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V. Gordhan Vilas, Udaipur; a royal residence 4 km. from Udaipur on the Ahmedabad highway. Maharana Swaroop Singh (1842-1861) kept his royal cows here. In later years, the Maharana shifted here, ostensibly to care for his cows, and eventually died here. It is considered to be a holy place.
Vadnagar, Saurashtra (now Gujarat), an ancient city founded by Rana KANAKSEN, ancestor of GUHIL, founder of the GUHILOT Dynasty, forerunner of the Mewar Dynasty. See MEWAR'S TRADITIONAL LINEAGE.
Vair Singh, Rawal, twenty-eighth ruler of the Mewar Dynasty (r. 1103-1107); succeeded Rawal HANSPAL; ruled for four years from AHAR. Little is known of his reign. His son, Vijai Singh, succeeded him. See MEWAR'S LOST GENERATIONS.
Vairath, Rawal: see BAIRATH, RAWAL.
Vairisal. There were a couple of leading members of clans who had this name. They came from Kelwa (Jaitmal Rathore), and Roopnagar (Solanki).
Vais, (Hindi) a local dialect abbreviation for the Vaishya caste.
Vakil, (Hindi) an agent; attorney; ambassador.
Vala, the modern name for the ancient city of VALLABHI. It is associated with Guhilot Rajputs and related to Bhavnagar, Palitana, and Lathi.
Vallabhi (Ballabhi, Valabhi, Vallabhipura), an ancient city on the Saurashtra peninsula (now Vala in modern Gujarat), capital of the ancient MAITRAKA dynasty. A Rajput, Vijayasen, founded the city, ca 3rd century AD. Later, the site was recognised as the newer city of Walai, about 6 km. west of Bhavnagar. When invaders from the west or barbarians from the north (possibly Arabs from Sind) sacked Vallabhi, thirty thousand families abandoned this "city of a hundred temples" and, led by their priests, found a retreat for themselves and their faith in Marudhardesh (Marwar). There, they erected the towns of Sanderao and Bali (the latter giving a clue to the name of the city from which they were driven.) Jainism was the religion of Vallabhi, and later cities of the clan. In the mid-6th century AD, King SILADITYA VI ruled Vallabhi. When his pregnant queen, PUSHPAVATI, was on a pilgrimage into the northern district (later to become Mewar), invaders destroyed Vallabhi and killed most of its inhabitants, including the King. Pushpavati took refuge in the district of IDAR, where she gave birth to a son, whom she named Goha (later called GUHIL), who was to form his own dynasty (ca 569), the GUHILOTS, who were the forerunners of the Mewar Dynasty.
Vallabhipur, Vallabhipura: see VALLABHI.
Vallabhnagar, a tank (lake) is situated on the Berach near the village of Sarjana, about 5 km. southwest of the village of Vallabhnagar. The water spread of the project is 8.92 sq. km. the maximum height of the dam 17 m. and the full capacity 1076.6 mcft. It can irrigate an area of 8000 acres. It was constructed between 1963-69.
Vallabi, (modern Vala, Gujarat), capital of the ancient MAITRAKA dynasty. See VALLABHI.
Vamana, the Hindu Dwarf God, fifth avatar of VISHNU; he turned himself into a giant to foil a demon who sought control of the universe. He was granted permission to keep all he could cover in three steps. Being clever, Vamana encompassed the earth, the sky and middle air (the space in between).
Vansda, the estate (jagir) of a nephew of Maharana JAGAT SINGH I (1628-1652).
Varaha, the Hindu Boar God. Originally the sacred pig of a primitive cult, he became the third avatar (reincarnation) of VISHNU when, during a great flood, he dug under water with his tusks, raised the earth and restored it to dry land.
vari (nai), sometimes mistakenly spelled bari; (Hindi) a trusted person in charge of the Royal Kitchen, also the barbers of Rajputs, and their cooks. A special duty of the vari was making leaf-platters from which Hindus ate. Varis were also domestic servants, but they did not, like nais, work as barbers. It was a loyal vari who assisted the nurse, PANNA DHAI in saving the infant UDAI SINGH from an assassination attempt by BANBIR. Later, Udai Singh's son and successor, PRATAP SINGH I renounced the luxury of Udaipur for a Spartan existence in the hills around Kumbhalgarh, in order to wage a guerilla war against the invading Mughals. Pratap opted not to take his meals on the customary silverware but to have his meals served on humbler dishes. Therefore, his vari made leaf plates (patal-dunas) and cups.
Varuna, the Hindu god of rain.
Vaspujyaji, one of the twenty-four THIRTHANKARAS of the Jain sect. Also a Jain temple, famed for its fine glasswork, and one of the twenty-four sites of Jain pilgrimage.
vassal, in the ancient feudal system, a person holding lands by the obligation to render military service or its equivalent to his superior; a feudatory tenant.
Vedas, a Hindu sacred book of the greatest antiquity, the earliest literary evidence in India, orally transmitted during the country's early period. The Vedas are also known as the Book of Wisdom, and as the Samhitas (collection of hymns). They describe the creation of mankind and the origin of the caste system. Also, they relate the victory of Brahma over Indra, god of thunder and battle, possibly referring to the revival of Brahmanism (the predecessor of Hinduism from which Hinduism evolved) after the Aryan invasion, ca 1500 BC. Each Veda (Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda, and the Athar-Veda) is a collection of works, which expound the mystical sense of ceremonies, and, among many other things, the acquiring of religious knowledge with a view to final liberation.
vedi, (Hindi) an altar, a place for ritual ceremony. In a Hindu encyclopaedia, it is synonymous with bedi, a wise man.
Veer Vinod: see VIR VINOD.
Veeramdeo. There were several leading members of clans who had this name. They came from Dharyavad (Sisodia); Hamirgarh (Choondawat); Kherabad (Baba); Nimbahera (Mertia Rathore), and Roopnagar (Solanki). There was also Veeramdeo, younger brother of Raja Dhiraj SUJAN SINGH of Shahpura. Along with his brother, Veeramdeo joined the service of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, receiving the mansab of 800 Jat (foot soldiers) and 400 Sawar (horse or horsemen). He fought bravely in the Mughals' Kandahar expeditions, and rose to the mansab of 3000 Jat and 1,000 Sawar. At the internecine battle of Samugadh, Veeramdeo was in the first flank of Mughal prince Dara's forces against Prince Aurangzeb. After Dara was defeated, Veeramdeo went over to Aurangzeb. Later, he was sent to Assam with Ram Singh of Jaipur. He returned to Mathura where he died in 1668.
Kunwar Veeramdeo of Kherabad was the second son of Maharana UDAI SINGH II (1537-1532); and was given the town as a grant. His descendants were Isridas; Sabal Singh; Sangram Singh; Bharat Singh; Shakti Singh; Mokham Singh; Salim Singh; Ajit Singh; Laxman Singh; Kishore Singh; Jodh Singh; and Bagh Singh.
Venues for Special Events, part of the Commercial Division of the MAHARANA MEWAR INSTITUTION TRUST.
Veterinary Hospital, near Chetak Circle, Udaipur.
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