A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Vâhana : a symbolic animal which serves as a vehicle (mount) to a god. The representations of deities are frequently shown associated with an animal (nearly always the same) who attends on the god/goddess. Sometimes the god/goddess is standing on that animal. Some are very well known, like the Ganesh rat or mouse; we may also point out the Brahmâ's goose or hamsa, the Vishnu's human-headed white eagle named Garuda, the Skanda's peacock named Paravânî, the Durgâ's lion (sometimes a tiger) named Manashtâla, the Shiva's bull named Nandi, or sometimes Vrishaba, the Bhairava's dog, the two elephants who escort Gaja- Lakshmî, the Indra's white celestial four-tusked elephant named Airâvata, the Yama's buffalo, the Yamuna's tortoise, the Gangâ's makara or crocodile-shaped monster, the Agni's ram, the Varuna's crocodile, the Sarasvatî's swan, the Kubera's horse, the Vâyu's deer, the Rahu's black lion, the vulture of the Planets Ketu and Shani, etc. The symbolic meaning of the vâhana is not quite clear and various points of view have been given on that topic; may-be they could be a synthesis between vedic deities and autochthonous dravidian totemic deities...

Vajra : "diamondlike-thunder"; a bronze religious tool used in Tibetan buddhist rituals. Short-stick shaped, its both ends have several assembled heads. Vajra symbolizes stability and the unmitigated character of the consciousness, when she is firmly established in the vacuity (sunyata)

Vâmana : the Dwarf. Taking the unusual form of a dwarf, this Vishnu avatar came once to the King Bali court. The latter was, in fact, a demon who persecuted all the living beings. Vishnu-Vamâna requested the king to grant him a few cultivable land, only what he could go through in three steps. The king thought this request was a very insignificant one and agreed immediately. Then, Vishnu-Vamâna started to grow immensely in size, thus taking the form of Trivikrama : with His first step, He strided over the created Worlds; the second step crossed the infernal Worlds and the third covered Heavens. King Bali recognized the Supreme Lord and worshipped Him

Varada mudra : symbolic movement of the hand who grants god boons. The right hand is open, palm forward, fingers pointing down

Varâha : Getting the form of a boar, this Vishnu avatar rescued goddess Earth who had been kidnapped in the deepness of the Ocean by the demon Hyranyâksha

Varna : (=caste). Literally, varna means a category, or a color. In very ancient times, four varna were defined : Brahmin people (priests, class of people learning religion and therefore apt to perform rituals and to guide other people in spiritual matters), Kshatriya people (warriors, rulers, aristocrats, persons holding the wordly power), Vaishya people (traders, people dealing with economic activity), and Sudra (workers, farmers), the most numerous. The caste principles cannot be dissociated from the karma concept. Later on, was defined an out-caste category (untouchable), for people who have a very impure profession such as those related to leather, cleaning, etc.). Thus, there was an increasing superposition between the varna and the profession (jati). The four initial large varna were subdivided in a multitude of sub-castes, depending on the professional occupation, the region, and other criteria, sometimes tenuous. The caste concept, and chiefly its social consequences, have always been badly considered by western people. They think it is a very injust system, which brings strong and potentially dangerous iniquities in the society and develops structural bottlenecks. Indian people, mostly those belonging to the upper castes, do not follow this mental pattern. The caste, indeed, among other positive aspects, develops very powerful synergic actions between its members, including social help. Finally, the modern way of life, mainly in big cities, tends to mitigate the most critical aspects of the caste system.

Varuna : vedic deity, considered as the most important Asura. Varuna is the God of Sea Waters and of the Elements; He is the father of goddess Lakshmî. Being also one of the eight Dikpala, He rules over the Western part of the Universe. He is represented attended by or mounted on a makara

Vasana : desires compulsorily expressed in a lifetime; if external / environmental conditions are not suitable, the vasana stay in a latent state

Vâyu : vedic deity of Wind, servant of the King of Gods, Indra. He uses to hold parole (Vak). He is the father of Garuda, the Vishnu mount. Being one of the eight Dikpala, Vâyu rules over the North-western part of the Universe and is represented attended by a deer (or an antelope). He holds a banner

Veda : literally, Veda means "What has been seen", seen or, better to say, directly perceived and understood thanks to higher intuition of the Rishi, the visionary Sages of antiques times. This extensive set of religious texts is considered as having been given to men by Gods. In ancient times, these texts were orally transmitted then, much later, probably a few centuries BC, they were written. The hindu Tradition states that the Veda teach the real rules of the Manifested World : indeed, one believes that Brahmâ himself has created the Universe when the four Veda came out of His four mouths. The four Veda are : the former most important Rig Veda comprises 1017 hymns, half of which being dedicated to Indra and Agni; the Yajur Veda, which describes the sacred rituals and sacrifices; the Sâma Veda, mainly dedicated to religious singings, then the Atharva Veda, which provides prayers and magical methods

Vedanta : the etymological meaning of Vedanta is "end of the Veda", "fulfilment of the Veda". Vedanta is one of the six systems (darshana) which admit the prominence of the Veda. The Vedanta mainly discusses about the fundamental similarity between Brahman and Atman. The most famous Vedanta Master was Shankârâcharya who explained the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. But other philosophers gave rather different points of view on that subject : Râmânuja supported the idea of three distinct entities (Brahman, individual entities as a whole, and the physical world); his theory is called Vishishtâdvaita or differentiated monism. Madhva was a quite dualist (dvaita) thinker; thus, his theory is similar to the Sâmkhya principles, in which the Jîva (the individual principle, let us say the soul) is definitely separated from the Creation (Prakriti), etc.

Venugopâla : a Krishna form (Vishnu avatar), represented as a divine cow-herd who plays flute to seduce cow-girls of Vrindâvan, His birth place

Vihâra : Buddhist monastery. One can see many ruins of such buildings in very ancient places like Ajanta and Ellora (Maharashtra), Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh), Udayagiri (Orissa), Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh), etc.

Vijayanagar : after the departure to the north of the muslim invaders who had deeply disturbed most of the south indian realms (1311, 1326), the Vijayanagar was founded in 1336. The capital was settled in Hampi (Karnataka), central Dekkan. However, it extended progressively its influence to adjacent areas, such as Tamil Nadu. Very prosperous, the Vijayanagar kingdom developed commercial activities with foreign countries as far as Far East and Europe, from ports of the indian western coast. Without respite, the kingdom fighted against the muslim Bahmani kingdom, to the north.
In 1565, attacked by a strong muslim coalition, the Vijayanagar were severely defeated at the Tilakota battle, and they were obliged to leave Tamil Nadu where the Nayak took the power. Both were finally subdued, at the end of the 17th century, by the Moghol empire which extended its mighty control over the whole country, except the farest south of the peninsula

Vimâna : in South India, the vimâna is the tower which surmounts the sanctuary of the temples (See shikhara)

Vînâ : instrument of music with seven metal strings. Vînâ is the usual emblem of the goddess Sarasvatî, Shakti of Brahmâ. A form of Ganesh, Ucchista Ganapati, also holds a vînâ

Vinâyaka : "Great Chief"; title given to several gods who have the power to dispel the difficulties, like Garuda, and mainly Ganesh. In the ancient buddhist mythology, Vinâyaka was a demon who uses to create obstacles to deviate spiritual seekers from the Nirvana path. In fact, this ancient meaning has evolved and Ganesh became, for any buddhist people, a Protector of the dharma : staying powerfully at the temple entrance, He dispels the malevolent demons and gives help to the worshippers in their prayers, like other awful deities

Vishnu : one of the three great gods constituting the Trimûrti; Vishnu is the Principle of Conservation and Maintenance; He is the Power which sustains the Universe. The legends narrating His successive avatâra, among which Rama and Krishna are the most famous, form the core, the basis of popular hinduism. Their devotional cult, called bhakti, reflects the unlimited love of the worshipper for God. The Vishnu iconography is rather complex; generally His hands hold the conch and the wheel (chakra)

Vyâsa : mythical Sage, who probably lived in ancient times; He is supposed to have written many sacred scriptures, in particular the Mahâbhârata epic, dictated to Him by Ganesh

 

 

 

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