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* VIGO. 13:> VILKOMIB. has a large trade with Spanish America. Popu- lation, in 1!H)0, 2.'i.l44. The town of Vigo «;i.s attacked hy Drake in 1585 and 1589; by a com- bincil An^'lo-Dutfh Uoet in 1702; and by Lord Cobhain in 1719. VIHARA, ve-hii'ra (Skt., recreation, pleas- ure, walking for diversion). A designation for a pleasnre-garilen in early India, more espeeially of the temple procinets and monastie grounds of the liuddhist and .lain religions. Originally the word designated the hall or halls where Buddha and the priests by whom he was accompanied used to meet. Adjoining the sanctum there is usually a narrow room, in which are images and paintings ; and opposite the entrance there is another door, protected by a screen ; and when this is withdrawn, an image of Buddha is seen, ■which occupies nearly the whole of the apartment. ■with a table or altar before it, upon which flowers are placed. The walls are covered with paint- ings, generally illustrating some legend of Bud- dha's life. In front of the temple stands a sacred bo-tree, regarded as the descendant of the origi- nal Bo-tree (q.v. ). The best examples of the old Vihara are still to be seen in Ceylon. The finest specimens on the continent of India itself are those at Ajunta, Ellora, Salsette, and Junir. Consult: Hardy, Eastern Monachism (London, 1860) : Fergusson. History of Indian and East- ern Architcclnrr (ib., 187G). VIJANAGABA. ve'ja-na-ga'ra. or BIJAYA- NAGAR (Skt., city of victory). A city of Southeastern India, famous for its architectural remains. It was the capital of a dynasty of Hindu rulers that flourished between the fourteenth and si.xteenth centuries. The most noted of its archi- tectural remains is the temple built in the style of Southern India 0.1.529-42 and dedicated to Vitoba, a manifestation of the god Vishnu. The structure is in ruins, but its sculptures, wholly in granite, are carved with great boldness and expression. The finest architectural remains of the Vijana- gara dynasty, however, are a hundred miles to the south, at Tarputry, ■where two temples are situ- ated. Near by are two gopiiras (ornamental gateways) belonging to a deserted temple, more exquisitely carved than any others in the Dra- vidian style. Vijanagara is also interesting be- cause of its importance in connection with Sanskrit literature. Here, in the fourteenth cen- tury. Sayana (q.v.), the great Vedie commentator, flourished at the court of King Bukka, whose prime niinister Madhava (q.v.) was the learned scholar's brother. See IxDi.vN Art. "VIKING, or WIKING. See Norm.a.ns. VIKRAMA, vTk'm-ma, or Vike.maditta. The name of a famous king or kings of India, after whom the Vikrama, or Samvat (q.v.) era is called. His reign formed the golden age of Sanskrit literature. Unfortunately, much un- certainty prevails with regard to his precise date. 'Tradition ascribes it to B.C. 57, but later scholarship sought to prove that the Samvat era was established by Vikrama in A.n. 544 and its commencement dated back fiOO years to B.C. 57. Additional support for this, besides other grounds, was sought in the accepted date of the Hindu astronomer Varahamihira (q.v.), who is named as one of the "Nine Gems' of Vik- rama's court, together with Kalidasa (q.v.), Amarasinha (q.v.), and others. Recent researches have tended to throw doubt on this theory, and to place the time of V'ikranja a century and a half earlier. It has l)een shown that the Vikrama era was previously called the Malava era, and the coins and inscriptions of Chandragupta II., mimed V'ikramaditya, belong to a period of about A.I). 400. The present tendency, therefore, is to date the reign of Vikrama in the beginning of the fifth instead of in the middle of the sixth century. Consult: Macdonell, l^anslcrit Litera- ture (New' York, 1900) ; Duff, Chronology of An- cient India (West minster, 1899). VIKRAMORVASI, vik'ra-mOr'vi-she' ( from Skt. vikrama, heroism + OrvaM, name of a celes- tial nymph). The title of a Sanskrit drama by Kalidasa (q.v.), in which the nymph Urva^i is rescued and won by the hero, Pururavas (q.v.). VILAGOS, vc'lyii'gosh. A commune of Hun- gaiy, in the County of Arad, about l(i miles northeast of the city of Arad, with a population in 1900 of (i094. It is noted as the scene of the surrender (if the Hungarian army under Giirgey to the Russians, August 13, 1849, marking the collapse of the national Hungarian movement. See Ar.STBIA-HUNGAKT. VILAN, ve-liln', or Buluan, A Malay peo- ple in Southern Mindanao. See Philippine Isl- ands. VI'LAS, William Feeeman (1840 — ). An American lawj'er, soldier, and political leader, born at Chelsea, Vt. In 1851 he removed with his family to Madison, Wis., and in 1858 he graduated at the State University there. He graduated at the Albany Law School in 1860 and for a time practiced his profession, but in 1862 entered the Federal military service, in which he rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He com- manded his regiment during the siege of Vieks- burg, but in August, 180.3, he resigned his com- mission and returned to Madison. From 1868 to 1885 he was a professor in the law school of the LTniversity of Wisconsin. He became interested also in politics and from 1876 to 1886 was a member of the Democratic National Committee. He was a member of the Wisconsin Legislature in 1885, was permanent chairman of the National Demo- cratic Convention in 1884, was United States Postmaster-General from 1885 to 1888, was Sec- retary of the Interior from January, 1888, to March, 1889, and was United States Senator from 1891 to 1897. When W. J. Bryan was nominated for the Presidency, on a free-silver platform, by the Democratic Party in 1890, Vilas was one of those who helped to organize the National (gold) Democrats. In collaboration with E. E. Bryant, he edited volumes i.^ ii., iv., vi., and xx. of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Reports. . VILAYET (Ar. vilSyat, province, govern- ment, from raliya, to rule, govern), or Etlayet. The largest and most important of the adminis- trative divisions of the Turkish Empire. The vilayets are again divided into lii^as or sanjaks, the livas into ka::as or districts, and the kazas into nahies or communes. Each vilayet is ad- ministered by a pasha, who is Governor, and the general name for whom is vali or viceroy. He is assisted by a provincial council. VILKOMIR, vel-y'-kd-mer' (Polish Wilko- mierz). A district town in the Government of