Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

344 VisvarupaVisvarupaLesser known incarnation of the god VIŠNU.Hindu. In Vedic literature he is identified as theson of TVASTAR. Višnu took the avatara at therequest of ARJUNA. His animal is GARUDA. Attributes:many. Also Viratapurusa.VisvosnisaGod. Buddhist. An USNISA apparently connectedwith the guardian deities or dikpalas in thesoutherly direction. Color: green.VitthaliGod. Hindu (Epic and Puranic). A lesser knownincarnation of the god VIŠNU (or KRSNA). Thecult of Vitthali is centered mainly on Panharpur,near Bombay, where he is the object of devotionby the Varkari sect. Generally depicted standingon a brick, wearing a fez-like hat and with handson hips. Also Vithoba; Panduranga.VitzilipuztliAspect of HUITZILPOCHTLI. Aztec (classicalMesoamerican). Invoked twice a year, in Mayand December, during an agrarian festival.Virginal female worshipers created an image ofthe deity from dough consisting of maizeflour, beet seed and honey. The image was giveneyes and teeth using pieces of colored glass andwhole maize seeds and was paraded, beforebeing broken into pieces and eaten as a form ofsacrament.Vivasvan (shining)Sun god. Hindu (Vedic and Puranic). The originalVedic list of six descendants of the goddessADITI or ADITYAS, all of whom take the role ofsun gods was, in later times, enlarged to twelve,including Vivasvan. One of his titles is the“embodiment of ancestral law.” His consort isSARANYU and he is identified as the father ofYAMA and YAMI, as well as MANU and theASVINS. His color is golden and his attributes aforest garland, two lotuses and a trident. AlsoVivasvat.VoduCollective name for gods. Fon [Benin, WestAfrica]. The origin of the term voodoo in theCaribbean region.VoltumnaTutelary god. Etruscan. Originally a vegetationdeity who was elevated to the position of supremegod in the Etruscan pantheon and known inRoman culture as VERTUMNUS.VolumnaNursery goddess. Roman. The guardian deity ofthe nursery and of infants.VorGoddess. Nordic (Icelandic). Of Germanic origin,one of the AESIR goddesses listed by Snorri inProse Edda. He suggests that Vor may be concernedwith the making of oaths and of marriageagreements, punishing those who break them.Possibly also Var(a), though Snorri lists her as aseparate Aesir goddess.VosegusMountain god. Romano-Celtic. A local deityfrom the Vosges known only from inscriptions.