The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2 Vol Set)

particular hasta is meant to convey any sort of surprise, including wonder and astonishment. Vital Winds General term to designa ...

Vitthalnath (r. 1566–1585) Second guru of the Pushti Marg(a religious community), which was founded by his father, Vallabhachary ...

Vivartavada A philosophical model used to explain the relationship between the Ultimate Reality or Realities and the perceivable ...

well as religious education. For further information see Christopher Isherwood, Ramakrishna and His Disciples, 1965; Swami Vivek ...

Vyakarana (“analysis”) One of the six Vedangas. These were the auxiliary branches of knowledge connected with the Vedas, the old ...

given to the stage directors. The Ramnagar Ram Lila is the longest, most elaborate, and arguably the oldest of these dramas. In ...

W Water One of the five elements in traditional Indian cosmology, the others being earth, fire, wind, and akasha. In some philos ...

differing placement of explanatory notes on the Vedic mantras and their sig- nificance. The “White” Yajur Veda gathers these not ...

sonswould retain family status through her children, while even a child widow in a wealthy family could have a fairly comfortabl ...

described in the tantric texts, which involve violating deeply embedded taboos on nonvegetarian food, con- sumption of alcohol, ...

Y Yadava In Hindu mythology, the tribe from which the god Krishnais said to have come and over which he ruled after he gained hi ...

less authoritative than the other textual category, theshrutisor “heard” texts. This smrti is ascribed to the sage Yajnavalkya a ...

itive outcome—reinforcing people’s incli- nation to abstain from evil—and one of the names for Yama is Dharmaraja, the “Lord of ...

west and south of the GangesRiver, which the Yamuna finally joins at Allahabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The Yamuna is trad ...

time, the meanings for many of these words had become either uncertain or completely lost, as the spoken lan- guage had changed. ...

Yatri In an asceticcontext, the word yatri denotes a novitiate Bairagi, a renun- ciant ascetic community comprising devotees (bh ...

the Belgaum district of the state of Karnataka. Yellama’s temple is infa- mous for being a traditional center for the dedication ...

Yoga Mudra In Indian dance, sculpture, and ritual, a particular symbolic hand gesture (mudra), in which the right hand is placed ...

Consequently, there are significant dif- ferences of opinion on whether or not any particular person is a yogi. Yogi Bhajan (b. ...

Navaratri, the festival of the “nine nights” that are sacred to the Goddess in her varying forms. Yoni Although in modern Hindi ...