The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Vraj
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well as religious education. For further
information see Christopher Isherwood,
Ramakrishna and His Disciples, 1965;
Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works
of Swami Vivekananda, 1970; and George
M. Williams, “Swami Vivekananda,” and
“The Ramakrishna Movement: A Study in
Religious Change,” both in Robert D. Baird
(ed.), Religion in Modern India, 1998.
Vraj
Variant form of the region known as
Braj. This is the land in which the
god Krishna is believed to have lived,
located in the southwestern part of the
state of Uttar Pradesh just south of
Delhi, the national capital. See Braj.
Vrat
Term denoting a religious vow, usually
thought to be derived from the verb
meaning “to choose.” As religious observances,
vrats are an important part of
modern Hindu life. They may refer to
religious practices performed once a
year with particular festivals, such as the
vrat performed on Shivaratri, or to
more regular religious observances,
such as those connected to the monthly
lunar calendar (e.g., the ekadashi rites)
or those performed on the day of the
week associated with a particular patron
deity. The specific prescriptions for
these vrats vary widely, but there are
several common features. They usually
involve modification of diet—sometimes
through fasting (upavasa), and
other times by eating or avoiding certain
types of food. Another constant feature
is worship of the presiding deity.
Part of this worship usually involves
reading or hearing the vrat’s charter
myth, which tells how the vrat was
established, how one should perform it,
and what sort of benefits it brings. Vrats
connected with festivals are performed
by all sorts of people, but weekly vrats
(such as the Santoshi Ma Vrat) are most
often performed by married women to
promote the health, safety, and prosperity
of their families. Although such
weekly vrats are theoretically voluntary,
they have become an expected element
in women’s religious life, through which
women by their sacrifices can safeguard
their family’s welfare. For further consideration
of women’s rites, see Mary
McGee, “Desired Fruits: Motive And
Intention in the Votive Rites of Hindu
Women,” in Julia Leslie, ed., Roles and
Rituals for Hindu Women, 1991; and
Doranne Jacobson and Susan S. Wadley,
Women in India, 1992.
Vratya
In the Atharva Veda, one of the earliest
Hindu religious texts, the vratyas were a
particular class of vagrant ascetics who
were priests of a non-Vedic fertility cult.
Not much is known about them because
there are no other sources, but they were
clearly outside the Vedic cult and thus
looked down upon. In later times, the
word is used to designate a person who
has lost caste through nonobservance of
one of the necessary samskaras (lifecycle
ceremonies).
Vrindavan
Variant form of Brindavan, the village in
southeastern part of the state of Uttar
Pradesh in which the god Krishna is
believed to have lived from infancy to
adolescence. See Brindavan.
Vrtra
(“obstruction”) The name of the demon
killed by the storm-god Indra in one of the
hymns from the Rg Veda (1.32), the oldest
Hindu religious text. In this hymn Vrtra is
described as a serpent obstructing the free
flow of waters, hence his name. The action
in this hymn is one of Indra’s defining
deeds, in which he destroys the serpent,
cuts it into pieces, and releases the waters
to run free. Some interpreters inclined to
read the Vedas as historical record have
seen in this hymn the breaching of the
dams constructed by the Indus Valley civilization
by the incoming Aryans, but
there is little proof that such an incident
ever happened.