Vajiravudh \,va-je-ra-'vud\ or Phramongkutklao V.pra-.moq-kut- 'klau\ or Rama VI (b. Jan. 1, 1881, Bangkok, Siam—d. Nov. 26, 1925, Bangkok) King of Siam (Thailand; 1910-25). Educated at Oxford, Vajira¬ vudh undertook numerous social reforms as king, including making monogamy the only legal form of marriage. In 1921 he made primary education free and compulsory. He alienated both liberals and conserva¬ tives at home but was successful in foreign policy, restoring full fiscal autonomy to Siam. A prolific writer and translator, he introduced West¬ ern forms to Thai literature, translated William Shakespeare’s works, and composed about 50 original plays.
Vajpayee, Atal Bihari (b. Dec. 15, 1924, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India) Leader of India’s pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and prime minister of India in 1996 and from 1998 to 2004. Politically active as a teenager, he was briefly jailed by British colonial authorities. He was first elected to parliament in 1957 as a member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a forerunner of the BJP. He served as foreign minister in the late 1970s and helped formally establish the BJP in 1980. In 1992 he was one of the few Hindu leaders to speak out against the destruction of the historic Babri Masjid mosque by anti-Muslim extremists. Elected prime minister in May 1996, he was unable to form a government and resigned after 13 days. In 1998 and 1999 he was again elected prime minister as head of a BJP-led coalition. In May 1998 nuclear weapons tests ordered by Vajpayee drew international condemnation and economic sanctions. In 2000 his govern¬ ment began an extensive program of divestment of public funds from several key state-run industries. Under his leadership India achieved steady economic growth and became a world leader in information tech¬ nology. In 2004 his coalition was defeated in parliamentary elections, and he resigned from office.
vajra Vvoj-roV Five-pronged ritual object extensively employed in the ceremonies of Tibetan Buddhism. It is fashioned out of brass or bronze, the four prongs at each end curving around the central fifth to form a lotus- bud shape. In Sanskrit the word means both thunderbolt and diamond: like a thunderbolt it cuts through ignorance, and like a diamond it destroys but is itself indestructible. Originally a symbol of Indra, it was used to conquer the non-Buddhist deities of Tibet. In ritual use, it is often employed in conjunction with a bell in the execution of mudras.
Vajrayana V.voj-ro-'ya-noN Form of tantric Buddhism that emerged in India in the first millennium ad and spread to Tibet, where it is the pre¬ dominant tradition in Tibetan Buddhism. Philosophically, Vajrayana is a
blend of the Yogacara and Madhyamika disciplines. It aims to recapture the enlightenment experience of the Buddha Gautama, and it places spe¬ cial emphasis on the notion that enlightenment arises from the realization that seemingly opposite principles are in truth one. It introduced innova¬ tions involving the use of mantras and mandalas as aids to meditation, and, in rare cases, the use of yogically disciplined sexual activities.
Vakataka Vva-ko-to-kcA dynasty Indian ruling house that originated in the central Deccan in the mid-3rd century ad. The Vakataka empire is believed to have extended from Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra in the south and to have spanned the peninsula from west to east. In the 4th century the Vakatakas were allied by marriage to the Gupta dynasty, and Gupta cultural influence was significant. The Vakata¬ kas are noted for having encouraged arts and letters.
Valdemar Vval-do-maA I known as Voldemar the Great (b. Jan. 14, 1131, Denmark—d. May 12, 1182, Denmark) King of Denmark (1157-82). On ascending the throne, he ended more than 25 years of civil wars, and he defeated the Wends (Slavs) by 1169, freeing Danish ships from piracy. He acknowledged the overlordship of Frederick I Barbarossa and accepted his antipope Victor IV; he later acknowledged Pope Alex¬ ander III (c. 1165) and rejected Frederick. He gained church approval for hereditary rule by his dynasty, the Valdemars, and in 1181 he allied with Frederick as an equal, aided by the marriage of their children.
Valdemar IV Atterdag Vat-t9r-,dag\ (b. c. 1320, Denmark—d. Oct. 24, 1375, Schleswig) King of Denmark (1340-75). A son of King Chris¬ topher II, he sought to free Danish lands from foreign domination. He sold Estonia (1346), gained control of Zealand (1349), and subdued a revolt in Jutland (1350). By regaining Skane from Sweden, he completed the reunification of his father’s kingdom (1360). His aggressive foreign policy led to conflict with Sweden, North German principalities, and the Hanseatic League, which defeated him in 1368, forcing him to concede trading privileges but allowing his kingdom to remain intact. The mar¬ riage of his daughter Margaret to the Norwegian king Haakon VI made possible the unification of Denmark and Norway.
Valdes \val-'des\ or Peter Waldo (d. c. 1205) French religious leader. A successful merchant, Valdes (Peter Waldo was a later form of his name) underwent a religious conversion, gave away his wealth, and began to preach a doctrine of voluntary poverty in Lyon around 1170. In 1179 his vow of poverty was confirmed by Pope Alexander III, but he was subse¬ quently forbidden to preach by Pope Lucius III. In 1182 or 1183 Valdes and his followers—called the Poor, or the Poor of Lyon—were excom¬ municated for violating the ban on preaching and were banished from the city. They were formally condemned at a church council in 1184 along with other heretics, including the Cathari, against whom Valdes had ear¬ lier preached. The severe persecution of the so-called Waldenses in the 13th century forced them to begin traveling and teaching in secret. Dur¬ ing the Protestant Reformation, the Waldenses accepted Genevan forms of worship and church organization.
Valdes Leal \bal-'das-le-'al\, Juan de (b. May 4, 1622, Sevilla, Spain—d. Oct. 15, 1690, Sevilla) Spanish painter. Son of a Portuguese father, he was educated in Cordoba and worked there and in Sevilla. After the death of Bartolome Esteban Murillo, he was Sevilla’s leading painter. His early works are marked by exotic colours, dramatic lighting, and vig¬ orous brushstrokes. Later paintings such as Vanitas (1660) and Triumph of Death (1672) are characterized by their macabre subject matter, dynamic energy, and theatrical violence.
Valdivia Wal-'de-ve-oV, Pedro de (b. c. 1498, Extremadura, Spain—d. January 1554, Tucapel, Viceroyalty of Peru) Spanish conquis¬ tador. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, where he served under Francisco Pizarro in Peru. In 1540 he led an expedition of 150 Spaniards into Chile, where he defeated a large force of Indians and founded Santiago in 1541. He extended Spanish rule south to the Bio-Bio River in 1546, fought again in Peru (1546-48), and returned to Chile as governor in 1549. He began to conquer Chile south of the Bio-Bio and founded Concepcion in 1550. He was killed in a campaign against the Araucanian Indians.
Vale of Tempe See Vale of Tempe
Vale of the White Horse See Vale of the White Horse
valence \'va-bns\ Number of bonds (see bonding) an atom can form. Hydrogen (H) always has valence 1, so other elements' valences equal the
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1982 I Valencia ► Valhalla
number of hydrogen atoms they combine with. Thus, oxygen (O) has valence 2, as in water (H 2 0); nitrogen (N) has valence 3, as in ammonia (NH 3 ); and chlorine (Cl) has valence 1, as in hydrochloric acid (HC1). The valence depends on the number of unpaired electrons in the outer¬ most (and, in transition elements, the next) shell of the atom’s structure. The sharing of the unpaired (valence) electrons in a bond mimics the stable configuration of the noble gases, whose outer shells are full. Ele¬ ments that can achieve stable configurations by various combinations have more than one valence.