Semantic Analysis: Luke 1–24 (English → Sanskrit)
Curriculum: Luke | Core passage: Luke 4:16–21
Baseline authority: This analysis extends, and never contradicts, translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json, and doctrine_risk_registry.json from the Romans Language Package. Every term already fixed there (गॉस्पेल्, अनुग्रहः, विश्वासः, धार्मिकता, धर्मीति निर्णयः, त्राणम्, प्रेषितः, आहूतः/आह्वानम्, पवित्रम्, पवित्राः जनाः, पवित्रीकरणम्, पुत्रत्वेन स्वीकरणम्, पुनरुत्थानम्, प्रभुः, परमेश्वरस्य पुत्रः, देहधारणम्, शान्तिः, आत्मिकं वरदानम्, धन्यवादः, सहभागिता, मण्डली, परमेश्वरस्य राज्यम्, विधिः, पापम्, अन्यजातीयाः, महिमा, विश्वासस्य आज्ञापालनम्, परमेश्वरस्य सामर्थ्यम्, मसीहः, भविष्यद्वक्ता, भविष्यवाणी, संविद्, परमेश्वरस्य वरणम्, मध्यस्थता, परमेश्वरस्य विधानम्, सुसमाचारप्रचारः, दाविद्, इस्राएलः, यीशुः, सर्वेश्वरः/परमेश्वर, पवित्र आत्मा, पिता, अब्बा, उत्तेजनम्, दाविदः वंशात्, आरोपिता धार्मिकता) is reused exactly, unchanged. This file’s task is to (a) give verse-by-verse treatment of the core passage, and (b) identify every new load-bearing term Luke introduces beyond that baseline, chapter by chapter, across the whole Gospel.
Convention: For each new term the required fields are given — original Greek word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning, and Sanskrit rendering-risk. Terms already fixed by the Romans baseline are flagged “REUSE” with only the Luke-specific contextual note added.
PART 1 — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: Luke 4:16–21
Luke 4:16
Greek: Καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Ναζαρά, οὗ ἦν τεθραμμένος, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων εἰς τὴν συναγωγήν, καὶ ἀνέστη ἀναγνῶναι.
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range & English Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | Sanskrit Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Ναζαρά | Nazara | place name, Nazareth | town in Galilee | ”Nazareth” | Jesus’s hometown; grounds the incarnation in a real, obscure, unremarkable place (cf. 1:26; John 1:46 “can anything good come from Nazareth”) | नासरत् (nāsarat), transliterated |
| τεθραμμένος | tethrammenos | ”having been raised/nourished” (τρέφω) | brought up, reared | ”had been brought up,” “grew up” | Ordinary human upbringing — reinforces the true, complete humanity assumed in the incarnation (देहधारणम्) | पालितः (pālitaḥ) |
| τὸ εἰωθὸς αὐτῷ | to eiōthos autō | ”his custom/habit” | accustomed practice | ”as was his custom,” “habitually” | Jesus’s regular, faithful synagogue attendance models covenant piety, not innovation against the Law (विधिः); he does not abolish Jewish worship patterns but fulfills them from within | आचारः/नियमः (ācāraḥ/niyamaḥ) |
| σαββάτων | sabbatōn | Sabbath(s) | the seventh-day rest; also loosely “week" | "Sabbath day” | Weekly day set apart per the Law (Exodus 20:8-11); the setting of Jesus’s programmatic self-disclosure is deliberately the day of covenantal rest | शब्बातदिनम् (śabbātadinam) — transliteration + descriptive |
| συναγωγήν | synagōgēn | ”a bringing-together,” assembly-place | synagogue building/congregation | ”synagogue” | Jewish assembly for Scripture reading, prayer, and teaching — distinct from Temple sacrificial worship | सभागृहम् (sabhāgṛham) |
| ἀναγνῶναι | anagnōnai | ”to read up/aloud” (ἀναγιγνώσκω) | public reading of a text | ”to read,” “to read aloud” | Jesus takes the customary role of a Scripture-reader in the synagogue liturgy | पठितुम्/वाचनार्थम् (paṭhitum/vācanārtham) |
Luke 4:17
Greek: καὶ ἐπεδόθη αὐτῷ βιβλίον τοῦ προφήτου Ἠσαΐου, καὶ ἀναπτύξας τὸ βιβλίον εὗρεν τὸν τόπον οὗ ἦν γεγραμμένον·
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range & English Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | Sanskrit Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| βιβλίον | biblion | ”little book,” scroll | book, scroll, document | ”book,” “scroll” | The physical Isaiah scroll — a real, historically transmitted text, not an orally “seen” eternal utterance | पुस्तकम्/ग्रन्थः (pustakam/granthaḥ) |
| προφήτου | prophētou | REUSE (baseline: भविष्यद्वक्ता) | — | Isaiah as a historically situated spokesman for God, not a ṛṣi perceiving an eternal apauruṣeya text (see baseline “prophet” and “inspiration_of_scripture” notes) | भविष्यद्वक्ता (bhaviṣyadvaktā) | Low (per baseline) |
| Ἠσαΐου | Ēsaïou | proper name, Isaiah | — | The specific OT prophet whose 700-year-old scroll Jesus reads and claims fulfills in himself | यशायाः (yaśāyāḥ), per AI-requirements transliteration standard | Low |
| γεγραμμένον | gegrammenon | ”having been written” (perfect passive of γράφω) | “it was written,” “it stands written” | Standard scripture-citation formula; asserts a fixed, authoritative, previously-recorded text now being read out and fulfilled | लिखितम् (likhitam) | Medium — connects directly to the baseline “inspiration_of_scripture” doctrine (शास्त्रस्य प्रेरणा): this is a personal God’s message committed to writing by a human author at a point in history, categorically unlike the apauruṣeya, eternally-existent, merely-”seen” Veda |
Luke 4:18
Greek: Πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἐπ᾿ ἐμέ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέν με εὐαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοῖς, ἀπέσταλκέν με, κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, ἀποστεῖλαι τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει,
This is the single most theologically dense verse in the curriculum’s core passage. Terms:
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range & English Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | Sanskrit Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Πνεῦμα Κυρίου | Pneuma Kyriou | ”Spirit of the Lord” | The Spirit of God/Yahweh (Isaiah 61:1) | The same Spirit who overshadowed Mary (1:35) and descended visibly at Jesus’s baptism (3:22) now rests on him for public ministry — the Trinity’s Third Person anointing the Second Person’s public mission | परमेश्वरस्य पवित्र आत्मा (parameśvarasya pavitra ātmā) | Critical — per the AI Translation Requirements’ forbidden-substitution rule, आत्मा must NEVER appear here without the पवित्र qualifier, even though the Greek text itself does not say ἅγιον in this clause; doctrinally this is unambiguously the Holy Spirit, and the mandatory personhood note (distinct from, not identical with, the reader’s own ātman) applies at every occurrence |
| ἔχρισέν | echrisen | ”he anointed” (χρίω) | to anoint with oil; to consecrate, commission | Explains the very name “Christ/Messiah” (Χριστός = “Anointed One,” cognate with baseline’s मसीहः/ख्रीष्टः): Jesus IS the Anointed One because the Spirit has commissioned him for this precise mission | अभिषिक्तवान् (abhiṣiktavān) | Critical — abhiṣeka is a real classical category (royal/priestly consecration, e.g. rājyābhiṣeka), which usefully parallels the biblical anointing-for-office concept; but the translator note must make explicit that this is the specific historical event that grounds Jesus’s title “the Anointed One” fulfilled uniquely in him (see baseline Messianic Promise doctrine), not a repeatable ritual consecration available to any king or priest |
| εὐαγγελίσασθαι | euangelisasthai | ”to proclaim good news” (εὐαγγέλιον, REUSE) | — | The Messiah’s very first stated task is proclamation of the gospel — establishes गॉस्पेल् as inseparable from his identity | सुसमाचारं प्रचारयितुम् (susamācāraṃ prachārayitum) | High (per baseline गॉस्पेल् entry) |
| πτωχοῖς | ptōchois | ”to the poor” (dative pl. of πτωχός) | economically destitute; by extension the socially powerless, marginalized, and (per LXX usage) the humbly dependent (Heb. ʿānî) | Central to Luke’s “Good News to the Poor and Marginalized” doctrine: the poor are not incidental beneficiaries but the named, primary addressees of Jesus’s mission announcement | दरिद्रः (daridraḥ) | High — in a karma-theorized reading, present poverty can be read as the just fruit of a person’s own past karma (karmaphala), making poverty something earned and not primarily a locus of God’s favor. The gospel’s declaration of good news specifically to the poor must be flagged as a direct challenge to that framework, exactly as baseline flags “providence” and “power of God” against karmaphala readings |
| ἀπέσταλκέν | apestalken | ”he has sent” (perfect of ἀποστέλλω) | to send with a commission | Same root that gives ἀπόστολος/प्रेषितः (baseline “apostle”): the Messiah is himself first the Sent One, the pattern for every subsequent sending | प्रेषितवान् (preṣitavān) | Medium — a valuable structural echo of the baseline apostle entry: preserve the root so the reader can see Jesus is the archetype of “sentness” that apostleship later imitates |
| κηρύξαι | kēryxai | ”to proclaim as a herald” (κηρύσσω) | official, public, authoritative announcement | Distinguishes gospel proclamation from private teaching or philosophical discourse — a herald’s declaration carries the authority of the one who sent him | घोषयितुम्/प्रचारयितुम् (ghoṣayitum/prachārayitum) | Low–Medium |
| αἰχμαλώτοις | aichmalōtois | ”to captives” (lit. “one taken by the spear”) | prisoners of war, captives, the enslaved | Concrete Jubilee/Isaiah-61 image of release from literal and, by extension, spiritual bondage | बन्दिभ्यः (bandibhyaḥ) | Low |
| ἄφεσιν (1st occurrence) | aphesin | ”release, letting-go” (ἀφίημι) | release from captivity; forgiveness of debts/sins | Deliberate wordplay: the single Greek word ἄφεσις covers both the physical release of captives here and forgiveness of sins elsewhere in Luke (1:77; 3:3; 24:47). Luke’s Isaiah citation binds these two meanings into a single Jubilee vision of liberation | बन्दिमोक्षः (bandimokṣaḥ) here; क्षमा (kṣamā) for the sins-sense elsewhere | High — Sanskrit very likely cannot carry a single word across both senses the way Greek ἄφεσις does; this pun is at real risk of being silently lost. A translator note must explicitly connect बन्दिमोक्षः here to क्षमा (forgiveness of sins) as two expressions of Jesus’s single unified Jubilee mission |
| τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν | typhlois anablepsin | ”sight-again to the blind” (ἀναβλέπω) | recovery of physical sight; by extension, spiritual insight | Both literal healing miracles (e.g. Luke 18:35-43) and a recurring Lukan motif of spiritual blindness/sight (cf. 24:16, “their eyes were kept from recognizing him”) | दृष्टिप्रदानम् (dṛṣṭipradānam) | Medium — flag the dual literal/figurative resonance |
| ἀποστεῖλαι | aposteilai | REUSE of ἀποστέλλω root | — | Repetition of “send,” intensifying emphasis | प्रेषितुम् (preṣitum) | Low |
| τεθραυσμένους | tethrausmenous | ”the shattered/broken ones” (θραύω) | the crushed, oppressed, bruised | The socially and physically broken, an object of the Messiah’s specific commissioned care | पीडितः/भग्नः (pīḍitaḥ/bhagnaḥ) | Low |
| ἐν ἀφέσει (2nd occurrence) | en aphesei | ”in release/freedom” | (see above) — third use of the ἄφεσις root in one verse | Reinforces the wordplay noted above with a third occurrence | विमुक्तौ (vimuktau) — note: NOT विमुक्ति in the mokṣa-adjacent theorized sense; here purely “freedom from bondage” | High — same caution as above; must not be allowed to drift toward liberation (मुक्ति) vocabulary given the forbidden-substitution rule for salvation-family terms |
Luke 4:19
Greek: κηρύξαι ἐνιαυτὸν Κυρίου δεκτόν.
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range & English Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | Sanskrit Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐνιαυτὸν Κυρίου δεκτόν | eniauton Kyriou dekton | ”an acceptable/receivable year of the Lord” | the Jubilee year (Leviticus 25); a proclaimed period of God’s favor | Alludes to the 50-year Jubilee: debts cancelled, slaves freed, land returned. Jesus announces that this long-anticipated era of God’s favor is now, in himself, beginning | प्रभोः अनुग्रहवत्सरः (prabhoḥ anugrahavatsaraḥ) | High — deliberately built on the baseline अनुग्रहः (grace) so that the Jubilee is heard as an era defined by unmerited divine favor, not automatic karmaphala or ritual-merit cycles. No classical Indian institution parallels a periodic universal debt/slavery release tied to divine favor; this requires explicit background teaching, exactly as baseline flags for “seed of David” |
Luke 4:20
Greek: καὶ πτύξας τὸ βιβλίον ἀποδοὺς τῷ ὑπηρέτῃ ἐκάθισεν· καὶ πάντων οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ ἦσαν ἀτενίζοντες αὐτῷ.
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range & English Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | Sanskrit Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ὑπηρέτῃ | hypēretē | ”under-rower,” subordinate assistant | attendant, servant, minister | Here the literal synagogue attendant who cares for the scrolls | सेवकः (sevakaḥ) | Low |
| ἀτενίζοντες | atenizontes | ”gazing fixedly” (ἀτενίζω) | staring intently, fixed attention | The whole congregation’s rapt attention signals the gravity of what is about to be said | निरीक्षमाणाः (nirīkṣamāṇāḥ) | Low |
Luke 4:21
Greek: ἤρξατο δὲ λέγειν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὅτι Σήμερον πεπλήρωται ἡ γραφὴ αὕτη ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ὑμῶν.
| Term | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range & English Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | Sanskrit Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Σήμερον | Sēmeron | ”today” | this very day, now | A signature Lukan theological marker of the immediacy of God’s saving action breaking into history: recurs at 2:11 (“today a Savior is born”), 19:9 (Zacchaeus), 23:43 (the penitent thief). This “today” asserts a linear, one-time, historically anchored fulfillment — the opposite of a cyclical, ever-repeating cosmic time (cf. the four-yuga cycle of Bhagavad Gītā 4.7-8’s avatāra doctrine, already flagged Critical in baseline’s Incarnation and Fulfillment of Prophecy entries) | अद्य (adya) | High — the word itself is simple, but its recurring theological weight across the whole Gospel must be flagged: every “today” in Luke reinforces the baseline’s linear-fulfillment-vs-cyclical-yuga contrast |
| πεπλήρωται | peplērōtai | ”has been fulfilled” (perfect passive of πληρόω) | completed, brought to fullness, accomplished | Jesus’s direct self-declaration that Isaiah’s Jubilee prophecy is fulfilled in his own person, in that moment — arguably the most explicit messianic self-disclosure in the whole Gospel to this point | पूर्णा जाता/सिद्धा (pūrṇā jātā/siddhā) | Critical — direct textual anchor of baseline’s “Messianic Promise” and “Fulfillment of Prophecy” Critical/High doctrines; must never be softened to a merely devotional or homiletical remark |
| ἡ γραφὴ | hē graphē | ”the writing” | Scripture, the sacred text | REUSE-adjacent: connects to baseline’s inspiration_of_scripture doctrine name (शास्त्रस्य प्रेरणा) | शास्त्रम् (śāstram) | High (per baseline doctrine registry) |
| ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ὑμῶν | en tois ōsin hymōn | ”in your ears” | idiom for “as you have heard,” “in your hearing” | Emphasizes the immediate, personal, historically located reception of the fulfillment claim by this specific congregation | युष्मत्कर्णेषु/युष्मभिः श्रुतम् (yuṣmatkarṇeṣu / yuṣmābhiḥ śrutam) | Low |
PART 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis, Luke 1–24
Note on method: baseline Romans terms recur constantly throughout Luke (गॉस्पेल्, विश्वासः, पापम्, महिमा, परमेश्वरस्य राज्यम्, प्रभुः, पवित्र आत्मा, पिता, दाविद्, मसीहः, सामर्थ्यम् above all). These are flagged “REUSE” with only a brief occurrence-note where their appearance is doctrinally significant for Luke specifically. Full field treatment below is reserved for terms genuinely new to this curriculum.
Chapter 1 — Annunciation, Magnificat, Benedictus
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| χάρις (1:30) | charis | REUSE — grace/favor | ”found favor with God” | Gabriel’s announcement frames Mary’s role entirely as unearned divine favor, not merit | अनुग्रहः (High, per baseline) | First Gospel occurrence of the baseline grace term |
| παρθένος (1:27,34) | parthenos | ”virgin,” unmarried young woman | maiden, virgin | Foundational to the Virgin Birth, which itself undergirds the Incarnation doctrine (देहधारणम्, Critical in baseline) | कुमारी (kumārī) | Critical — कुमारी is also a specific cultic title (Kumārī Devī, the “Living Goddess” of Nepalese/Newar tradition; young girls venerated as living manifestations of the Goddess in Śākta-influenced worship). Every occurrence must carry a note that Mary is fully human, chosen as the vessel of the Incarnation, and is never herself an object of worship or a goddess-manifestation |
| σωτήρ (implied via 1:47, developed 2:11) | sōtēr | ”Savior” | one who rescues/delivers | Agent-noun form of baseline’s त्राणम् (salvation) root — God/Christ as the one who personally accomplishes rescue | त्राता (trātā), from √trā, same root as त्राणम् | Critical — must never be rendered with a मोक्ष/मुक्ति-family agent noun; त्राता preserves baseline’s rescue-by-another sense exactly |
| ὕψιστος (1:32,35,76) | hypsistos | ”Most High” | supreme, highest | Divine epithet applied to God the Father, and (1:32) to Christ as “Son of the Most High” | परमः (paramaḥ), used attributively with परमेश्वर | Medium — inherited residual risk from baseline’s own परमेश्वर compounding convention: Parameśvara is also a common Śaiva epithet for Śiva. This is a pre-existing baseline choice retained for consistency, not a new decision, but its frequency in Luke’s infancy narrative makes it worth flagging explicitly here |
| δούλη (1:38) | doulē | ”female slave/servant” | handmaid, bondservant | Mary’s self-designation of total submission to God’s will | दासी (dāsī) | Low |
| ταπείνωσις / ταπεινός (1:48,52) | tapeinōsis / tapeinos | ”lowliness, humble state” | humility, low social status | Magnificat theme: God exalts the lowly and humbles the proud — recurs at 14:11 and 18:14 | नम्रता/दीनता (namratā/dīnatā) | Medium — establishes a Lukan reversal-motif that must render consistently across chs. 1, 14, 18 |
| διαθήκη (1:72) | diathēkē | REUSE — covenant | ”his holy covenant” | God’s remembered oath to Abraham; ties directly to baseline’s संविद् entry and to the Davidic covenant doctrine | संविद् (High, per baseline) | — |
| ἄφεσις ἁμαρτιῶν (1:77) | aphesis hamartiōn | ”release/forgiveness of sins” | pardon of moral debt | John’s role is defined as preparing for this forgiveness — the ἄφεσις wordplay begins here (see Luke 4:18 discussion) | पापक्षमा (pāpakṣamā) | High — first occurrence of the forgiveness term-family fixed for this curriculum (क्षमा) |
| πνεῦμα ἅγιον, throughout Ch.1 (vv.15,35,41,67) | pneuma hagion | REUSE — Holy Spirit | fills John (in utero), Zechariah, Elizabeth; overshadows Mary | Establishes the Spirit’s active, personal role in salvation history from before the incarnation itself — central to the assigned doctrine “The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation History” | पवित्र आत्मा (Critical, per baseline) | Every occurrence requires the mandatory personhood note; Luke 1 is the densest concentration of Spirit-language in the whole NT infancy material |
Chapter 2 — Birth of Jesus, Shepherds, Simeon, Anna
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| σωτήρ (2:11) | sōtēr | REUSE — Savior | ”a Savior is born” | The programmatic announcement of the entire Gospel’s purpose | त्राता (Critical) | Ties directly to Ch.1’s new term |
| Χριστὸς Κύριος (2:11) | Christos Kyrios | ”Christ [the] Lord” | Messiah and Lord together | Combines two baseline Critical terms in a single title | मसीहः प्रभुः / ख्रीष्टः प्रभुः | Critical (combination of two baseline Critical terms) |
| δόξα (2:9,14,32) | doxa | REUSE — glory | angelic glory; “glory to God in the highest” | God’s radiant self-disclosure at the incarnation | महिमा (High, per baseline) | — |
| εὐδοκία (2:14) | eudokia | ”good pleasure, favor” | good will, benevolent pleasure | ”Peace… good will toward those on whom his favor rests” — closely related to, but distinct from, अनुग्रहः | प्रसन्नता (prasannatā) | Medium — related to but not identical with grace; flag to avoid collapsing into अनुग्रहः without distinction |
| παράκλησις (2:25) | paraklēsis | ”consolation, comfort” | comfort, encouragement | Simeon “waiting for the consolation of Israel” — messianic hope language | सान्त्वनम् (sāntvanam) | Low |
| λύτρωσις (2:38) | lytrōsis | ”redemption, ransoming” | release by payment of a price | Anna speaks to those “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” | विमोचनम् (vimocanam) | High — same term family as 21:28’s “redemption draws near” (see Ch.21); must be kept distinct from मोक्ष/मुक्ति per baseline’s forbidden list |
| φῶς εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν ἐθνῶν (2:32) | phōs eis apokalypsin ethnōn | ”light for revelation of/to the nations” | light for unveiling to the Gentiles | Simeon’s prophecy explicitly universalizes the Messiah’s mission to the ἔθνη (REUSE अन्यजातीयाः) — foundational text for “Jesus as Savior for All Nations” | ज्योतिः…अन्यजातीयानां प्रकटीकरणार्थम् (jyotiḥ…anyajātīyānāṃ prakaṭīkaraṇārtham) | High — “revelation” (ἀποκάλυψις) rendered प्रकटीकरणम् (prakaṭīkaraṇam); pairs with REUSE अन्यजातीयाः |
Chapter 3 — John the Baptist, Genealogy
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| μετάνοια (3:3,8) | metanoia | ”change of mind/after-thought” | repentance, turning around | Central to John’s ministry and to the assigned doctrine “Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins” | मनःपरिवर्तनम् (manaḥparivartanam) | High — must never be rendered प्रायश्चित्तम् (prāyaścitta), the dharmaśāstra term for a prescribed ritual penance performed to remove the effect of a specific catalogued sin (cf. Manusmṛti 11). Biblical repentance is a reoriented heart trusting God’s forgiveness, not a ritual expiation procedure |
| βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω (3:3,7,12,16,21) | baptisma / baptizō | ”dipping, immersion” | baptism, to baptize | John’s baptism of repentance; Jesus’s own baptism (3:21-22) | बाप्तिस्मः (bāptismaḥ), transliterated | High — रejected alternatives: दीक्षा (dīkṣā, a specific Vedic/Tantric guru-conferred initiatory rite into a lineage) and स्नानम् (snānam, ritual purificatory bathing, e.g. tīrtha-snāna, believed by many practitioners to remove sin through the act itself). Transliteration avoids both the guru-lineage-initiation framework and the ritual-mechanism-of-purification framework |
| ὀργή (3:7) | orgē | ”wrath, anger” | God’s righteous judicial anger | ”the wrath to come” — judgment John warns against | कोपः (kopaḥ) | High — must be distinguished from anger as a kleśa/defect to be transcended (a live philosophical concern across Yoga, Vedānta, and Buddhist ethics, where anger/dveṣa is classed among the impurities blocking liberation). God’s wrath is righteous judicial response to sin, not an uncontrolled passion |
| καρπός (3:8-9) | karpos | ”fruit” | fruit, produce, result | ”Bear fruits worthy of repentance” | फलम् (phalam) | Low — note: फल is also the term in कर्मफलम् (“fruit of karma,” already rejected for “power of God”/“providence” in baseline); here it is used in its ordinary sense and poses no real risk, but translators should be aware of the term’s overlapping use elsewhere |
| πνεῦμα ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί (3:16) | pneumati hagiō kai pyri | ”with Holy Spirit and fire” | Spirit-and-fire baptism | The Messiah’s baptism surpasses John’s water baptism | पवित्रेण आत्मना वह्निना च (REUSE + combination) | Critical — Holy Spirit personhood note applies |
| υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (3:38, of Adam) | huios tou theou | REUSE-adjacent — “son of God” (of Adam, not Christ) | genealogical closing formula | The genealogy traces Jesus back through David and Abraham to Adam, “the son of God” — asserting a common human ancestry shared by Jew and Gentile alike, grounding the universal scope of the gospel | आदमः, परमेश्वरस्य पुत्रः इति उक्तः | High — must NOT be confused with baseline’s Critical, exclusive title परमेश्वरस्य पुत्रः reserved for Christ’s unique divine Sonship; here it is a looser genealogical designation of the first human. Flag explicitly to prevent conflation |
Chapter 4 (remainder, beyond the core passage vv.16-21) — Temptation, Capernaum Ministry
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| διάβολος (4:2-13) | diabolos | ”slanderer, accuser” | the devil, Satan | A real personal being who tempts Jesus in the wilderness | शैतानः (śaitānaḥ), transliterated | High — explicitly rejects मारः (Māra), the Buddhist personification of death/desire/illusion who tempts Siddhārtha Gautama beneath the Bodhi tree (Buddhacarita, Lalitavistara) — the closest narrative parallel in Indian religious literature but structurally incompatible: Māra operates within a liberation-from-craving soteriology, not a personal-fallen-being-versus-obedience-to-Scripture framework |
| πειράζω (4:2) | peirazō | ”to test, tempt” | trial, temptation | Jesus’s real moral testing, overcome by Scripture-obedience, not meditative detachment | परीक्षितः/प्रलोभितः (parīkṣitaḥ/pralobhitaḥ) | Medium |
| ἐξουσία (4:32,36) | exousia | ”authority, delegated power” | authority, right, jurisdiction | ”He taught with authority” — a self-attesting authority | अधिकारः (adhikāraḥ) | Medium–High — must be distinguished from ritual/priestly authority derived from varṇa-based Brahminical ritual competence or lineage transmission; Jesus’s authority is inherent to his person, not conferred by social/ritual qualification |
| δαιμόνιον (4:33,35,41) | daimonion | ”demon, evil spirit” | unclean spirit | Real, personal, malevolent spiritual beings Jesus expels with a word | भूतः (bhūtaḥ) | High — deliberately avoids any आत्मा-rooted compound (e.g. दुष्टात्मा) per the baseline’s explicit rule that “spirit” language elsewhere must never reinforce an ātman-Brahman reading; भूत (a standard word for a malevolent spirit in Indian folk religion) carries no such risk |
Chapter 5 — Calling of Disciples, Leper, Paralytic, Levi
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| ἁμαρτωλός (5:8,30,32) | hamartōlos | ”sinner” | morally culpable person; social-religious outcast label used by Pharisees | Peter: “I am a sinful man”; Levi’s banquet guests; foundational to “Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners” | पापी (pāpī), f. पापिनी | High — built on baseline’s पापम्; risk that readers assimilate “sinner” to a ritually-impure or outcaste social category (analogous to caṇḍāla status in dharmaśāstra) rather than a morally responsible person whom God loves and can forgive regardless of social standing |
| καθαρίζω / λεπρός (5:12-14) | katharizō / lepros | ”to make clean” / “leper” | ritual and physical cleansing; leprosy | Healing that also restores ritual eligibility under the Law | शुद्धः/कुष्ठः (śuddhaḥ/kuṣṭhaḥ) | Medium — ritual-purity overlap with baseline’s holy/sanctification cautions; must not collapse into a purely ritual-mechanical purification separate from Jesus’s personal compassionate act |
| υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (5:24) | huios tou anthrōpou | ”son of man” | Jesus’s characteristic self-designation, combining ordinary humanity (Ezekiel) with divine authority to judge (Daniel 7:13-14) | First occurrence: Jesus claims authority to forgive sins as “the Son of Man” | मनुष्यपुत्रः (manuṣyaputraḥ) | Critical — risk of under-translation toward “merely a human being,” losing the Daniel 7 authority claim; must be taught, as with देहधारणम्, with explicit background reference rather than left to contextual inference |
| τελώνης (5:27,29,30) | telōnēs | ”tax collector” | Roman tax-farmer; despised social-religious category | Levi’s calling and banquet — programmatic for Jesus’s mission to the marginalized | करसंग्राहकः (karasaṃgrāhakaḥ) | Medium — plain descriptive compound; the doctrinal weight lies in the accompanying social-stigma note, not the word itself |
| συνανάκειμαι / κατάκειμαι (5:29-30) | synanakeimai / katakeimai | ”to recline together at table” | shared table fellowship | ”Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” | सहभोजनम् (sahabhojanam) | High — direct collision with dharmaśāstra’s commensality restrictions (inter-dining rules governing who may eat with whom across varṇa/jāti boundaries); Jesus’s deliberate table fellowship with the religiously and socially disreputable is a direct enactment of the assigned doctrine “Jesus’ Compassion and Table Fellowship with Sinners” and must not be softened |
| νηστεία (5:33-35) | nēsteia | ”fasting” | ritual/devotional abstention from food | ”The bridegroom is with them” — fasting is not the point while the Messiah is present | उपवासः (upavāsaḥ) | Medium–High — upavāsa is a major, systematically theorized Hindu/Jain vrata (vow) category that generates its own merit (puṇya) through the act itself; Jesus’s teaching concerns appropriate response to his presence/absence, not merit accumulation, and this contrast must be made explicit |
Chapter 6 — Sabbath Controversies, Twelve Apostles, Sermon on the Plain
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| ἀπόστολος (6:13) | apostolos | REUSE — apostle | naming of the Twelve | Establishes the foundational apostolic office | प्रेषितः (Medium, per baseline) | — |
| μακάριος (6:20-22) | makarios | ”blessed, fortunate” | happy, blessed, favored | Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor…” | धन्यः (dhanyaḥ) | Medium — दhanya risks a “lucky/fortunate” (bhāgya-adjacent) reading rather than God’s specific pronounced favor; must be distinguished from भाग्यम्/दैवम्, already rejected in baseline’s “election”/“providence” entries for the same fatalism concern |
| πτωχός (6:20) | ptōchos | REUSE-adjacent — poor (see core passage) | — | “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” | दरिद्रः (High, established at 4:18) | — |
| οὐαί (6:24-26) | ouai | ”woe!“ | interjection of lament/warning | The reversal-woes paired with the beatitudes | धिक्/हा (dhik/hā) | Low |
| ἀγάπη/ἀγαπάω (6:27,32,35) | agapē/agapaō | ”love” | selfless, willed love; distinct from erotic or merely affectionate love | ”Love your enemies” — a command extending beyond natural affection, modeled on God’s own character | स्नेहः (snehaḥ) | High — deliberately avoids प्रेम (prema), the summit technical term of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava bhakti theology (prema-bhakti as the highest devotional attainment for Kṛṣṇa, systematically ranked below and above other rasas in Caitanya theology), which would import an entire foreign soteriological schema. स्नेहः is comparatively untheorized and functions here as the least philosophically-encumbered available term, on the same principle baseline applied to विश्वासः over श्रद्धा/भक्तिः |
| ἔλεος/οἰκτίρμων (6:36) | eleos/oiktirmōn | ”mercy, compassion” | merciful, compassionate disposition | ”Be merciful, as your Father is merciful” | दया (dayā) | Medium |
Chapter 7 — Centurion’s Servant, Widow of Nain, Sinful Woman
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| ἐγείρω (of the widow’s son, 7:14-15) | egeirō | ”to raise” | to raise up, revive | A temporary resuscitation to mortal life — categorically distinct from Christ’s own once-for-all resurrection (REUSE पुनरुत्थानम्) and from the future general resurrection | पुनर्जीवनम् (punarjīvanam) | High — this is a deliberately new, narrower term coined to be visually and conceptually distinct from both the forbidden पुनर्जन्म (rebirth/transmigration) and the reserved Critical पुनरुत्थानम् (final resurrection); translators must never substitute either of those for a temporary revivification |
| σπλαγχνίζομαι (7:13) | splagchnizomai | ”to be moved in one’s inward parts” (σπλάγχνα, entrails, seat of emotion) | to feel compassion viscerally | Jesus’s felt, personal compassion for the grieving widow — first full occurrence of a major Lukan motif | करुणा (karuṇā) | High — करुणा is also (a) one of the four brahmavihāras (maitrī, karuṇā, muditā, upekṣā) in the Buddhist bodhisattva ideal, arising from insight into no-self and extended impartially to all beings, and (b) karuṇā-rasa, one of the nine classical aesthetic sentiments (rasa) catalogued in the Nāṭyaśāstra. Jesus’s compassion must be distinguished as the particular, embodied response of the incarnate divine-human person to a specific person’s specific grief, not an impartial meditative attainment or an aesthetic sentiment evoked by tragic narrative |
| ὁ ἐρχόμενος (7:19-20) | ho erchomenos | ”the one who is to come” | the awaited one | John’s disciples ask if Jesus is the promised Messiah | आगमिष्यन् (āgamiṣyan) | High — connects directly to baseline’s Messianic Promise doctrine; must not be assimilated to the awaited final avatāra Kalki within Viṣṇu’s daśāvatāra sequence (see baseline’s explicit caution under “messiah”) |
| σκανδαλίζω (7:23) | skandalizō | ”to cause to stumble” | to offend, cause to fall away | ”Blessed is the one who is not offended by me” | विघ्नः (vighnaḥ) | Low–Medium — vighna is loosely associated with Vighnahartā Gaṇeśa, the remover of obstacles; minor, non-critical resonance only |
| ἀγαπάω πολύ (7:47) | agapaō poly | REUSE of ἀγάπη — “loved much” | — | The forgiven sinful woman’s great love as evidence of great forgiveness received | स्नेहः बहु (High, established Ch.6) | — |
| σέσωκέν σε (7:50) | sesōken se | ”has saved you” (σῴζω, REUSE — salvation) | “your faith has saved you” | First occurrence of the key Lukan faith-formula, repeated at 8:48, 17:19, 18:42 | विश्वासः (REUSE) + त्राणम् (REUSE, Critical) | Critical |
Chapter 8 — Parable of the Sower, Calming the Storm, Legion, Jairus’s Daughter
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ (8:11,21) | logos tou theou | ”word of God” | God’s spoken/proclaimed message | The seed in the parable of the sower is explicitly identified as “the word of God” | परमेश्वरस्य वचनम् (parameśvarasya vacanam) | High — वचनम् risks the same collision already flagged in baseline’s “covenant” entry for वाचा: Mīmāṃsā holds the Veda’s very sound-form (śabda) to be eternal and uncreated (the śabda-brahman doctrine, elaborated in Bhartṛhari’s sphoṭa theory). “Word of God” here must be taught as God’s message proclaimed and received in historical time, not an eternal, self-existent sound-principle |
| δαιμόνιον/Λεγιών (8:27-33) | daimonion/Legiōn | REUSE भूतः + proper name “Legion” | — | The Gerasene demoniac’s deliverance | भूतः; लेगियोन् (transliterated) | High (per Ch.4 note) |
| σέσωκέν/σέσωκά (8:48,50) | sesōken/sesōka | REUSE — “has saved/made well” | the woman with the flow of blood; Jairus’s daughter | Physical healing tied to the same verb-root as spiritual salvation | त्राणम्-family (Critical) | Notable: the bleeding woman’s chronic ritual impurity under the Law (parallel concerns addressed by dharmaśāstra’s strict rules on female ritual impurity, e.g. in Manusmṛti) is met not with exclusion but with restorative welcome — an important cross-reference for the “compassion” doctrine |
| Jairus’s daughter “raised” (8:54-55) | — | REUSE पुनर्जीवनम् (Ch.7 term) | — | Second instance of temporary resuscitation | पुनर्जीवनम् (High) | — |
Chapter 9 — Sending the Twelve, Transfiguration, Cost of Discipleship
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (9:20) | ho Christos tou theou | REUSE — “the Christ of God” | Peter’s confession | Combines मसीहः/ख्रीष्टः with परमेश्वर | मसीहः परमेश्वरस्य (Critical) | — |
| δόξα (9:26,31,32) | doxa | REUSE — glory, Transfiguration | — | Christ’s divine glory momentarily unveiled | महिमा (High) | Cross-reference: Transfiguration glory anticipates 24:26 “enter into his glory” |
| ὁ ἐκλελεγμένος (9:35) | ho eklelegmenos | ”the Chosen One” (ἐκλέγω) | elect, chosen | ”This is my Son, my Chosen One” — divine voice at Transfiguration | वरितः (varitaḥ) | High — connects to baseline’s “election” entry (परमेश्वरस्य वरणम्); here uniquely applied to Christ himself, distinct from the election of believers |
| σταυρός (9:23) | stauros | ”cross, stake” | instrument of Roman execution; symbol of self-denying discipleship | ”Take up his cross daily and follow me” | क्रूशः (krūśaḥ), transliterated | High — deliberately avoids शूलम् (śūlam, “spike/stake”), which strongly evokes triśūla, Śiva’s iconic trident weapon in Śaiva iconography; transliteration is the safest choice for so central a Christian symbol |
| ἀπαρνέομαι ἑαυτόν (9:23) | aparneomai heauton | ”to deny oneself” | self-renunciation | Cost of discipleship | आत्मानं त्यजेत् (ātmānaṃ tyajet) | Medium — ordinary Sanskrit grammar requires the आत्मन्-derived reflexive pronoun even in this entirely mundane, non-Vedantic sense (“himself,” not “his true metaphysical Self”); flagged for translator awareness only, given how sensitive आत्मा-compounds are elsewhere, though the risk here is genuinely low |
| ἀκολουθέω (9:23,59-62) | akoloutheō | ”to follow” | to accompany, be a disciple of | Following Jesus as the basic act of discipleship | अनुगमनम् (anugamanam) | Low — verb form of अनुयायी (disciple, see Ch.10 term list below) |
Chapter 10 — Sending the Seventy(-two), Good Samaritan, Mary and Martha
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| μαθητής (throughout Luke, esp. formalized here) | mathētēs | ”learner, student” | disciple, follower | Those who follow and learn from Jesus | अनुयायी (anuyāyī) | Medium — deliberately prefers “follower” over शिष्यः, which imports the entire guru-śiṣya-paramparā lineage-transmission framework (the same reasoning baseline applies to reject गुरुः for “apostle”); discipleship of Jesus is direct relationship with the living, resurrected Lord, not transmission through a successive human teaching-chain |
| ἤγγικεν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ (10:9,11) | ēngiken hē basileia tou theou | REUSE कingdom + “has drawn near” | — | The kingdom’s “already/not yet” tension — present in Jesus’s ministry, consummated at his return | परमेश्वरस्य राज्यम् निकटम् आगतम् | High — requires careful tense-handling to preserve the present-and-future doctrine named in the curriculum (“The Kingdom of God Present and Future”) |
| πλησίον (10:27,29,36) | plēsion | ”neighbor, one nearby” | fellow human being to be loved as oneself | Good Samaritan parable deliberately widens “neighbor” past ethnic/religious boundary | समीपस्थः (samīpasthaḥ) | Medium — risk that “neighbor” is heard as bounded by one’s own community/jāti (paralleling the specific in-group obligations articulated for one’s own varṇa in dharmaśāstra); the parable’s entire point is to subvert exactly this boundary, and the rendering must not imply restriction |
| Σαμαρίτης (10:33) | Samaritēs | proper noun/ethnonym | Samaritan | A religious-ethnic outsider to Jews, made the story’s moral exemplar | सामरितीयः (sāmaritīyaḥ), transliterated | Low–Medium |
| ζωὴ αἰώνιος (10:25) | zōē aiōnios | ”eternal life” | unending life, life in the age to come | First occurrence of a major soteriological term absent from the Romans baseline glossary | नित्यजीवनम् (nityajīvanam) | High — must be kept distinct both from मोक्ष (liberation from saṃsāra) and from अमृतत्वम् (amaratvam/amṛtatva, “deathlessness,” the specific Upaniṣadic goal of Self-knowledge, e.g. Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.28’s prayer “mṛtyor mā amṛtaṃ gamaya”). “Eternal life” in Luke is a relationship and gift received by faith, not a metaphysical attainment through Self-realization |
| μερίς ἀγαθή (10:42) | meris agathē | ”good portion/part” | the better share | Mary of Bethany’s choice to listen to Jesus | भागः/अंशः (bhāgaḥ) | Low |
Chapter 11 — The Lord’s Prayer, Beelzebul Controversy, Woes on Pharisees
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| προσευχή/προσεύχομαι (11:1-13) | proseuchē/proseuchomai | ”prayer, to pray” | petition addressed to God | Central to the assigned doctrine “Prayer and Dependence on God”; the Lord’s Prayer itself | प्रार्थना (prārthanā) | Medium — must be distinguished from Vedic ritual invocation (āhvāna, homa) requiring precise mantra performance for efficacy; direct, dependent address to a personal Father, in Jesus’s teaching, requires no ritual precision for validity |
| ἐπιούσιος ἄρτος (11:3) | epiousios artos | ”daily/needful bread” | bread for the coming day; bread sufficient for existence | Prayer for ordinary daily dependence on God | प्रतिदिनस्य अन्नम् (pratidinasya annam) | Low |
| ὀφειλήματα (11:4) | opheilēmata | ”debts” | sins conceived as a debt owed | ”Forgive us our sins/debts” | ऋणम् (ṛṇam) | Medium–High — ऋण usefully echoes the existing Vedic “three debts” concept (deva-ṛṇa, ṛṣi-ṛṇa, pitṛ-ṛṇa, discharged through sacrifice, study, and progeny per dharmaśāstra), which may serve as a helpful bridge image; but the note must clarify that God’s forgiveness cancels the debt as an act of grace (REUSE अनुग्रहः), not through the traditional ritual/progeny-based discharge mechanism |
| πειρασμός (11:4) | peirasmos | REUSE-adjacent — “temptation, trial” | — | “Lead us not into temptation” | परीक्षा/प्रलोभनम् | Medium |
| δάκτυλος θεοῦ (11:20) | daktylos theou | ”finger of God” | anthropomorphic image of divine power | Jesus casts out demons “by the finger of God” | परमेश्वरस्य अङ्गुलिः (parameśvarasya aṅguliḥ) | Low — anthropomorphic divine-body-part language is not unfamiliar within bhakti tradition and poses minimal collision risk here |
| ὑπόκρισις (11:39-44) | hypokrisis | ”hypocrisy” | pretense, outward show without inward reality | Woes against the Pharisees for external religiosity without inward transformation | कपटम् (kapaṭam) | High — explicitly rejects माया (māyā) as a rendering, since māyā is the load-bearing Advaita term for the cosmic principle of illusion/appearance (the very structure of phenomenal reality under nirguṇa Brahman), a categorically different concept from a person’s deliberate outward pretense |
Chapter 12 — Warnings, Rich Fool, Anxiety, Watchfulness
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον (12:10) | blasphēmia eis to Pneuma to Hagion | ”blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” | slander, reviling of the Spirit | The one unforgivable sin — direct extension of baseline’s Holy Spirit Critical entry | पवित्रात्मनिन्दा (pavitrātmanindā) | Critical — निन्दा itself (nindā, “reviling”) is not inherently loaded, but the compound directly engages the single highest-stakes doctrine in the whole Language Package (Holy Spirit personhood); every occurrence requires human theologian review per baseline’s escalation rules |
| μὴ μεριμνᾶτε (12:22-31) | mē merimnate | ”do not be anxious” | do not worry, do not be consumed with care | Trust in the Father’s provision — central to “Prayer and Dependence on God” | चिन्ता मा कुरुत (cintā mā kuruta) | Medium — thematically central even though lexically simple |
| οἰκονόμος (12:42) | oikonomos | ”household manager, steward” | steward, administrator | Faithful stewardship parable | गृहाध्यक्षः (gṛhādhyakṣaḥ) | Low |
| υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (12:40) | huios tou anthrōpou | REUSE — Son of Man | — | Eschatological coming at an unexpected hour | मनुष्यपुत्रः (Critical) | — |
Chapter 13 — Repentance, Sabbath Healing, Kingdom Parables, Lament over Jerusalem
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| μετανοέω (13:3,5) | metanoeō | REUSE — “repent" | "unless you repent, you will perish likewise” | Repentance as urgent, not optional | मनःपरिवर्तनम् (High) | — |
| δέω (ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ, 13:16) | deō | ”to bind” | bound, shackled | The crippled woman “bound by Satan” for eighteen years | बद्धा (śaitānena baddhā) | Medium — reuses शैतानः (Ch.4) |
| ἐπισυνάγω (13:34) | episynagō | ”to gather together” | to gather, assemble | ”How often would I have gathered you, as a hen gathers her brood” — Jesus’s compassionate lament over Jerusalem’s unwillingness | सङ्ग्रहीतुम् (saṃgrahītum) | Medium — emotionally resonant compassion-image; ties to the broader compassion doctrine |
Chapter 14 — Banquet Parables, Cost of Discipleship
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| ὑψόω/ταπεινόω (14:11) | hypsoō/tapeinoō | ”to exalt / to humble” | to raise up in honor / to lower in status | ”Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” | उन्नतः/नम्रीकृतः (unnataḥ/namrīkṛtaḥ) | Medium — direct thematic continuation of the Magnificat’s reversal-motif (Ch.1) and anticipates 18:14’s justified tax collector |
| πτωχοὶ, ἀνάπειροι, χωλοὶ, τυφλοί (14:13,21) | ptōchoi, anapeiroi, chōloi, typhloi | REUSE दरिद्रः + “crippled, lame, blind” | — | The great banquet’s invitation list — deliberately the socially excluded | दरिद्रः/विकलाः/खञ्जाः/अन्धाः | High (per established दरिद्रः entry) |
| σταυρός (14:27) | stauros | REUSE — cross | — | “Whoever does not carry his own cross cannot be my disciple” | क्रूशः (High) | — |
Chapter 15 — Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Prodigal Son
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| ἀπολωλός (15:4,6,24,32) | apolōlos | ”the lost/perished one” | that which is lost | The recurring “lost and found” motif, climaxing “he was lost and is found” | नष्टः (naṣṭaḥ) | Medium — cross-references directly to 19:10’s “seek and save the lost” (Zacchaeus), Luke’s summary soteriological statement |
| χαρὰ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ (15:7,10) | chara en tō ouranō | ”joy in heaven” | rejoicing at repentance | ”There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…” | हर्षः (harṣaḥ) स्वर्गे | High — deliberately avoids आनन्दः (ānanda), which names Brahman’s own essential blissful nature in the Vedāntic formula सच्चिदानन्द (sat-cit-ānanda; cf. Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.1’s “ānando brahma,” “bliss is Brahman,” and 3.6.1’s identification of ānanda as the ultimate reality). Rendering the believer’s or heaven’s joy with आनन्द would risk exactly the category-collision already flagged for Holy Spirit/ātman: conflating a creaturely emotional/relational response with Brahman’s own metaphysical nature. हर्षः is the safer, less philosophically-loaded choice |
| σπλαγχνίζομαι (15:20) | splagchnizomai | REUSE करुणा | ”the father saw him and had compassion, and ran” | Paradigm text for the Father’s compassion; the father’s running itself is a striking honor-culture reversal | करुणा (High, per Ch.7) | Together with the running father, this is arguably the central image for the assigned doctrine of divine compassion in the whole Gospel |
Chapter 16 — Dishonest Steward, Mammon, Rich Man and Lazarus
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| μαμωνᾶς (16:9,11,13) | mamōnas | Aramaic loanword: “wealth, riches” personified | mammon, riches as rival master | ”You cannot serve God and mammon” — wealth treated as a rival deity demanding total allegiance | मम्मोनः (mammonaḥ), transliterated | Medium — transliteration (on the model of बाप्तिस्मः and अब्बा) preserves the personified force the plain word धनम् (“wealth”) would lose |
| ᾅδης (16:23; also 10:15) | Hadēs | ”Hades,” the realm of the dead | intermediate abode of the dead awaiting final judgment | The rich man’s conscious, painful intermediate state, contrasted with Lazarus’s comfort at “Abraham’s bosom” | हादेस् (hādes), transliterated | Critical — explicitly rejects नरकः (narakaḥ), the Purāṇic term for the systematically catalogued temporary hells (e.g. in the Garuḍa Purāṇa) understood as places of karmically-determined punishment prior to further rebirth. Luke 16’s Hades is an intermediate holding-state before final bodily resurrection and judgment, not a station within an ongoing transmigration cycle; पातालम् (pātālam, generic netherworld) was also considered and rejected as still carrying Purāṇic cosmological baggage (the seven pātālas inhabited by nāgas) |
| κόλπος Ἀβραάμ (16:22) | kolpos Abraam | ”Abraham’s bosom” | place of comfort with the patriarch after death | Contrastive image to the rich man’s torment | अब्राहामस्य अङ्कः (abrāhāmasya aṅkaḥ) | Low |
| χάσμα (16:26) | chasma | ”chasm, gulf” | a great, fixed, uncrossable gap | The fixed separation between the two post-mortem states | महाविवरम् (mahāvivaram) | Low |
Chapter 17 — Forgiveness, Faith, Ten Lepers, Kingdom Within/Among
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| ἀφίημι (17:3-4) | aphiēmi | REUSE — forgive | ”if he sins against you seven times… forgive him” | Repeated, unlimited interpersonal forgiveness modeled on divine forgiveness | क्षमा (High) | — |
| καθαρίζω/εὐχαριστέω (17:14-16) | katharizō/eucharisteō | REUSE — cleansed / REUSE — gave thanks | ten lepers healed, only the Samaritan returns | Highlights both ritual restoration and grateful response; the returning leper is a despised Samaritan, reinforcing the universal-scope doctrine | शुद्धः + धन्यवादः (REUSE) | High/Low respectively |
| ἐντὸς ὑμῶν (17:21) | entos hymōn | ”within/among you” | ambiguous: internal-individual vs. corporate-in-your-midst | ”The kingdom of God is [ἐντός] you” — one of the most consequential single-phrase translation choices in the whole Gospel | युष्मन्मध्ये (yuṣmanmadhye), “among/in the midst of you” | Critical — rendering this as “within you” individually (युष्मदन्तः) risks a direct collision with Advaita Vedānta’s core immanence claim: that the divine (Brahman/ātman) is already, inherently present within the self, to be realized rather than received — precisely the mahāvākya structure already flagged as the single highest-stakes risk in the baseline’s Holy Spirit entry. The corporate rendering (“in your midst,” referring to the kingdom’s presence in Jesus’s own person and ministry among the hearers) avoids this collision and better matches Luke’s contextual emphasis (the kingdom’s presence is tied to Jesus, not to an already-latent inner divine nature) |
| Σαμαρίτης (17:16) | Samaritēs | REUSE सामरितीयः | — | — | सामरितीयः (Low–Medium) | — |
Chapter 18 — Persistent Widow, Pharisee and Tax Collector, Rich Ruler, Blind Beggar
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| δικαιωθεὶς (18:14) | dikaiōtheis | REUSE — “justified" | "this man went down to his house justified” | Direct Gospel-narrative anchor of the baseline’s Critical Justification doctrine — the humble tax collector’s prayer, not the Pharisee’s self-justification, receives God’s forensic declaration of righteousness | धर्मीति निर्णीतः (dharmīti nirṇītaḥ), from the exact baseline compound धर्मीति निर्णयः | Critical — must be rendered with the identical baseline term used throughout Romans; this is the single clearest Gospel proof-text for a doctrine the baseline develops at length from Paul, and consistency across the whole curriculum is essential |
| δικαιοῦν ἑαυτόν (10:29; 16:15) | dikaioun heauton | REUSE-adjacent — “to justify oneself” | self-justification, contrasted with God’s justification | The lawyer “desiring to justify himself”; the Pharisees “who justify yourselves” — Luke repeatedly contrasts human self-justification with God’s declarative justification | धर्मीति स्वयं निर्णयः (self-declared, rejected contrast) | High — valuable cross-reference showing Luke anticipates the very Pauline point developed in Romans |
| ζωὴ αἰώνιος (18:18,30) | zōē aiōnios | REUSE नित्यजीवनम् | rich ruler’s question | — | नित्यजीवनम् (High) | — |
| υἱὸς Δαυίδ (18:38-39) | huios Dauid | ”Son of David” | Davidic Messianic title | The blind beggar’s cry — first full occurrence of this specific title, directly invoking the baseline’s Davidic Covenant and Messianic Promise doctrines | दाविदस्य पुत्रः (dāvidasya putraḥ) | Critical — distinct in construction from baseline’s “seed_of_david” (दाविदः वंशात्, lineage-descent phrase); this is a direct royal-messianic title of address requiring the same doctrinal weight as मसीहः |
Chapter 19 — Zacchaeus, Triumphal Entry, Temple Cleansing
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| σωτηρία (19:9) | sōtēria | REUSE — “salvation has come to this house” | Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector | Salvation reaches even the most socially reviled collaborator-class figure | त्राणम् (Critical) | Direct enactment of “Jesus as Savior for All Nations and All People… Rich and Poor” |
| ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός (19:10) | zētēsai kai sōsai to apolōlos | ”to seek and to save the lost” | Luke’s programmatic summary of the Son of Man’s whole mission | The single most concentrated soteriological verse in the Gospel | अन्वेष्टुं त्रातुं च नष्टम् (anveṣṭuṃ trātuṃ ca naṣṭam) | Critical — reuses मनुष्यपुत्रः, त्राणम्-family (त्रातुम्), and नष्टः (established Ch.15) in a single verse; recommend this exact combination be treated with the same cross-document consistency rule the baseline applies to Romans 1:16-17 and 8:28 |
| οἶκος προσευχῆς (19:46) | oikos proseuchēs | ”house of prayer” | the Temple’s proper purpose | Contrasted with “den of robbers” (σπήλαιον λῃστῶν) | प्रार्थनागृहम् (prārthanāgṛham) | Low — reuses प्रार्थना (established Ch.11) |
Chapter 20 — Authority, Wicked Tenants, Resurrection Debate
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| κεφαλὴ γωνίας (20:17) | kephalē gōnias | ”head of the corner” | cornerstone | Christ, rejected by builders, becomes the foundation stone (Psalm 118:22) | कोणशिला (koṇaśilā) | Low–Medium |
| υἱοὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως / υἱοὶ θεοῦ (20:36) | huioi tēs anastaseōs / huioi theou | ”sons of the resurrection / sons of God” | resurrected believers called “sons of God” | Important cross-reference: this must use baseline’s adoption term (पुत्रत्वेन स्वीकरणम्) for believers’ derived, resurrection-glory sonship, and must NOT use the Critical, exclusive परमेश्वरस्य पुत्रः reserved for Christ’s unique divine Sonship | पुनरुत्थानस्य पुत्राः (REUSE पुनरुत्थानम् + पुत्रत्वेन स्वीकरणम् concept) | High — flag explicitly to prevent the collapse of Christ’s unique Sonship into a generic sonship shared by all resurrected believers |
| Κύριος (of the Messiah, citing Psalm 110, 20:41-44) | Kyrios | REUSE — Lord | ”The Lord said to my Lord” | David himself calls his descendant “Lord” — a proof-text for the Messiah’s transcendence over David, directly supporting the Deity of Christ doctrine | प्रभुः (Critical) | High-value cross-reference to baseline’s Lordship/Deity of Christ Critical entries |
Chapter 21 — Eschatological Discourse, Widow’s Mite
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενος ἐν νεφέλῃ μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς (21:27) | — | REUSE — Son of Man coming with power and great glory | Parousia language | Combines मनुष्यपुत्रः, REUSE सामर्थ्यम्, REUSE महिमा — the climactic eschatological title-cluster | मनुष्यपुत्रः…सामर्थ्येन महिमया च | Critical — full combination of three baseline/curriculum Critical-High terms |
| ἀπολύτρωσις (21:28) | apolytrōsis | ”redemption” | full and final deliverance | ”Your redemption draws near” — the believer’s future hope at Christ’s return | विमोचनम् (vimocanam) | High — same term family as 2:38; must never drift toward मोक्ष/मुक्ति (forbidden per baseline salvation entry), since this is precisely the kind of eschatological deliverance most vulnerable to a liberation-from-saṃsāra misreading |
| γρηγορεῖτε (21:36) | grēgoreite | ”watch, stay awake” | vigilance, alertness | ”Watch and pray” — ties eschatological readiness to the prayer-dependence doctrine | जागृत/सावधानाः भवत (jāgṛta/sāvadhānāḥ bhavata) | Low–Medium |
Chapter 22 — Last Supper, Gethsemane, Arrest
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| καινὴ διαθήκη (22:20) | kainē diathēkē | ”new covenant” | fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34’s promised new covenant | Institution of the Lord’s Supper; Christ’s blood establishes the new covenant | नवीना संविद् (navīnā saṃvid) | High — built directly on baseline’s REUSE संविद्; requires the same explicit “God’s own binding promise” teaching baseline flags for covenant generally, now specifically fulfilled and inaugurated in Christ’s atoning death |
| σῶμα / αἷμα (22:19-20) | sōma / haima | ”body / blood” | Christ’s body given, blood poured out | Central atonement/Eucharistic language | शरीरम्/रक्तम् (śarīram/raktam) | High — lexically plain, but doctrinally must be explicitly distinguished from prasādam’s ritual food-offering-and-return structure (already flagged Critical under baseline’s grace entry): the Lord’s Supper is participatory proclamation of a completed, once-for-all sacrifice, not a repeatable exchange in which a deity is offered food and returns it sanctified |
| θέλημα (22:42) | thelēma | ”will, desire” | one’s will/intention | ”Not my will, but yours, be done” — Gethsemane submission | इच्छा (icchā) | Medium — touches the Christological question of Christ’s fully human will submitting to the Father’s will; must not be flattened into a denial of Christ’s genuine human volition |
| δεξιῶν τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ θεοῦ (22:69) | dexiōn tēs dynameōs tou theou | ”right hand of the Power of God” | exalted, enthroned authority | Jesus’s own testimony before the Sanhedrin | REUSE सामर्थ्यम् + दक्षिणहस्तः | Critical |
Chapter 23 — Trial, Crucifixion, Burial
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| σταυρός/σταυρόω (23:26-33) | stauros/stauroō | REUSE क्रूशः | crucifixion | The central saving act | क्रूशः (High) | — |
| πάτερ, ἄφες αὐτοῖς (23:34) | pater, aphes autois | ”Father, forgive them” | Jesus’s intercessory prayer for his executioners | Direct enactment of both forgiveness (REUSE क्षमा) and intercession (REUSE मध्यस्थता) from the cross itself | REUSE पिता + क्षमा | High |
| παράδεισος (23:43) | paradeisos | ”paradise” | a place/state of blessedness with God after death | ”Today you will be with me in paradise” — Jesus’s promise to the penitent thief | पारदैसः (pāradaisaḥ), transliterated | Critical — explicitly rejects स्वर्गः (svargaḥ), the Puranic/Vedic heaven, which Bhagavad Gītā 9:21 explicitly describes as a temporary reward-realm exhausted when accumulated merit (puṇya) runs out (“kṣīṇe puṇye martyalokaṃ viśanti,” “when their merit is exhausted, they return to the world of mortals”). Christ’s promise is of permanent presence with him, granted by grace to a man with no merit at all (a condemned criminal), the theological opposite of svarga’s merit-exhaustion mechanics |
| τὸ πνεῦμά μου (23:46) | to pneuma mou | ”my spirit” | Jesus’s own dying human spirit/breath, entrusted to the Father | ”Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” | प्राणान् (prāṇān), NOT आत्मा | Critical — this is a subtle but essential distinction: πνεῦμα here refers to Christ’s own human spirit at death, and must never be rendered with पवित्र आत्मा (reserved exclusively for the Holy Spirit) nor with bare आत्मा (which risks the same ātman-Brahman collision flagged throughout this package even in a non-Trinitarian context). प्राणः (“breath/life-breath”), an ordinary and doctrinally lighter term, is recommended instead |
| δίκαιος (23:47) | dikaios | REUSE-adjacent — “righteous, innocent” | the centurion’s confession: “certainly this man was righteous” | Connects to baseline’s righteousness/justification term-family | धार्मिकः (dhārmikaḥ) | Medium |
Chapter 24 — Resurrection, Emmaus, Ascension
| Term | Transliteration | Literal | Semantic Range/Variants | Theological Meaning | Sanskrit (Risk) | Notes |
|---|
| ἀνέστη/ἠγέρθη (24:6,34) | anestē/ēgerthē | REUSE — “he is risen” | the resurrection announcement | The climax of the whole Gospel | पुनरुत्थानम् (Critical) | Every occurrence in this chapter is Critical per baseline escalation rules |
| κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου (24:30,35) | klasis tou artou | ”breaking of bread” | shared meal, echoing the Last Supper | Recognition of the risen Christ at table — a fitting bookend to Luke’s whole table-fellowship theme | रोटीभञ्जनम् (roṭībhañjanam) | Medium — thematic continuity with Ch.5, 15, 19, 22’s table-fellowship motifs |
| σάρξ καὶ ὀστέα (24:39) | sarx kai ostea | ”flesh and bones” | Jesus’s insistence on his own bodily materiality | Affirms bodily, not merely spiritual or apparitional, resurrection — reinforcing baseline’s Critical resurrection entry against any subtle-body (liṅga-śarīra) or ghostly-apparition misreading | मांसानि अस्थीनि च (māṃsāni asthīni ca) | Medium–High — an important safeguard text for the resurrection doctrine |
| μετάνοια καὶ ἄφεσις ἁμαρτιῶν εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη (24:47) | metanoia kai aphesis hamartiōn eis panta ta ethnē | ”repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations” | the Great Commission’s content | Combines REUSE मनःपरिवर्तनम्, क्षमा, and अन्यजातीयाः in the Gospel’s summary missionary mandate | मनःपरिवर्तनम्, पापक्षमा, अन्यजातीयेभ्यः | High — recommend this exact phrase-combination be fixed for cross-document consistency, on the model of the baseline’s Romans 1:16-17/8:28/10:9-10 fixed-rendering rule |
| δύναμις ἐξ ὕψους (24:49) | dynamis ex hypsous | ”power from on high” | promised outpouring of the Spirit (Pentecost, anticipated) | REUSE सामर्थ्यम् combined with Holy Spirit anticipation | सामर्थ्यम्… उच्चात् | High |
| ἀνελήμφθη εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν (24:51) | anelēmphthē eis ton ouranon | ”he was carried up into heaven” | the Ascension | Christ’s unique, bodily return to glory | स्वर्गारोहणम् (svargārohaṇam) | High — svargārohaṇa is also the specific name of the final book of the Mahābhārata (Svargārohaṇa Parva), narrating the Pāṇḍavas’ meritorious ascent to heaven after death. Must be explicitly distinguished: Christ’s ascension is the glorified return of the eternal, incarnate, risen Son to the Father’s right hand, not a hero’s reward earned by accumulated virtue (dharma) at the end of an epic life |
| προσκυνέω (24:52) | proskyneō | REUSE-adjacent — “to worship" | "they worshiped him” | Post-resurrection worship of Jesus by his disciples | नमस्कारः (namaskāraḥ) | Medium — नमस्कारः (“reverent homage”) is preferred over पूजा, the standard Hindu ritual term for image/deity veneration with offerings, which — while a natural bridge term — requires very careful monotheistic framing to avoid the “one god among many” reading baseline’s “god” entry works hard to close off |
| χαρᾶς μεγάλης (24:52) | charas megalēs | REUSE हर्षः — “great joy” | the disciples’ response to the Ascension | Bookends Luke’s Gospel, which opens (1:14) and closes on the note of joy | हर्षः महान् (High, per Ch.15) | — |
PART 3 — Transparency Note: Baseline Terms Absent or Rare in Luke
For full-coverage transparency, the following baseline Romans terms have no significant direct occurrence in Luke’s Gospel narrative (they belong to the epistolary, post-Pentecost vocabulary of the early church rather than the Gospel narrative genre) and require no new Luke-specific rendering decision:
- saints (ἅγιοι as a collective noun for believers) — Luke uses ἅγιος adjectivally (of Jesus, the Spirit, the prophets, the covenant) but not as a corporate noun for the community of believers.
- sanctification (ἁγιασμός, abstract noun) — absent; sanctifying transformation is narratively depicted (e.g., Zacchaeus, the sinful woman) rather than named abstractly.
- spiritual gifts (χαρίσματα) — a Pauline/ecclesial term, absent from the Gospel narrative.
- church (ἐκκλησία) — does not occur in Luke’s Gospel (it appears in Luke’s second volume, Acts).
- abba — Luke’s Gethsemane account (22:42) uses the Greek Πάτερ (“Father”) without retaining the Aramaic Ἀββά preserved in Mark 14:36 and Romans 8:15; this absence should be noted explicitly rather than silently assumed.
- imputed righteousness (the specific Genesis 15:6 citation formula) — absent as a formula, though thematically adjacent to the justified tax collector of 18:14.
- obedience of faith (as a fixed Pauline phrase) — absent as a phrase, though the theme of faith-produced obedience runs throughout (e.g., the centurion, 7:1-10).
These are noted as reviewed and explicitly accounted for, not omitted.