''Vīrya'' (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the la ...
वीर्य) literally means "state of a strong man"
[See, e.g., Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), entry for "Viriya," which defines ''viriya'' as: "lit. 'state of a strong man,' i. e. vigour, energy, effort, exertion." Retrieved 3 Feb. 2011 from "U.Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:1885.pali .] or "manliness."
[See, e.g., which Monier Williams (1899), entry for "Vīyà," defines ''vīyà'' in part as: "manliness, valour, strength, power, energy, RV Rig_Veda_.html" ;"title="Rig_Veda.html" ;"title="Rig Veda">Rig Veda ">Rig_Veda.html" ;"title="Rig Veda">Rig Veda &c. &c.; heroism, heroic deed, ibid.; manly vigour, virility, semen virile, MBh. [ Mahabharata ]; Kāv.&c; ...." Retrieved 3 Feb. 2011 from "U.Cologne" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/monier/serveimg.pl?file=/scans/MWScan/MWScanjpg/mw1006-virabhaTa.jpg .] In Hindu
Vedic literature
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
, the term is often associated with heroism and
virility
Virility (from the Latin ''virilitas'', manhood or virility, derived from Latin ''vir'', man) refers to any of a wide range of masculine characteristics viewed positively. Virile means "marked by strength or force". Virility is commonly associ ...
. In
Brahmacharya
''Brahmacharya'' (; sa, ब्रह्मचर्य ) is a concept within Indian religions that literally means to stay in conduct within one's own Self. In Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism it generally refers to a lifestyle charac ...
in Hinduism, Virya also refers to semen in a male and it is considered to be the 'vital fluid'. Loss of Virya from the body is avoided in Brahmacharya.
Vedic literature
''Vīryà'' as "manly" and "hero" can be found, for instance, in the following excerpts from the
Rig Veda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
(RV).
RV, Mandala 1, Hymn 32, v. 1
:1. I will declare the manly deeds of Indra, the first that he achieved, the Thunder-wielder. He slew the Dragon, then disclosed the waters, and cleft the channels of the mountain torrents.
RV, Mandala 1, Hymn 103, vv. 5-7
:5. See this abundant wealth that he possesses, and put your trust in Indra's hero vigour. He found the cattle, and he found the horses, he found the plants, the forests and the waters.
:6. To him the truly strong, whose deeds are many, to him the strong Bull let us pour the Soma. The Hero, watching like a thief in ambush, goes parting the possessions of the godless.
:7. Well didst thou do that hero deed, O Indra, in waking with thy bolt the slumbering Ahi. In thee, delighted, Dames divine rejoiced them, the flying Maruts and all Gods were joyful.
[Griffith, Ralph T.H. (1896), RV 1.103. Retrieved 3 Feb. 2011 from "Wikisource" at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rig_Veda/Mandala_1/Hymn_103 .]
See also
*
Vīrya
Vīrya (Sanskrit; Pāli: ''viriya'') is a Buddhist term commonly translated as "energy", "diligence", "enthusiasm", or "effort". It can be defined as an attitude of gladly engaging in wholesome activities, and it functions to cause one to ac ...
- for the Buddhist definition of this term
Notes
{{Reflist
Sources
* Griffith, Ralph T.H. (1896). ''Rig Veda''. Available from "Wikisource" at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rig_Veda .
*
Monier-Williams, Monier (1899; rev. 2008). ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. A general on-line search engine for this dictionary is available from "U. Cologne" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/index.html.
*
Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society's Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead:
Pali Text Society
The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts".
Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The Pā ...
. A general on-line search engine for this dictionary is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
Men
Vedas