-05_Glossary and Index Page 13 to 26.htm

hifted to Calcutta in 1871 and continued to be bilingual till March 1878. After the passing of the Vernacular Press Act, it was converted overnight (21 March 1878) into an English weekly. It became a daily from February 1891, and shortly thereafter Motilal Ghose became one of the editors. The paper played an important role in the freedom struggle as a nationalist organ. (D.N.B.-II, pp. 51, 61) 1:189, 252, 281-82, 423-24, 429-30, 733 2:137, 230, 295-97, 314-15, 319, 329, 353, 356-57 4:226, 243 26:399 27:463, 492

Amritsar a city, administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the Punjab, north- western India; famous as the holy city of the Sikhs. Amritsar was the venue of the Congress session in 1919. (Enc.Br.; D.I.H.) 26:430

Anabaptist (member of) a Christian sect that denied the validity of infant baptism and practised baptism of adults. It originated in Switzerland c. 1522. (Web.) 15:14

Anacreon (c. 582 – c. 485 Be), last great lyric poet of Asian Greece. Only fragments of his poetry have survived. Graceful and elegant, it celebrates the joy of wine and love. (Enc. Br.;Col.Enc.) 9:9, 322 29:814

Anadhrishty in the Mahabharata, son of Vrddhaksema, and one of the seven generals of theYadavas. (M.N.) 8:43

Anak in the Bible, ancestor of the Anakim or Anakims, a race of giants inhabiting Hebron and its vicinity at the time of the conquest of Canaan. (Col. Enc.)3:66 Anam probably, "Annam" = Indo-China. (Collins’ Authors’ and Printers’ Dictionary, Oxford) 3:84

Ananda Babu See Roy, Ananda Chandra

Anandaghanaloka world of compact bliss; same as Anandaloka or Janaloka. (I & G) 17:30

Anandagiri a teacher and exponent of the monistic school ofVedanta philosophy. He was a pupil and annotator of Shankara- charya. (M.W.) 12:427 Anandaloka "the world of Delight", another name of JANALOKA. D 20:485 XV: 26, 34 XIX: 33

Ananda Math famous Bengali novel (1882) of Bankim Chandra Chatterji, in which the song BANDE MATARAM first appears. It is a ; patriotic tale of the revolt of Hindu monks against the Muslim forces of the East India Company. Soon after its publication the novel was translated into most of the Indian

languages and into English. (D.I.H.; Enc. Br.) 1:666 3:91 8:315, 318 17:345-46 27:353 Anandrao probably, Anandrao Jadhav, a relative of Khaserao Jadhav, and a friend of Sri Aurobindo at Baroda. Var: Anandarao (amis-spelling) 27:417, 423 I:72, 74

Ananias a member of the church at Jerusalem; he and his wife Sapphira were struck dead when attempting to misrepresent  the amount of their gifts to the Apostle Peter. (Enc. Am.) V:65

Ananke in Greek mythology, personification of compelling necessity or ultimate fate to which even the gods must yield. (M.I.) 5:406, 495, 498, 504, 510-12 16:125 19:962 28:162 29:465 VI: 135 VII: 53

Ananta in Hindu mythology, a name of Sesa, the Great Snake with a thousand hoods  on which the earth stands; the Energy of the cosmic manifestation of the Infinite in Space- Time. (A) 4:18 8:175 10:102 12: 48 13: 349 23:977 27:230

Anantavijay in the Mahabharata, name of Yudhishthira’s conch-shell. (M.N.) 4:77 8:77

Anasuya a character – a friend of Shakuntala - in Kalidasa’s famous play Abhijnana Sakuntalam. 3:231

Anathema Maranatha "anathema" is a traditional Christian decree of excommunication. It is the Greek for "accursed" "Maranatha" is an Aramaic word which means "The Lord is at hand" or "Come, Lord". The whole expression "Anathema Marathana" may be said to mean "Anathe- ma – may the Lord come". The phrase occurs in the New Testament (I Corinthians 16:22). (Col. Enc.; M.I.-October 1980, p. 613) 17:134

Anatole See France, Anatole

Anaximander (610 – c. 547 nc), an important Greek thinker, often called the founder of astronomy, the first thinker to develop a cosmology, or systematic philosophical view of the world. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) 16:341, 350

Anaximenes Anaximenes of Miletus (fl. c. 545 BC), Greek philosopher of nature and one of the three thinkers of Miletus traditionally considered to be the first philosophers in the Western world. He taught that the single substance of the universe was air; all other natural elements were produced by rarefication or con- densation and were mere degrees of density of the basic substance. The earth was believed by him to be a flat disk floating on air. (Enc. Br.;Col. Enc.) a 16:352

Anchises in Greek legend, a member of the younger branch of the Trojan royal family, and in Ilion, a Trojan senator. He had a liaison with Aphrodite on Mt. Ida; Aeneas was born of this union. Anchises, forbidden to speak of his relations with the goddess, boasted of it to his friends. As a result of the boast, he was, according to different accounts, either blinded or lamed. In Ilion, he is described as blind. After the Trojan War, he fled with Aeneas and eventually founded Rome. Tradition gives many accounts of his death. (M.I.; O.C1.D.) 5:398, 412, 418, 442-43, 445-46, 495 7:853 VI:134

Ancient Mariner The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a famous English poem, the chief contribution of Coleridge to the joint volume Lyrical Ballads (1798) by him and Words- worth. (Col. Enc. under Coleridge) a 9:541

Ancient Wisdom The Ancient Wisdom (1897), a book on Theosophy by Annie Besant. (Col. Enc.) a XIII: 30 Andal (fl. 8th century AD), a famous Tamil poetess and Vaishnava devotee. She was the putative daughter ofPeriyalvar, whom she eventually surpassed in fame. Among her poems Tiruppdvai in particular is exceedingly touching in its simplicity and fervour and enjoys great popularity. (Gaz.-II) 8:404-06 17:371-72

Andamans a group of 204 islands and islets in the Bay of Bengal. A penal colony was established here in 1858, which was not abolished until 1945. The Andamans now form part of the union territory "Andaman and Nicobar Islands" of the Republic of India. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) 1:415 2:360 3:469 26:36 27:51, 58 VII: 1, 11

Andersen, Hans Hans Christian Andersen (1805-75), Danish poet, novelist, and a unique master of the fairy tale. While many of his other works – plays, novels, poems, travel books etc. – are almost unknown outside Denmark, his fairy tales are famous throughout the world and are among the most frequently translated works in all literary history. (Col. Enc.; Enc. Br.) Var.: Anderson (a misprint) a 3:274 X: 156

Andes a mountain system in South America, extending for about 5, 500 miles generally parallel to the Pacific coast, n 10:448

Andhra the land extending along the eastern coast of India from the mouth of the Goda- vari to that of the Krishna. The people of the area speak mostly Telugu. An ancient dynasty of the rulers of this country was known as the Andhra dynasty.

 Presently this region forms the bulk of a separate state in the Republic of India known as Andhra Pradesh. (D.I.H.) 14:373 15:347 26:411 XVIII: 136, 138

Andhra Keshari a nationalist journal (vernacular weekly) published around 1907 from Rajahmundry in Madras Presidency (presently in Andhra Pradesh). n 1:262

Andhra University an institute of higher learning established in 1926, and located at Waltair in Andhra Pradesh. (Enc. Ind.) D 26:407, 411

Andrew See Fraser, Sir Andrew

Andrews, Rev. Charles Freer (1871-1940), popularly known in India as Dinabandhu (friend of the poor). Once professor at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, he was notable not only as an educationist but also as a social reformer. He was an associate ofTagore, and accompanied the poet to Japan, etc. An Englishman by birth, he was a devout Christian and a friend of India, who made this country his adopted home. (Enc. Ind.; H.F.M.I.; N.S.I.) 26:256

Andromeda a character – daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopea, King and Queen of Syria – in Sri Aurobindo’s play Perseus the Deliverer. In Greek legend, Cepheus and Cassiopea are described as King and Queen of Ethiopia, not Syria, and Andromeda is an Ethiopian princess. Cassiopea angered the sea-god Poseidon by saying that Andromeda (in another account, Cassiopea herself) was more beautiful than the Nereids. Poseidon sent a sea-monster to prey upon the country. This monster could be appeased only by the sacrifice of Andromeda. (A; Col. Enc.) 6:1, 3, 10-11, 13, 25, 29-41, 56-64, 70, 76-81, 88-96, 103, 107-10, 112-14, 119, 121, 124, 127, 130, 132, 137, 139-40, 142-43, 145-47, 149, 151-65, 169, 172-73, 175-76, 182-86, 188-89, 192-93, 196, 199

Andromeda a poem (1859) in hexameter by Charles Kingsley, dealing with the classical myth of Andromeda, considered by some to be the most readable of English hexameter poems. (A;Ox.Comp.) o 5:381

Angad in the Ramayana, the brave and courageous son of Bah (the monkey-king of Kiskindha). He went to Lanka as Rama’s messenger and later fought for him against Ravana. (Dow.) 2:80

Angah name of the inhabitants of Bengal proper. (M.W.) a XVIII: 136 Angelo See Michelangelo Angir a Rishi of the Upanishadic period.  12:269

Angira one of the six "mind(born) sons" of Brahma. He was father ofBrihaspati, the priest and spiritual guide of the gods. (M.N.) n 4:29 Angiras(a) the Rishi who represents the seer-will, in later times regarded as one of the original sages, progenitor of a clan of Rishis that went by his name and are referred to by Sri Aurobindo as the Angirasas or the Angirasa Rishis. These latter terms also mean the seven sages, the seven lustres of Agni, his sons; burning powers of the Light; divine or human types of the seer-will. One thing is clear that the word Angiras is used in the Veda not merely as a name of a certain family of Rishis, but ‘ with a distinct meaning inherent in the word; it must have meant flaming, glowing; used as an epithet, a name of Agni, etc. The word Angirasa, when used in the sense of "relating to Angiras" or as a patronymic from Angiras, is pronounced Angirasa. (I & G) Der: Angirasahood 10:58-59, 119-20, 122-23, 125, 132-35, 137-38, 140-47, 149-64, 166-70, 172, 174-84, 186-91, 194, 196, 198-201, 203-10, 212, 215, 219-22, 229, 232-38, 363, 391, 431 11:14, 34, 40, 59, 71, 169, 173-74, 188, 218, 222-23, 234, 251, 266, 278, 331, 342, 344-46, 349, 353, 364, 366, 369, 373, 411, 467, 482-83, 485, 488 12:269, 300, 389 14:263 27:190-91 IV: 129-30, 136-37 VII: 39-40 VIII: 143, 147, 153 IX: 9 X: 178 XIV: 110

Anglo-Celtic formed of a combination of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic elements, I: 53 2:49 9:57, 134, 138, 183 15:310, 348, 411, 521

Anglo-India(n) 1. (formerly, as at the time that Sri Aurobindo was writing) of British birth but living or having lived long in India. 2. (now more commonly) a person of both English and Indian ancestry. (C. 0. Web.) Der: Anglo-Indianism 1:9, 12-13, 16, 19-20, 49-53, 55-56, 91, 108, 111, 133-34, 138, 149, 151, 155, 159-60, 168, 172-74, 178-81, 184, 192, 194, 201-02, 212, 215-17, 241-42, 271, 279-80, 283, 288, 296, 302, 323-25, 330-33, 337, 342-44, 348, 352-53, 359-60, 367, 376, 381, 388, 390-91, 395, 400, 403, 420, 453, 455, 457, 462-63, 482, 487, 501, 504, 521, 527, 542, 547, 555, 557, 560, 564-65, 573, 578-79, 607, 625-26, 630-31, 635, 650, 709, 720, 761, 826-27, 906 2:33, 76, 78, 87, 97, 100, 113-14, 117, 119-22, 124, 139, 141, 184, 192, 194, 202, 233, 238, 242, 250, 255, 260, 274, 278, 283, 291-94, 306, 310, 326, 329, 331, 333-34, 342, 344, 369-70, 373, 376-77, 385-86, 389-90, 397 3:85 4:188-89, 215, 238, 244 15:645 17:244, 368 27: 3, 21-22, 44, 52, 60, 500 1:5 IV: 109

Anglo-Norman Anglicised Norman. (O.E.D.) a 15:306

Anglo-Sanskrit concerning or using both the English and Sanskrit languages. 17:290

Anglo-Saxon a Teutonic tribal group resident in England in post-Roman times. In later times the term came to be used to distinguish the residents of England from the Saxons still resident in Europe proper. The term is currently used to indicate the original strain of the English race or peoples, or even English or former English (e.g. American) peoples as opposed to others. Der:

Anglo-Saxonism 1:32, 34, 288, 462, 903 2:33-34, 379 3:122, 253, 421 9:47-51, 59, 62, 87, 211, 286, 414, 549 12:500 15:373, 498 17:181, 298 27:90 VIII: 189

Anglo-Scotch (colony) occupied by the English and the Scottish people, 15:306

Angra Mainyu See Ahriman

Angus a friend of ARJAVA (J. A. Chadwick). 23:556

Anice-Aljalice or only Anice, a character – a Persian slave-girl – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. 7:561, 579, 584-85, 587, 589-94, 603, 607-09, 611-14, 618-20, 624, 626, 630-34, 637-40, 642-43, 646, 651, 653-57, 659-60, 662-63 671-73, 675-86, 690, 694-702, 704-05, 721-22, 732-33, 735

AnUbaran Anil Baran Roy (1890-1974), a well-known Bengali political leader who after his release from jail in 1926 became an in- timate disciple of Sri Aurobindo. He stayed in the Ashram for 40 years, coming out in 1966 to do, as he said, Sri Aurobindo’s political work. He was a prolific writer, having to his credit a large number of books in English, Bengali and Hindi. His English edition of the Gita, based on the inter- pretation of Sri Aurobindo, has been prescribed as a textbook for the Cambridge University Tripos course and its French translation has already passed through ten large editions in Paris. (D.N.B.) VI:140, 142

Aniruddha in the Mahabharata, son of Pradyumna and grandson of Krishna (see Usha2). Symbolically, Sri Aurobindo sees Aniruddha as the fourth Power of the Chaturvyuha, with desire as His

manifestation, and bodily enjoyment and worldly reason as His attributes; He reigns in the Kaliyuga and as a Sudra. His character- istic is perfection in works; and His Shakti is Mahasaraswati. (Dow.; A; A & R, XXI: 107) 3:452-53 4: pre. XIX: 54 XXI: 50 XXII: 135

Anjana in Hindu mythology, wife of Vayu, the wind-god, and mother ofHanuman. (Dow.) 7:946 Anna in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, a sister of Penthesilea, the Amazon. (M.I.) 5:460

Annadamangal a Bengali poem by Bharatchandra, his principal work. It is a trilogy belonging to the mid-18th century. (Gaz. II, p. 664) 14:320

Annapuma a form of the Hindu goddess Durga, worshipped for her power of giving food (anna); used generally as a name of the Divine Mother as the Giver of Food; the term is similar to the Roman "Anna Perenna". (Dow.; Gospel) 17:269 XVIII: 148

Anne, Queen (1665-1714), Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland (1702-07), later queen of Great Britain (1707-14). (Col. Enc.) 7:852 Ant. abbreviation of the name of an unknown person of Pondicherry. XXI: 55 Antaeuslike like Antaeus. In Greek mythology, Antaeus was a giant of Libya. He was the son of Poseidon and he derived fresh strength whenever he touched the earth (Gaea, his mother). Antaeus compelled all strangers who passed through the country to ‘ wrestle with him, and killed everyone with whom he wrestled until Hercules overcame him by lifting him in the air. (Enc. Br.) D 7:831

Antariksha the Mid-Region, between Heaven and Earth; the sphere of the Gandharvas, Apsaras, andYakshas. (A; Dow.) Var: Antariksa(m) a 9:532 10:114, 171, 228, 337 11:24 12:403 19:765 IX: 6 XIV: 110 XV: 33

Antichrist L’Antechrist, title of an historical work (1873) by Ernest Renan; it is the fourth volume of the Origin of Christianity and deals with the reign of Nero. (Enc. Br.; Ox. Comp.; Larousse Universe!) Var:

Antichrist (a misprint) d 3:263 X: 146

Antenor in Greek legend, an elderly and upright counsellor (in Ilion, a senator) in Troy during the siege,

who advised the return of Helen to the Greeks. He was also host to the Greeks who came to Troy requesting Helen’s return. His friendliness toward them and his advice to return Helen were taken by the Trojans as traitorous. (M.I.) 5:412-13, 415-17, 419, 422-23, 425, 427-28, 431, 433, 437-39, 443-46, 456, 458-61, 476

Antenorid an epithet of the house of Antenor. (M.I.) 5:445-47 16:83 Antichrist in the Bible, the great antagonist of Christ, expected to spread universal evil before the end of the world but finally to be conquered at Christ’s second coming. (Web.) a1:500 VII: 9, 22

Antichrist misprint for Antechrist Antigone in Greek legend, daughter of Oedipus. She followed her father in ban- ishment and disgrace. After her brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, were killed in the war of the Seven Against Thebes, Creon, regent of Thebes, forbade the burial of Polynices. Antigone, in spite of his com- mand, performed the funeral service for her brother. Creon buried her alive. The story is told by Sophocles, the Athenian poet, in Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone. (Col. Enc.) n 9:217

Antigonus Antigonus I Monophthalmus (382-301 BC), Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who founded the Macedonian dynasty of the Antigonids. An exceptional strategist and combat leader, he was an astute ruler who cultivated the friendship of Athens and other Greek city-states. During the second coalition war (310-301 Be) against him, his son Demetrius Poliorcetes conquered Cyprus (306) and Antigonus himself assumed the title of king. (Enc.Br.) n 24:1562 26:209

Antioch ancient capital of Syria; presently a town in southeastern Turkey. The modern Antioch occupies only a fraction of the ancient city (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) 0 6:333, 335, 339, 343, 346, 350, 352-54, 365, 394, 401, 406-08, 414, 416-18, 421, 426, 428-30, 433-36, 438, 441-42, 447, 452

Antiochus’ Antiochus III (Antiochus the Great), king of Syria from 223 to 187 BC. (Col. Enc.) a 6: 338, 340, 343, 364

Antiochus2 a character – son of Cleopatra, queen of Syria, by her first husband Nicanor (dead) – in Sri Aurobindo’s play Rodogune. D 6:333, 339, 341, 346-50, 352, 357, 359-62, 366, 370, 374, 377-78, 380-83, 385-91, 393, 395-409, 413-16, 418, 425-31, 433-36, 438-42, 444-45, 447-50, 453-62, 464-65, 469 Antonio a character – son of Count Beltran – in Sri Aurobindo’s play

 The Maid in the Mill. n 7:821, 825-28, 837, 839-50, 853-54, 856-59, 862-63, 865-69, 877-78

Antony, Mark Marcus Antonius, known in English as Mark Antony (c.82 Bc-30 BC), outstanding Roman military and political leader and close associate of Julius Caesar. He is famed as the lover as well as the ally of Cleopatra, and is the hero of Shake-speare’s play Antony and Cleopatra. (Enc. Br.) n 3:70 9:170, 316 26:251 29:796

Antony and Cleopatra a tragedy (1606/07) by Shakespeare, on the theme of a conflict between love and political ambition. (Enc. Br.) n 3:186

Antwerp capital of Antwerp province, Belgium, on the Schelde (Escaut) River, about eighty-eight km from the North Sea. It is one of the biggest seaports in the world; its growth was interrupted only by the two world wars and associated German occupa- tions. (Enc. Br.) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27] Anu in the Veda, a devotee of Indra, for whom he made a chariot. He has been mentioned as an enemy of Sudasa. (B.P.C.) n VI: 148

Anukul See Mukheqee, Anukul

Anus(h)ilan Samiti an association or club (ostensibly) for lathi-play and physical exercise. Branches were organised in Calcutta, in Dacca (eventually the most active branch) and other places in eastern and western Bengal. Among its other activities were the giving of help to the public and the police (during certain public events) etc. The Samiti – its name, Anu- shilan or "Culture", taken from a book by Bankim Chandra – was brought into being by Satish Chandra Bose in 1902, with P. Mitra as its head. It grew by leaps and bounds. Evidence against the Anushilan Samiti of Calcutta was collected in May 1908, and in October 1909 it was banned. (A;R.O.H.;H.F.M.I.) o 1:809 2:241 VI:123

Anusuya a small town in the former princely state of Baroda (now in Gujarat state), on the banks of the Narmada, just downriver fromChandod. a 27:116

Anwar probably, Enver Pasa (1881-1922), Ottoman general and commander-in-chief, a hero of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, and one of the triumvirate that virtually ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1918. (Enc.Br.) a XXI: 65 A.P. See Purani

Apaya name of a river mentioned once only in the Rig-veda (3.23.4), where it is said to flow between the Drsadvati and the Sarasvati. Modern scholars identify it with different rivers, the Ganga (Apaga), or the small tributary of the Sarasvati which flows past Thaneswar, or the modern Indramati farther west. (V. Index, I) n 11:147

Apcar probably, an Indian Moderate leader around 1907. a 1:375

Apelles (fl. 4th cent. Be), early Hellenistic Greek painter whose work was held in such high esteem by ancient writers on art that he continues to be regarded as the greatest painter of antiquity, despite the fact that none of his work survives. (Enc. Br.) a 9:333

Aphrodite in Greek mythology, Olympian goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. She was the daughter of Zeus and Dione according to Homer. In another account, she arose from the foam of the sea that gathered around the severed genital organ of Uranus when his son Cronus mutilated him. She was, according to the usual legend, the wife of Hephaestus, but she loved Ares, to whom she bore Eros and Anteros. In the dispute -over the Apple of Discord, Aphrodite was judged fairest by Paris, and so, true to the promise she had made him, she helped him in carrying off Helen from Sparta. This brought on the Trojan War in which Aphrodite sided with the Trojans. In Roman times Aphrodite was identified with Venus. (Col. Enc.) a 5: 398, 420, 434, 442-43, 446, 450, 455, 489, 494-95, 499, 501-04, 507, 539, 544 10:352 14:202 17:257 11:5, 7 XV: 15, 20 XVI: 148, 179

Apis classical Greek form of Hape or Hapi, the sacred Egyptian bull worshipped at Memphis; protector of the sign "Jar" in the zodiac. (Enc.Br.; A) n 17:257

Apnavan ancient Indian sage, associated with the Bhrigus, who appears only once in the Rig-veda. (V. Index) a 11:479-83

Apollo in Greek and Roman mythology, Olympian god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, medicine, pastoral pursuits and archery. In later times Apollo was frequently identified with Helios, the Greek sun-god. (See Phoebus and Helios.) His chief oracle was at Delphi. Apollo, with Poseidon, built the walls of Troy for Laomedon, and despite Laomedon’s treachery was on the side of the Trojans in the war. (Col. Enc.; M.I.) Der:

Apollonian D 5:394, 399-400, 404-05, 416, 424, 426, 428-29, 433, 436, 440, 447, 450-52, 454, 457, 468-69, 471, 474, 486, 489-90, 494-95, 498, 503-05, 507-08, 512 6:53 9:303, 317 10:4, 119, 153, 183 11:3, 468 13:129 14:49, 94 15:219 16:336 17:113, 257 11:26 V:60 VI: 134 XV: 19 XVI: 137, 179 XVII: 16, 45

Apollo Bunder harbour in Bombay, meant mostly for passenger traffic. a 1:828 22:121 26:50, 81, 98

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius Rhodius (born c. 295 Be), Greek poet and grammari- an of Alexandria and Rhodes, who was the author of the Argonautica, an epic in four books, a Homeric imitation on the story of the Argonaut heroes. (Enc. Br.) D 3:235

Appaswami an important figure in the election of 1914 for the Pondicherry repre- sentative to the French Chamber. (A) D 27:446 Appian Way the road built (312 BC) under Appius Claudius Caccus. This "queen of roads" was the chief highway from Rome to Greece and the East. (Col. Enc.) a 5:386 Apte, Vamana Shivaram (1858-92), celebrated lexicographer of the Sanskrit language. During his short life-span he wrote or compiled as many as six books, including dictionaries that are still in use. (B.A.C.) 0 3:202, 310, 313-15, 320 XXI: 74

Apulian of Apulia (also known as Puglia), a region of South Italy, occupying approximately the southern third of the Italian east coast opposite Albania. (Col. Enc.) 0 15:344

Aquitanian native of Aquitaine, former duchy and kingdom and historic region in southwestern France. (Col. Enc.; Enc. Br.) n 1:526 Ar in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, a chief of the Dolopes, slain in battle by Surabdas. (A) D 5:516

Arabia name applied to the peninsula in extreme southwestern Asia. It includes all the territory lying between the Red Sea on the west and the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman on the east. (Enc. Br.) Der:

Arab; Arabian (adj.); Arabic (adj.) a 1:261, 310, 391, 602, 843 2:35 3:5 5: 176, 184, 259, 261, 263-65, 268-69, 271-72, 276 6: 32 7: 573, 621, 667, 710, 723, 729 12: 499, 503 14: 67, 185, 191, 223, 377 15: 69, 268, 342-43, 347, 412, 425, 447, 506, 645-46 16: 89, 365 17: 130, 195 24: 1660 26: 483 27: 122 I: 25 IV:’161VIII: 177 XVI: 182

Arabia a poem by Walter de la Mare. (A) D 9:357

Arabian Nights The Arabian Nights Entertainment, a series of stories in the Arabic language strung together by the story of Sheherazade, who kept her husband, Sehariar, from killing her by telling these stories over 1, 001 nights until he relinquished his purpose. The best known of these stories are those of Ali Baba, Sindabad, and Aladdin. (See also Thousand and One Nights) (Col. Enc.) n 14:184 26:234

Arabic (language) also sometimes called Arabi or Arabian, chief representative of the Semitic-Hamitic family of languages. Countries in which it occupies official status include Algeria, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Republic. Arabic has a great history – as the evangelizing medium of Islam, as the vehicle of a rich imaginative literature, and as the repository of science and philosophy during Europe’s "dark ages". Spoken by some 75 million people, it remains one of the great languages of the present day. (Pears) a 1:602 4:265 5: 259 11:506 17:181 26:234 1:25

Arabindo See Sri Aurobindo

Aracan perhaps Arakan, a small region of Burma, comprising four districts, near its border with Bangladesh. (N.B.A., p. 1385; S.Atlas) n 1:21

Arachne in Greek legend, a girl who challenged Athene to a trial of skill in weaving. The goddess changed her into a spider. (Col. Enc.) a 6:422

Aralia probably, a small town in East Bengal (now in Bangladesh), some 40 miles west of Mymensingh. (A) a 2:360 4:248

Aramaean Aramaeans were a confederacy of tribes that spoke a North Semitic language and, between the llth and 8th centuries BC, occupied Aram, a large region in northern Syria. In the same period some of these tribes seized large tracts of Mesopotamia. (Enc. Br.) 1-1 6:1

Aramaic of Aram, an ancient people and their country, roughly identifiable with Syria. (Col. Enc.) Var: Aramean a 5:176

Aranyaka(s) Sanskrit’ ‘books of the forest", a later development of the Brahmanas or expositions of the Vedas, which were composed, according to Western scholars, 700 BC. They contain secret explanations of the inner meaning of the sacrifice as con- trasted with its actual outward performance.

The Aranyakas served as a link between the Brahmanas and the Upanishads, the latter often being inserted in the Aranyakas. (Enc.Br.) 12:8, 448 XVI: 156 XVII: 30, 32

Aranyani name of the goddess of the wilderness and desert, occurring in Sutras 1 to 6 of the Rig-veda, Mandal X. (M.W.) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]

Ararat Mount Ararat, extinct volcanic massif in extreme eastern Turkey. It consists of two peaks. Great Ararat and Little Ararat. Ararat traditionally is associated with the mountain on which Noah’s Ark came to rest at the end of the Flood. (Enc.Br.) 1:254

Aravinda See Sri Aurobindo

Arbroath royal burgh (chartered town), North Sea fishing port, and holiday resort in the district of Angus, Tayside region in Scotland. (Enc. Br.) n 1:575, 600

Arcadia a region of ancient Greece, in central Peloponnesus, without a seaboard and surrounded and dissected by mountains. The Arcadians, shepherds and hunters, relatively isolated from the rest of the world, lived a proverbially happy, simple, natural life. (Col. Enc.) Var: Arcady (poetic form) Der: Arcadian a 3:154 5:20, 488

Archangel John See Morley, John

Archer or Bow, a zodiacal constellation (Latin name: Sagittarius, called "Dhanu" in Hindu astronomy), lying partly in the Milky Way; the 9th sign of the zodiac. (Col. Enc.) a 17:257-58, 260 Archer, William (1856-1924), English author and drama critic, rationalistic and materialistic in his views. Politically motivated, he vehemently attacked the whole life and culture of India in his book India and the Future. (Enc. Br.; A) Der: Archerian 14:1, 6, 44-49, 54-59, 61, 65-66, 72, 77-78, 80, 88, 94, 176-77, 181-82, 184, 190-94, 196-200, 204-06, 215, 220-21, 223-24, 227, 229, 234-37

Archimedes (c. 287-212 BC), Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor. To illustrate the principle of the lever he is said to have told King Hiero, "Give me place to stand (pou sto), and I will move the world." (Col. Enc.) 4:224 16:145

Arctic The Arctic regions comprise the

northernmost area of the earth, centred about the North Pole and the Arctic Ocean. It extends more than one third of the way to the equator. The days and nights in this area are very long, extending to six months at the Pole. (Col. Enc.) 5:297-98, 486 10:24, 28, 123, 152, 166, 170, 178, 188-89 16:407 XIV: 120

A arctic Home (in the Vedas) title of a celebrated work (1903) of oriental research by BalGangadhar Tilak. a 10:28 17:349

Arcturus one of the five brightest stars of the northern celestial hemisphere in the night sky, and the brightest star in the constellation Bootes. (Web.; Col. Enc.) D 5:131 29:537

Ardhoday(a) Yog(a) in Hindu astronomy, a special concurrence of Sunday and a particular date (in the month of Pausa or Magha, falling in December, January, or February) with the constellation Altair (Sravana), that takes place in the daytime, not at night, and at long and irregular intervals. On the occasion of Ardhodaya Yoga, owing to its immense occult influence, equal to that of thousands of solar eclipses, the Hindus of Bengal throng in large numbers to Calcutta to have a dip in the Ganga. (N.B.A.) 1:808 2:241 VI: 124

Areopagus a low hill northwest of the Acropolis in ancient Athens, noted as the meeting place of the earliest aristocratic council of the city. The name was later extended to denote the council itself. (Enc. Br.) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]

Ares in Greek mythology, Olympian god of war, the son of Zeus and Hera, and the lover of Aphrodite. He was the father of the Amazon queen Penthesilea and favoured the Trojans in the Trojan War. Ares. is identified with the Roman god Mars, but the Greeks had a less exalted conception of him than the Romans, tending to see him as a mere instigator of strife. (Col. Enc.; M.I.) 5:394, 400, 405, 427-28, 430, 437, 440, 442, 450, 457-58, 464-65, 468-70, 487, 494, 498-99, 503, 505-06, 516-18 10:352 12:409 17:113, 257, 394 XV: 15, 20

Aretes in Sri Aurobindo’s llion, a Trojan senator and warrior. (M.I.) D 5:384, 398-99, 412, 461

Arethuse poetic form of Arethusa; in Greek mythology, a nymph loved by the river-god Alpheus. She fled his attentions and was changed into a fountain. The god pursued and caught her; whence the story that the waters of the river Alpheus flow beneath the sea from Greece to reappear in the fountain

of Arethusa in the harbour of Syracuse. (CoI.Enc.) 5:21

Argive 1. of or belonging to the city of Argos or the territory of Argolis; because Mycenae in Argolis dominated the rest of Greece at the time of the Trojan War, the term was often used in Homer and by later classical writers as the equivalent of Grecian or Greek. 2. a native of Argos or of Argolis; a Greek. (O.E.D.; M.I.) 5: 393, 396, 398, 400-03, 406-08, 413-14, 416, 420, 425, 427, 431, 433-36, 439, 444, 446, 450, 453-54, 457-59, 461-64, 466-69, 471-72, 474-76, 486-87, 491, 499, 517, 553, 595 6:1, 177, 184, 195 9:400 10:34 11:32 VI: 134

Argolis region of ancient Greece in the northeastern Peloponnesus, which included the Argive plain and the cities of Argos and Mycenae. (Col. Enc.; M.I.) a 5:403, 459, 469, 481 6:25, 185 Argos city of ancient Greece, in northeastern Peloponnesus. A small town called Argos exists even today on the site of the ancient city, not far from Nauplia. Ancient Argos, located in the southern part of the Argive plain, three miles from the sea, stood at the foot of the Mycenaean and classical acropolis called Larissa. For centuries it was one of the most powerful Greek cities, struggling with Sparta and rivalling Athens and Corinth. Argos figures in early Greek legend as the home of various heroes and was the principal centre of worship of the goddess Hera. At the time of the Trojan War it was the kingdom of Diomedes, who acknowledged Agamemnon’s leadership. In a wider sense it refers in Homeric poetry to the empire of Agamemnon and is practically a synonym for Greece. (Col. Enc.; M.I.) a 5: 383, 392, 398, 401, 405, 407, 409, 434, 439-40, 449, 454-55, 464, 467, 472, 479 6:71, . 193 26:339 II: 26 VI: 135 Argus in Greek mythology, hundred-eyed guardian of lo, the princess of Argos, after she was changed into a heifer. Argus, who was also known as Panoptes, was killed by Hermes. The people of ancient Argos traced their origin to him. (The term Argus has come to mean a very vigilant person, a watcher or guardian.) (Col. Enc.; O.E.D.) D 3:46 8:32, 410

Argus Pondicherry paper that replaced the Independent about 1913; both belonged to he same proprietor. (A) Q 27:431

Ariel a character – an airy spirit – in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. (Shakes.) 26:336-38

Arintheus in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, name of a Greek warrior, a Lycian leader. (A) 5:461

Ariosto, Ludovico (1474-1533), Italian epic and lyric poet and playwright. He is considered as one of the greatest poets of Italy. (CoI.Enc.) 9:76

Aristides (fl. 5th cent. BC), Athenian statesman and general who died about 468 BC. Called Aristides the Just, he stands as the classical example of probity in public life. (Col. Enc.) 1:435

Aristophanes (born c. 448 BC, died after 388 BC), Athenian comic poet, greatest of the ancient writers of comedy. Eleven of some forty plays by Aristophanes survive virtually 9:425 17:87, 141, 297

Aristotle (384-322 BC) , Greek philosopher, one of the greatest thinkers of all time. He studied under Plato at Athens. He believed logic to be the necessary introduction to philosophy. (Col. Enc.) Der: Aristotelian a 1:470 3:417 7:602 15:463 17:237, 241-42, 245 26:383 27:164 IX: 43

Arithoa in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, mother of Zethus, a Phthian. (M.I.) 5:514 VI: 134

Arithon in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, one of Penthesilea’s captains. (M.I.) 5:455, 519

Ariava name (meaning "straightforward", "candid" etc.) given by Sri Aurobindo to J. A. Chadwick (1899-1939), an Englishman who came to the Ashram towards the end of 1927. A professor of philosophy at Cambridge, teaching a special kind of philosophic mathematical logic, he became under the influence of Sri Aurobindo (in the Ashram) a fine poet. A collection of his lyric verses was published in 1939, the year of his death at the age of forty. (Mother-1) Der: Arjavan 9:356-58, 409-10, 412, 462

Arjoon(a) See Arjun(a)

Arjun(a) in the Mahabharata, the third of the Pandavas. A renowned archer, he was very close to Krishna who acted as his charioteer in the battle. It was Krishna who – with the words that form the substance of the Bhagavadgita - helped him out of the crisis he underwent before the commencement of the battle of Kurukshetra. The other names or epithets of Arjuna that occur in Sri Aurobindo’s writings are:

Bharata, Dhananjaya, Gudakesha, and Partha. (Dow.) Var: Arjoon(a); Urjoon(a) 1: 67, 98, 364, 778 2: 3, 426-27, 429 3: 31, 151, 168-69, 171-72, 175, 191, 207, 213, 346, 352-55 4: 57, 61, 63-65, 67-68, 71-73, 75-78, 80, 82, 84-90, 94-98, 100-05, 107, 288, 312 5: 315-17, 320, 325, 329-32 6: 257, 277, 319 7: 748 8:27, 29-32, 35, 45, 47-48, 50-51, 59, 77-83, 85-88, 90-91, 94-96 9: 478 13: 9, 12-13, 15-17, 19, 22-24, 28, 30-33, 36-37, 42, 50-57, 59-62, 70, 75-76. 81, 87-88, 95, 98-100, 107, 123, 129-30, 136-38, 148, 151-52, 173, 177, 186, 197, 200, 208, 230, 234, 236, 238, 246, 251, 277, 287, 289, 292-93, 295, 303-04, 320, 331-32, 341-45, 350, 352, 361-66, 371, 374, 379, 384-85, 395, 418, 425, 434-37, 439, 455, 460, 465, 468, 491, 522, 532, 536, 541-42 14: 193, 292, 418 15: 591-92 16: 252, 418-19, 423-24, 429 17: 83 20: 316 22: 93, 304, 405, 418 23: 665, 675 26:129, 136 27:321 11:63, 65, 77 IV: 115 VI: 155, 175 VII: 49, 51-54 XVII: 12

Arjuni (Arjuni), a name of Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. The word has a symbolic meaning "the White One", as does the word "Arjuna" occurring in the same context. (M.N.) 13:18 XVIII: 177

Armageddon according to the New Testament, the great battlefield where the kings of the Earth under demoniac leadership will wage war on the forces of God at the end of world history. (Enc. Br.) n 1:220, 816

Armand (Sieurcaye) a character – husband of Aloyse – in Sri Aurobindo’s story "The Door atAbelard". 7:1027-46

Armenia a region and former kingdom of Asia Minor. Its boundaries varied widely in the course of history, but as a region it is generally understood to include present eastern Turkey and the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Armenian people underwent one of the worst trials in their history between 1894 and 1915. A systematic plan for their extermination was put into action by Abdul Hamid II and was sporadically resumed, notably in 1915, when the Armenians were accused of aiding the Russian invaders. (Col. Enc.) Der: Armenian 1:332, 557 6:419, 421 Annin probably, Arminius, German name: Hermann (18 BC?-AD 19), German tribal leader who inflicted a major defeat on Rome by destroying three legions in the Teutoburg Forest late in the summer of AD 9. The conception of Arminius as a German national hero reached its climax in the late 19th century. It could claim support from

Tacitus’ judgment of him as "unquestionably the liberator of Germany”. (Enc. Br.) a 111:23

Armorican of Armorica, Latin name for the northwestern extremity of Gaul, now called Brittany. In Celtic, Roman and Prankish times Armorica also included the western part of what later became Normandy. (Enc. Br.) 15:290 Armstrong, John (1709-79), a physician and poet, author of The Art of Preserving Health (1744), a surprisingly pleasant poem in spite of its unattractive title. (Ox. Comp.) a 11:12

Arnold, Sir Edwin (1832-1904), English poet, scholar and journalist, best known as the author of The Light of Asia (1879), a blank- verse epic dealing with the life of the Buddha. (Col. Enc.) a 1:50, 54 27:152

Arnold, Matthew (1822-88), English poet and critic who embraced in the scope of his criticism not only literature but also theology, history, art, science, and politics. (Col. Enc.) 1:26-27, 37 3:87, 109 9:33, 112, 133-34, 139, 141-42, 151, 305, 314-15, 317, 319, 377, 398, 456, 460, 522, 545 12:58 15:86 26:255, 257, 263-64, 267 29:739, 802, 809 1:9-10, 28 II: 27

Artavoruxes in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, one of Penthesilea’s captains. (M.I.) a 5:455, 517

Artemis Greek goddess, daughter of Zeus and Latona and twin sister of Apollo. She was described in mythology as a virgin huntress and sometimes identified with the moon. In Ilion she receives a deeper inter- pretation: she is a power of the future and, with her lightning-tasselled sandals, seems to represent the swift and luminous faculty of Intuition. (M.I.) 5:437, 450, 494, 510, 524, 546 XV: 15, 20 XVII: 45

Arthur a j uvenile character – Duke of Britaine, son of Geoffrey, late Duke of Britaine, the elder brother of King John – in Shakespeare’s tragedy King John. Historically, Arthur I (1187-1203?), Duke of Brittany, grandson of King Henry II of England. (Shakes.; Enc. Br.) 1:365 3:285 X: 172

Arthurian cycle Arthur was a legendary British king who appears in a cycle of medieval romances as the sovereign of a knightly fellowship of the Round Table. Scholars are not certain how or where these legends originated or whether Arthur was based on a historical character. (Enc. Br.) 9:61

Aruna (1895- ), Bengali poetess of the Ashram. She joined the Ashram in 1944 and worked in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press since its establishment in 1945. 8:392

Aruna Vaitahavya a Vedic Rishi, descendant of Vitahavya. a 11:421

Arundhati wife of the Rishi Vasishtha, and a model of conjugal excellence. (Dow.) 4:17 Arya "the man of high upbringing’ and noble nature" (14:106). As suggested by the various senses of the root of the word, "whoever aspires, labours, battles, travels, ascends the hill of being is the Aryan" (10: 225). The four great objects of the Aryans’ life are artha, kdma, dharma, and moksa. The indications in the Veda pointed out by certain Western scholars "of a racial division between Aryans and Dasyus and the identification of the latter with the indigenous Indians" are, according to Sri Aurobindo, of a very flimsy character. The distinction seems to indicate a cultural rather than a racial difference. The whole story of an Aryan invasion through the Punjab is only a myth of the philologists. They split up the Indian nationality into the northern Aryan race and the southern Dravidian, but "a sound observation shows a single physical type with minor variations pervading the whole of India from Cape Comorian to Afghanistan". "I regard", says Sri Aurobindo, "the so-called Aryans and Dravidians as one homogeneous race." (10: 545) The term "Aryan languages" was used in the nineteenth century as a synonym for "Indo- European" and also, more restrictively to refer to the Indo-Iranian languages. It is now used in linguistics only in the sense of the term "Indo-Aryan languages". (A; Enc. Br.) Der: Aryahood; Aryaism; Aryan;

Aryanised; Aryanism; Anaryan; Un-Aryan 0 1:50, 62, 66, 71, 74, 76, 736, 757, 767-69, 786, 792, 797, 813 2:9, 20, 108, 210-12, 354-55, 364 3:67, 142, 164, 174-75, 179, 189-90, 193-94, 213, 217, 240, 242, 304, 306, 311, 331-33, 336, 339, 344 4:2, 21-22, 24, 29, 44-46, 60, 67, 88-89, 92, 96-97, 100-01, 113, 116, 118, 125-31, 140, 143-44, 148, 159-60, 166, 186, 194, 197, 201, 223, 237, 251, 292, 301-06, 309, 312, 3335:215, 222-26, 238, 246, 297, 304, 311, 318, 3206:250, 271, 277, 311-12, 380 7:742, 781, 894, 896 8:3, 61, 80, 192, 383 10:3-4, 10, 23-25, 28-29, 35-36, 44, 46, 50, 75, 79, 83, 87, 94, 100, 104, 132, 139, 147, 150, 166, 178, 187, 203, 212, 215-21, 224-28, 230, 232, 236-38, 246, 252, 256, 263, 265, 270-71, 274, 276, 296, 299, 305, 307, 313, 318, 352, 356, 361, 363, 424, 428, 433, 439-40, 442, 454, 459, 462-63, 471, 483, 494, 545, 548, 551, 553-62, 564, 566-68, 570-73, 577-79, 581 11:2, 13, 24, 27-29, 50, 300, 374, 393, 408, 445, 456, 458,

467, 469, 471, 499, 503, 505 12: 2-3, 57, 400, 408-10, 423-24, 436, 447, 456, 475, 478, 486-87, 493 13:20, 52-57, 61, 80, 82, 87, 103, 371, 462, 493, 497 14:71, 106, 115, 150, 159, 258, 265, 297, 324-25, 344-46, 350, 371 15:18, 177, 337, 433 16:324, 406-07 17:211, 278, 291, 294, 297-98, 301, 333, 335, 339, 393-95 18:23-24, 42 27:100, 102, 152, 156, 158, 161, 163, 165-70, 175, 183, 203-04, 209, 280, 284, 359 1:20, 22, 26-28 11:24, 35, 51 111:8, 11, 52, 56, 58-59, 61 IV: 126, 131, 136, 148, 155-56 V: 33, 38, 41-44 VI: 153 VII: 5, 8, 17, 21 VIII: 174 IX: 5-6, 8 XIV: 120-22, 130 XV: 6, 14, 15, 17-19, 22 XVI: 134-36, 138, 148, 150, 155, 157, 162-63 XVII: 22, 37, 41-43, 45, 52 XVIII: 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 148, 150, 177

Arya English monthly, a philosophical review, published from Pondicherry from August 1914 to January 1921 under the editorship of Sri Aurobindo Ghose and Paul and Mirra Richard. Most of Sri Aurobindo’s important prose writings first appeared serially in this journal. The French edition had to be discontinued after its 7th issue in February 1915 due to the departure of the Richards for France. (Mother-1:124; I & G) 4:30 9:462, 511 10:349, 545, 547 11:18 16:221, 395 17:391, 393, 397-401, 404-05 20:428 22:48, 73, 158, 262-63, 302 23: 547, 684, 722, 922, 1069 26: 37, 100, 131, 151, 163-64, 224, 226, 278, 284, 367-69, 374, 381, 435-36, 459 27:347, 377, 456, 463, 468, 474-75, 477-78, 482, 484-85, 494, 498 IV: 192 V: 101 VII: 6-7, 18-19 XVII: 69-70

Aryabhatta Aryabhata I (476-c. 550), Indian astronomer and the earliest Hindu mathematician whose work and life-history are avail- able to modern scholars. He was one of the first known to use algebra. (Enc. Br.) 17:193

Aryabhumi;Aryaland See Aryavarta

Aryama(n) a Vedic deity, classed among the Adityas and the Vishwadevas, who appears but with little distinctness of personality, for the references to him are brief. He is one of the four powers of the Truth of Surya, and represents the immortal puissance of the clear-discerning aspiration and endeavour. (A-10: 290; 11: 31) 4:22 10:19-20, 271, 289-90, 326, 329, 342, 370, 425, 428, 437-39, 443-47, 458-59, 461-64, 479-80, 532, 53511:22, 31, 46, 82, 167, 172, 206, 325, 329, 445, 494 12:317, 326 13:349 16:297 17:85, 257 22:390 V:27 VII: 32 X: 179-80 XIII: 54, 61

"Aryan Origins" working title for a proposed book of linguistic research by Sri Aurobindo (see A & R, V: 38 and VI: 153). Drafts of this book were publised (SABCL, vol. 10: 551-81 and vol. 27:163-85) under the general title "The Origins of Aryan Speech", another working title used by Sri Aurobindo. 0 XXII: 170 Arya Publishing House a firm started about 1920 in Calcutta by a group of people, including Barindra Kumar Ghose (Sri Aurobindo’s brother) and Rameshwar De, to publish Sri Aurobindo’s writings. Barin took the initiative, and his name appeared on the imprint page of the first few publications ("Published by Barindra Kumar Ghose"). Later, many other devotees, including Radha Kant Nag, Srish Goswami and Tarapado, looked after the firm’s affairs at different times. Subsequent to the establishment of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press in 1945, most of the books were published by the Ashram in Pondicherry, and Arya Publishing House was wound up around 1952. 26:66 Arya Samaj a social-reform body founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in 1875 to re-establish the Vedas as a living religious scripture. He rejected all later accretions to the Vedas as degenerate. The Arya Samaj greatly stemmed the tide of conversion of Hindus to other religions, and reclaimed converted people to the fold of Hinduism. It has done a great deal of social and educational work, especially in Punjab and U.P. (D.I.H.) Der: Arya Samajist a 1:169, 522, 719 2:250, 353-55, 363-64 4:246, 252 10:29 14:418 VII: 22 XVI: 135

Aryasthan See Aryavarta

Aryavarta a term used by the ancient Aryan-speaking people of India to distinguish the land they occupied in the Indo-Gangetic plain from the lands of the Deccan held by others. Other terms used by Sri Aurobindo for "the land of the Aryans" are: Aryabhumi; Aryaland; and Aryasthan. (Enc. Br.) Var: Aryavertha; Aryavurtha 1:70, 906 5:223, 325-26, 330 12:456, 494 1:4, 20, 22 IV: 109 Asa, Prince of the title of Uriu, one of the speakers in "Conversations of the Dead" by Sri Aurobindo. o 3:478-79

Asan name of a place, real or imaginary, mentioned in Sri Aurobindo’s story "The Golden Bird". (A) 7:1052-53

Asanuddin Ahmed the District Magistrate of Khulna (Bengal), before whom came up the sedition case against Venibhusan Rai in 1907. (A) 1:485-86

Ascanus’ In Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, a Trojan senator. (M.I.) a 5:412 Ascanus2 in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion,a Hellene warrior, son of Phrinix, wounded in the battle by Valarus, whom he later helps to slay. (M.I.)

5:518-19 VI: 135

Ascent to Earth of the Daughter of Hades a poem by George Meredith which Sri Aurobindo greatly admired. (A) 26:264

Ashe Robert William D’Estcourt Ashe, who came to India in 1895. As sub-collector at Tuticorin (South India) in 1908, he took an active part in the official campaign against the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Co. On 17 July 1911 when he was the District Magistrate of Tinnevelly, he was shot in a railway carriage at Maniyachi junction by Vanchi Aiyar, a clerk in the Tranvancore Forest Department, who committed suicide a few minutes later. Mr. Ashe died soon after he was shot. It is said that the conspiracy to assassinate him was hatched in Pondicherry under the inspiration ofV.V.S. Aiyar and others, and that Ashe had been given a writ- ten warning in December 1910. (A; P.T.I; R.O.H.;Remin.;V.V.S.) 1:798 27:500

Ashoka the third and last major emperor (273-232 BC) of the Maurya dynasty of Magadha founded by Chandragupta Maurya. His dominion extended from the Hindukush in the northwest to Bengal in the east and from the foothills of the Himalayas to the river Pennar in the south. After his sanguinary conquest of Kalinga he became a changed man. He was converted to Buddhism, and he spread Buddhism far and wide, thus turning it into a world religion. (D.I.H.) Var: Asoca; Asoka Der: Asokan 1:632, 705, 739, 769 4:141, 227 7:742 14:94, 183, 187, 193, 237, 328, 330, 351, 354, 375, 403 15:436 27:67 XVII: 25

Ashram See Sri Aurobindo Ashram

Ashtaroth; Ashtorath See Astarte (Col. Enc.)

Ashubabu See Asubabu

Ashu(dada) someone closely associated with Sri Aurobindo at Srinagar during his stay in Kashmir with the Gaekwar in 1903. (A) D IV: 194

Ashwala the Hotri priest of Janaka, king of Videha, who appears as an authority in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. (V. Index) 12:295, 302

Ashwalayana (fl. 400 BC?), in Vedic litanies, a teacher as well as a sage. He was a celebrated author of many works on ritual and a founder of a Sakha of the Rig-veda. (Enc. Br.;Dow.) 12:415-17

As(h)wamedha "Horse-Sacrifice", performed in India in ancient times by great kings to establish their supreme sovereignty. An especially fine stallion was selected and allowed to roam freely for a year under the protection of a royal guard who claimed for the king all land covered in its wanderings. If the horse entered a foreign country, its ruler either had to fight or to submit. If the horse was not captured during the year, it was victoriously brought back to the capital accompanied by the rulers of the lands it entered, and then sacrificed at a great public ceremony. The wandering horse was said to symbolize the Sun in its journey over the world, and consequently, the power of the king over the whole earth. On successfully carrying out a horse-sacrifice the king could assume the title of Chakravartin (universal monarch). The rite served not only to glorify the king but also to ensure the prosperity and fertility of the entire kingdom. Sym- bolically, the horse-sacrifice is the offering of the Life-power with all its impulses, desires, enjoyments to the divine existence. (Enc. Br.; A-11, p. 242 fn) Var: Asvamedha 12:371, 399-400 15:288 IX: 12

Ashwamedha (Bharata) a Vedic Rishi, descendant of Bharata. 10:416-17 11:241-42

As(h)wattha in Hindu mythology, the sacred fig-tree that symbolises the cosmic manifestation. (A) Var: Asvattha; Uswuttha n 4:43 5:237-38 12:262, 423 13:349, 425, 429 18:485 23:970 27:156

As(h)watthama in the Mahabharata, son of Dronacharya, and one of the generals of the Kauravas. He is said to be immortal and is supposed to have been living near the river Narbada for 36, 000 years. (Dow.; A) Var: Ashwatthaman a 3:194 4:76 8:77 24:1235

Ashwini Babu See Dutt(a), Aswini (Kumar)

As(h)wins "horsemen"; Riders on the (Steed of) Life, the twin deities of Vedic India. They are beneficent, associated with healing, and have a parallel in the Greek Dioscuri. Their special function is to perfect the nervous and vital being in man in the sense of active enjoyment, but they are also powers of Truth, of intelligent action, of right enjoyment.

(Enc.Br.;I&G) Var: Uswins 1:280 4:22-23, 37 5.: 538 10:75-82, 84-85, 120, 122, 124-25, 136-38, 153-54, 176, 238, 271, 314-23, 327-28, 363, 415, 438, 449, 517 11: 31-32, 167, 240, 466, 494 13:364 17:257 IV: 117-23 VI: 149 VII: 38 X: 184-85 XIII: 54, 61 XIV: 110 XV: 13, 30, 39, 41-42 XVI: 149, 159-60, 162-66, 169, 171, 173-74 XVII: 14, 44, 46, 47 XXI: 28

Asia largest of the continents of the world. Der: Asian; Asianised; Asiatic(s); Asiaticised; Asiaticism a 1:48, 93, 143, 259, 261, 271, 343, 391, 465, 467, 469, 481, 538, 576, 620, 705, 712, 749, 752-53, 757, 759-60, 768, 800, 814-16, 842-43, 880, 904 2:19, 28, 31, 34-35, 39, 84, 117-18, 167, 169, 192, 218, 231, 247-49, 256-57, 293, 296, 390, 404 3:189, 306, 345, 418, 481, 484 4:44, 144, 215, 219 5:13, 56, 405-06, 408, 413-14, 418, 427, 429, 432, 469, 474-77, 489, 492, 514, 569 6:20, 426-27, 431 7:665, 780, 1027, 1031 8:383 9:112, 283, 423, 522 10:23 12:37, 497, 499 13:79 14:1, 3-4, 6, 10, 25, 32, 51-52, 54, 57, 63, 80-82, 128, 147, 189, 224, 242, 263, 270, 324, 329, 345, 354, 376, 378-79, 393, 41215:17-18, 20, 22, 44, 46, 59, 79, 148, 162, 178, 210, 225, 229, 263-64, 287, 294, 296, 300-03, 314, 316-17, 324, 328, 331-33, 340, 343, 351, 367, 378, 384, 407-08, 411, 413-14, 419, 437, 445-47, 454, 469, 480, 483, 502, 505, 512-13, 537, 566-67, 604, 609, 619, 622, 626, 633, 635, 638, 640-42, 644-49 16: 306, 309-11, 313, 326, 365, 370, 407 17:114, 153, 180-81, 185, 191, 196, 248-49, 302, 349, 377, 387 19:763, 1051 22:77, 128-29, 205, 393 23:510, 555 26:39, 400-02, 405, 416, 482 27:122-24, 348, 419, 442, 448, 467 1:8, 24-25 11:84 111:22, 29 IV: 161-62 V: 79, 95 VI: 164, 196, 199 VIII: 169, 176 XIII: 47 XV: 5 XVI: 181-82

Asia Minor (also called Anatolia) the Asian portion of what is now Turkey. Asia Minor was the centre of the Hittite empire during the 2nd millenium BC. (Enc. Br.) n XVI: 138 XVII: 48

Asilon name of a place mentioned in one of the "Conversations of the Dead" by Sri Aurobindo. It is imagined to have been on earth many millions of years ago, and to have had temples and market-places where Turiu and Uriu had met. (A) 3:477-78

Asita (fl. c. 6th cent. BC), Indian sage, also called Kala Devala. (Enc. Br.) 13:344

Asius in Greek legend, a Troj an warrior, son of Dymas and brother of Hecuba, (in Sri Aurobindo’s llion) slain by Ajax before the start of the epic. (M.I.) 5:426

Aslaug a character – sister of Swegn – in Sri Aurobindo’s play Eric. 6:473, 477-81, 483-512, 516, 518-37, 542, 546; 549-51, 553-54, 556, 558-59

Asoca; Asoka See Ashoka

Aspasia (fl. 5th cent. Be), Greek courtesan; mistress of Pericles. She was renowned for her learning, her wit, and her beauty. (Col. Enc.) 3:297 X: 161

Aspetus in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, a Trojan seer and senator. (M.I.) 5:412

Aspromonte mountainous region in south Italy, 25 kilometres from Reggio. Here, in 1862, Garibaldi leading a volunteer corps against Rome, suffered defeat at the hands of the Italian army sent by King Emmanuel II under fear of international intervention. (Col. Enc.) X: 149

Asquith, Herbert Henry (1852-1928); Liberal M.P.(1886-1918, 1920-24); Prime Minister (1908-16), responsible, for the Parliament Act of 1911 which limited the power of the House of Lords, and leader of Britain during the first two years of World War I. He was created Ear! in 1925. (Enc. Br.; Gilbert, p. 50) Der: Asquithian 1: 849 2: 79, 228, 269-71, 298-300, 393-94 4:213-14 22:166 26:168

Asram See Sri Aurobindo Ashram Assad, Sardar the Bakhtyari leader who, with Sipahidar, effected the Persian Revolution in the beginning of the 20th century. (A) 2:118 Assam formerly a province in northeastern India with Shillong as its capital; presently a constituent state of the Indian Union with Dispur as its capital. During the period of the partition of Bengal, from 1905 to 1911, Assam together with 15 districts of East Bengal formed a new province called "East Bengal and Assam". (Enc. Br.; S. Atlas) Der; Assamese l: 76, 212, 797 26:46, 409-10 27:8, 26 1:70, 75-76 Assarac a proposed character – a brother of Brutus – mentioned in the Dramatis Personae of Sri Aurobindo’s play The House of Brut. 7:883

Assyria a kingdom of northern Mesopotamia that became the centre of one of the great empires of the ancient NEAR EAST. It emerged as an independent state in 14th century BC, and the final destruction of the state occurred in 612-609 BC. The Assyrians, famous for their cruelty and fighting prowess, were also monumental builders. (Enc. Br.) Der: Assyrian(s)  2:34 3:227 4:143 6:43, 46, 99, 102, 114, 118.142, 150, 182, 186 7:1086-87 10:23 14:190 15:298, 343.347 17:303 V:95 XIX:25

Astarte or Ashtaroth, or Ashtorath (the Hebrew form is Ashtoreth), 1. Semitic goddess of fertility,

beauty, and (sexual) love; also the goddess of the moon. She is usually identified with Aphrodite; her name has also been used as a title of Aphrodite. (Col. Enc.; M.I.; Web.) 2. A proposed character – the Angel of Beauty – mentioned (as Ashtorath) in the Dramatis Personae of Sri Aurobindo’s play The Birth of Sin. a 5:31, 178, 182-84, 501, 539 7:901 17:257

Astyoches in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, a Trojan senator. (M.I.) 5:412

Asubabii very probably Ashutosh Chowdhuri. See Chowdhuri, Ashutosh n 4:238

Asura a term which in the Veda, as in the Avesta, is used for the supreme Deity, but also for the gods, his manifestations; only in a few hymns is it used for the dark Titans. In later times the term stood for the strong or mighty Titan; a (hostile) being of the mentalised vital plane; the intellectualised but unregenerate Ego. The Asura is the sixth type from below of the ten forms of consciousness in the evolutionary scale of man. He is mind concentrated on the Buddhi. (I & G; A) Der: Asurahood; Asuri; Asuric;

Asurism 1:62, 659, 663 3:175, 177, 423 4:1-2, 23.83.91, 97-99, 101, 110, 124, 126,  140-41, 144, 160.168, 299, 304, 306.311, 313 5:77, 79 10:388, 416, 470, 531, 53511:241, 310, 467 12:407, 409, 465-66, 474, 491, 499, 501, 532 13:19, 39, 53, 146, 150, 165-66, 174, 207, 267, 312-13, 360, 436, 448, 454-59, 470, 472, 481; 550, 573 14:103, 204.222, 235, 287-88, 292, 388 15:26, 36, 596, 635 16:133, 276, 278 17:73, 237, 378 18:603 19:1022, 1068 20:108, 160, 199, 222.450 21:713.716, 720, 738 22:5, 172, 203-04, 381-82. 385-87, 390, 394-96, 398, 402, 404, 447, 481, 495 24:1094, 1290, 1303, 1316-17, 1334, 1648, 1737, 1741 25:11, 27-28, 39, 61-62, 75-76, 276, 344.389 26:39, 169, 206, 393-94, 396, 465, 494 27:158, 325, 364 11:76-79 V:89 VI: 127, 183-87, 189-90, 192 VII: 9, 25, 27 IX: 5, 40 XI: 40 XII: 194 XIV: 168 XV: 26 XVIII: 132, 138 XIX: 24, 72 XXI: 7, 72-73, 78

Asvamedha See As(h)wamedha

Asvamedha (Bharata) See Ashwamedha (Bharata)

Asvattha See As(h)wattha

Asvin See As(h)wins

Aswamedha See As(h)wamedha

Aswapati literally "the Lord of the Horse"; in the tale of Satyavan and Savitri in the Mahabharata, Savitri’s human father. Sym- bolically Aswapati is the Lord of Tapasya, the concentrated energy of spiritual endeavour. (A) Var: Aswapathy 26:265 27:511 28:341 29:369, 417, 421, 424, 427, 456, 731,

770, 773

Aswattha See As(h)wattha

Aswatthama See As(h)watthama

Aswin the seventh month (September- October) of the year in the Hindu calendar. 8:318 "

Aswini a character, representing Aswini Kumar Dutta, in Sri Aurobindo’s play "The Slaying of Congress", published in Bande Mataram (February 1908) a i: 679, 695-96

Aswini Kumar See Dutt(a), Aswini (Kumar)

Aswins See As(h)wins

Atlanta in Calydon an early lyrical poem (1865) of Swinburne. It is a drama in the classical Greek form, with choruses (notably the hymn to Artemis) that revealed Swin- burne’s unsurpassed mastery of melodious verse, and brought him celebrity. (Ox. Comp.) 9:74, 142, 396 26:265

Ate‘ in Greek mythology, a daughter of Zeus who cast her from Olympus. She was a personification of the rash temper which leads men to folly and misfortune. In tragic writers she was also an avenger of evil deeds; hence she was often confused with Nemesis and the Erinyes. (Col. Enc.) 5:397, 417-18, 425, 434, 471, 473-74, 482 XV: 15

Ate2 a proposed character mentioned in the Dramatis Personae of Sri Aurobindo’s play The Maid in the Mill. a 7:821

Athamas in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, a Trojan admiral and senator. (M.I.) 5:412 Athanasian Creed a Christian profession of faith, also known as the Quicunque vult (from the opening words in Latin). It is an exposition of orthodox teaching on the Trinity and the incarnation in about forty verses. Regarded as authoritative in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some Protestant churches, the creed begins and ends

with stern warnings that unswerving adherence to the Catholic faith is indispensable to salvation. (Enc. Br.) XIII: 30

Atharvan a Vedic Rishi of the journeying on the Path; the eldest son of Brahma and the seer of the Artharva-veda. His descendants are called Atharvanas and are often associated with Angirasas. (A; Dow.; I & G) Var: Atharva (Atharva) Der: Atharvans (descendants of Atharvan) 4:29 10:180, 232, 237 11:275, 278, 399, 418 12:32, 269, 300, 329, 416 IX:5

Atharva Veda the fourth Veda, of later origin than the others. About one-sixth of its hymns are found also in the Rig-veda. (Dow.) Var: Atharvan (Atharvana), named after its Rishi ATHARVAN. (Note: the ex- pression Atharvana, though not occurring till the Chhandogya Upanishad, is earlier than the term "Atharvaveda", which was first used in the Sutras.) (V. Index-1, p. 57) 10:441 11:17 12:270, 448 18:271 19:657

Athene or Pallas (Athene), in Greek mythology, Olympian goddess of reason and skill, patroness of the arts of peace and war, and guardian of cities, especially of Athens. Depicted as a woman of severe beauty in armour, she is a virgin warrior but fights, not like Ares for the sheer assertion of strength and love of battle, but to uphold the right and establish order. She sprang, unmothered, from the forehead of Zeus. Her statue, the PALLADIUM, stood in Troy and was a symbol of protection so long as it remained undisturbed, but Athene herself aided Odysseus on the side of the Greeks. (Col. Enc.; M.I.) Var: Athena 5:11, 394.401, 403, 405, 415, 417, 422, 436-37, 439, 446, 450, 472-74, 478-79, 494, 498-502, 506-08, 511-12, 515, 517, 544 6:1, 3, 5-10, 24.78-80, 85, 94, 96, 126, 130, 158, 162-63, 174, 198-200 8:410 10:4, 77, 153 11:3, 468 22:389 25:74 XV: 15, 20 XVI: 137, 148, 179 XVII: 45

XIX: 25 XX: 119

Athens capitial of Greece and of Attica. It lies near the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Ancient Athens was the chief centre of classical Greek civilisation. (Enc. Br.; M.I.) Der: Athenian a 1:24, 31-32, 34, 520, 576 2:123, 168 3:10-11, 25-26, 68, 296 5:28, 254, 484 7:646 9:217, 227, 245 14:191, 367 15:85, 89-91, 177, 275, 287, 339, 430 16:322 17:103 26:238 27:280-81  29:785 X: 160 XIV: 116  

Atlantic second largest ocean extending in an S-shape from the Arctic to the Antarctic regions between the Americas and Europe and Africa. (Col. Enc.) a 5:84, 420, 505 6: 8, 432 7: 712, 1070 9:149 1:19, 22 III: 28 Atlantis in Greek legend, a large island in the western sea. Plato in his dialogues tells of the high civilisation which flourished there until the island was destroyed by an earth- quake. He described Atlantis as an ideal