English
They are commonly called Brahma-sutras, and a translation under that name by the Rev. K. M, Banerjea is progressing in the Bihliotlieca Indlca. There is a French translation by Foley. VEDARTHA-PRAKA/S'A. ' Elucidation of the meaning of the Veda.' This is the name of Saya?ia's great commentary on the i??g-veda. Also of a commentary on the Taittirlya Sanhita by INIadhavacharya. VEDAVATI. The 'vocal daughter' of the Hk\\i Kusa-dhwaja, son of B?7'haspati. When Rava?za was passing through a forest in the Himalaya he met with A-^edavati, a damsel of great beauty dressed in ascetic garb. He fell in love and tried to win her. She told him that gods and Gandharvas had sought to woo her, but her father would give her to no one but Vish?iu, whom he desired for his son-in-law. Provoked at this resolution, /Sam- bliu, king of the Daityas, slew her father ; but she remained firm to her father's wish, and practised austerities to gain A-^ishTiu for her spouse. Nothing daunted, Rava?m urgently pressed his suit, and boasted that he was superior to Vish?m. He then touched her hair with the tip of his finger. This greatly incensed her, and she forthwith cut off her hair, and said she would enter into the fire before his eyes, adding, " Since I have been insulted in the forest by thee who art wicked-hearted, I shall be born again for thy destruction. " So she entered the blazing fire, and celestial flowers fell all around. It was she who was born again as Sita, and was the moving cause of Rava?2a's death, though Rama was the agent. — Muir's Texts, ii. 498, iv. 458. z 354 VEDA- VYASA—VENI-SANHARA. YEDA-YYASA. ' The arranger of tlie Yedas.' Bee Yyasa. YEDODAYA. ' Source of the Yeda.' An epithet Jf the sun as the source of the Sama-veda. YEGAYAT. ' Swift.' i. A son of K?-2sh72a. 2. A Danava who fought on the side of the >Salwas against K?i'sh?ia, and was killed by /S'aniba. YEiYA. Son of Anga, and a descendant of Manu Swayam- bhuva. AYhen he became king he issued this proclamation : — " Men must not sacrifice or give gifts or present oblations. Who else but myself is the enjoyer of sacrifices % I am for ever the lord of offerings." The sages remonstrated respectfully with him, but in vain ; they admonished him in stronger terms ; but when nothing availed, they slew him with blades of consecrated grass. After his death the sages beheld clouds of dust, and on inquiry found that they arose from bands of men who had taken to plundering because the country was left without a king. As Ye?ia was childless, the sages, after consultation, rubbed the thigh (or, according to the Hari-van5a, the right arm) of the dead king to produce a son. From it there came forth " a man like a charred log, with flat face, and extremely short." The sages told him to sit down (N^ishida). He did so, and thus became a Nishada, from whom " sjDrang the ISTishadas dwelling in the Yindhya mountains, distinguished by their wicked deeds." The Brahmans then rubbed the right hand of Ye?2a, and from it "sprang the majestic Prithu, Ye/ia's son, resplendent in body, glowing like the manifested Agni." The above is the story as told, with little variation, in the Maha-bharata, the Yish?zu and Bhagavata PuraTias, and the Hari-vansa. The Padiua Purawa says that Yewa began his reign well, but fell into the Jaina heresy. For this the sages pummelled him until the first of the Nishadas came forth from his thioh and Pr?thu from his right arm. Being freed from sin by the birth of the iJ^ishada, he retired to a hermitage on the Narmada, where he engaged in penance. Yish?Ri was thus conciliated, and granted him the boon of becoming one with himself. See, P?"ithi. YEYl-SANHAEA. ' The binding of the braid.' A drama by Bha//a Narayami. The plot is taken from the Maha-bharata. Draupadi, the wife of the Pa?i6?u princes, was dragged by the hair of her head into the hall of the Kauravas by Uuh-sasana, and she vowed that it should remain dishevelled until the insult VENKATA—VIDEHA. 355 was avenged. After the death of the Kaiiravas she again braided her hair. Wilson has given an analysis of the drama. There are several editions of the text. VENKA7'A, VENKArADEI. A hill which was a seat of the worship of Vish7iii. It is the modern Tripati. VETALA. A ghost or goblin ; a sprite who haunts cemeteries and animates dead bodies. VETALA-PANCHAVIX^ATl. The twenty-five stories of the Vetala. It is the Baital Pachisi of Hindustani, and has been translated into all the languages of India. The work is ascribed to an author named Jambhala-datta. YETEAYATi. The river Betwa, which rises in the Yind- liyas and falls into the Jumna below Kalj^i. YIBHAYDAKA. Son of Kasyapa. An ascetic who retired from the world and lived in the forest with his infant son iiishya-5Tmga (q.v.). A sage of this name is sometimes classed among the great i^ishis. YIBHISHANA. 'Terrible.' A younger brother of Eavawa. He, like his brother, propitiated Brahma, and obtained a boon. His was that he should never commit an unworthy action even in the greatest extremity. He was virtuous, and opposed to the practices of the Eakshasas. This led to a quarrel between him and EavaTza, who kicked him from his seat: He flew off to Kailasa, and under the advice of ^Siva he went and allied himself with Eama-chandra, who received and embraced him as a friend. After the defeat and death of Eava?ia he was raised by Eama to the throne of Lanka. YICHITEA-YlEYA. Name of a king. See Maha-bharata. YIDAGDHA-MADHAYA. A drama in seven acts by Eiipa on the loves of Krish?za and Eadha, written in 1533 a.d. " It is weak as a drama, and its literary merits are small." YIDAEBHA. Birar, and probably including with it the adjoining district of Beder, which name is ai:)parently a corrup- tion of Yidarbha. The capital was Ku?i(iina-pura, the modern " Kundapur," about forty miles east of AmaravatL YIDDHA-6'ALABHAXJIKA. 'The statue.' A comedy of domestic intrigue by Eaja iS'ekhara. It was 2)robably written earlier than the tenth century. YIDEHA. An ancient country, of which the capital was Mi- thila. It corresponds with the modern Tirhut or Xorth Bihar. 356 VIDHATRI— VIKRAMADITYA. VrDHxiTi?/. * Creator.' A name of Bralima, of Vishmi, and of Yi5wa-karma. YIDUEA. A son of Yj^asa by a *S'udra slave girl, who took the place of his consort. Yidura was called Kshattri, a term ordinarily applied to the child of a ^STidra father and Brahman mother. He enjoyed the character of the "wisest of the wise," and gave good advice to both Kauravas and Payzt^avas, but in the war he sided with the latter. See, Maha-bharata. YIDURA. A mountain in Ceylon, probably Adam's Peak. YIDYAX-MODA-TARA^^GIYL ' fountain of pleasure to the learned.' A philosophical work by Rama-deva, translated into English by Raja Kali K?7sh?m. YLDYA-DHARA (mas.), YIDYA-DHARI (fern.). 'Pos- sessors of knowledge.' A class of inferior deities inhabitinsj the regions between the earth and sky, and generally of benevolent disposition. They are attendants upon Indra, but they have chiefs and kings of their own, and are represented as inter- marrying and having much intercourse with men. They are also called Kama-ru^^in, ' taking shapes at will ; ' Khechara and Nabhas-chara, 'moving in the air;' Priyam-vada, 'sweet-spoken.' YIDYARAA^YA, YIDYARAiYYA-SWAMI. ' Forest of learning.' A title of Madhavacharya, as patron of the city of Yidya-nagara, afterwards altered to Yijaya-nagara, the capital of the last great Hindu dynasty of the Dakhin. YlJA-GANITA A work on algebra, translated by Cole- brooke and by Strachey. It is a chapter of the work called Siddhanta-5iroma?zi, written by Bhaskaracharya. There are several editions of the text. YIJAYA-NAGARA The capital of the last great Hindu dynasty of the south. It was originally called Yidya-nagara, ' city of learning,' after the great scholar and minister Miidha- vacharya, entitled Yidyara^zya, ' forest of learning.' But in the days of its glory the Yidya was altered to Yijaya, ' victory.' YIJNANE6YYARA Author of the law-book caUed Mitak- sliara. YIKARYA. A son of Dh?-ita-rrish/ra. YIKRAMADITYA. A celebrated Hindu king who reigned at XJjjayini. He is said to have been the son of a king named Gardabhila. His name has been given to the Samvat era, com- mencing 57 B.C. He was a great patron of learning, and his VIKRAMORVASI—VINDHYA. 357 court was made illustrious by the ISTava-ratna, or nine gems of literature, who flourished there. He is a great hero of romance, and many improbable stories are told of him.