Puranas

mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa

it expounds the nature of Kṛishṇa andﾠ explains some of the incidents of the Mahā-bhārata;
it differs from the other Purāṇas in the form of its narrative rather than its sectarial character) IW. 387 n. 1; 514.

víshṇu

although Vishṇu comes second in the triad he is identified with the supreme deity by his worshippers;
in the Vedic period, however, he is not placed in the foremost rank, although he is frequently invoked with other gods <esp. with Indra whom he assists in killing Vṛitra andﾠ with whom he drinks the Soma juice;
cf. his later names Indrânuja andﾠ Upêndra>;
as distinguished from the other Vedic deities, he is a personification of the light andﾠ of the sun, esp. in his striding over the heavens, which he is said to do in three paces
< seeﾠ tri-vikrama andﾠ cf. bali, vāmana>, explained as denoting the threefold manifestations of light in the form of fire, lightning, andﾠ the sun, orﾠ as designating the three daily stations of the sun in his rising, culminating, andﾠ setting;
Vishṇu does not appear to have been included at first among the Ādityas <q.v.>, although in later times he is accorded the foremost place among them;
in the Brāhmaṇas he is identified with sacrifice, andﾠ in one described as a dwarf;
in the Mahā-bhārata andﾠ Rāmayaṇa he rises to the supremacy which in some places he now enjoys as the most popular deity of modern Hindū worship;
the great rivalry between him andﾠ Ṡiva <cf. vaishṇava andﾠ ṡaiva> is not fully developed till the period of the Purāṇas:
the distinguishing feature in the character of the Post-vedic Vishṇu is his condescending to become incarnate in a portion of his essence on ten principal occasions, to deliver mankind from certain great dangers <cf. avatāra andﾠ IW. 327 >;
some of the Purāṇas make 22 incarnations, orﾠ even 24, instead of 10;
the Vaishṇavas regard Vishṇu as the supreme being, andﾠ often identify him with Nārāyaṇa, the personified Purusha orﾠ primeval living spirit <described as moving on the waters, reclining on Ṡesha, the serpent of infinity, while the god Brahmā. emerges from a lotus growing from his navel;
cf. Manu I, 10 >;
the wives of Vishṇu are Aditi andﾠ Sinīvālī, later Lakshmī orﾠ Ṡrī andﾠ even Sarasvatī;
his son is Kāma-deva, god of love, andﾠ his paradise is called Vaikuṇṭha;
he is usually represented with a peculiar mark on his breast called Ṡrī-vatsa, andﾠ as holding a ṡaṅkha, orﾠ conch-shell called Pāñcajanya, a cakra orﾠ quoit-like missile-weapon called Su-darṡana, a gadā orﾠ club called Kaumodakī andﾠ a padma orﾠ lotus;
he has alsoﾠ a bow called Ṡārṇga, andﾠ a sword called Nandaka;
his vāhana orﾠ vehicle is Garuḍa q.v.;
he has a jewel on his wrist called Syamantaka, another on his breast called Kaustubha, andﾠ the river Ganges is said to issue from his foot;
the demons slain by him in his character of « preserver from evil»,
orﾠ by Kṛishṇa as identified with him, are Madhu, Dhenuka, Cāṇūra, Yamala, andﾠ Arjuna < seeﾠ yamalâ̱rjuna>, Kāla-nemi, Haya-grīva, Ṡakaṭa, Arishṭa, Kaiṭabha, Kaṇsa, Keṡin, Mura, Ṡālva, Mainda, Dvi-vida, Rāhu, Hiraṇya-kaṡipu, Bāṇa, Kāliya, Naraka, Bali;
he is worshipped under a thousand names, which are all enumerated in MBh. XIII, 6950-7056 ;
he is sometimes regarded as the divinity of the lunar mansion called Ṡravaṇa) RV. etc. etc. (cf. RTL. 44 IW. 324);
N. of the month Caitra VarBṛS. ;
(with prājāpatya) of the author of RV. X, 84 ;
of a son of Manu Sāvarṇa andﾠ Bhautya MārkP. ;
of the writer of a law-book Yājñ. ;
of the father of the 11th Arhat of the present Avasarpiṇi L. ;
( alsoﾠ with gaṇaka, kavi, daivajña, paṇḍita, bhaṭṭa, miṡra, yatî ̱ndra, vājapeyin, ṡāstrin etc.) of various authors andﾠ others Inscr. Cat. ;
= agni L. ;
= vasu-devatā L. ;
= ṡuddha L. ;
f. N. of the mother of the 11th Arhat of the present Avasarpiṇi L. ;
n. pl. (in a formula) ĀpṠr. ;
( vishṇor with apamarṇam, ājya-doham, vratam;
<oḥ> sāma, svarīyaḥ N. of Sāmans;
with shoḍaṡa-nāma-stotram, anusmṛitiḥ, ashṭāviṉṡati-nāma-stotram, andﾠ mahā-stutiḥ N. of wks.)
- विष्णुऋक्ष
- विष्णुकन्द
- विष्णुकरण
- विष्णुकवच
- विष्णुकाञ्ची
- विष्णुकान्ती
- विष्णुकान्तीतीर्थ
- विष्णुकुतूहल
- विष्णुकोशल
- विष्णुक्रम
- विष्णुक्रमीय
- विष्णुक्रान्त
- विष्णुक्रान्ति
- विष्णुक्षेत्र
- विष्णुगङ्गा
- विष्णुगाथा
- विष्णुगायत्री
- विष्णुगुप्त
- विष्णुगुप्तक
- विष्णुगूढ
- विष्णुगृह
- विष्णुगोपवर्मन्
- विष्णुगोल
- विष्णुग्रन्थि
- विष्णुचक्र
- विष्णुचन्द्र
- विष्णुचित्त
- विष्णुज
- विष्णुजामल
- विष्णुजामातृ
- विष्णुतत्त्व
- विष्णुतन्त्र
- विष्णुतर्पण
- विष्णुतर्पणविधि
- विष्णुतिथि
- विष्णुतीर्थ
- विष्णुतीर्थीयव्याख्यान
- विष्णुतुल्यपराक्रम
- विष्णुतैल
- विष्णुतोषिणी
- विष्णुत्रिशती
- विष्णुत्व
- विष्णुदत्त
- विष्णुदत्तक
- विष्णुदास
- विष्णुदेव
- विष्णुदेवत्य
- विष्णुदैवत
- विष्णुदैवत्य
- विष्णुद्वादशनामस्तोत्र
- विष्णुद्विष्
- विष्णुद्वीप
- विष्णुधर्म
- विष्णुधर्मन्
- विष्णुधारा
- विष्णुध्यानस्तोत्रादि
- विष्णुनदी
- विष्णुनाममाहात्म्यसंग्रह
- विष्णुनाममाहात्मरत्नस्तोत्र
- विष्णुनीराजन
- विष्णुन्यङ्ग
- विष्णुपञ्चक
- विष्णुपञ्चकव्रतकथा
- विष्णुपञ्जर
- विष्णुपति
- विष्णुपत्नी
- विष्णुपद
- विष्णुपद्धति
- विष्णुपरायण
- विष्णुपर्णिका
- विष्णुपादादिकेशान्तस्तुति
- विष्णुपुत्र
- विष्णुपुर्
- विष्णुपुर
- विष्णुपुराण
- विष्णुपुराणक
- विष्णुपूजन
- विष्णुपूजा
- विष्णुप्रतिमासम्प्रोक्षणविधि
- विष्णुप्रतिष्ठा
- विष्णुप्रतिष्ठापद्धति
- विष्णुप्रिया
- विष्णुप्रीति
- विष्णुब्रह्ममहेश्वरदानप्रयोग
- विष्णुभ
- विष्णुभक्त
- विष्णुभक्ति
- विष्णुभगवतपुराण
- विष्णुभुजंग
- विष्णुभुजंगस्तोत्र
- विष्णुभुजंगी
- विष्णुमत्
- विष्णुमन्त्र
- विष्णुमन्दिर
- विष्णुमय
- विष्णुमहिमन्
- विष्णुमानस
- विष्णुमाया
- विष्णुमाहात्म्य
- विष्णुमाहात्म्यपद्धति
- विष्णुमित्र
- विष्णुमुख
- विष्णुयन्त्रप्रकरण
- विष्णुयशस्
- विष्णुयाग
- विष्णुयागप्रयोग
- विष्णुयामल
- विष्णुयामलतन्त्र
- विष्णुयामिल
- विष्णुरथ
- विष्णुरहस्य
- विष्णुराज
- विष्णुरात
- विष्णुराम
- विष्णुरामसिद्धान्तवागीश
- विष्णुलहरी
- विष्णुलिङ्गी
- विष्णुलोक
- विष्णुवत्
- विष्णुवर्णनध्यानादि
- विष्णुवर्धन
- विष्णुवर्मन्
- विष्णुवल्लभ
- विष्णुवाहन
- विष्णुवाह्य
- विष्णुविग्रहशंसनस्तोत्र
- विष्णुविजय
- विष्णुवृद्ध
- विष्णुव्रतकल्प
- विष्णुशक्ति
- विष्णुशतनामस्तोत्र
- विष्णुशयनबोधदिन
- विष्णुशर्मन्
- विष्णुशिला
- विष्णुशृङ्खल
- विष्णुश्राद्ध
- विष्णुश्राद्धपद्धति
- विष्णुश्रुत
- विष्णुषट्पदी
- विष्णुसंहिता
- विष्णुसमुच्चय
- विष्णुसरस्
- विष्णुसरस्तीर्थ
- विष्णुसर्वजन
- विष्णुसर्वज्ञ
- विष्णुसहस्रनामन्
- विष्णुसिंह
- विष्णुसिद्धान्त
- विष्णुसिद्धान्तलीलावती
- विष्णुसूक्त
- विष्णुसूत्र
- विष्णुस्तव
- विष्णुस्तवराज
- विष्णुस्तुति
- विष्णुस्तोत्र
- विष्णुस्मृति
- विष्णुस्वरूपध्यानादिवर्णन
- विष्णुस्वामिन्
- विष्णुहरि
- विष्णुहारदेव
- विष्णुहिता
- विष्णुहृदय
- विष्णुहृदयस्तोत्र

veda

N. of certain celebrated works which constitute the basis of the first period of the Hindū religion (these works were primarily three, viz.
1. the Ṛig-veda,
2. the Yajur-veda
<of which there are, however, two divisions seeﾠ taittirīya-saṉhitā, vājasaneyi-saṉhitā>,
3. the Sāma-veda;
these three works are sometimes called collectively trayī,
« the triple Vidyā» orﾠ « threefold knowledge», but the Ṛig-veda is really the only original work of the three, andﾠ much the most ancient
<the oldest of its hymns being assigned by some who rely on certain astronomical calculations to a period between 4000 andﾠ 2500 B.C., before the settlement of the Āryans in India;
andﾠ by others who adopt a different reckoning to a period between 1400 andﾠ 1000 B.C., when the Āryans had settled down in the Panjāb>;
subsequently a fourth Veda was added, called the Atharva-veda, which was probably not completely accepted till after Manu, as his law-book often speaks of the three Vedas-calling them trayambrahmasanātanam, « the triple eternal Veda»,
but only once XI, 33 mentions the revelation made to Atharvan andﾠ Aṇgiras, without, however, calling it by the later name of Atharva-veda;
each of the four Vedas has two distinct parts,
viz. 1. Mantra, i.e. words of prayer andﾠ adoration often addressed either to fire orﾠ to some form of the sun orﾠ to some form of the air, sky, wind etc.,
andﾠ praying for health, wealth, long life, cattle, offspring, victory, andﾠ even forgiveness of sins, andﾠ 2. Brāhmaṇa, consisting of Vidhi andﾠ Artha-vāda,
i.e. directions for the detail of the ceremonies at which the Mantras were to be used andﾠ explanations of the legends etc. connected with the Mantras
< seeﾠ brāhmaṇa, vidhi>, both these portions being termed ṡruti, revelation orally communicated by the Deity, andﾠ heard but not composed orﾠ written down by men <cf. I. W. 24 etc.. >,
although it is certain that both Mantras andﾠ Brāhmaṇas were compositions spread over a considerable period, much of the latter being comparatively modern;
as the Vedas are properly three, so the Mantras are properly of three forms,
1. Ṛic, which are verses of praise in metre, andﾠ intended for loud recitation;
2. Yajus, which are in prose, andﾠ intended for recitation in a lower tone at sacrifices;
3. Sāman., which are in metre, andﾠ intended for chanting at the Soma orﾠ Moon-plant ceremonies, the Mantras of the fourth orﾠ Atharva-veda having no special name;
but it must be borne in mind that the Yajur andﾠ Sāma-veda hymns, especially the latter, besides their own Mantras, borrow largely from the Ṛig-veda;
the Yajur-veda andﾠ Sāma-veda being in fact not so much collections of prayers andﾠ hymns as special prayer- andﾠ hymn-books intended as manuals for the Adhvaryu andﾠ Udgātṛi priests respectively < seeﾠ yajur-veda, sāma-veda>;
the Atharva-veda, on the other hand, is, like the Ṛig-veda, a real collection of original hymns mixed up with incantations, borrowing little from the Ṛig andﾠ having no direct relation to sacrifices, but supposed by mere recitation to produce long life, to cure diseases, to effect the ruin of enemies etc.;
each of the four Vedas seems to have passed through numerous Ṡākhās orﾠ schools, giving rise to various recensions of the text, though the Ṛig-veda is only preserved in the Ṡākala recension, while a second recension, that of the Bhāshkalas, is only known by name;
a tradition makes Vyāsa the compiler andﾠ arranger of the Vedas in their present form:
they each have an Index orﾠ Anukramaṇī <q.v.>, the principal work of this kind being the general Index orﾠ Sarvânukramaṇī <q.v.>;
out of the Brāhmaṇa portion of the Veda grew two other departments of Vedic literature, sometimes included under the general name Veda,
viz. the strings of aphoristic rules, called Sūtras <q.v.>,
andﾠ the mystical treatises on the nature of God andﾠ the relation of soul andﾠ matter, called Upanishad. <q.v.>, which were appended to the Āraṇyakas <q.v.>, andﾠ became the real Veda of thinking Hindūs, leading to the Darṡanas orﾠ systems of philosophy;
in the later literature the name of « fifth Veda» is accorded to the Itihāsas orﾠ legendary epic poems andﾠ to the Purāṇas, andﾠ certain secondary Vedas orﾠ Upa-vedas <q.v.> are enumerated;
the Vedâṇgas orﾠ works serving as limbs < for preserving the integrity> of the Veda are explained under vedâ̱ṅga below:
the only other works included under the head of Veda being the Pariṡishṭas, which supply rules for the ritual omitted in the Sūtras;
in the Bṛihad-āraṇyaka Upanishad. the Vedas are represented as the breathings of Brahmā., while in some of the Purāṇas the four Vedas are said to have issued out of the four mouths of the four-faced Brahmā. andﾠ in the Vishṇu-Purāṇa the Veda andﾠ Vishṇu are identified) RTL. 7 etc.. IW. 5; 24 etc.. ;
N. of the number « four» VarBṛS. ; Srutabh.;
2) m. (fr. 3. vid) finding, obtaining, acquisition ( seeﾠ su-v-);
property, goods ĀṡvGṛ. ;
vedá

4) m. N. of a pupil of Āyoda MBh. ;
(ā) f. N. of a river VP. ;
5) feeling, perception ṠBr. ;
= vṛitta (v.l. vitta) L. (cf. 2. veda)
- वेदकर्तृ
- वेदकविस्वामिन्
- वेदकार
- वेदकारणकारण
- वेदकुम्भ
- वेदकुशल
- वेदकौलेयक
- वेदगत
- वेदगर्भ
- वेदगर्व
- वेदगाथ
- वेदगाम्भीर्य
- वेदग्न्प्त
- वेदगुप्ति
- वेदगुह्य
- वेदघोष
- वेदचक्षुस्
- वेदजननी
- वेदज्ञ
- वेदतत्त्व
- वेदतत्त्वार्थ
- वेदतात्पर्य
- वेदतैजस
- वेदत्रय
- वेदत्रयी
- वेदत्व
- वेददक्षिणा
- वेददर्शन
- वेददर्शिन्
- वेददल
- वेददान
- वेददीप
- वेददीपिका
- वेददृष्ट
- वेदधर
- वेदधर्म
- वेदधारण
- वेदध्वनि
- वेदनाद
- वेदनिघण्टु
- वेदनिधि
- वेदनिन्दक
- वेदनिन्दा
- वेदनिन्दिन्
- वेदनिर्घोष
- वेदपठितृ
- वेदपथ
- वेदपथिन्
- वेदपददर्पण
- वेदपदस्तव
- वेदपाठ
- वेदपाठक
- वेदपाठिन्
- वेदपादरामायण
- वेदपादशिवस्तोत्र
- वेदपादस्तव
- वेदपादस्तोत्र
- वेदपारग
- वेदपारायणविधि
- वेदपुण्य
- वेदपुरुष
- वेदप्रकाश
- वेदप्रदान
- वेदप्रपद्
- वेदप्रवाद
- वेदप्लाविन्
- वेदफल
- वेदबाहु
- वेदबाह्य
- वेदबीज
- वेदब्रह्मचर्य
- वेदब्राह्मण
- वेदभाग
- वेदभाष्य
- वेदमन्त्र
- वेदमय
- वेदमातृ
- वेदमातृका
- वेदमालि
- वेदमाहात्म्य
- वेदमित्र
- वेदमुख
- वेदमुण्ड
- वेदमूर्ति
- वेदमूल
- वेदयज्ञ
- वेदरक्षण
- वेदरहस्य
- वेदरात
- वेदराशि
- वेदलक्षण
- वेदलक्षणसूत्रवृत्ति
- वेदवचन
- वेदवत्
- वेदवदन
- वेदवाक्य
- वेदवाद
- वेदवादिन्
- वेदवास
- वेदवाह
- वेदवाहन
- वेदवाह्य
- वेदविक्रयिन्
- वेदविचार
- वेदवित्त्व
- वेदविद्
- वेदविद्या
- वेदविद्वस्
- वेदविप्लावक
- वेदविलासिनी
- वेदविहित
- वेदवृत्त
- वेदवृद्ध
- वेदवेदाङ्ग
- वेदवैनाशिका
- वेदव्यास
- वेदव्रत
- वेदव्रतिन्
- वेदशब्द
- वेदशाखा
- वेदशास्त्र
- वेदशिर
- वेदशिरस्
- वेदशीर्ष
- वेदश्रवस्
- वेदश्री
- वेदश्रुत
- वेदश्रुति
- वेदसंस्थित
- वेदसंहिता
- वेदसंन्यास
- वेदसंन्यासिक
- वेदसंन्यासिन्
- वेदसमर्थन
- वेदसमाप्ति
- वेदसम्मत
- वेदसम्मित
- वेदसार
- वेदसूक्तभाष्य
- वेदसूत्र
- वेदस्तुति
- वेदस्पर्श
- वेदस्मृता
- वेदस्मृति
- वेदस्मृती
- वेदस्वामिन्
- वेदहीन

vy-āsa

a kind of drawl (as a fault in pronunciation), ĀPrāt.;
extension, diffusion, prolixity, detailed account (instr.;
abl. andﾠ - tas ind. in detail, at length, fully) MBh. Suṡr. BhP. ;
width, breadth, the diameter of a circle Ṡulbas. VarBṛS. ;
« distributing, disjoining»
N. of the Pada-pāṭha orﾠ, disjoined text Aprāt.;
« arranger, compiler»
N. of a celebrated mythical sage andﾠ author (often called Veda-vyāsa andﾠ regarded as the original compiler andﾠ arranger of the Vedas, Vedânta-sūtras etc.;
he was the son of the sage Parāṡara andﾠ Satyavati, andﾠ half-brother of Vicitra-vīrya andﾠ Bhīshma;
he was alsoﾠ called Vādarāyaṇa orﾠ Baldarāyaṇa, andﾠ Kṛishṇa from his dark complexion, andﾠ Dvaipāyana because he was brought forth by Satyavatī on a Dvīpa orﾠ island in the Jumnā;
when grown up he retired to the wilderness to lead the life of a hermit, but at his mother's request returned to become the husband of Vicitra-vīrya's two childless widows, by whom he was the father of the blind Dhṛita-rāshṭra andﾠ of Pāṇḍu;
he was alsoﾠ the father of Vidura <q.v.> by a slave girl, andﾠ of Ṡuka, the supposed narrator of the Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, he was alsoﾠ the supposed compiler of the Mahā-bhārata, the Purāṇas, andﾠ other portions of Hindū sacred literature;
but the name Vyāsa seems to have been given to any great typical compiler orﾠ author) MBh. Hariv. Pur. cf. IW. 371 n. 2; 373 etc.. ;
a Brāhman who recites orﾠ expounds the Purāṇas etc. in public (= pāṭhaka-brāhmaṇa) MW. ;
n. a bow weighing 100 Palas L.