Vācāla

a person who can speak according to Vedic authority.

Vahana mandapa

where the mount of the Deity (vahana) such as Lord Viṣṇu carrier’s Garuḍa or Śiva’s bull Nandi is located.

Vaibhāṣikas

a class of philosophers, akin to the Buddhists, who existed when Lord Kṛṣṇa spoke Bhagavad-gītā and who accept that life is a product of a mature combination of material elements.

Vaidarbhī

the woman who was formerly a man but took birth as a woman in his next life because of too much attachment to woman. Darbha means kuśa grass. In fruitive activities, or karma-kāṇḍīya ceremonies, one requires kuśa grass. Thus vaidarbhī refers to one who takes birth in a family of karma-kāṇḍīya understanding. However, if by karma-kāṇḍa activities one by chance comes in contact with a devotee, as Vaidarbhī did when she married Malayadhvaja, his life becomes successful. He then pursues the devotional service of the Lord. The conditioned soul becomes liberated simply by following the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master.

Vaidhi-bhakti

see: Glossary V.

Vaidūrya-maṇi

a spiritual gem that can display different colors.

Vāli

name of a monkey who was the son of Indra, the King of heaven, and elder brother of Sugrīva, the monkey king in the epic Rāmāyaṇa.

Vaijayantī

a garland containing flowers of five colors and reaching down to the knees. It is worn by Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Vaikāli-bhoga

food offered to the Deity at the end of the day.

Vaikuṇṭha lokas

variegated spiritual planets situated in the brahma-jyotir.

Vaikuṇṭha-jagat

see: Glossary V above.

Vaikuṇṭha-nātha

the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha.

Vaikuṇṭha

the eternal planets of the spiritual world, the abode of Lord Nārāyaṇa, which lies beyond the coverings of the material universe. Literally, “the place with no anxiety”. See Glossary S.

Vaiśya (Vaishyas)

member of the mercantile or agricultural class, according to the system of four social orders and four spiritual orders.

Vairāgī

a person in the renounced order of life.

Vairāgya

renunciation; detachment from matter and engagement of the mind in spirit.

Vaiśeṣikā

Kaṇāda-the propounder of Vaiśeṣika philosophy, which states that atoms are the original cause of the creation; One of the six systems of Vedic philosophy. See Glossary S.

Vaiṣṇava-aparādha

an offense to the devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

Vaiṣṇava-dharma

the eternal principle of service to the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu.

Vaiṣṇava

a devotee of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa.

Vaiṣṇavism

the science of bhakti-yoga, devotional service to Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa.

Vaivasvata Manu

the current Manu, the seventh of fourteen.

Vaiyāsaki

Sukadeva Gosvāmī-great devotee who recited the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to King Parīkṣit during the last seven days of the King’s life.

Vajradatta

the son of King Bhagadatta. He fought with Arjuna for the sacrificial horse.

Vajra

the great grandson of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He became the king of Mathurā when Lord Kṛṣṇa left this world.

Vālmīki

the author of the original Rāmāyaṇa-the original epic history about Lord Rāmacandra and Sītā, written by Vālmīki Muni.

Vāmadeva

a great sage who was a competitor of Gautama Ṛṣi’s. He was the secretary of Daśaratha Mahārāja, the father of Lord Rāma.

Vāmanadeva

the Supreme Lord’s fifth incarnation as a dwarf brāhmaṇa, to whom Bali Mahārāja surrendered everything; Trivikrama-a name for the Supreme Lord indicating His incarnation as the dwarf brāhmaṇa Vāmanadeva. Meaning literally “He who took three big steps,” this name recalls the Lord’s pastime of extending His foot through the coverings of the material universe and into the Causal Ocean.

Vāma

left-wing group of gopīs, who are eager to be jealously angered.

Vānaprastha

retired family life, in which one quits home to cultivate renunciation and travels from holy place to holy place in preparation for the renounced order of life; the third order of Vedic spiritual life; A retired householder. A member of the third spiritual devision of life, according to the Vedic social system of four āśramas. See Glossary B, Glossary G, Glossary S.

Vana

forest.

Vandana

the devotional process of offering prayers to the Lord.

Vāṇī

the words of the spiritual master, which exist eternally.

Vaṇik

a merchant.

Vapu

the physical presence of the spiritual master.

Varadarāja

Deity of Lord Viṣṇu worshiped Kāñcīpuram.

Vārāṇasī

one of the oldest and most famous places of pilgrimage in India; also known as Kāśī and Benares. It is a center of impersonalistic, or Māyāvāda, philosophy. Here is where Lord Caitanya defeated Prakāśānanda Sarasvati, the leading Māyāvādī of his day.

Vāraṇāvata

the place where Duryodhana built the palace of lac. (Ādi Parva in Mahābhārata)

Varāha Purāṇa

one of the eighteen Purāṇas. It deals with the transcendental pastimes of the Lord’s boar incarnation.

Varāha

the gigantic boar incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Varṇa-saṅkara

children conceived without regard for Vedic religious principles; thus, unwanted population.

Varṇāśrama-dharma

the system of four social and four spiritual orders established in the Vedic scriptures and discussed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Varṇa

one of the four Vedic social-occupational divisions of society, distinguished by quality of work and situation with regard to the modes of nature (guṇas); Brāhmaṇa-a member of the intellectual, priestly class; a person wise in Vedic knowledge, fixed in goodness and knowledgeable of Brahman, the Absolute Truth; One of the four orders of occupational life, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. The brāhmaṇas are the intellectual class and their occupation is hearing Vedic literature, teaching Vedic literature, learning deity worship and teaching deity worship, receiving charity and giving charity. Brāhmaṇa; Kṣatriya-third of the four orders of the varṇāśrama system. A warrior who is inclined to fight and lead others. The administrative or protective occupation according to the system of four social and spiritual orders. Kṣatriya; Vaiśya (Vaishyas)-member of the mercantile or agricultural class, according to the system of four social orders and four spiritual orders. Vaiśya; Śūdra-a member of the fourth social order, laborer class, in the traditional Vedic social system. He is meant to render service to the three higher classes, namely the brāhmaṇas, the kṣatriyas, and the vaiśyas.

Vartma-pradarśaka-guru

the one who first gives information about spiritual life.

Varuṇa

the demigod in charge of the oceans.

Vāsanā

a wish or desire.

Vasiṣṭha

a great sage who was a rival of Viśvāmitra Muni’s. He was the family priest of Mahārāja Daśaratha, the father of Lord Rāmacandra.

Vastra-haraṇa-līlā

Kṛṣṇa’s pastime of stealing the gopīs’ clothes.

Vastu

See Glossary S.

Vastu-gata

the stage of being completely uncontaminated by the material body and mind.

Vātsalya-rasa

the relationship with Kṛṣṇa as His parent.

Vātsalya-rati

see: Glossary V above.

Vāsudeva-parāyaṇa

one whose desire is fixed on the Supreme Lord.

Vasudeva

the father of Kṛṣṇa, and the half-brother of Nanda Mahārāja; the state of pure goodness, which transcends the material modes of nature and in which one can understand the Supreme Lord.

Vāsudeva

the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, and proprietor of everything, material and spiritual.

Vasundharā

a name for mother earth meaning “she who has very fertile soil and unlimited wealth.

Vasuṣeṇa

a name for Karṇa during his younger years.

Vatsāsura

a demon who came to Vṛndāvana in the form of a calf to kill Kṛṣṇa but who was instead killed by Him.

Vāyu

air, one of the three major elements of the gross body; the demigod in charge of the wind. He was the father of Bhīma and Hanumān.

Veda-cakṣuḥ

literally, seeing through the eyes of the Vedas.

Veda-vāda-rata

one who gives his own explanation of the Vedas a smārta; fruitive workers who become entangled in material activities disguised as spiritual activities.

Vedāśraya-nāstikya-vāda

agnosticism under the shelter of Vedic culture.

Vedānta-darśana

the philosophy of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, which culminates in bhakti-yoga.

Vedānta-sūtra (Brahma-sūtra)

Śrīla Vyāsadeva’s conclusive summary of Vedic philosophical knowledge, written in brief codes. The philosophy of the Absolute Truth, which finds implicit expression in the Vedas and the Upaniṣads, was put into a systematic and more explicit form in the Vedānta-sūtra. All apparent contradictory statements of the vast literature of the Vedas are resolved by the great Vyāsa in this work. In this work there are four divisions 1) reconciliation of all scriptures; 2) the consistent reconciliation of apparently conflicting hymns; 3) the means or process of attaining the goal (spiritual realization); and 4) the object (or desired fruit) achieved by the spiritual process. The Vedānta-sūtra establishes that Godhead exists, that devotion is the means of realizing transcendental love for Godhead, and that this love is the final object of man’s endeavors. This book is the textbook of all theistic philosophy, and, as such, many commentators have elaborated on the significance of its conclusions; This most important work of nyāya-prasthāna (Vedic logic), which is also known as Brahma-sūtra, Śārīraka, Vyāsa-sūtra, Bādarāyaṇa-sūtra, Uttara-mīmāṁsā and Vedānta-darśana, was composed by the great sage Vyāsa 5000 years ago. Sūtra means code. The Vedānta-sūtra is a book of codes that present, in concise form, brahma-jñāna, i.e. conclusive Vedic knowledge. These codes are very terse, and without a fuller explanation, their meaning is difficult to grasp. In India there are five main schools of Vedānta, each established by an ācārya (founder) who explained the sūtras in a bhāṣya (commentary). The natural commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra is the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. See Old Revisions, Glossary D, Glossary B, Glossary B, Glossary F, Glossary S, Glossary S, Glossary S, Glossary U, Glossary V, Glossary V.

Vedānta

the conclusion of Vedic philosophy; the philosophy of the Vedānta-sūtra of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, containing a conclusive summary of Vedic philosophical knowledge and showing Kṛṣṇa as the goal; One of the six systems of Vedic philosophy; taught by the great sage Vyāsadeva. Vedānta (literally the end of all knowledge or the conclusion of the Veda) is the highest degree of Vedic education, traditionally reserved for the sannyāsīs (renunciates). Vedānta is mastery of the texts known as the Upaniṣads. See Glossary S, Glossary V.

Vedāntī

a person who knows Vedānta, that is, who perfectly knows Kṛṣṇa.

Vedas

the original Veda was divided into four by Śrīla Vyāsadeva. The four original Vedic scriptures, Saṁhitās (Ṛg, Sāma, Atharva and Yajur) and the 108 Upaniṣads, Mahābhārata, Vedānta-sūtra, etc. The system of eternal wisdom compiled by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the literary incarnation of the Supreme Lord, for the gradual upliftment of all mankind from the state of bondage to the state of liberation. The word veda literally means “knowledge”, and thus in a wider sense it refers to the whole body of Indian Sanskrit religious literature that is in harmony with the philosophical conclusions found in the original four Vedic Saṁhitās and Upaniṣads. The message of the transcendental realm that has come down to this phenomenal world through the medium of sound is known as the Veda. Being the very words of Godhead Himself, the Vedas have existed from eternity. Lord Kṛṣṇa originally revealed the Vedas to Brahmā, the first soul to appear in the realm of physical nature, and by him they were subsequently made available to other souls through the channel of spiritual disciplic succession; Veda, Vedas, Vedic knowledge. The Sanskrit root of the word Veda is vid, knowledge. This root is widespread even in modern Western language: e.g. video (from the Latin word to see) and idea (Gr. ida). The term Vedic refers to the teachings of the Vedic literatures. From these literatures we learn that this universe, along with countless others, was produced from the breath of Mahā-Viṣṇu some 155,250,000,000,000 years ago. The Lord’s divine breath simultaneously transmitted all the knowledge mankind requires to meet his material needs and revive his dormant God consciousness. This knowledge is called Veda. Caturmukha (four-faced) Brahmā, the first created being within this universe, received Veda from Viṣṇu. Brahmā, acting as an obedient servant of the Supreme Lord, populated the planetary systems with all species of life. He spoke four Vedas, one from each of his mouths, to guide human beings in their spiritual and material progress. The Vedas are thus traced to the very beginning of the cosmos. Some of the most basic Vedic teachings are: 1) every living creature is an eternal soul covered by a material body; 2) as long as the souls are bewildered by māyā (the illusion of identifying the self with the body) they must reincarnate from body to body, life after life; 3) to accept a material body means to suffer the four-fold pangs of birth, old age, disease and death; 4) depending upon the quality of work (karma) in the human form, a soul may take its next birth in a subhuman species, or the human species, or a superhuman species, or it may be freed from birth and death altogether; 5) karma dedicated in sacrifice to Viṣṇu as directed by Vedic injunctions elevates and liberates the soul.

Veda

see: Vedas above.

Vedic culture

life-style based on the tenets of the four original scriptures of India, the Vedas.

Vedic

pertaining to a culture in which all aspects of human life are under the guidance of the Vedas.

Vena

the demoniac son of King Aṅga and father of King Pṛthu.

Veṅkateśvara

Deity of Lord Viṣṇu worshiped at Tirupati.

Vidyanagara

at the time of cosmic desolution, Lord Matsya preserves the Vedic wisdom.

Vībhatsu

one of the ten names of Arjuna.

Vibhāva

the causes or bases for relishing transcendental mellows.

Vibhīṣaṇa

a grandson of Pulastya Muni and the pious brother of Rāvaṇa. He was a staunch devotee of Lord Rāma, who offered him the kingdom of Śrī Lankā for four yugas. He is one of eight personalities who lives for more than one cycle of four yugas.

Vibhinnāṁśa

the separated expansions of the Supreme Lord, the minute living entities, who are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa.

Vibhu-ātmā

the Supersoul.

Vibhūti

a secondary incarnation indirectly empowered by the Supreme Lord; opulence by which Kṛṣṇa controls the entire material manifestation.

Vicāra

Consideration, philosophical speculation, as opposed to mental speculation.

Vidyanagara

at the time od cosmic desolution, Lord Matsya preserves the Vedic wisdom.

Vidagdha-mādhava

a seven-act play written by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describing the pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana.

Vidagdha

one who is expert in the art of attracting women.

Vidarbha

an ancient province of old India. Rukmiṇī, the wife of Lord Kṛṣṇa, was the daughter of the King of this province.

Vidarbha-rājasiṁha

the best of persons who are expert in fruitive activities.

Viddha-bhakti

mixed devotional service.

Videharāja Nimi

a devotee king, ruler of Videha.

Videha

the kingdom of Mithilā in India ruled by King Nimi.

Vidhi-bhakti

devotional service under scheduled regulations.

Vidhi-mārga

see: Glossary V above

Vidūra-vigata

Caṇḍāla-an outcaste or untouchable; dog-eaters, the lowest class of human beings.

Vidura

the son of Vyāsadeva by a maidservant of Ambalikā and the half brother of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He was an incarnation of the great devotee mahājana, Yamarāja, and an uncle of the Pāṇḍavas. A great devotee of Kṛṣṇa who inquired and heard from Maitreya Muni, as narrated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He was cursed to become a Śūdra by Māṇḍavya Muni. He was constantly trying to restrain Dhṛtarāṣṭra from mistreating the Pāṇḍavas. In the end when Dhṛtarāṣṭra lost everything Vidura was able to deliver his brother to the path of self-realization.

Vidyādharas

a race of celestial beings who are attendants of Lord Śiva and who possess material mystic knowledge.

Vidyāpati

an author of Vaiṣṇava poetry who was particularly admired by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Vidyā

knowledge.

Vihara

Buddhist monastery

Vijara

not subjected to the miseries of old age.

Vijātīya

one who is outside devotional service.

Vijayā-daśamī

the celebration of the conquest of Laṅkā by Lord Rāmacandra.

Vijayadhvaja Tīrtha

a Vaiṣṇava spiritual master in the line of Madhvācārya. He was a commentator on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Vijighatsa

free from desire for material enjoyment.

Vijita-ṣaḍ-guṇa

one who has conquered the six material qualities.

Vijitāśva

the eldest son of King Pṛthu (also known as Antardhāna).

Vijñānam

specific knowledge of spirit soul, his constitutional position and his relationship with the Supreme Soul.

Vijñānamaya

with full knowledge, that is, conscious of the self as different from matter.

Vijñāna

the practical realization of spiritual knowledge; Transcendental knowledge of the self’s relationship to the Supreme Self. See Glossary J.

Vikarṇa

one of the one hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He was the only one to stand up in defense of Draupadī during the gambling match. He was killed by Bhīma during the battle of Kurukṣetra. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

Vikarma

unauthorized or sinful work, performed against the injunctions of revealed scriptures.

Vilāsa-vigrahas

expansions of the Lord who manifest bodily differences.

Vilāsa

symptoms manifested in a woman’s body when she meets her lover.

Vimānam

the tower over the sanctum of the deity; an airplane.

Vimūḍhas

foolish rascals.

Vīṇā

a stringed musical instrument.

Vinda

a prince of Avanti. He was the bother of Mitravindā, a queen of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He was very envious of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. He was killed along with his brother Anuvinda during the Kurukṣetra war. Both brothers were killed by Arjuna.

Vindhyācala

a range of mountains west of the Himālayas; Agastya Muni-a great sage who authored many Vedic hymns and writings on Āyurvedic medicine. The son of Mitra and Varuṇa, he was born from a water jar. Once he swallowed the ocean and forced the Vindhya mountain range to prostrate itself before him.

Viparyāsa

Misapprehension. One of the five functions of bu-ddhi. See Glossary B.

Vipralambha

ecstasy in separation.

Vipralipsā

the cheating propensity.

Vipra

Brāhmaṇa-a member of the intellectual, priestly class; a person wise in Vedic knowledge, fixed in goodness and knowledgeable of Brahman, the Absolute Truth; One of the four orders of occupational life, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. The brāhmaṇas are the intellectual class and their occupation is hearing Vedic literature, teaching Vedic literature, learning deity worship and teaching deity worship, receiving charity and giving charity.

Vīra-rasa

chivalry, one of the indirect relationships with Kṛṣṇa.

Vīra-vrata

fully determined.

Vīrabhadra

the demon created by Lord Śiva to destroy the sacrifice of Mahārāja Dakṣa.

Vīrarāghava Ācārya

a Vaiṣṇava spiritual master in the line of Rāmānujācārya, and commentator on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Viraha

transcendental bliss in separation from the Lord.

Virajā River

the river that divides the material world from the spiritual world.

Virakti

detachment.

Virāṭ-puruṣa

the universal form of the Supreme Lord as the totality of all material manifestations.

Virāṭ-rupa

the universal form of the Supreme Lord. See also: Glossary V.

Virāṭa

the King of the Matsyas. He unknowingly sheltered the Pāṇḍavas during their last year of exile. He took the side of the Pāṇḍavas and was killed by Droṇa during the Kurukṣetra war.

Vīrya

one who has mercy.

Visrama-ghata

After Varaha killed Hiranyaksa, He spoke the Ādi-varaha-Purana to mother Bhumi (Earth) while relaxing at Visrama-ghata. Thousands of years He rested here after killing Kamsa and dragging his body to shores of the Yamuna.

Viṣāda

moroseness, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

Viṣaya-taraṅga

the waves of material existence.

Viṣaya

the object of worship; an object of material sense gratification.

Viṣayī

one who is interested only in material sense gratification.

Visrama-ghata

After Varaha killed Hiranyaksa, He spoke the Ādi-varaha-Purana to mother Bhumi (Earth) while relaxing at Visrama-ghata. Thousands of years He rested here after killing Kamsa and dragging his body to shores of the Yamuna.

Visarga

the secondary creation by Brahmā.

Viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda

the Vaiṣṇava philosophy established by Rāmānujācārya’s Śrī-bhāṣya commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra.

Viṣṇoḥ smaraṇa

the devotional process of remembering.

Viṣṇu-bhaktas

devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Viṣṇu-bhakti

devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu.

Viṣṇu-dharma

one of the eighteen Purāṇas, or Vedic historical scriptures.

Viṣṇu-mūrtī

the Deity form of the Lord worshiped in the temple.

Viṣṇu-purana

scripture describing the glories of Lord Viṣṇu.

Viṣṇu-tattva

a primary expansion of Kṛṣṇa having full status as Godhead. The term applies to primary expansions of the Supreme Lord.

Viṣṇu-yajña

a sacrifice performed for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu.

Viṣṇudūtas

the messengers of Lord Viṣṇu who come to take perfected devotees back to the spiritual world at the time of death, the personal servants of Lord Viṣṇu, they closely resemble If Him in appearance.

Viṣṇuloka

the abode of Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. See also: Glossary V.

Viṣṇupriyā-devī

the second wife of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, whom He left to accept sannyāsa, the renounced order of life.

Viṣṇu

the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His four-armed expansion in Vaikuṇṭha; A plenary expansion of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Viṣṇu supervises the maintenance of the created universe, and enters into the material universe before creation. He is worshiped by all the demigods and sages, and described throughout the Vedas as the summum bonum of all knowledge-the Absolute Truth; Literally, the all-pervading God; a prominent Sanskrit name of the Personality of Godhead. See Glossary K, Glossary S, Glossary V.

Viśoka

callous to material distress and happiness.

Viśoka

the charioteer of Bhīma.

Viśrambha

devotional service devoid of a respectful attitude toward the Lord.

Viśruta

the son begotten by the Pracetās through Māriṣā.

Viśuddha-sattva

the spiritual platform of pure goodness.

Viśva-rūpa (viraṭ-rūpa)

the universal form of Lord Kṛṣṇa, as described in the Eleventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā.

Viśva-dharma

universal religion.

Viśvakarmā

the architect of the devas or demigods. He built the city of Indraprastha for the Pāṇḍavas at the request of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Viśvakośa

an ancient Sanskrit dictionary.

Viśvambhara

one who maintains the entire universe and who leads all living beings; the name of Lord Caitanya before He entered the renounced order.

Viśvāmitra

a prominent sage and rival of Vasiṣṭha Muni.

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura

a great ācārya in the Caitanya school of Vaiṣṇavism and the most prominent ācārya after Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. On the order of his guru he went to Vṛndāvana and by his life’s end he had composed twenty-four valuable books on the science of bhakti. He established the Gokulānanda Temple. In his final years he lived at Rādhā-kuṇḍa; he has written commentaries on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā.

Viśvāsa

a government secretary; confidence.

Visvarupa

brother of Lord Caitanya, he took sanyassa at an early age; the life-breath of Nimai.

Viśvāvasu

a leader of the Gandharvas, singers in the heavenly planets.

Vitarka

argument, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

Vīthī

beginning of a drama consisting of only one scene.

Vivāha-yajña

the sacrifice of marriage.

Vivarta-vāda

the erroneous concept; propounded by Śaṅkarācārya, that God is no longer complete after He expands His energies for creation; the Māyāvādī interpretation of the Vedānta-sūtra that the Supreme Lord becomes changed when He expands and that all manifest varieties are unreal.

Vivarta

illusion; also, sorrow and confusion due to nonfulfillment of material desires.

Vivasvān

the name of the present sun-god, to whom Bhagavad-gītā was instructed at least 120,400,000 years ago.

Viviṁśati

one of the one hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He was killed by Bhīma. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

Viyoga

the stage of separation when the mind is fully absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa.

Voidism

The mind has two functions, accepting and rejecting. Voidism is the result of total frustration, when the mind negates and rejects everything as just too troublesome. Voidism in Sanskrit is śūnyavāda, a doctrine associated with Buddhism. As the Bodhicaryāvatāra-panjikā, a Buddhist scripture, puts it, niḥasvabhāvavatā śūnyatāthe absence of the self-existence of all things, voidnessis the paramārtha (supreme goal) of Buddhism. In ancient Greece, Democritus and other atomists reduced reality down to atoms and the void. Modern physicists propose scenarios of the universe popping out of a primordial void. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: The Śaṅkarites and Buddhists claim that the world beyond is void, but Bhagavad-gītā does not disappoint us like this. The philosophy of voidness has simply created atheists. We are spiritual beings, and we want enjoyment, but as soon as our future is void, we will become inclined to enjoy this material life. In this way, the impersonalists discuss the philosophy of voidism while trying as much as possible to enjoy this material life. One may enjoy speculation in this way, but there is no spiritual benefit. (Beyond Birth and Death, Chap. Four) The ultimate paradox of voidism is that if everything is void, then there is nothing to philosophize about. Consequently, those professing voidism logically ought to behave as Cratylus did. See Glossary B, Glossary C, Impersonalism, Glossary M, Glossary M, Glossary S, Glossary S.

Vrajabhūmi

Vṛndāvana-Kṛṣṇa’s eternal abode, where He fully manifests His quality of sweetness; the village on this earth in which He enacted His childhood pastimes five thousand years ago; the topmost transcendental abode of the Supreme Lord. It is His personal spiritual abode descended to the earthly plane. It is situated on the Western bank of the river Yamunā. He was present on earth about 5,000 years ago. Also see Vraja-the 168-square-mile (84 krośa) area in the district of Mathurā where five thousand years ago Lord Krṣṇa displayed His pastimes. It is the principal holy place of pilgrimage for all Vaiṣṇavas. It is said in the śāstras that Vraja is the essence and sum total of all holy places.

Vraja

the 168-square-mile (84 krośa) area in the district of Mathurā where five thousand years ago Lord Krṣṇa displayed His pastimes. It is the principal holy place of pilgrimage for all Vaiṣṇavas. It is said in the śāstras that Vraja is the essence and sum total of all holy places. See also: Glossary V.

Vrajendra-kumāra

Kṛṣṇa, the child of King Nanda.

Vrajendra-nandana

Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja.

Vrajendra

Nanda Mahārāja, the foster father of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Vṛddhakṣatra

the father of Jayadratha.

Vrīḍā

shame, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

Vṛkodara

a name for Bhīmasena meaning “he of the voracious appetite.”

Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura

the incarnation of Vedavyāsa in Lord Caitanya’s pastimes and the author of Caitanya-bhagavata, one of the earliest biographies of Lord Caitanya, in which he especially describes Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s early pastimes.

Vṛndāvana-vihāra

the pastimes of Vṛndāvana.

Vṛndāvana

Kṛṣṇa’s eternal abode, where He fully manifests His quality of sweetness; the village on this earth in which He enacted His childhood pastimes five thousand years ago; the topmost transcendental abode of the Supreme Lord. It is His personal spiritual abode descended to the earthly plane. It is situated on the Western bank of the river Yamunā. He was present on earth about 5,000 years ago. Also see Glossary V.

Vṛṣasena

the son of Karṇa. He was considered a Mahārathi. He was killed by Arjuna in the presence of his father Karṇa. (Karṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

Vṛṣṇi

a famous king of the Yadu dynasty. Lord Kṛṣṇa took birth in his dynasty.

Vṛtra

Vṛtrāsura, a great demon killed by Indra. He was actually the devotee Citraketu, who had been cursed to take a low birth.

Vyabhicārī-bhāvas

the thirty-three transitory bodily symptoms manifest in ecstatic love.

Vyādhi

disease, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

Vyakta

material creation when it is manifested from the total energy of mahat-tattva.

Vyāna-vāyu

one of the internal bodily airs which is controlled by the aṣṭāṅga-yoga system. The vyāna-vāyu acts to shrink and expand.

Vyāsa-pūjā

worship of the compiler of the Vedas, Vyāsadeva; worship of the bona fide spiritual master as the representative of Vyāsadeva on his appearance day.

Vyāsadeva (Vyāsa)

the literary incarnation of God, and the greatest philosopher of ancient times. The son of Parāśara, and the compiler of the original Vedic scriptures, including the eighteen Purāṇas, Vedānta-sūtra, the Mahābhārata, and the Upaniṣads. He played a very important part in guiding the Pāṇḍavas during crucial times. He gave the vision of the battle of Kurukṣetra to Sañjaya so that he could relate it to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He is still living in this world.

Vyāsāsana

the seat of Vyāsa, on which the representative of Vyāsadeva sits.

Vyāsa

Vyāsadeva (Vyāsa)-the literary incarnation of God, and the greatest philosopher of ancient times. The son of Parāśara, and the compiler of the original Vedic scriptures, including the eighteen Purāṇas, Vedānta-sūtra, the Mahābhārata, and the Upaniṣads. He played a very important part in guiding the Pāṇḍavas during crucial times. He gave the vision of the battle of Kurukṣetra to Sañjaya so that he could relate it to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He is still living in this world; The son of Parāśara Muni and Satyavatī-devī, Vyāsa is the empowered (śaktyāveśa-)avatāra of God who rendered the Vedic śabda into written texts some 5000 years ago. He is also known as Vedavyāsa, Bādarāyaṇa and Dvaipāyana. See Old Revisions (Śaktya-aveśa), Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Veda, Vedānta-sūtra.