[Vishnu], the Preserver, the second god of the Hindu triad, [Brahma] (q. v.) being the first and [Siva] (q. v.) the third; revealed himself by a succession of avatars, [Râma] (q. v.) being the seventh and [Krishna] (q. v.) the eighth; he has had nine avatars, and on the tenth he will come to judgment; he is extensively worshipped, and his worshippers, the Vaishnavas, are divided into a great number of sects.
[Visigoths], a branch of the Goths that settled in the South of France and in Spain.
[Vistula], a central river of Europe, which rises in the Carpathians and after a course of 600 m. falls into the Baltic; it is almost navigable throughout, and carries down great quantities of timber, grain, and other produce to the Baltic ports.
[Vitalis, St.], a martyr of the 1st century, who was stoned to death, is represented as buried in a pit with stones on his head.
[Vitellius, Aulus], Roman emperor; reigned only eight months and some days of the year 69; was notorious for his excesses, and was murdered after being dragged through the streets of Rome.
[Vitruvius, Pollio], Roman architect and engineer; wrote on architecture, lived in the days of Augustus.
[Vittoria] (127), the capital of Alava, a Basque province in the North of Spain, famous as the scene of one of Wellington's victories in June 1813; has a fine old 12th-century cathedral and extensive manufactures; it is one of the most prosperous towns in Spain.
[Vives, Ludovicus], a humanist, born at Valencia, studied in Paris; wrote against scholasticism, taught at Oxford, and was imprisoned for opposing Henry VIII.'s divorce; died at Bruges (1492-1540).
[Vivian], an enchantress in Arthurian legend. See [Merlin].
[Vladimir] (12), capital of a government in the centre of Russia, 120 m. NE. of Moscow; once practically the capital of the country, with many remains of its ancient grandeur.