V

Vachaspati Mishra

(ca. late 15th c.) Commentator and com-
piler of the dharma literature. He com-
posed dozens of texts in his working life,
including a number of digests (nibandha)
organized around various subjects,
including daily religious rites, purifica-
tion, pilgrimage, death rites (antyeshthi
samskara), political life, judicial proce-
dures, and funeral rites. In these digests
Mishra would draw material relating to
the theme from a number of different
religious texts, weigh them, and some-
times interpret their position on a reli-
gious issue. Mishra was much respected
for his learning and piety, and his texts
were an important resource to those
who followed him.

Vadagalai

One of the two main subsects in the
Shrivaishnavareligious community, the
other being the Tengalai. The Shri-
vaishnavas are devotees (bhakta) of the
god Vishnu, and the community’s roots
lie in the devotional hymns of the
Alvars, a group of twelve poet-saints
who lived in southern India between
the seventh and tenth centuries. Two
centuries later, the Alvars’ devotional
outpouring was organized and system-
atized by the philosopher Ramanuja
(11th c.), who is considered the
Shrivaishnava founder. Ramanuja was
convinced that Brahman, or Supreme
Reality, was a personal deityrather than
an impersonal abstract principle, and he
was also convinced that devotion
(bhakti) was the most important form of
religious practice. Vishishthadvaita
Vedanta, his philosophical position,
stressed both of these convictions and

thus opposed the Advaita Vedanta

school, founded by the philosopher

Shankaracharya, which believed that

the Supreme Being was impersonal and

that realization (jnana) was the best

spiritual path.

The split between the Tengalais and

the Vadagalais came several centuries

later and stemmed from differing per-

spectives on what the individual must

do to gain final liberation of the soul

(moksha). The Vadagalais not only

stress the saving power of God’s grace,

but also assert that the individual must

respond to that grace and take an active

role in his or her salvation. This belief is

in complete contrast to the Tengalais,

who emphasize the need for absolute

surrender (prapatti) to the grace of God,

through which devotees are saved with

no action of their own.

Vagish

(“Lord of Speech”) Epithet of the poet-

saint Appar, reflecting the power of his

devotional poetry. Appar was one of the

earliest of the Nayanars, a group of

sixty-three southern Indian poet-saints

of the seventh and eighth centuries who

were devotees (bhakta) of the god

Shiva. See Appar.

Vaidyanath

Form of the god Shiva, in his manifesta-

tion as the “Lord of Physicians” (vaidya).

A temple is named for him at Deoghar

in the state of Bihar. Shiva is present at

Vaidyanath in the form of a linga, the

pillar-shaped image that is his symbolic

form, and the Vaidyanath linga is one of

the twelve jyotirlingas, a network of

sites deemed especially sacred to Shiva,

and at which Shiva is uniquely present.

Vaidyanath’s charter myth is associated

with the demon-king Ravana, who is

said to be a great devotee (bhakta) of

Shiva. Ravana travels to Shiva’s home on

Mount Kailas and practices harsh

asceticismfor years, hoping to gain a

vision of Shiva. When his asceticism

proves unsuccessful, the ten-headed

Vachaspati Mishra