3:16) and the home-congregation greetings of ch.4; shared participation in Christ, not mere social or caste-community association.
Exhort
Approved rendering: ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸುವುದು
Transliteration: prōtsāhisuvudu
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. ‘That their hearts may be encouraged’ (2:2); ‘that he may encourage your hearts’ (4:8).
Bearing Fruit
Approved rendering: ಫಲ ಕೊಡುವುದು
Transliteration: phala koḍuvudu
Doctrine: Gospel
Original: καρποφορέω
Category: Faith
Standard agrarian growth metaphor (1:6, 1:10); minimal risk.
Stewardship
Approved rendering: ಉಸ್ತುವಾರಿ
Transliteration: ustuvāri
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: οἰκονομία
Category: Church
Standard administrative term (1:25).
Minister Servant
Approved rendering: ಸೇವಕ
Transliteration: sēvaka
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: διάκονος
Category: Church
Distinguish generic ‘servant’ from a formal office by context (1:7, 1:23, 1:25).
Fellow Servant Fellow Prisoner
Approved rendering: ಜೊತೆ ಸೇವಕ / ಜೊತೆ ಸೆರೆಯಾಳು
Transliteration: jote sēvaka / jote sereyāḷu
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship and Mutual Edification
Original: σύνδουλος / συναιχμάλωτος
Category: Church
Standard term (4:7, 4:10); reinforces the universal ‘servant of Christ’ identity.
Referenced passages