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Glossary: V

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listen vachasamritena
words as sweet as nectar.
listen vaidhi-bhakti
The regulative practice of devotional service.
listen vaijayanti
A special garland worn by the Supreme Lord. It is made from flowers of at least five different colors, and it hangs down at least to His knees.
listen Vaikuntha (-loka)
Literally, the place free from anxiety. The kingdom of God, full of all opulences and unlimited by time and space.
listen Vaikuntha-dutas
Messengers of the Lord of Vaikuntha.
listen Vaikuntha-natha
Narayana, “the Lord of Vaikuntha.”
listen Vaikunthanatha
Lord of Vaikuntha.
listen Vaikuntheshvara
Narayana, “the Lord of Vaikuntha.”
listen vairagya
Indifference to material attractions.
listen Vaishampayana
The disciple of Dvaipayana Vyasa who narrated the Mahabharata to King Janamejaya.
listen Vaishnava
A devotee of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. Since Krishna and Vishnu are different aspects of the same Supreme Person, devotees of Krishna are also Vaishnavas.
listen vaishya
A member of the third among the four occupational divisions of the varnashrama social system. The vaishyas engage in agriculture, cow protection, and business.
listen Vaivasvata-manvantara
The present period of cyclical universal time, ruled over by Vaivasvata Manu. During the lifetime of Lord Brahma, which corresponds to the duration of the universe, there are 504,000 Manus.
listen Valmiki
The sage who composed the great epic history of Lord Ramachandra’s life. At first a vicious criminal, Valmiki became purified by unintentionally chanting the name Rama.
listen Vamana (-deva)
Lord Vishnu’s form as a young brahmana boy, one of the dasha-avataras, the ten most famous incarnations of the Lord. After begging three steps of land from Bali Daityaraja, Vamanadeva covered with His first two steps the entire universe, and for the third step Bali offered his own head. Pleased with Bali’s surrender, Lord Vamana offered to become the guard at Bali’s door.
listen vanaprastha
A man or woman in the retired order of life, the third stage of spiritual progress in the varnashrama social system. In this order a married man leaves home and travels to the forest and holy places of pilgrimage, either with or without his wife, to prepare himself for full renunciation, sannyasa.
listen Vanaras
The race of forest monkeys who helped Lord Ramachandra invade Lanka and defeat Ravana.
listen vani
Instructions.
listen vapu
The body; sometimes refers to the physical presence of the spiritual master.
listen Varaha (-deva)
Lord Vishnu’s incarnation as a huge boar, who killed the demon Hiranyaksha and lifted the earth from the depths of the Garbha Ocean.
listen varna
In the varnashrama social system, the four occupational divisions: brahmanas (teachers and priests), kshatriyas (rulers and warriors), vaishyas (businessmen and farmers), and shudras (workers).
listen varnashrama
The Vedic social system, consisting of four occupational divisions (varnas) and four stages of spiritual development (ashramas).
listen Varshana
The town in which Srimati Radharani appeared during Krishna’s pastimes on Earth.
listen Varuna
The demigod who presides over water and the oceans.
listen Vasanta-rasa
the anniversary of the rasa dance Krishna held in the spring.
listen -vasis
Residents.
listen Vasishtha
A great sage, one of the mind-born sons of Brahma, reborn in a later age as a son of Mitra and Varuna. He served as priest for Lord Ramachandra, Indra, Vaivasvata Manu, Ambarisha, Harishchandra, Yudhishthira, and others.
listen Vasudeva
Krishna, the son of Vasudeva. Vasudeva is also the name of Krishna’s first expansion outside Vraja, and of the first of the quadruple expansions in Vaikuntha.
listen Vasudeva
Krishna’s father in Mathura and Dvaraka. He and his wife Devaki were persecuted by Kamsa for many years before Krishna delivered them by killing Kamsa.
listen Vasus
A group of eight major demigods born from Kashyapa and Aditi.
listen Vatsa (-asura)
A demon friend of Kamsa’s who entered Vraja in the form of a calf and was killed by Krishna.
listen Vayu
The god of the wind, one of the principal demigods administering the universe.
listen Vedanta
the conclusion of Vedic philosophy.
listen Vedanta-sutra
A concise systematic explanation of the Vedic Upanishads. It was written by Dvaipayana Vyasa and has been commented on by the impersonalist Sankara and by great Vaishnava acharyas like Ramanuja, Madhva, and Baladeva Vidyabhushana.
listen Vedantavadi
a follower of Vedanta, or one who knows Krishna perfectly.
listen Vedas
The original revealed scriptures, eternal like the Supreme Lord and thus in need of no author. Because in Kali-yuga the Vedas are difficult to understand or even study, the Puranas and epic histories, especially Srimad-Bhagavatam, are essential for gaining access to the teachings of the Vedas.
listen Veda-vyasa
See Dvaipayana Vyasa.
listen Vedic
Pertaining to the Vedas, or more broadly, following or derived from the Vedic authority.
listen Vibhishana
The saintly brother of Ravana who abandoned Ravana to join the side of Lord Rama. After Ravana’s death, Vibhishana was crowned king of Lanka.
listen vibhu
great.
listen Vidura
The Pandavas’ uncle who was the son of Dvaipayana Vyasa by the maidservant of the deceased Vicitravirya. Vidura was an incarnation of Yama, who had been cursed to be born a shudra.
listen Viduratha
An enemy of Krishna’s who attacked Krishna to avenge the death of his brother Dantavakra but was quickly felled by the Lord’s Sudarshana disc.
listen Vidyadharas
A class of celestial beings with magical powers.
listen vigraha
Lit., “form.” often refers to the temple Deity.
Vrindavana Institute for Higher Education.
listen Vijaya
See Jaya and Vijaya.
listen vijaya-vigraha
Deity forms which are taken out of the temple for processions and other outdoor functions, generally because of Their smaller, more manageable size.
listen vijnana
practical realization of spiritual knowledge.
listen vikarmi
one who works to satisfy his desires without following the regulations of scripture.
listen vimukti
liberation.
listen vina
The classical Indian lute.
listen Vinata
Daksha’s daughter who married Kashyapa and gave birth to Garuda.
listen Vindhya
A range of hills that form the natural boundary between northern and southern India.
listen vipralambha-bhava, Viraha-bhava
The ecstasy of separation from the Supreme Lord.
listen Virata
The kingdom where the Pandavas spent the last years of their exile incognito. Also, the name of its king. King Virata’s daughter, Uttara, became the wife of Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu and the mother of Parikshit.
listen Virocana
A son of Prahlada and the father of Bali. Virocana, though a demon, diligently performed Vedic sacrifices and was famous for his charity to brahmanas.
listen Vishala
See Badarika.
listen vishaya
materialistic activities.
listen vishayi
materialistic person.
listen Vishnu
The Supreme Lord in His opulent feature as the Lord of Vaikuntha, who expands into countless forms and incarnations.
listen Vishnuduta
The messengers of Lord Vishnu who take perfected devotees back to the spiritual world at the time of death.
listen vishnu-mantras
Authorized sacred sounds chanted to worship the Supreme Lord.
listen Vishnurata
Parikshit, who was “protected by Vishnu” while still in the womb.
listen Vishnu-tattva
the original Personality of Godhead’s primary expansions, each of whom is equally God.
listen vishnu-tilaka
See tilaka.
listen Vishrama-ghata (Vishranti-tirtha)
The main bathing ghata in the city of Mathura on the river Yamuna. It is famous for being the place where Lord Varaha rested after killing the first demon in the universe, Hiranyaksha.
listen Vishvakarma
The architect of the demigods.
listen Vishvamitra
A king in the dynasty of the moon-god who, inspired by rivalry with Vasishtha, became a renounced sage.
listen Vishvanatha Cakravarti
A prominent Gaudiya Vaishnava acharya in the line of Srila Narottama dasa Thakura. In the mid seventeenth century he wrote commentaries on Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, and books by followers of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Baladeva Vidyabhushana was his shiksha disciple.
listen Vishvarupa
1. A son of the demigod Tvashta. To win power to defeat the demons led by Vritra, the demigods took Vishvarupa as their priest. But because he had a secret affinity for the demons and offered them oblations in sacrifice, Indra beheaded him. 2. The elder brother of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
listen Vishva-rupa
God’s form as the universe.
listen Vishveshvara
The principal deity of Lord Siva in his holy city of Kashi. It is located near Dashashvamedha-ghata.
listen Vivasvan
The current sun-god. His children include Yamaraja, the river Yamuna, Vaivasvata Manu, and Sanaishcara (the ruler of the planet Saturn).
listen Vraja (-bhumi)
The eternal place of Krishna’s pastimes with the cowherds, manifest on earth in the district of Mathura.
listen vraja-bhakti
The pure devotion for Krishna of the residents of Vraja.
listen vraja-bhava
The ecstatic mood of the devotees of Vraja.
listen vraja-lila
Krishna’s pastimes in Vraja.
listen Vrajanatha
Krishna, the Lord of Vraja.
listen Vrajavasi
a resident of Vrindavana.
listen vrata
vow.
listen Vrika (-asura)
A demon to whom Lord Siva granted the boon that any head he touched would at once break to pieces. When Vrika wanted to try the boon on Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu came in disguise and tricked Vrika into touching his own head.
listen Vrinda (-devi)
A principal gopi, a direct expansion of Srimati Radharani. She is the presiding deity of Vrindavana forest, and the tulasi plant is her expansion. She and grandmother Paurnamasi make all the behind-the-scenes arrangements for Radha and Krishna’s daily pastimes.
listen Vrindavana (-dhama)
Krishna’s most beloved forest in Vraja-bhumi, where He enjoys pastimes with the cowherd boys and the young gopis; also, the entire district of Vraja.
listen Vrindavana-chandra
Krishna, the “moon of Vrindavana.”
listen vrindavana-lila
Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavana.
listen Vrishaparva
A demon who fought in the armies of Vritra and Bali.
listen Vrishnis
See Yadavas.
listen Vritra (-asura)
A demon who in his past life as King Citraketu was cursed by Parvati and so took a demonic birth. Vritra led the demons against Indra but at heart was a pure devotee of Lord Vishnu. So when Indra killed Vritra, Vritra was glorified, and Indra had to suffer.
listen Vyasa (-deva)
See Dvaipayana Vyasa.
listen Vyasa-puja
worship of the spiritual master, who represents Srila Vyasadeva, on his appearance day.
listen vyasasana
“The seat of Vyasa,” a special seat reserved for the spiritual master, the representative of Vyasadeva.
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