-04_Glossary and Index Page 1 to 12.htm

 A SAee Aiyar, V.V.S. or Roy, Anilbaran

Aacrity in the Mahabharata, brother of BHISHMUC, and king of the ancient country named Surastra; he is described as equal to Parasurama in military skill and courage.(M.N.;A) Var: Acrity 3:190 8:40

Aaron in the Bible, the first high priest of the Israelites. He acted as the instrument of JEHOVAH in performing certain miracles, such as turning his rod into a serpent and causing it to bud, blossom, and bear almonds. He, with his brother Moses, led the Israelites out of Egypt. (Col. Enc.) 1:606

Abbasside Arabic family descended from Abbas, uncle of Mohammad. They held the caliphate from AD 749/750 to 1258. (Col. Enc.; Enc. Br.) 5:274-75 7:667, 712,

Abbot official title of the superior of a monastic community that follows the Benedictine Rule, and of certain other orders. (Enc. Br.) 9:485-86

Abdul Baha or Abd-ul-Baha (1844-1921), eldest son and successor of Baha Ullah, founder of the Bahai religion. To preach his father’s religious ideas, Abdul Baha travelled to many countries of the world. He was well known to Mme Richard (the Mother). (Enc. Br.; M.C.W., vol. 2, p. 104) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27] Abdul Hamid, Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid II (1842-1918), Ottoman sultan from 1876 to 1909. In 1908 the Young Turks, who had penetrated the armed services, revolted and forced the sultan to accept a constitution. He was deposed in 1909 when he tried to plot a counter-revolution. (Col. Enc.) 2: 167, 248 27:122

Abdullah’ a witness who gave evidence against the police in the Rawalpindi trial (1907), and was consequently meted out a scandalous treatment by the court and the police. (A) 1:445

Abdullah2 a character – the Emir – in Sri Aurobindo’s Arabic romance Khalid of the Sea. (A) n 5:275-77

Abdullah’ a character – a merchant of Bassora – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. (A) 7:561, 574-77, 659, 661-64

Abdullah Pacha a person who was evidently one of the sources of danger or difficulty to the Turkish administration about the beginning of 1912. (A) XXI: 94-95

Abdur Rahman, Amir Abd-ul-Rahman Khan (1844?-1901), emir of Afghanistan (1880- 1901). He had to go into

exile in 1869 after opposing his uncle Sher Ali, but was recognized by the British as emir in 1880. (Col. Enc.) 1:261

Abdurrahman, Dr. a Transvaal Indian whose letter was quoted by the weekly India (see India1) in 1906 to show how eager the Indians were to dissociate themselves from the Africans in their conflict with the colonists. (A) i: 132

Abelard in Sri Aurobindo’s story "The Door at Abelard", the name of a house in the village of Streadhew. Abelard is also the name of the family living in that house. (A) 7: 1025, 1028, 1033-34, 1040-41, 1043

Abercrombie, Lascelles (1881-1938), English poet and critic who was associated with a group known as the GEORGIAN poets. (Enc. Br.) Der: Abercrombiean 26:306, 328-30, 343-44

Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata, son of Arjuna by his wife Subhadra. He was very handsome. He fell fighting heroically against fearful odds. (Dow.) 3:200, 207 4:75 8:59 IV: 115

Abhirs a people – a hill tribe – who live in the north of India and Pakistan along the Indus. Nepal’s earlier rulers were Abhirs and KIRATHAS. (Dow.;Gaz.II) 5:85

Abinash See Bhattacharya, Abinash Chandra

Absalom (fl. c. 1020 BC-) , in the Bible, favourite son of David, king of Israel and Judah, who revolted against his father and drove him into flight. The English poet Dryden made allegorical use of this story in his political satire Absalom and Achitophel (1681). (Enc.Br.) 9:387

Abyssinia former empire of east central Africa. The name Abyssinia, although never official, was formerly widely applied to the country now called Ethiopia. (Col. Enc.) Der: Abyssinian 2:170 3:482 9:539 15:46, 328, 502, 505 23:926 26:382-83 XV: 74

Acamos Acamas, in the Greek epic Iliad, a Greek warrior, son of Theseus. When Diomedes went to Troy to ask for the return of Helen, Acamas accompanied him. (M.I.) D 5:491

Achab a character in Sri Aurobindo’s "Fragment of a Drama", 7:1085-88

Achaea Latinized form of ACHAIA. Der:

Achaean a 6:1 II: 26

Achaemenian of an ancient Iranian dynasty whose kings founded and ruled the Achae- menian Empire from 559 to 330 BC. (Enc. Br.) 9:410

Achaia ancient name of Greece. The Indo-European occupants of Greece prior to the Dorian invasion (c. 1000 Be) were known collectively as Achaians. (M.I.) Der:

Achaian 5:393, 395, 397, 404-05, 407-08, 415-16, 419, 421-22, 427, 430, 432, 459, 463, 468-69, 471-72, 476-77, 479, 481-83, 485-87, 497, 499

Achari SeeSnnnasa 27:426

Acharya, Dr. Prankrishna (1861-1936), a well-known medical practitioner of Calcutta. With the partition of Bengal in 1905, he appeared on the political scene. Afterwards he was specially interested and actively engaged in the promotion of indigenous crafts and the spread of education. (S.B.C.) 2:150

Acherontian waters The Acheron was, in Greek religion, considered to be a river of Hades. A river of Thesprotia in south Epirus, it flowed underground at several points and thus was reputed to lead to the underworld. (M.I.) 5:396

Achilleid (also called Achilleis), name given to the part of the Iliad comprising Books I, VIII, and XI to XXII, regarded by some critics as constituting a distinct poem on the single theme "the wrath of Achilles", and which is older than the rest of the Iliad. (N.C.C.H.) 3:143

Achilles in Greek legend, one of the foremost of the Greek warriors who fought in the Trojan War. He was the son of Peleus and Thetis. Thetis, hearing a prophecy that her son would die at Troy, attempted to make him invulnerable by bathing him in the river Styx, but the water did not touch the heel by which she held him. In the war he was killed by Paris, who wounded him in this one vulnerable spot. The quarrel of Achilles and Agamemnon over the siave-girl BRISEIS, with its tragic consequences, is the subject of Homer’s Iliad. See also Scyros. (Col. Enc.; M.I.) a 1:511 3:189, 269, 304 5:397, 399, 401-04, 406, 408, 414, 418, 426-28, 430, 432, 435, 438, 440, 444, 450, 452-53, 456-60, 463-70, 473-80, 483, 485-91, 493, 513-14, 516-17, 519 9:317, 418 12:37 16:90, 92 17:105 22:414, 417 II: 26 VI: 134-35 X: 151

Achitophel (variant of Ahithophel), in the Bible, one of the most trusted advisers of David, king of Israel and Judah; he took a leading part in ABSALOM’S revolt. (Enc. Br.) a 9:387

Achyuta "the unfallen", an epithet of Vishnu or Krishna. O [Indexed with Krishna]

Acinto a proposed character – the Miller’s son – mentioned in the Dramatis Personae of Sri Aurobindo’s play The Maid in the Mill. a 7:821

Acirrous in Greek legend, a cohort of DIOMEDES and a resident of TROEZEN. (M.I.) 5:486-88 Acrisius in Greek legend, the Argive king whose daughter Danae gave birth to Perseus. (A) 6:1, 9

Acrity See Aacrity

Acropolis a citadel or an elevated fortified part of a Greek city, especially of Athens. The Acropolis of Athens was adorned with some of the world’s greatest architectural and sculptural monuments, whose remains are still impressive. (Col. Enc.) 5:254

Acrur in the Mahabharata, a Yadava, uncle of Krishna, who brought Krishna and Bala- rama from Gokul to Mathura, as desired by Kansa. (Dow.) Var: Ocroor 4:71 8:41, 284 27:139-40

Adam in the Hebrew Bible, the name of the first man. The story of the original human couple, Adam and Eve, is told in two dif- ferent accounts of creation in the beginning of the book of Genesis. (Col. Enc.) 1:624 3:21 7:643, 868 12:46 14:203-04 17:121, 137 18:51 24:1649, 1762 26:259 29:798

Adams, John (1735-1826), first Vice- President and second President (1797-1801) of the U.S.A. He earlier had been an active revolutionary. (Enc. Br.) 1:567

Adamson, Sir Harvey (1852-1929). After serving in Burma in various capacities from 1875 he became Judicial Commissioner, Upper Burma (1900-03); Additional Member of Viceroy’s Council (1903-05); Chief Judge, Burma (1905); Member of Viceroy’s Council (1906-10); Home Member (c. 1907-08); Lt. Governor of Burma (1910-15). (Gilbert, ?. 45; Wolpert, pp. 246-47) a 1:620, 623-29, 818

Addison, Joseph (1672-1719), English essayist, poet, dramatist, and statesman. He also held a seat in Parliament from 1708 until his death. (Enc. Br.) 1:245 9:387

Adhwara Yajna "the sacrifice of the Path";the sacrifice as the path leading to the Divine; a sacrifice (especially the Soma sacrifice) (A; M.W.) 4:32 10:180, 321, 497 27:191 IV: 146 XV: 8

Adhwaryu one who institutes an Adhvara (see Adhwara Yajna); any officiating priest. M.W.) 11:477 XVIII: 180

Aditi in the Vedic phase of Hindu mythology, the personification of the Infinite, and the mother of a group of celestial deities, the Adityas; she is the "infinite Mother of the gods" (11: 32) and "the infinite undivided consciousness of God". (Enc.Br.;A) 9:205, 211 10:43, 92-93, 112, 114, 118, 126, 181, 189, 191-92, 194, 196-201, 206-07, 209-11, 224, 235, 271, 289-90, 292, 325, 328-29, 341, 405, 413, 421-26, 428, 430, 437-38, 442, 446-47, 459-61, 463-64, 534 11: 32, 83, 118, 162, 168, 238, 294, 432 12:255 16:405 17:28-30 VI: 144-45 XIV: 110 XV: 38

Aditians the same as Adityas.

Adityas the sons of Aditi; a group of Vedic gods of uncertain number and identity. Originally six or seven, the number after- wards increased to twelve as representing the sun in the twelve months. They are solar gods born in the Truth, their home, and descended into the lower planes as the guardians and increasers of the Truth in man, leading him by the Truth to felicity and immortality. (Dow.;A-ll:467) Var: Adityah;

Aditians (in poetry) a 5:545 10:181, 439, 444, 446 11: 44, 143, 307, 467, 494 13: 349, 364 XIII: 62 XVI: 133, 144, 175 XVII: 25

Admetus in Greek legend, Thessalian king whom Apollo, banished from Olympus, served as a shepherd. He was the king of the Pherae and husband of ALCESTIS. In Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, he is wounded by Penthesilea. (Col. Enc.; M.I.) 5:515

Adonais a poem (1821) by P. B. Shelley, written on the occasion of the death of John Keats; it is cast in the form of a classical elegy. (Enc. Br.) 9:127

Adrianople former name of Edirne, a city in European Turkey at the junction of the Tunca and Maritsa rivers near the borders of Greece and Bulgaria. Because of its strategic position, it has had a turbulent history. During the First Balkan War in 1913 it was taken by the Bulgarians. Retaken by the Turks, it was captured by the Greeks in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence and was finally restored to Turkey in 1922. (Enc. Br.) XX: 148 XXI: 66, 71, 92-94

Adriatic a northward thrusting arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian and Balkan peninsulas, a 15:505 (Advisory) Council of Notables or (Board of) Notables. Set up in 1907 as a sort of medium of communication between the government and the people, it was one of the three reforms introduced by Mr. Morley, the Secretary of State for India. It consisted of Rajahs and Maharajahs, and pro-British Moderate leaders. (A) 1:414-15, 449-51, 455, 570, 624, 705, 818, 824-25 2: 305

Advocate English bi-weekly journal published from Lucknow, U.P. It was founded by Rai Bahadur Gangaprasad Varma in 1888 and edited by R. N. Varma. (Cal. Lib.) Q 1:891-92 A. E. pen name of George William Russell (1867-1935), Irish poet and mystic, and a leading figure in the renascence of Irish literature that took place in the early twentieth century. He was an active participant in the Irish nationalist movement, both in its political and cultural aspects. (Enc. Br.;Col.Enc.)9:2-3, 157.165, 175, 187, 196, 203, 229, 252, 370-71, 444, 532, 534, 26:255, 270, 272-73, 329 Aeacid(s) in Greek legend, son(s) of Aeacus, who was the son of Zeus and Aegina. Peleus, Achilles’ father, was one of the Aeacids. (M.I.) a 5:440, 465, 473, 479

Aegean an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Asia Minor. D5 : 145, 391, 405, 414, 434, 454, 468-69, 476, 481, 486 6:174, 418 9: 149 XXI: 66

Aegisthus in Greek legend, son of Thyestes. He survived the murder of his brothers, and killed his uncle Atreus. He then became the lover of Clytemnestra and helped her to kill her husband Agamemnon. In revenge for this deed Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, killed him. (Col. Enc.) 8:409-10

Aeneas in classical legend, one of the leading Trojan princes, son of Anchises and Aphrodite, and father of Ascanius (who does not figure in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion). After the fall of Troy he escaped with his aged father on his back. He went to Italy where his descendants founded Rome. The deeds of the "pious" Aeneas are the substance of Virgil’s Aeneid. (M.I.; Col. Enc.) 5:382, 385, 397-99, 402-03, 412, 417-19, 427, 440, 442-44, 446, 450, 457-61, 465, 468, 470, 488, 493, 503 9:374 22:451

Aeneid a Latin epic written . 29-19 BC by Virgil to glorify the origins of Rome. Although unfinished, the twelve books of this epic comprise one of the greatest long poems in any literature. The adventures of the "pious" Aeneas, whose descendants founded Rome, are its theme. (Enc. Br.; CoI.Enc.) 3:174 5:361 9:76 26:339

Aeolia the land of the Aeolians, one of the principal ancient Greek peoples; in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, the term would seem to signify Greece in general and not to be restricted to the territory on the northwest coast of Asia Minor known historically as Aeolia or Aeolis, which was settled by the Aeolians mainly after the fall of Troy. (M.I.) 5:476

Aeolus name of two figures in Greek mythology. (1) Aeolus, a mythical king of Magnesia in Thessaly, was the son of Hellen (the eponymous ancestor of the Hellenes) and father of Sisyphus. Aeolus was the founder of the Aeolian branch of the Greek people. (2) In the works of Homer, Aeolus was the controller of the winds and ruler of the floating island of Aeolia. Although a human in Homer, Aeolus later became a minor god. (Enc. Br.) 5:181, 476 Aeschylus (525/524-456/455 Be), Athenian tragic poet, the first of the three great Greek writers of tragedy. He wrote perhaps ninety plays, of which seven survive in full. He is considered to be the real inventor of tragedy. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) Der: Aeschylean a 3:150, 177 9:68, 82, 152, 304-06, 311-12, 379, 521-22, 530 14:192 29:751, 814 X:114 XVII: 55

Aeson in Greek legend, father of Jason. He was driven out from his kingdom by his brother Pelian. One legend says that he died while Jason was seeking the Golden Fleece. Another says that, after Jason’s return, Aesons’s youth was restored by MEDEA. She cut his body into pieces which she threw into her cauldron, and out of it emerged Aeson rejuvenated. (Col. Enc.) 17:108 Aesthetic a philosophy of aesthetics by Benedetto Croce, published in 1922. (Enc. Br.) 9:485-86

Aetes in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, a Hellene, father of Echemus. (M.I.) 5:518

Aethiopes a dark-skinned race living, according to Homer, far away by the stream Oceanus. (O.C.C.L.) 8:409

Aethon name given by Sri Aurobindo to one of the speakers in his poem Songs to Myrtilla. It is a name of the sort that occurs in Greek bucolic poetry, 5:1, 3, 5

Aetna (or Etna), a volcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy. It is the highest active volcano in Europe. See also Enceladus. (CoI.Enc.) 5:494

Aetolia region of ancient Greece, north of the Gulf of Corinth and the Gulf of Calydon, and

east of the Achelous river (which separates it from Acarnania). (Col. Enc.) n 5:488

Aetor in Sri Aurobindo’ s //(‘on, a Troj an senator, brother of Antenor. (M.I.) D 5:412, 431, 461

Afghan 1. of Afghanistan. 2. a generic term \ used to denote the many hill tribes who inhabit not only Afghanistan but also the northwest frontiers of Pakistan. (D.I.H.) D 3:198 5:283 14:223

Afghanistan country of central Asia, lying on the northwestern frontier of Pakistan. D 1:261, 527 2:248-49 10:554 17:278 27:122

Afrasiab Afrasiyab (d. 1624/25), Iraqi governor of Basra. (Enc. Br.) 3:475

Africa second largest continent (with adjacent islands) in the world, lying across the equator mainly in the northern hemi- sphere. Var: Afric (poetic form) Der:

African 1:132, 259, 814-15 2:167, 169, 216-17 3:307 5:176, 419, 596 6:344, 431-32 14:367 15:44, 46, 79, 296, 300-01, 303, 328, 332-33, 346, 367, 378, 407-08, 411, 414, 454, 467, 502, 505, 584, 604, 619, 622, 626, 633, 638 16:200 17:298 20:9 22:490 23:675 24:1731 25:360 26:129 111:25-26 VI: 195 VIII: 134 IX: 33 XIV: 117 XVI: 142

Afridi a Pathan tribe inhabiting the hill country from the eastern spurs of Safed Koh to the borders of the Peshawar district (now in Pakistan). The Afridis often raided the trading caravans in the Khyber Pass and the villages roundabout. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Great Britain dispatched numerous military expeditions to suppress them. (Enc.Br.) 1:777

Aftab a nationalist journal of North India. It was started at Delhi by Haider Raza (or Riza) in 1906 and was conducted on very extreme lines. It stopped publication in 1908. (P.T.I.) 1:262 A. G. initials of Aurobindo Ghose, Sri Aurobindo’s original name after he dropped "Ackroyd" from the name given by his father. Some of Sri Aurobindo’s letters written from Pondicherry before 1920 were signed with these initials, and during the same period his associates sometimes called him "A.G." Later Sri Aurobindo discarded these initials. (A) [Indexed with "Sri Aurobindo"]

Agadir the southernmost Atlantic port of Morocco; capital of Agadir province. (Enc. Br.) 15:367

Aga Khan, the title of the religious head of the Borah Ismailian community of the Mahomedans in India, East Africa and Central Asia. Here the reference is to the Aga Khan III, formerly Sultan Sir Mohammad Shah (1877-1957); Member of the Viceroy’s Council, 1902-04; founder of the Muslim University at Aligarh, 1910-20; leader of the Indian Delegation to the League of Nations, 1934-37; President of the League of Nations Assembly, 1937. He wrote his Memoirs in 1954. (D.I.H.; Enc. Br.; Gilbert, p. 26) 1:207

Agamedes in Greek mythology, king of Orchomenus in Boeotia. He and his stepbrother were skilled constructors of underground shrines and treasure houses. (Enc. Br.) a IV: 148

Agamemnon in Greek legend, the eldest son of ATREUS and brother of Menelaus; king of Mycenae and Argos. He was the leader of the Greek armies in the Trojan War. His quarrel with Achilles is a main theme of the Iliad. On his return from Troy, he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her paramour Aegisthus; his death was avenged by his children Electra and Orestes. (M.I.; Col. Enc.) 5: 397, 400, 402, 420, 434, 463, 472, 475, 479-80, 482-84, 486, 491, 509 27:150 II: 26 IV: 148

Agamemnon title of a tragedy by Aeschylus. (Enc. Br.) a 9:9

Agamemnonid an epithet of ORESTES’ (son of Agamemnon). (A) a 8:409

Agarkar Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856-95), eminent social-reform leader of Maharashtra, India, who worked for some time with B. G. Tilak. He was a great intellectual and also an author. Appreciative of the good qualities of British rule, he advocated the constitutional approach as the only means to attain self- rule. (A;B.A.C.;D.N.B.) 17:350

Agastya a Vedic sage; reputed author of several hymns in the Rig-veda. Legendary tales about him are frequently found in later literature. (V.Index; Dow.) 4:30 10:241-44, 256-61, 270 17:277-78 XV: 53

Agastya Shastras works traditionally attributed to the Vedic Rishi Agastya. In the opinion of Sri Aurobindo they belong to a much later date, being written in classical Sanskrit of a fairly modern type. (A) 17:278

Agathon (c. 445-400 ac), an Athenian tragic poet whose first success at the festival of the Great Dionysia was made by Plato the occasion for his dialogue Symposium; the banquet which is the setting of the dialogue is placed in Agathon’s house. (Enc. Br.) D 11:6-7 Agis Agis I, Agis II, Agis III, and Agis IV were Spartan kings in the 3rd and 4th centuries BC. (Enc. Br.) IV: 148

Aglauron in Sri Aurobindo’s llion, a chief of the Dolopes, slain in the battle by Sambus. (M.I.) 5:516

Agnayi spouse of the Hindu god Agni, known as Sudarsana, daughter of the powerful king (Nila) of a country in the south called Mahismatipura. (Pur. Enc., p. 11 under Agni) XV: 29

Agni Fire or Flame; the god of Fire; psychologically, the divine Will, perfectly inspired by divine Wisdom, and indeed one with it, which is the active and effective power of the Truth-Consciousness. Agni is one of the chief deities of the Vedas and a great number of the hymns are addressed to him, more hymns in fact than to any other god. He is considered as the mediator between men and gods, carrying our offerings to them and returning with their force and light and joy. In the Rig-veda he is sometimes identified with Rudra, the forerunner of the later god Shiva. Agni is represented as having seven tongues, each with a distinct name. In the Puranas, where Agni plays a subordinate role, he is de- scribed variously. (A; I & G; Dow.; M.I.-Aug.’80) Var: Agnidevata; Agni Jatavedas (the knower of all births); Agni Pawak (the purifying fire; the psychic fire);

Agni Twashta (as the Framer or Fashioner of things); Agni Vaishwanara (as the universal in Man or universal Power; the heat that digests food), l-l (Note: The term Agni in the ordinary sense of "fire" has not been indexed even if it begins with a capital "A".) 4: 21, 23, 26-29, 31-33, 36, 39, 43, 373 5:237 9:200, 208, 36210:4-5, 19, 40, 48, 52-66, 73, 86, 89-92, 98, 101, 103, 106-08, 110-17.128, 130. 135-37, 139-42, 146, 152-61, 163, 179-81, 185, 191-92, 194-202, 205, 210-11, 216-17, 221, 231, 234-35, 238, 242-43, 256, 263-65, 267-71, 274, 282, 285.297-98, 300, 319, 321, 326, 333-35, 341-42, 348-49, 353-54, 358-60, 362-65, 367, 370-71, 373, 376.378-79, 381, 384, 386, 388, 390-95, 397, 399, 401, 403, 405, 407-12, 414, 416-17, 419-20, 425-26, 429, 432, 438, 440-41, 445, 447, 457-58, 520, 533-34, 539 11:9-10, 13, 16, 18, 22, 30, 32, 40, 43-49, 75, 77-78, 105, 130, 156, 162, 173, 238, 242, 264, 439-40, 442-43, 445-47, 453-60, 462-66, 470, 474-83, 485-92, 494-501 12: 68, 72, 120, 128-30, 132, 148, 150, 158, 160, 216-19, 240-41 , 250, 255, 322, 334, 472- 73 13:112, 272, 349, 374 14:263 16:255,

337, 346, 350, 352-53, 429 17:113, 257, 339-40, 342 18:155, 198, 392 19:657, 964, 1015 20: 157 22:110, 215, 482 26:243 27:158, 187, 189-91, 193-96, 327 29:789 1:17 11:35-36 111:38, 44, 48-53, 56 IV: 125-54 V: 27, 31-37, 68-69, 81 VI: 147-52, 182 VII: 32-34, 39-40 VIII: 143-44, 153-54, 160, 173 IX: 9-11 X: 178 XII: 126, 130 XIV: 108-10, 114, 120, 125-26, 130, 132, 138 XV: 6-11, 13-15, 20, 27-29, 47, 49-51, 58 XVI: 138, 143, 157, 175-76 XVII: 14, 33, 44, 47 XVIII: 156, 167, 181 XX: 116 XXI: 20 Agni a poem by K. D. Sethna, composed on 14 March 1937; it is an example of imaged spiritual poetry, n 26:286 Agnimitra a character – king of Vidisha, son of Puspamitra who was Commander-in-chief and afterwards supplanter of the Maurya Dynasty in Vidisha – in Kalidasa’s play Mdlavikdgnimitram, part of which was translated by Sri Aurobindo (see Malavica and the King). Historically, Agnimitra was the second king of the Sunga dynasty in India, and ascended the throne in 155 BC. Even during the lifetime of his father, Commander Puspamitra, Agnimitra was looking after and controlling the administration of the country. (A; H.V.K.) 3: 215, 231, 263, 273-74 8: 135, 144-54 X:116, 124-32, 134, 136-37, 139-40, 145, 155-56 Agnimitra See Malavica (and the King) AgniPavaka a VedicRishi. 11:431 AgniPurana one of the eighteen major Puranas; it derives its name from its having been communicated originally by Agni, the deity of fire, to Vasishtha. It is devoted to the glorification of Shiva, but its contents are of a very varied and cyclopaedical character, and are variously specified as "sixteen thousand, fifteen thousand, and fourteen thousand stanzas". (Dow.) 4:53 Agni Sauchika a VedicRishi. 11:405, 412 Agra administrative headquarters of Agra district and division in the United Provinces (now called Uttar Pradesh), India, on the Yamuna (or Jumna) River. It is best known as the site of the Taj Mahal. (Enc. Br.) 1:702 2:62, 226, 408 3:422 4:250 5:283, 285-88, 290, 292 7:749

Agrippa, Marcus Vipsanius (c. 63-12 Be), powerful deputy of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Of low birth, he had become the companion of Octavian (later Augustus), the adoptive son of Julius Caesar, by the time Caesar was murdered in 44 BC. In the ensuing struggle for power, Agrippa was one of Augustus’ key commanders. He suppressed rebellions, founded colonies, and administered various parts of the empire. He helped Augustus to defeat Antony at Actium in 31 BC. (Enc. Br.) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]

Ahalya wife of Rishi Gautama; a very beautiful woman. She was seduced by Indra, who had to suffer for his adultery. (Dow.) 3:427 7:933

Ahana in SriAurobindo’spoemA/iana, the Dawn of God personified. (Auro-II) a 5:523, 535, 537, 539-45, 549, 552-53 XVII: 45 Ahana a poem by Sri Aurobindo, originally (at one stage) of 172 lines, first published in Ahana and Other Poems in 1915; it was a revised and enlarged version of the last 160 lines of The Descent of Ahana, the title of an earlier draft. This version of 172 lines was further revised and enlarged to 520 lines before being published in Collected Poems and Plays in 1942. Volume 5 of Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library includes two versions, the first draft (The Descent of Ahana) and the revised and enlarged Ahana of 520 lines. (I&G) a 5:551-53 9:400 22: 207 26:276 II: 27, 31-33

Ahana and Other Poems a collection of 25 poems of Sri Aurobindo published from Pondicherryinl915. (I&G) n 26:264 (referred to here simply as "Ahana") II: 27

Ahites in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, Helenus’ henchman, slain in the battle by Echemus. VI: 135

Ahi Vritra same as VRITRA.

Ahmed See Asanuddin (Ahmed).

Ahmedabad largest city of Gujurat state, west central India, north of Bombay and located on the Sabarmati River; also the district containing this city. (Enc. Br.) D 1:247, 646 4:199 26:25, 49, 382 1:71 XIII: 51 XV: 64

Ahriman also called Angra Mainyu, "Destructive Spirit" of the AVESTA; one of the two great primeval powers of the universe in Zoroastrian mythology (the other is AHURA MAZDA). As the god of darkness and evil in the dualistic doctrine of Zoroastrianism he manifested nothingness,

vacuum, destruction, darkness and doom. (Enc.Br.;Col.Enc.) 13:41, 163 16:133, 179 18:397 27:263 XV: 5

Ahuk in the Mahabharata, another name of Ugrasena of the Yadava line. He had a hundred sons. 8:30, 41, 43

Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrian religion, the supreme deity and creator of the world, "the Lord of Wisdom". He is one of the two great primeval powers of the universe, the other being AHRIMAN. Ahura Mazda manifested expansion, creativity, light and life. (Col. Enc.;Web.) Var: Ahuramazda; Ormuzd (Ormazd-Web.) a 6:374 7:1087 10: 153, 470 13: 41, 163 16: 133, 179 17: 299 18: 397 27: 263 XV: 5

Aiamos misreading of "Adamas", in Sri Aurobindo’s llion, the name of a Trojan warrior, called a "son of the Northwind". (M.I.) 5:461

Airavata in Hindu mythology, "a fine elephant" produced at the churning of the ocean, and appropriated by the god Indra. (Dow.) Var:Iravath 8:196 13:349

Aitareya (Upanishad) an Upanishad of the Rig-veda. (Up. K.) 10:249 12:56-57, 134, 175, 355, 393 16:261 20:6 27:211, 308 IV: 167 V:97 VIII: 181 XIII: 57 XVII: 33 XVIII: 156

Aiyar a character, representing Subramaniya Aiyar, in "The Slaying of Congress", a tragedy published in Bande Mataram’ (Feb. 1908). Var:Aiyer 1:674-78, 681, 693

Aiyar, Krishnaswamy V. Krishnaswami Aiyar, Moderate leader of Madras, and a successful lawyer who was elevated to the Bench in 1909. (Auro-I;A) Var: Krishna . Swami Aiyar a 1:246, 593 2:251, 309

Aiyar, Subramaniya G. Subramania lyer (1855-1916), jurist, patriot, and social reformer. He founded The Hindu in 1878 in collaboration with a few close friends. Though a leader of the Moderates, he valued the work of the Extremists. In July 1908 he was arrested for advocating Swaraj and supporting the Swadeshi movement, but the case was withdrawn soon after. (D.N.B.) 1:112

Aiyar, T. Paramasiva author of The Riks. 0 10:27, 29

Aiyar, V.V.S. Varahaneri Venkatesa Subramanya lyer (1881-1925), a revolutionary closely associated

with Sri Aurobindo and Subramania Bharati at Pondicherry where he stayed for 10 years (1910-20). Even though engaged in revolutionary activities, he found time for literary work also. He was a successful writer in Tamil and a keen student of Kamban and Valluvar. The modern short story in Tamil was originated by him. (D.N.B.; Gaz.-II) 17:319 27:469 XXI: 6 (by "A" very probably "Aiyar, V.V.S. "is meant -Purani, p. 149)

Aiyer See Aiyar Aja in Kalidasa’s epic Raghuvansa, a king who was chosen as husband by Indumati at hersvayamvara. 3:427 IV: 148 Ajamede a character – Prince of Mathura, a fugitive in the mountains – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Prince of Mathura. Compare the historical personality Ajamida. 07:891, 898

Ajamida an Indian king of the Lunar race. (M.N.) 3:195 IV: 148 Ajanta Ajanta Caves; Buddhist rock-cut cave temples and monasteries, near Ajanta village in Aurangabad district (Maharastra state, western India), celebrated for their wall paintings, frescoes which represent the highest development of the art of fresco- painting in India, and depict scenes from the life of the Buddha. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) Der: Ajantesque a 9:537 14:239-41, 244, 247, 250-52 17:302-03 26:243 29:789 Ajatashatr(o)u mentioned in the Upanishads, the name of a king of Kashi. He was very learned and, although a Kshatriya, he instructed the proud Brahmana Gargyabalaki as to the real nature of the Self. (He is not to be confused with the Ajatashatru of the Buddhist texts.) (Dow.; V. Index) 2:29 14:275, 280 16:412 VI: 175 VIII: 179, 181 XIV: 124, 133 Ajax1 in Greek legend, son of Oileus and leader of the forces from Locris in the Trojan War. He was called the Locrian Ajax or Ajax the Lesser. (Col. Enc.; M.I.) 5:439, 442-43, 454, 459, 470, 477-78, 480, 486, 508

Ajax2 in Greek legend, son of Telamon, called therefore the Telamonian Ajax. Because of his enormous size and reckless valour he was also called Ajax the Greater. He was the leader of the warriors of Salamis, and is already slain by Penthesilea at the opening of Sri Aurobindo’s epic llion.(Col.Enc.;M.I.) 5:404, 408, 413, 427, 466, 480

Ajebee a character – nephew of Almuene in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. 0 7:561, 574-76, 623-29, 642-44, 647-52, 655-56, 658-61, 664, 671, 710-11, 713, 717, 732-34

Ajit Singh, Sirdar ( ? – 1947), a nationalist orator, leader of the movement in Punjab against increase of land-revenue and irrigation rules, and a founder of the "Indian Patriots’ Association". He was deported to Mandalay (Burma) in 1907, a week before Lala Lajpatrai, on the mere suspicion of

tampering with the native troops. (D. N. B.; H.F.M.I.; N.S.I.) 1:279, 325, 338, 364-65, 400, 420, 482, 522, 607, 612

Ajmere The princely state of Ajmer, in northwestern India, comprised two detached areas surrounded by Rajasthan; it was identical with the former British province of Ajmer-Merwara. In 1956 Ajmer became a part of the state of Rajasthan in the Republic of India. The city of Ajmer, former capital of the princely state, is presently the administrative headquarters of Ajmer district in Rajasthan state. This famous city is the third largest city of Rajasthan. (Enc. Ind.; Enc. Br.) 7:739, 741-42, 797 111:86

Ajwa a picnic spot about 12 miles from Baroda, near a reservoir that supplies water to the city. (A) 1:69, 71-72, 75

Akashic records or akdsa-lipi ("Akashic" is an adjective from the Sanskrit dkdsa meaning all-pervading medium similar to ether), the enduring trace of all events that have ever occurred including even thought, idea and emotion, said to be preserved in the astral light. Numerous occult versions of history have been based on the "observation" of this record by seers who claim to have penetrated the astral plane. (Enc. Unex.) 21:863 XIII: 27, 33

Akbar (1542-1605), the third Moghul emperor (1556-1605) and real founder of the Moghul empire and dynasty in India. (D. I. H.; Enc.Br.) 1:315, 739, 780 3:1764:147, 156 14:224, 377, 379 15:436 17:193 27:67

Akenside, Mark (1721-70), English poet and physician, best known for his poem The Pleasures of Imagination. (Enc. Br.) a II:11-15

Aksha in the Ramayana, the eldest son of Ravana, slain in battle by Hanuman. (Dow.) a V:6, ll

Alabama a state in southeastern U.S.A., admitted to the Union in 1819 as the 22nd state. (Col. Enc.) 9:152

Alacananda one of the four head-streams of the river Ganga in the Himalayas. According to the Vaishnavas it is the terrestrial Ganga which Shiva received upon his head as it fell from heaven. The famous shrine of Badrinath is situated on the banks of this stream. (Dow.; R. Map) 29:422

Alaciel a character – the Witch – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Witch ofllni. 7:1057, 1060-65, 1067-68, 1074-81

Aladdin the main character of the story "Aladin and the Wonderful Lamp" in The Arabian Nights

Entertainment. o 1:3 26:13

Alaka in Hindu mythology, name of the ethereal city on the golden mountain "Sumeru"; capital of KUVERA and abode of the Gandharvas and Yakshas. (A; Dow.) Var: Ullaca 3:294 27:159 X: 143-44

Alakadhari A letter from him was found during the search of Sri Aurobindo’s residence in 1908, and it was read out aloud by Mr. Cregan to amuse himself. (A) 4:259

Alanschar a character, a daydreamer, in a story of The Arabian Nights Entertainment. a 1:206

Alaric Alaric I (c. 370-410), chief of the Visigoths (a Germanic tribe) from AD 395 and leader of the army that sacked Rome in August 410. To many of his contemporaries the event symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Although Alaric won great fame as a conqueror, Roman historical sources offer only meagre and inconsistent judgments of his character; they do not, however, seem to regard him as a mere "rude barbarian". (Enc.Br.) VI: 186

Alastor or The Spirit of Solitude, a poem (1816) by P. B. Shelley; it is an immature work which met with little favour. (Col. Enc.; Enc. Br.) 9:127

Alban See Albany

Albanact a character – a son of Brutus, and Prince of Albany – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The House of Brut. 7:883, 885

Albania a small country in southeastern Europe, on the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula, between Yugoslavia (north) and Greece (south). It was occupied by Italy and Germany from 1939 to 1944. (Enc. Br.; Web.) Der: Albanian D 15:295, 328 XXI: 71 XXII: 138

Albany and Alban are ancient poetic names of Gaelic origin for the northern part of Britain. (Ox. Comp.) D 7:883, 886-87

Albert Hall a public lecture hall in central Calcutta. It served as a forum of the NATIONALIST PARTY. 0 2:226 27:44

Alcaeus (c. 620-580 ec), Greek lyric poet and contemporary of Sappho, whose work was highly esteemed in the ancient world. Nothing of his work (a collection of poems in ten books, made in the 2nd century BC)

Alsatian inhabitant of Alsatia or Alsace, a region in France which was re-ceded by Germany to France in 1919. (C.O.D.) a 15:291, 299, 310

Alt-Breisach Breisach is a town in Baden- Wiirttemberg Land (state), southwestern West Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine opposite Neuf-Brisach. (Enc. Br.) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]

Alurca a character – King Vuthsa’s friend and companion – in Sri Aurobindo’s play Vasavadutta. n 6:207, 217-18, 226-29, 231-32, 236-37, 243-44, 302, 321-22, 324, 329 Alwar(s) (Alvar, in the Tamil language, means a man who has intuitive knowledge of God), a group of South Indian mystics who (7th-10th cent.) wandered from temple to temple singing ecstatic hymns in adoration of the god Vishnu; their songs rank among the world’s greatest devotional literature. The most famous of the Alvars was Nammalwar. (Enc.Br.) 14:256, 316, 321 17:371-74 18:485

Alzayni Mahomed bin Suleyman of Zayni, a character – Haroun’s cousin, King of Bassora - in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. 7:561, 606, 614, 621, 665-69, 710-15, 724-31, 733-34

Amadeus, Victor See Victor Amadeus

Amara Amarakosha, "the immortal vocabulary" (amara means "immortal" in Sanskrit), or "the vocabulary of Amara or Amara Singh", after the author’s name; one of the most celebrated vocabularies of classical Sanskrit, written in verse. (Dow.) n 3:315, 318

Amaravati an ancient city in Guntur dis- trict of Andhra Pradesh state, India, which became a centre of Hindu culture under the Satyavahana dynasty, which ruled in the Deccan for about four centuries after the death of Asoka. Amaravati is famous for relief sculptures that survive from its great Buddhist shrine. A new and purely in- digenous school of art, architecture and sculpture developed in Amaravati; it may have preceded the Mathura and Gandhara schools but is, in any case, free from all trace of Greek influence. (D.I.H.) n 17:303

Amamath a mountain cave in northeast Kashmir where, according to Hindu myth- ology, Lord Shiva stayed for some time. Water trickling down from the roof of the cave forms a stalagmite of ice in the shape of a Shivalinga. This, it is said, increases and decreases in size with the phases of the moon. Amarnath is an important place of Hindu pilgrimage. (N.B.A., p. 1378) a VI: 164 Amarus in Sri Aurobindo’s Won, father of Phoces. (A) VI: 135

Amaryllis name given to a shepherdess in bucolic poetry, first by Theocritus, later by Virgil and Ovid. Spenser, in his "Colin Clouts come home again" used the name to signify Alice, one of the daughters of Sir John Spencer ofAlthorpe. Milton used the name in Lycidas. (Ox. Comp.) a 29:759

Amazon in Greek legend, one of a tribe of women warriors who allowed no men in their country (in Asia Minor), and spent their time in hunting and warfare. (Col. Enc.) 5:514, 516 7:859, 909.991-92

Amazulu apparently, another form of "Zulu", a great Bantu nation of southeastern Africa. (Web.) 111:29

Ambariya a town in Mymensingh district of Bengal (now in Bangladesh), 1:319

Ambedkar, Dr. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1893-1956), leader of the Indian scheduled castes (or Harijans, the term coined by Mahatma Gandhi for low-caste Hindus); Law Minister of the Government of India (1947-51). (Enc.Br.) 22:140

Ambegavkar one of the persons who one day accompanied Sri Aurobindo to the Dal Lake during his Kashmir visit in 1903. (A) IV: 194

Amber a town in Rajputana; in the 12th century the capital of the state of the Kachwaha Rajputs (warrior rulers of the historic region of Rajputana). It continued to be a political centre for 600 years. Present- ly Amber is a town in Jaipur district of Rajasthan state in the Republic of India. (Enc. Br.) a l: 520

Ambika Babu See Majumdar, Ambikacharan

Ameena a character – wife of Alfazzal Ibn Sawy – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. D 7:561, 586-89, 595-97, 600-01, 603, 609-18, 621-22, 715, 719-20, 732-33

America the lands of the Western Hemisphere – North America, Central America and South America. In the English language "America" and "American" are frequently used to refer only to the United States and its people. (Col. Enc.) Der:

American; Americanism, AmericanisationI: 23, 30-31, 39, 48, 104-05, 127, 230, 259-60, 333, 379, 456, 467, 472, 501-03, 507, 526, 567, 574, 601, 615, 618, 814, 842 2: 33, 122-23, 128, 171, 216-18, 372, 385, 390, 397 3:345, 350, 447, 454 11

University is located here. (Enc. Br.) a 26:411

Aligattas name of a person mentioned by Therops in Sri Aurobindo’s play Perseus the Deliverer. (A) n 6:148

All Imam Sir Ali Imam (1869-1932) of Patna, Bihar (India), knighted in 1910. His political activities commenced around 1908. In the beginning he supported the scheme of separate electorates. But subsequently he became convinced that separate electorates were not only a negation of Indian nation- alism but also positively harmful to Muslims themselves. (D.N.B.) 2:246 Alipore town and headquarters of 24-Parganas district in Bengal (now West Bengal state). It is a southern suburb of Calcutta included within the city muni- cipality. (Enc. Br.) Var: Alipur 1:83, 124, 906 2: pre., 1-3, 65, 79, 113, 151, 172, 283, 287, 314, 353-54, 366, 375 3:85 4: pre., 175, 178, 251, 257, 264, 267-69, 271, 273-74, 283, 287-88, 300-01, 303, 313 26: 33, 42-43, 52-53, 59, 64, 66-67, 225, 227, 355, 436 27:349, 435, 489 VII: 1, 5, 11, 17, 23 XVII: 68, 69 XXI: 33

Alkhasib name of the contemporary Egyptian Vizier mentioned by Alzayni in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. 7:665

Allah standard Arabic word for God, used by Arabic-speaking Christians as well as by Muslims. In Islam, Allah is the unique Deity, creator, judge and rewarder, omni- potent and all-merciful. (Enc. Br.) 1:211 2:84 5:277 7:570, 574, 622, 674-82, 684-86, 693, 695-96, 699, 727, 730 15:425 22:502 27:263, 317 1:41 IX: 26

Allahabad a city, administrative head- quarters of Allahabad district and divi- sion in Uttar Pradesh (formerly known as United Provinces), northern India, at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. It is a place of Hindu pilgrimage and an educational centre. It has also been an important centre of political activity, esp. of the Congress, and was the venue of the Congress sessions of 1888, 1892 and 1910. (Enc.Br.;D.I.H.) 1:228, 232-33, 262, 370, 648, 702, 747, 809, 820, 824-26, 870, 877-78, 890, 897, 899-900 2:80, 237 4:178, 240 27:42 Alien affair attempted murder, towards the end of 1907, of B. C. Alien, I.C.S., who had just handed over charge of the office of District Magistrate of Dacca. He was shot on the platform of Goalundo station and severely wounded. His assailants got away and were never brought to justice. According to James Campbell Ker, the attempt was the work of Anusilan Samiti. (P.T.I.) D 1:829 All Was His title of a poem (in free verse) published in the American journal Poetry, and quoted from or reproduced in the second number of Shama ‘a that was reviewed by

 Sri Aurobindo inArya. (A) a 17:321

Almaimun variant of ALNUMAN .

Almora a city, administrative headquarters of Almora district in Uttar Pradesh (formerly known as United Provinces), northern India, on a ridge of the Himalayan foothills. It is a centre of the Ramakrishna Mission. (Enc. Br.) 26:42

Almuene (bin Khakan) also called simply Muene, a character – the second Vizier of Alfazzzal Ibn Sawy – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. 7:561, 564-72, 579-84, 599, 615, 624-25, 659-64, 667-69, 702, 706-18, 724-25, 727, 730-31, 733-35

Ainuman a fictional female name used by Sri Aurobindo in his poem Khaled of the Sea. Var: Almaimun 5:261, 263, 270, 272, 274

Aloyse Abelard a character – Stephen’s daughter and wife of Dr. Armand Sieurcaye - in Sri Aurobindo’s story "The Door at Abelard". a7:1025, 1027-28, 1036, 1038, 1040, 1042-44

Alps great mountain system of south central Europe, extending about 750 miles from the Mediterranean Sea to Vienna. (Enc. Br.) Der: Alpine 7:843, 870 V:92

Alpt perhaps the abbreviation of the name of a person in Pondicherry. D XXII: 177

Alrasheed See Haroun (al Rasheed)

Alsace historic region and former province of eastern prance, along the Rhine border with Germany. It corresponds to the modern departments of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin and the Territoire de Belfort. With Lorraine (see Alsace-Lorraine) it was often disputed between France and Germany. (Col. Enc.; Enc.Br.) 15:291, 293, 410, 505

Alsace-Lorraine Alsace and part of Lorraine called the "imperial land" (Reichsland), which was held in common by all German states from 1871 until 1919 when it was returned to France after World War I. Alsace-Lorraine became the chief rallying force for French nationalism and was a major incentive in the armaments race that led to the First World War. (Col. Enc.) a 15:375, 410 27:466

Alsatian inhabitant of Alsatia or Alsace, a region in France which was re-ceded by Germany to France in 1919. (C.O.D.) n 15:291, 299, 310

Alt-Breisach Breisach is a town in Baden- Wurttemberg Land (state), southwestern West Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine opposite Neuf-Brisach. (Enc. Br.) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]

Alurca a character – King Vuthsa’s friend and companion in Sri Aurobindo’s play Vasavadutta. 6:207, 217-18, 226-29, 231-32, 236-37, 243-44, 302, 321-22, 324, 329 Alwar(s) (Alvar, in the Tamil language, means a man who has intuitive knowledge of God), a group of South Indian mystics who (7th-10th cent.) wandered from temple to temple singing ecstatic hymns in adoration of the god Vishnu; their songs rank among the world’s greatest devotional literature. The most famous of the Alvars was Nammalwar. (Enc.Br.) 14:256, 316, 321 17:371-74 18:485

Alzayni Mahomed bin Suleyman of Zayni, a character – Haroun’s cousin. King of Bassora – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. 7:561, 606, 614, 621, 665-69, 710-15, 724-31, 733-34 Amadeus, Victor See Victor Amadeus

Amara Amarakosha, "the immortal vocabulary" (amara means "immortal" in Sanskrit), or "the vocabulary of Amara or Amara Singh", after the author’s name; one of the most celebrated vocabularies of classical Sanskrit, written in verse. (Dow.) 3:315, 318

Amaravati an ancient city in Guntur dis- trict of Andhra Pradesh state, India, which became a centre of Hindu culture under the Satyavahana dynasty, which ruled in the Deccan for about four centuries after the death of Asoka. Amaravati is famous for relief sculptures that survive from its great Buddhist shrine. A new and purely in- digenous school of art, architecture and sculpture developed in Amaravati; it may have preceded the Mathura and Gandhara schools but is, in any case, free from all trace of Greek influence. (D.I.H.) a 17:303

Amamath a mountain cave in northeast Kashmir where, according to Hindu myth- ology, Lord Shiva stayed for some time. Water trickling down from the roof of the cave forms a stalagmite of ice in the shape of a Shivalinga. This, it is said, increases and decreases in size with the phases of the

moon. Amarnath is an important place of Hindu pilgrimage. (N.B.A., p. 1378) VI: 164

Amarus in Sri Aurobindo’s I lion, father of Phoces. (A) VI: 135

Amaryllis name given to a shepherdess in bucolic poetry, first by Theocritus, later by Virgil and Ovid. Spenser, in his "Colin Clouts come home again" used the name to signify Alice, one of the daughters of Sir John Spencer of Althorpe. Milton used the name in Lycidas. (Ox. Comp.) 29:759

Amazon in Greek legend, one of a tribe of women warriors who allowed no men in their country (in Asia Minor) and spent their time in hunting and warfare. (Col. Enc.) 5:514, 516 7:859, 909.991-92

Amazulu apparently, another form of "Zulu", a great Bantu nation of southeastern Africa. (Web.) a 111:29

Ambariya a town in Mymensingh district of Bengal (now in Bangladesh), a 1:319

Ambedkar, Dr. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1893-1956), leader of the Indian scheduled castes (or Harijans, the term coined by Mahatma Gandhi for low-caste Hindus); Law Minister of the Government of India (1947-51). (Enc.Br.) 22:140

Ambegavkar one of the persons who one day accompanied Sri Aurobindo to the Dal Lake during his Kashmir visit in 1903. (A) IV: 194

Amber a town in Rajputana; in the 12th century the capital of the state of the Kachwaha Rajputs (warrior rulers of the historic region of Rajputana). It continued to be a political centre for 600 years. Present- ly Amber is a town in Jaipur district of Rajasthan state in the Republic of India. (Enc.Br.)1:520

Ambika Babu See Majumdar, Ambikacharan

Ameena a character – wife of Alfazzal Ibn Sawy – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. 7:561, 586-89, 595-97, 600-01, 603, 609-18, 621-22, 715, 719-20, 732-33

America the lands of the Western Hemisphere – North America, Central America and South America. In the English language "America" and "American" are frequently used to refer only to the United States and its people. (Col. Enc.) Der:

American; Americanism, Americanisation 1:23, 30-31, 39, 48, 104-05, 127, 230, 259-60, 333, 379, 456, 467, 472, 501-03, 507. 526, 567, 574, 601, 615, 618, 814, 842 2:33, 122-23, 128, 171, 216-18, 372, 385, 390, 397 3:345, 350, 447, 454

4:96, 167, 195, 203-04, 208, 300 7:1039 9:147, 223, 462 10:147 12:496, 500, 502 14:8, 17, 23, 34, 191 15:44, 204, 269, 313, 316, 322, 324, 328, 331-33, 350, 373, 378, 380, 408, 410-11, 418, 444-45, 447, 473, 478, 493-94, 497, 503, 505, 507-09, 523, 537, 559, 566-67, 569, 576, 614, 617, 620, 623, 626, 640, 644, 653 16:310, 312 17:192, 321-22 19:763 22:205, 209, 423, 479, 23:556 24:1298, 1365, 1570 25:230 26:17, 31, 42, 178, 395-96, 398, 403, 406, 413, 416-17 27: 11, 18, 64, 347-48, 456, 469, 501 1:7 II: 75 III: 26 V: 4 VI: 191-92, 199 VIII: 125 IX: 43, 53 XIII: 28. .See also United States (of America).

American War of Independence also known as the American Revolution, the 18th- century struggle of thirteen American colonies to gain independence from Great Britain. The war (1775-83) culminated in victory for the colonies, resulting in the formation of the United States of America. (Enc. Am.; Enc. Br.) I: 567

Americas the two continents of North America (including Central America) and South America, 15:317, 445 Amir Ali, Justice Sayyid Amir Ali (1849-1928), the first Indian to be appointed a judge of the Privy Council in England. He was a Muslim leader who favoured British rule in India as an alternative to possible Hindu domination of an independent India. He was the founding head of the London branch of the All-India Muslim League (1908), and helped secure in 1909 the first communal electorates for his people. Amir Ali remained a conscientious loyalist throughout his life, and when the Muslim League became critical of the government, he resigned. (D.I.H.; Enc. Br.; Wolpert, p. 276; Gordon, p. 66) 1:415 2:246 4:218

Amitabha Buddha the Buddha of "infinite light", and the primary object of faith of Japanese Mahayana Buddhists. In Buddhist legend, he turned away when his spirit was on the threshold of Nirvana and took the vow never to cross it while a single being remained in sorrow and ignorance. (Enc. Br.;A) 7:784, 793 18:40 20:257, 260 22:61, 248

Among the Great a book by Dilip Kumar Roy, .containing records of his conversations and correspondence with five eminent con- temporaries: Remain Rolland, Mahatma Gandhi, Betrand Russell,

Rabindranath Tagore and Sri Aurobindo. First published in 1945, the book has an appendix containing "a brief statement of the principal facts of Sri Aurobindo’s public and merely outward life from an authoritative source". The undisclosed "authoritative source" was Sri Aurobindo himself. (A) XVII: 72 Amours de voyage one of dough’s longer poems, based on a visit to Italy in 1849. It is written in elegiac couplets (hexameters) and was published posthumously. It contains a brilliant assortment of reflections and descriptions. (Enc. Br.; Ox. Comp.) 11:28

Amphitrite in Greek religion, one of the / NEREIDS, queen of the. sea, wife of Poseidon and mother of Triton. (Col. Enc.) a 5:506 6:99

Amraoti a city, administrative headquarters of Amraoti district in Maharashtra state (formerly in C.P.), west-central India, in the Berar region; it was the venue of the Congress session in 1897. (Enc. Br.; D.I.H.) 1:666, 687 2:330 27:42 1:1

Amreli an important part of the former native state of Baroda. Anciently known as Amaravalli, Amreli is now the administrative headquarters of Amreli district in south- western Gujarat state. (Enc. Br.) XV: 74-75 Amrita, K. (1895-1969), a disciple of Sri Aurobindo; after the formation of the Ashram, manager of the institution, and later a member of the Ashram Trust. His former name was Karlapakkam Arava- mudachari. Amrita came to Pondicherry in 1905 for further study. After the arrival of Sri Aurobindo, he gradually became intimate with the inmates of Sri Aurobindo’s house. He had the first darshan of Sri Aurobindo in 1913 on August 15, Sri Aurobindo’s birth- day. During his four years’ stay (1915-19) at Madras for higher studies, the memory of Sri Aurobindo constantly remained with him as a beckoning light. Politics, patriotism, social welfare etc. had no attraction for him. In 1919 he came to Pondicherry to stay with Sri Aurobindo for good. (Auro-II; Remini.) 27:485 VII: 83 XII: 156

Amrita Bazar Patrika an English daily, a nationalist paper, published from Calcutta (also for some time from Allahabad). It was started in 1868 as a Bengali weekly by Shishir Kumar Ghose and his brothers in. their native village of Amrita Bazar in Jessore district. In 1869 the paper began publishing columns in English also. It was