war (vigraha)

Hindu history, from the Vedas

onwards, is replete with stories of wars,

climaxing in the Great Bhärata War,

with which the KALIYUGA, the age of

strife, began. Wars of defence and of

conquest were considered the legitimate

occupation of K•atriyas (the warrior

class). Conventions of fair warfare

included the rule that only K•atriyas

were to engage in warfare, that non-

combatants should be spared, that no

one was to attack another from behind,

at night, or in a position in which he

could not defend himself. Wars accord-

ing to chivalric conventions were called

dharmayuddhaand seen as a means to

win fame and a good afterlife; wars in

which these conventions were violated,

or which were caused by greed and lust,

were called kuflayuddhaor asurayud-

dha. Warfare was developed as one of

the traditional sciences, and received the

attention of many writers on statecraft

(ärtha ÿästra). Battles were usually initi-

ated with long rituals and prayers, and

wars were regarded as ‘sacrifice’.

water

Besides its practical uses, water was

always important in Hindu RITUAL:

daily ritual ablutions are prescribed,

additional ablutions were done to atone

for sins, the sprinkling of water

(tarpaæa) for the benefit of deceased

ancestors is part of daily ceremonies,

the rivers are considered sacred and

must not be polluted. Gaögä (Ganges)

water, especially, said not to putrefy, is

taken away by pilgrims and used as

medicine and for libations, especially in

connection with the last rites.

wheel (cakra)

An ancient solar symbol, used also to

denote universality of domination or

teaching. A universal monarch is a

cakravartin, and the cakra is a popular

symbol for the DHARMA as well.

CIRCUMAMBULATION is the customary

form of worship of an object.

Whitney, William Dwight

(1827–94)

The first professor of Sanskrit at Yale

University, long-time president of the

American Oriental Society, he published

a Sanskrit grammar which is still used,

and wrote many essays on language.

His translation of the Atharvaveda was

published posthumously (1905).

Wilkins, Sir Charles

(1750–1836)

A member of the Indian Civil Service, he

was the first Englishman with a sub-

stantial knowledge of Sanskrit. His

Sanskrit Grammar(1779) was path-

breaking, and his translation of the

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