large hollow gourd projecting from
the back, which further amplifies the
sound. The vina is one of the classical
musical instruments, particularly in
southern India, where its mastery is
still held in high regard. In Indian
iconography, the vina is most strongly
associated with the goddess Sara-
swati, in keeping with her identity as
the patron deityof the arts, culture,
and learning.
Vinata
In Hindu mythology, the daughterof
the divine sage Daksha, and the sister
of Kadru. Vinata gives birthto a line of
eagles—of whom the most famous is
Garuda—whereas Kadru gives birth to
a line of serpents. The proverbial
antipathy between these two kinds of
animals is described as stemming
from conflict between these two sis-
ters. One day the sisters get into an
argument about the tail color of a cer-
tain celestial horse, with Vinata argu-
ing that it is white, and Kadru
asserting that it is black. The disagree-
ment becomes more intense, until
they finally agree that the person who
is wrong will become a slave to the
other. To ensure her victory, Kadru
persuades a number of her children to
hang from the back of the horse, which
from a distance makes the tail appear
to be black. When Vinata sees the
black snakes, she accepts her defeat,
and for many years has to serve Kadru
under extremely harsh conditions. She
is finally rescued by her son, Garuda,
who when he discovers what has hap-
pened, embarks on a program of
killing snakes that has never abated.
Vinaya Patrika
(“letter of petition”) One of the later
poetic works by the poet-saint
Tulsidas(1532–1623?), in the form of a
series of 280 short poems written in
the Braj Bhasha dialect. The entire
work is presented as a letter of petition
to Tulsidas’s chosen deity, Rama,
using as his intermediary the monkey-
god Hanuman. The letter’s general
theme is a plea for deliverance from
the evils of the current degenerate age
(kali yuga). The first sixty-odd verses
are a series of invocations paying
homage to various deities, showing
the ecumenical quality that more gen-
erally marks Tulsidas’s devotion. The
remainder of the poem is directed to
Rama and stresses other themes that
run throughout Tulsidas’s poetry. One
theme is the corrupted nature of the
present cosmic age, the kali yuga,
which makes devotion the only effec-
tive means to salvation. Another per-
vasive theme is the power of God’s
name and its incomparable ability to
rescue the devotee (bhakta). Finally,
there are warnings to the hearers not
to waste the opportunity of a human
birth. Much of the poetry has an inti-
mate personal quality, and it seems to
reflect both the poet’s despair at his
own frailty and his eventual hope for
salvation. From this general tone, the
Vinaya Patrikais generally assumed
to have been written in the later part
of the poet’s life, although it cannot be
precisely dated.
Vindhya Mountains
Mountain range running from east to
west in central India. Despite their
modest height, they have traditionally
served as the cultural dividing line
between northern and southern India.
The Vindhyas themselves were seen as
an uncivilized and potentially danger-
ous place, inhabited by ghosts,
demons, and tribal peoples; these
dangers were exemplified by the
untamed nature of its presiding god-
dess, Vindhyavasini.
Vindhyavasini
(“dweller in the Vindhyas”) Powerful
form of the great Goddess. The
Vindhyasare a mountain range in
central India that are difficult to
reach, inhabited by tribal peoples,
Vinata