-11_Glossary and Index Page 94 to 107.htm

532 13:82, 84-85, 105, 110, 138, 328.330, 359, 448, 454-56, 458 14:288, 292 16:133, 276, 278 19:1022 21:713, 741 22:385, 387, 495 11:38.76-77 111:55 IV: 138, 150 VI: 170, 176, 183-87, 190, 192 XV: 5

Devachan in theosophy, "the dwelling of the gods"; a state intermediate between two earth-lives, into which the Ego enters after the separation from Kamarupa (the subjective form created through mental and physical desires and thoughts in connection with matter by all sentient beings, a form which survives the death of their bodies), and after the disintegration of the lower principles on earth. (T.G.) XIIL33

Devadatta in the Mahabharata, name of Arjun’s conch-shell. (M.N.) a 4:76 8:77

Devadatta; Harischandra names of two imaginary neighbours used by Sri Aurobindo in his commentary on the Ishavasyopanishad, in the form of a dialogue between the Guru and the Student. Devadatta is also the name of an imaginary actor. (A) D 12:452-53, 464, 490 1:47-51 11:75

Devagiri a major fortress and administrative centre in medieval India. Founded in the late 12th century, the city was capital of the king- dom of Yadava dynasty in the Deccan. It was situated in the upper valley of the Godavari River. Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq renamed it Daulatabad, and a village of this name still exists in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state. (Enc. Br.; D.I.H.) n 3:215

Devajanma a collection of eighteen essays in Bengali by Nolini Kanta Gupta, first published in 1919. VII: 10. 23

Devaki in Hindu mythology, wife of Vasudeva, and mother of Krishna. She was daughter of Ugrasena’s brother Devaka, and a cousin of Kansa. She gave birth to Krishna in jail. (M.N.;Dow.) a 3:199 13:13 14:280 20:48 IV:168 VI:137, 155

Devala in the Mahabharata, a celebrated divine seer, son of a VASL) named Pratyusa. (M.N.) a 13:344

Devanagari also called Nagari, Indian script used to write the Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi, and Marathi languages. (Enc. Br.) a 4: 252 14: 205 17: 393 27: 495 XVIII: 190

Devas aVedicRishi. n 11:405

Devasangha the name Sri Aurobindo in- tended to give to a commune of those who aspired to a divine life. Around 1920 Sri Aurobindo had an idea of establishing such a commune (sangha) with its branches spread all over the country. (A) a 4:329, 331

Devashravas (Bharata) a Vedic seer, a prince, descendant of Bharata. a : 146

Devasura See Deva and Asura.

Devavata (Bharata) a Vedic seer and prince, descendant of Bharata and father of Srinjaya. a : 146, 196

Devavrata See Bose, Debabrata

Devavrath in the Mahabharata, Bhisma’s name in boyhood. He was the eighth son of Santanu, a king of the Lunar dynasty, and Gangadevi. Devavrata was the heir-apparent to the throne, but he gave up his right and took a solemn vow to remain a bachelor for life to satisfy the condition for marriage laid down by a fisherman with whose daughter, Satyavati, King Santanu had fallen in love. The gods thereupon declared that Devavrata would henceforth be known by the name "Bhisma" (terrible), on account of the rigour ofhisvow. (Pur. Enc.) 1:21

Devibhagavata title of a Hindu scripture devoted to the worship of Shakti. The Shaivas venerate this book as one of the eighteen Puranas. (Dow.; Pur. Enc.) 17:267

Devi Chaudhurani See Debi Chaudhurani

Devon a proposed character – son of Corineusmentioned in the Dramatis Personae of Sri Aurobindo’s play The House of Brut. a 7:883

Devonshire a maritime county in southwest England, a 3:69

Dewangunj a small town in eastern Bengal (now in Bangladesh) on the banks of the ‘ Brahmaputra, about 50 miles northwest of Mymensingh. (S.Atlas) a 1:331

Dewas formerly, the joint capital of Dewas Senior and Dewas Junior, princely states that merged with Madhya Pradesh state of the Republic of India in 1956. Dewas is now a town and district that comprises the two former states and much additional territory. (Enc. Br.) Q 26:351

Dey, Mukul Mukul Chandra Dey, now (1988) in his nineties, is a renowned artist. A student of Abanindranath Tagore at Shantiniketan between 1905 and 1911 and later a member of the staff, he maintained his guru’s style with his own individual touches. In 1919 he came to Pondicherry, met Sri Aurobindo, and in three sittings on 20 and 21 April made portraits from three different angles. Afterwards he became principal of the Calcutta School of Art. Mukul Dey was a Fullbright Scholar in the

U.S.A. in 1953-54, and has been a visiting professor at several universities abroad. (The Heritage, Aug. ’88, pp. 27-28; Purani; S.F.F.) a 17:321

Dhammapada probably the best known book in the Pali Buddhist canon and the most- quoted in other Buddhist writings. It is an anthology of basic Buddhist teachings (primarily ethical teachings) in an easy aphoristic style. The Mother commented on this text in the weekly classes she gave to the Ashram School children from Aug. 1957 to Sept. 1958. (Enc.Br.) n 14:256 XVI: 132

Dhananjaya; Dhanunjoy "conqueror of riches", a title especially of Arjuna, but also of some others. Q [Indexed with Arjun(a)]

Dhanwantari in Hindu mythology, the physician of the gods. According to legend, the gods and the demons sought the elixir Amrta, and, to obtain it churned the waters of the milky ocean. As one of its results, Dhanvantari rose from the waters bearing a cup filled with the Amrta. The Ayurveda, a traditional Indian system of medicine developed from a text in the Atharva-veda, was, according to the legend, communicated to Dhanvantari by Brahma, and Dhanvantari was deified as the god of medicine. (Enc. Br.) Var: Dhunwuntari 3:278 X: 159

Dhar, Bishnu Narayan (1864-1916), one of the most prominent nationalist leaders of the northern region (modern U.P.) in the early years of the Indian National Congress, who presided over its Calcutta session of 1911. He was a lawyer by profession, and held very liberal views on religion and social reform. (D.N.B.) D 27:36

Dhar, Gurucharan a pleader of Srinagar, whom Sri Aurobindo met during his stay in Kashmir in 1903. (A) o IV: 195

Dharani Dharani Nath Gupta, one of the two Kaviraj brothers arrested at Harrison Road, Calcutta on 1 May 1908 and tried in the Alipore Bomb Case. See also Nagendra(nath). (A) D 4:302-03

Dharinie a character – queen of Vidisha - Kalidasa’s play Mdlavikagnimitram. (See Malavica and the King.) n 3: 231, 263, 274, 289 8:135, 138, 149-54 X: 116, 118, 130, 132-40, 156, 175-76

Dharma’ a Bengali weekly of Calcutta edited by Sri Aurobindo from August 1909 to February 1910. Sri Aurobindo wrote most of its articles and editorial comments himself. The last issue of the journal came out

on March 28, 1910. (I & G) a 2:173, 317, 358, 413 4: pre., 173, 175, 178, 184, 187, 192, 195, 201, 205, 209, 212, 214, 217, 221, 223, 227, 231, 234, 237, 240, 243, 246-47, 249-50 26:34, 56, 60 27:117 XVI: 193 XVII: 69

Dharma1 a small Tamil paper in the form of a little booklet brought out from Pondicherry around 1911 by V.V.S. Aiyar. It was allowed free circulation in British India. (A; A & R, XVII: 107) a 27:501

Dharma o Jatiyata "Religion and National- ism", title of a Bengali book by Sri Aurobindo first published in 1920 by Prabartak Publish- ing House of Chandernagore. It contains most of the leading articles he wrote in his weekly j ournal Dharma. (A) D 4: pre.

Dharmatattwa a book of essays by Bankim Chandra, in which the idea of a perfect and many-sided Karmayoga is sketched. Some essays came out serially in the monthly magazine Navajeewan edited by Akshaya Chandra Sarkar. These essays slightly enlarged, together with a few others, were published by Bankim in book form in 1888 under the title Dharmatattwa – Prathama Bhaga-Anushilan. (A;B.R., II) 17:345-46

Dhartarashtras; Dhartarashtrians sons of Dhrtarastra, often referred to as the Kauravas as opposed to the Pandavas. D [Indexed with Kaurav(a)(s)j

Dharuna Angirasa a Vedic Rishi, descendant of Angiras. 11:227

Dhatri used here (17: 271) as an epithet of the Hindu goddess Durga or Chandi, denoting her power of producing life and preserving health. (Dow.) a 17:271

Dhaum more correctly, Dhaumya; in the Mahabharata, a Rishi, younger brother of Devala, and family priest of the Pandavas. (Dow.; M.N.) Var: Dhowma n 8:28, 37

Dheds a formerly untouchable caste among the Hindus of Gujarat. a XV: 68

Dhingra, Madanlal (c. 1883-1909), an Indian revolutionary, son of a rich and loyal land- lord of Amritsar (Punjab). As a student of engineering in London he regularly partici- pated in political discussions held at the INDIA HOUSE. On 1 July 1909, he shot dead Lt. Col. Sir William Curzon-Wyllie, political aide-de-camp to the Secretary of State for India at a gathering in London. For this act Madanlal was condemned to death and executed on 17 August 1909. (V.V.S., pp. 47-53) a 2:97.119 XV: 62-63

Dhond a place in or near Srinagar in Kashmir. (A) a iv: 193

Dhoomraksha See Dhumraksha

Dhowma See Dhaum

Dhristadyoumna in the Mahabharata, commander-in-chief of the Pandava armies. He was son of the Paiicala king Drupada, and brother of Draupadi. (Dow.) a 4:75, 77, 83 8:78

Dhristaketou in the Mahabharata, king of the Kekayas and an ally of the Pandavas. (Dow.) a 4:75 8:77

Dhritarashtra in the Mahabharata, the eldest son of Vicitra-virya, and brother of Pandu. He married Gandhari, and by her had a hundred sons, the eldest of whom was Duryodhana. Since Dhritarashtra was born blind, and Pandu was afflicted with some disease, the two brothers in turn renounced the throne. The great war of the Mahabharata was fought over the succession between their sons, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. (Dow.) Var: Dhritarashtra Vaichitravirya D 3: 151, 169, 190-91. 194-95. 199. 208 4: 71, 75, 77, 80, 102 8:60, 77-79 13:13, 22, 186 22:425 27:83 IV: 116 VI: 155-56

Dhritarashtrians sons of Dhritarashtra. See Kaurav(a)(s)

Dhruv in Hindu mythology (Vishnu Purana), son of King Uttanapada by his wife Suniti. Being contemptuously treated by his step- mother Suruci, Dhruva left home while he was quite a child. At that tender age he went through a rigorous course of austerities, and at the end obtained the favour of Vishnu, who raised him to the skies as the pole-star. (Dow.) 5:84 XIII: 44

Dhulia administrative headquarters of Dhulia district in the province of Bombay (now Maharashtra state). (Enc. Br.) 1: 825, 838. 840-41. 850. 896-97

Dhumraksha in the Ramayana, name of a Rakshasa who was slain by Hanuman. (M.N.) Var: Dhoomraksha a 8:24 V:14-15

Dhunwuntari See Dhanwantari

Dhyani Buddha (a sculpture of) Buddha in the meditating posture; the term is used in Mahayana and Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism to denote a group of five Buddhas, usually identified as Vairocana. Aksobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi. The term is commonly used in describing groups of images composed of five meditating Buddhas – as on the terraces of the great monument at Borobudur (see Boro Budoor) in Java. (Enc. Br.) a 14:206

Diamond Harbour a town in 24-Parganas district of Bengal (now West Bengal state), on both sides ofHajipur creek, a tributary of the Hooghly River. (Enc. Br.) 4:182

Dian(a) in Roman religion, originally a woodland goddess, and special goddess of women and children. She was also the goddess of the moon, which accounts for her identification later with the Greek moon- goddess Artemis. (Enc. Br.) a 5:4, 544 9:543

Dickens, Charles (John Huffam) (1812-70), generally regarded as the greatest English novelist. Much of his work appeals to all intellectual and social strata and retains its popularity to the present. He is noted as one of the most varied and imaginative comic writers in English. (Enc. Br.) a 9:62, 330, 544 26:233

Dickinson, Lowes Prof. Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson (1862-1932), British author. He was educated at King’s College, Cambridge, and became a fellow there. He was interested in international relations, and generally maintained and propagated liberal opinions in international affairs. (Col. Enc.) a 9:554, 556 14:10 22:150

Les Dieux ont soif a French novel (1912) by Anatole France. The English translation. The Gods are Athirst, came out in 1913. (Enc. Br.) a 9:557

Dike in Greek mythology. Justice personified. (A&R, XV:87) D XV: 15

Dilip Kumar See Roy, Dilip Kumar

Dilsa a place, probably imaginary, in Rajasthan. Var: Delsa (a misspelling) a 7:741, 781

Dimbhuc also known as Chitrasena (Chitrasane, the spelling used by Sri Aurobindo), one of two great warrior- brothers (the other being Hansa or Hamsa) mentioned in the Mahabharata as friends and ministers of Jarasandha. (M.N.) Var:

Dimbic (a misspelling) a 8:40.42, 50.58

Dimitrius Demetrius I Poliorcetes (336-283 BC), king of Macedonia. He was the son of Alexander the Great’s general Antigonus I Monophthalmus, in whose campaigns he commanded with distinction and whose empire, based in Asia, he attempted to rebuild. (Enc. Br.) a 24:1562 26:209

Dinajpur administrative headquarters of Dinajpur district formerly in Rajshahi division, Bengal, presently in Bangladesh. (Enc.Br.) D 1:262, 366, 610 2:137 4:196

Dinanath, Lala (c. 1878-? ), an Arya Samajist of advanced views, belonging to Gujaranwala, Punjab.

He was editor of the nationalist journal Hindustan. In 1907, as the printer of India (See India3) he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. (P.T.I.; N.S.I., p. 18) a 1:433

Dindayal Din Dayal Bose of 24-Parganas, a co-accused of Sri Aurobindo in the Alipore Bomb Case. He was acquitted by the Ses- sions Court. (A.B.T.) D 4:264

Dinendra See Roy, Dinendra Kumar Dingaan also spelled "Dingane" (d. 1840), Zulu chief from 1828 to 1840. After instigating the murder of his half-brother, the great Zulu chief Chaka, Dingaan ruled until deposed by his brother Mpande. (Enc. Br.) n m:29

Dinshah a character in the dialogue "Dinshah-Perizade". The name is Persian. 3:475-76 Diogenes (c. 412-323 ec), Greek philosopher, eccentric originator and archetype of the Cynics, a sect that stressed stoic self- sufficiency and the rejection of luxury. He taught that the virtuous life is the simple life and dramatically discarded all social conventions, taking up his abode in a tub. He is said to have thrown away his last utensil, a cup, when he saw a peasant drink from his hands. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) D 1: 142-43

Diomede a character - a slave-girl, servant and playmate of Andromeda – in Sri Aurobindo’s play Perseus the Deliverer. 0 6: 3, 11-14, 27-39, 42, 57-58, 64-65, 76-78, 80-81, 88-89, 93-95, 108-10, 113, 126-28, 130-31, 181, 185, 187

Diomedes in Greek legend, son of Tydeus and Deipyle; he brought eighty Argive ships to Troy and was one of the most respected Greek leaders in the Trojan War. (M.I.; Enc. Br.) a 5:442-43, 459, 470, 478, 487-88, 506

Dionaean in Greek mythology, an epithet of Aphrodite (daughter of Dione). (M.I.) a 5:501

Dione in Greek religion, the cult partner of Zeus of Dodona. She was probably the original consort of Zeus, but was supplanted by Hera. According to Homer she was the mother of Aphrodite. (Enc. Br.; M.I.) D 5:500

Dionysus in Greek mythology, the god of fertility and wine, also called Bacchus. He was intimately connected with the Mysteries, and was

patron of choral songs and the drama. Legends concerning him are profuse and contradictory. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) Der: Dionysiac; Dionysian n 11: 469 13:129 15:219 16:98, 336, 338-39 17:113 28:128.164, 344 29:625, 733, 754

Dioskouroi Greek form of the term Dioscuri. In Greek and Roman religions, the twin heroes, CASTOR AND POLLLIX, were together referred to as the Dioscuri. According to Homer they were sons of Leda and King Tyndareus of Sparta, but some said that they were, like Helen, children of Leda and Zeus. They were noted for their rescue of Helen from Aphidnae, for their part in the Caly- donian hunt and the expedition of the Argonauts, and for their final battle with another pair of inseparable twins, their cousins and rivals, Idas and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus. Zeus decreed that the twins should spend their days alternately in the underworld and among the gods. He also set their image among the stars as Gemini. Poseidon gave them power over wind and wave. In art each is represented as mounted on a magnificent white horse, carrying a spear, and wearing an egg-shaped helmet crowned with a star. Compare "As(h)wins". (Pears, H29; Web.) a 10:318

Dirce in Greek legend, queen of Thebes, and wife of Lycus. Amphion and Zethus punished her for her cruelty to their mother, Antilope, by tying her to the horns of a bull, as she had intended to do to Antilope. Dirce was turned into, or her bones were burnt and thrown into, the spring which bore her name. (O.C1.D.) a 5: 14. 608

Dirghatamas (Auchathya) a Vedic Rishi, son of Ucathya. It is said that he was born blind but obtained sight by worshipping Agni. (Dow.) a 10:53-54, 130, 335-36 11:5-6, 75 14:267 16: 349

Dis in Roman mythology, the god of the underworld, equivalent to the Greek Pluto or Hades (M.I.) a 5:495, 510-11

Dissenters the same as NON-CONFORMISTS. (Enc. Br.) 1:104-05

Diti in the Veda, mother of the Daityas, the powers of Darkness. She is the goddess of or a personification of divided Consciousness, and is associated with Aditi and seems to be her antithesis or complement. (A; Dow.) 0 10:126, 198-201, 224, 235, 383, 405, 421, 424, 459 11:168 XV: 38

Ditis in Sri Aurobindo’s epic Ilion, a sister of Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons. (M.I.) D 5:460

Divina Commedia; Divine Comedy, the title of a long narrative poem (La Divina Commedia) written about 1310-14 by Dante, usually held to be one of the world’s greatest works of literature. "La Commedia" was the original title, "Divina" was added by a later generation. Divided into three major sections - Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso – the narrative traces the imaginary journey of Dante from darkness and error to the revelation of the divine light culminating in the Beatific Vision of God. (Enc. Br.) Q 26:260 27:89, 92 29:798 1:7

Divodasa a pious liberal king mentioned in the Rig-veda, for whom, it is said, Indra demolished a hundred stone cities, meaning perhaps the mythological aerial cities of SAMBARA. (Dow.) XVIII: 177

Dixit surname of a Nationalist congressman of Nagpur, and a prominent member of the Reception Committee for the Congress Session of 1907. (A; Purani) 1:589

Djakovica a town in what is now Yugoslavia, near the Albanian border. 1-1 XXII: 138

Dnieper Dam dam at Zaporozhe, USSR, on the river Dnieper, one of the longest rivers in Europe. The dam, known as Dneproges Dam and constructed in 1932, is a great engineering feat. (Col. Enc.) a 9:381

Dniester a river rising in the Carpathians in southwestern European USSR. It flows generally southeast and empties through an estuary into the Black Sea southwest of Odessa. (Col. Enc.) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27] The Doctrine of Passive Resistance a series of articles first published in the daily Bande Mataram under the general title of "New Thought" from August 11 to 23, 1907. It was brought out in book form in 1948. An addi- tional article, "The Morality of Boycott", written for Bande Mataram but not published in it, was also included in the book. (I&G) 1:83

Dodona in Greek religion, a very ancient oracle, in the mountains of Epirus. It was sacred to Zeus and Dione. Priests interpreted the words of the oracle from the sound of a holy spring and from the wind in a sacred oak tree. (Col. Enc.) 5:490, 544

Dodsley, Robert (1703-64), author, London bookseller, publisher, playwright, and editor who was influential in mid-lSth century literary England and is associated with the publication of works by Samuel Johnson, Alexander Pope, Thomas Grey, and Oliver Goldsmith. (Enc. Br.) a II: 18

Dogberry a character – a constable – in Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado about Nothing. (Shakes.) a

9:333

Dog Star See Sirius

Dolopes ancient people on the borders of Aetolia and Epirus, notorious for their cruelty. They were reduced to vassalage by the Thessalians. An army of the Dolopes, led by Phoenix, fought at Troy on the side of the Greeks. (M.I.) a 5:516

Dolores one of Swinburne’s early lyrical poems, published in 1866 in the first series of his Poems and Ballads. (Ox. Comp.) D 9:395 26:265

Dom a widespread and versatile caste of scavengers, musicians, vagabonds, traders, and sometimes weavers, in North India and the Himalayas. Some scholars regard the caste as originating from an aboriginal tribe. The Doms are completely outside Brahminic control and have deities of their own. (Enc. Br.) a 4:268

Dongurh a place, apparently imaginary, in Rajasthan, India, near a forest. (A) Q 7:741-42, 744-45, 750, 752-54, 756, 760, 770, 773, 775, 777, 780, 782, 784-85, 787, 789-90, 805, 807, 811

Don Juan acknowledged masterpiece of Byron (pub. 1819-24), an epic-satire combining his art as a storyteller, his lyricism, his cynicism, and his detestation of convention. (Col. Enc.) 9:118

Donna Clara (Santa Cruz) in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Maid in the Mill, name of the Spanish noblewoman with whom Ismenia lodged. (A) a 7:840, 854, 857, 870

Donne, John (1572-1631), leading poet of the 17th-century English "Metaphysical School" of poetry. He was a prominent churchman and preacher, being dean of St. Paul’s. His poems and sermons, marked by passion, wit, and profundity of thought have received full publicity only in the present century. (Enc. Br.; Pears) a 9:309, 453, 478 26:262 29:800 Don Quixote hero of the novel Don Quixote (de la Mancha) by Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616), Spanish novelist, dramatist and poet. Don Quixote, a country gentleman of fantastic imagination who has read too many chivalric romances, sets out on a series of extravagantly chivalrous adventures accompanied by the peasant  Sancho Panza of hardheaded practicality as his squire. (Col. Enc.) a 9:549

Doonya a character – niece of Alfazzal Ibn Sawy – in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora. a 7:561, 586-93, 595-601, 603-12, 620, 624, 630-34, 670, 707, 715, 717-20, 732

Dorian The Dorians were the last of the Indo-European invaders of Greece. They settled first in the Peloponnesus (a peninsula forming the southern part of the mainland of Greece), but rapidly extended to Crete and spread colonies to Italy, Sicily, and Asia Minor. Their full inrush came after the fall of Troy. (Col. Enc.; M.I.) 5:17, 486, 491

Dorian Gray the title character in Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. a 3:3

Doric a group of Greek dialects spoken in ancient times in northwestern Greece, throughout most of the Peloponnese, and in the south Aegean as far east as Asia Minor. In much of this area Doric replaced other Greek dialects after the Dorian invasions. Doric was also spoken in Sicily at Syracuse, a Dorian colony. (Enc. Br.) n 17:296

Doris a character – a forest damsel - in Sri Aurobindo’s story "The Witch offline". n 7: 1057, 1081

Doumergue, Gaston (1863-1937), French political figure whose term as the twelfth president of the Third Republic was marked by nearly constant political instability. (Enc. Br.) 27:444

Draconian Draco or Dracon (fl. c. 7th cent. Be) was an Athenian lawgiver. Draconian laws (introduced c. 621 BC) were most note- worthy for their harshness; they were said to be written in blood, not ink. Death was prescribed for almost all criminal offences. Hence the term "Draconian" has come to mean rigorous, harsh, cruel. (Enc.Br.; C.O.D.) 2:249

Draupadi(e) in the Mahabharata, daughter of Drupada, king of Panchala. A damsel of dark complexion but of great beauty, she was won by Arjun but eventually became the wife of all the five Pandavas. Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava brother, after losing his kingdom, his brothers and himself in a game of dice with his cousins the Kauravas, offered as stakes Draupadi and lost her as well. She was brought to the court where the Kaurava prince Duhsasana tried to disgrace her by pulling at the end of her sari. Draupadi pwyed to Lord Krishna for help and the cloth miraculously

continued to extend so that she was never disrobed. (Dow.) Var: Draupady; Droupadie a 2:399 3:150, 161-62, 175, 191, 207, 213 4:75, 77 7:773 8:28, 30, 59, 77-78 14:192 27:80 IV: 115 XV: 8

Dravidian(s) Dravida is the older name for the modern Tamilnadu, i.e., part of South India from near Madras in the north to Cape Comorin in the south. The Dravidians are believed by some authorities to have in- habited the entirety of what is now India and afterwards were driven out of North India by the Aryans. The Dravidians retained their predominance in South India for long centuries and are still represented by the peoples who speak Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kanarese. But the story of an Aryan invasion is in fact a mere myth (see Arya). (D.I.H.) Der: Dravidic a 3:198, 214-15 4: 24 10: 1, 3, 24, 35-36, 44, 46, 99-100, 104, 120, 133-34, 139, 148, 166, 178, 187, 212, 215, 228, 233, 333, 353, 545, 553-54, 557-58 11: 2, 8, 471, 478, 503 12:54 14:218-19, 221, 223, 256 17:278, 298, 339 26:408, 410 27:165-66, 183, 280, 303 XIV: 120, 122, 139-40 XV: 17-18, 23 XVI: 136 XVII: 37, 41, 43, 45

Dreadnought a type of twentieth-century battleship, greatly superior in tonnage and power to all its predecessors. (C.O.D.) a 2:34

Drewett, Mr. and Mrs. The Rev. William H. Drewett, Congregational minister of the Stockport Road Church (now known as the Octagonal Church), Manchester, and his wife. They acted as guardians for Sri Aurobindo and his two elder brothers at Manchester from 1879 to 1884. Sri Aurobindo was tutored at home by the Drewetts. Mr. Drewett, an accomplished Latin scholar (he had been a Senior Classic at Oxford), grounded Aurobindo in that language very well, and also taught him English, history, etc. Mrs. Drewett taught him French, geography, and arithmetic. When Drewett emigrated to Australia he left the three Ghose brothers in the charge of his mother. (Purani, pp. 5, 7; A & R) n 26: 1-2 IV: 198 XIV: 163 Drina a river in Yugoslavia, originating with the confluence of the Tara and Piva rivers and following a 215-mile course, mainly northward, to enter the Sava. (Enc. Br.) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27] Drishadwati in Hindu mythology, a river forming one of the boundaries of BRAHMA- VARTA, perhaps the Kagar

before its junction with the Sarsuti (Saraswati). Drishadvati is mentioned in the Rig-veda. along with the Saraswati and the Apaya, as the scene of action of the Bharata princes. It is sometimes identified with the modern Chitang(orChitrung). (Dow.;M.N.; V. Index) ll: 147

Drona in the Mahabharata, Acharya or teacher of military art to both the Kaurava and the Pandava princes. In the great war Drona sided with the former, and, succeeded Bhishma as commander-in-chief. He was unfairly slain by Dhrstadyumna. Drona was sonofBharadwaja. (Dow.) a 3:194-95 4:78, 83-84. 97, 102, 288 8:78, 80 13:55, 370

Droupadie See Draupadi(e)

Druhyu in the Vedas, a devotee of Indra, Agni, and the Ashwins. The name occurs many times in the Rig-veda, in both the singular and the plural. (B.P.C.) a VI: 148

Druids priests and medical men of Celtic Britain and Gaul and probably of all ancient Celtic peoples everywhere. They constituted an upper priestly class in command of a highly ritualistic religion. The Druids were highly educated and passed their learning from one generation to another without writing it down. Knowledge about them is obtainable chiefly from ancient Greek and Roman accounts and from medieval Irish literature. Though Druidism was officially exterminated by the Romans toward the end of the 1st century AD, it was kept alive underground for a long time thereafter. (Col. Enc.; Enc. Am.) Der: Druidic a 15:290 XIII: 23

Drupad(a) in the Mahabharata, king of Panchala. In the great war he was an ally of the Pandavas, his sons-in-law. He was killed by Drona against whom he bore an old animosity. (Dow.) n 3:190.195.204-05, 207 4:75, 77 8:59, 77-78 IV: 115

Drus in Sri Aurobindo’s llion, a Phthian warrior killed in battle by Valarus. (M.I.) n 5:518 VI: 135 Dryden, John (1631-1700), English poet, dramatist, translator, and critic. He dominated the literature of the later 17th century in English, a period sometimes known as "the age of Dryden". He is also often considered the father of English criticism. (Enc. Br.) a 3:106, 156 9:51, 53, 74, 78, 80, 86-87, 113, 132, 161, 212, 246, 271, 274, 376-77, 387, 425, 472, 478-79 1:9, 12-13

D. Swami S. Doraiswami Aiyar (1882-1976), a highly respected advocate and member of the Madras

bar who became a disciple of Sri Aurobindo. He retired from practice in 1938 and settled in Pondicherry as a full-time disciple. [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]

Dublin county, borough, seaport, and capital of the Irish Republic and of County Dublin. (Enc.Br.) 1:23 17:298

Dublin University also known as "Trinity College", oldest university in Ireland, founded in 1591 by Queen Elizabeth I and endowed by the city of Dublin. It was limited to Anglicans for many years, but in 1873 all religious requirements were eliminated. It is presently a co-educational institution. (Enc.Br.) a 11:19

Duce chief; leader; title (II Duce) assumed by Benito Mussolini, as Fascist head of Italy (1922-43), (Web.) IS: 197

Duchess of Malfi the chief character in a tragic play of the same name by John Webster, first perfomed c. 1613 and first published in 1623. As a result of the Duchess’s marriage to a commoner, she is imprisoned by her brother and, after a long torture, put to death. (Enc. Br.) a 3:302

Dufferin, Countess of Lady Harriet Georgiana Dufferin. wife of Lord Dufferin (married in 1862). In India, as the vicereine, she established a national association for supplying modern gynaecological aid to the women of India. The association started the Countess of Dufferin Fund out of which the Lady Dufferin Hospital was later on established in Calcutta. (D.I.H.) D 27:114-16 Dufferin, Lord Frederick Temple Hamilton- Temple-Blackwood, 1st marquis of Dufferin and Ava (1826-1902), British diplomat who as the viceroy and governor general of India from 1884 to 1888 placated the British com- munity, which had been antagonized by Ripon’s reforms. (Enc.Br.) a 1:395 27:3 III: 12

Dufresne a character participating in "A Dialogue" (incomplete) written by Sri Aurobindo around 1891. (A & R) a 11:8

Duhsasana in the Mahabharata, one of the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra. The Pandavas having lost their wife Draupadi in gambling with Duryodhana, Duhsasana dragged her forward by the hair and tried to strip her. Reacting to this outrage, Bhima took a vow  to kill him and he fulfilled the vow on the sixteenth day of the great war. (Dow.) a 3:194

Dukhabhisar a Bengali poem by Rabindra- nath Tagore, published in an issue of the Suprabhat that was reviewed by Sri Aurobindo. (A) n 3:430

Dukkhineswar See Dakshineshwar

Duma in Russia, elected legislative body that, with the State Council, comprised the imperial Russian legislature from 1906 to 1917. (Enc. Br.) Der: Dumaist a 1:97, 175, 267 2:192, 374, 382 Dumas, Alexander Alexandre (Davy de la Pailleterie) Dumas, also called Dumas Pere, (1802-70), French novelist and dramatist. He wrote a number of historical novels including The Three Musketeers. He was one of the most prolific and most popular of nineteenth- century French authors. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) n 9:560

Duncan a character – king of Scotland – in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, modelled on the historical Duncan I (d. 1040), king of Scotland (1034-1040), who was murdered by his general Macbeth. (Shakes., Enc. Br.) D 9:495

Dundac or Dandakaranya, in the Ramayana, a forest lying mainly between the Godavari and Narmada rivers. According to some pas- sages of the Ramayana it begins immediately south of the Yamuna. The forest is the scene of many of Rama and Sita’s adventures. (Dow.) D 8:10, 20-21, 23

Dunkirk seaport in northern France, on the Strait of Dover between Calais and the Belgian frontier. In 1940 Dunkirk was the scene of an evacuation of more than 300, 000 Allied troops, cut off from land retreat by the German break-through to the French Channel ports. This evacuation was one of the most heroic and most memorable actions in naval history. The Germans entered only the ruins of Dunkirk. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) D 26:39

Duntvaecar Dantavakra, in the Maha- bharata, king of Karusa (see Karoosh), born of a demon. He was defeated in the battle by Sahadeva, the youngest of the Pandavas. (M.N.) n 8:40

Dupleix "S.S. Dupleix", name of the steam- ship by which Sri Aurobindo left Calcutta for Pondicherry on the morning of 1 April 1910 under the name of J.N. Mitter (Jotindra Nath Mitter). (A & R, XVII: 119) 0 26:37, 61 XVI: 194

Dupleix College an educational institution of Chandernagore. Charu Chander Ray was a professor in this college, and also its sub- director. (P.T.I., p. 400) a 4:291

Durandhar, M. V. (1871-1944), a celebrated Indian artist of world fame, also author and publisher of many books. (B.A.C.) D 3:428

Durant, Will William James Durant (1885-1981), American author and lecturer whose books. The Story of Philosophy (1926) and The Story of Civilization (in 10 volumes, 1935-67), established him as one of the best known writers of popular philosophy and history. (Enc. Br.; The Hindu-10.1 {.81) n 9:485

Durazzo Italian name of Durres, Serbo- Croatian Drac, primary seaport of Albania and capital of Durres district, lying on the Adriatic coast, just west of Tirane. It was held by the Turks from 1501 until their defeat in the First Balkan War (1912-13) (Enc. Br.) D XXI: 4

Durga also referred to as Chandi and Mahisha Mardini, in Hindu religion, the goddess who is the Energy of Shiva and the conquering and protecting aspect of the Universal Mother. She is the slayer of many demons including Mahisasura. Durga is usually depicted in painting and sculpture riding a lion, and having eight or ten arms, each holding the special weapon of one or another of the gods who gave them to her for her battles with demons. (A; Enc. Br.) 0 1:61, 65, 287 4:1-3.154, 163 5:544 8:310, 313.339 11:3 12:474, 503, 508 13:42 14:137, 204.235, 320 17:262, 269 20:365 21:575 22:389-90 23:951 25:74-75, 96 29: 509. 561 I: 41 IV: 174 XV1I1: 190

Durgesh Nandini a Bengali novel, Bankim Chandra’s first notable Bengali work, written in 1862-64 and published in 1865. It features a Rajput hero and a Bengali heroine. It is of indifferent quality, but with it the Bengali novel was born. (Enc. Br.; B.R.-I) 3:91 27:352

Durvasa an Indian sage, son of Atri and Anasuya. Thought to be an incarnation of Shiva, he was noted for his hot temper, and many fell or suffered under his curse. (Dow.) D 26: 187-88

Duryodhan(a) in the Mahabharata. the eldest son of King Dhritarashtra. After the death of Pandu, who left behind five sons called the Pandavas, the succession to the throne of

Hastinapur was disputed by Duryodhana. This culminated in the battle of Kurukshetra. Duryodhana was the leader of the Kauravas, and was very jealous and deceitful. His weapon was the mace or club, which was also the weapon of Bhima. Duryodhana took a special dislike to Bhima on account of his skill in the use of this weapon. In the battle, in order to fulfil his vow, Bhima unfairly dealt Duryodhana such a violent blow on his thigh that the bone was smashed and Duryodhana fell wounded. (Dow.) a 3:151, 176, 178, 191-95, 203-04, 208 4: 75-77, 82-84, 95-96 8: 60, 77 13: 160 14:292 26:398 27:80 111:6 IV: 116 VII: 51-53

Dus in Sri Aurobindo’s llion, a Trojan warrior. (M.I.) a 5:460

Dushyanta a valiant Indian king of the Lunar race, descended from Puru. He was husband of Shakuntala, by whom he had a son, Bharata (see Bharata2). Dushyanta is the hero of Kalidasa’s play Abhijndna Sdkuntalam. (Dow.) a 3:231 6:277 7:748 12:464 11:75

Dusk title of a poem by Harindranath Chattopadhyay, published in his collection The Feast of Youth that was reviewed by Sri Aurobindo in A/ya. (A) a 17:306, 309

Dussaruth(a) See Dasarath(a)

Dutamby‘ name of a young person of Pondicherry. a XXII: 174 Dutch presently, (of) the people of Holland or the Netherlands; historically, of Germany including the Netherlands. (C.O.D.) n 3:193 9:62 15:312

Dutt See Dutt, Romesh (Chandra)  Dutt, Aswini Kumar See Dutt(a), Aswini (Kumar) Dutt, Bhupen(dranath) (1880-1961), Indian journalist and writer, youngest brother of Swami Vivekananda, and one of the associ- ates of Barindra Kumar Ghose. During the search of the Yugantar office, he, in a spirit of bravado, declared himself the editor although this was quite untrue. He was at the time only an obscure hand in the office incapable of writing anything important. Bhupen was arrested and sentenced. He served his term and subsequently went to America. (D.N.B.; A; Auro-I) a 1:487, 490, 530, 548, 744, 857 26:41-42 Dutt, Charu Chandra (1877-1952), member of the I.C.S., appointed at first as magistrate and then as judge in Bombay. Sri Aurobindo met him in 1904 and Dutt joined the revolutionary party. He had already, while in England

during the period 1896-99, estab- lished contact with the Irish revolutionaries, and was a member of a group of Indians who had pledged themselves to work secretly for the liberation of their country. He continued his secret activities even after joining the Indian Civil Service. In 1906 he helped to reorganize Bande Mataram and form a joint-stock company for the paper. He was implicated in the Manicktolla Bomb Case, but no charges were brought against him. After retiring in 1925 he stayed for some time at Santiniketan, and in 1940 joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, where he used to give lessons to the children in his room. (Purani; A & R; M.I., June ’79; S.B.C.; B.P.P., p. 47) D 26:56, 60 XVI: 193

Dutt, Hirendranath (1868-1942), a solicitor who worked in the political and economic fields for the cultural and educational regeneration of India. He supported the anti-partition agitation in 1905. (D.N.B.;

H.F.M.I.) a 2:230 4:260

Dutt, K. B. a barrister and later a Congress leader of Midnapore, Bengal, representing "the most lukewarm element" in the Moder- ate party. He was elected president by the Moderates for a conference to be held at Midnapore in December 1907, but he was not allowed to address the conference. The Nationalists convened a separate meeting on the following day which was presided over by Sri Aurobindo. (Purani; A; A.B.T., p. 92) a 1:634-36, 640-41, 643 2:305

Dutt, Kshitish Kshitish Chandra Dutt, a disciple of Sri Aurobindo. He was one of the twenty-four persons present on Siddhi Day (24 November 1926). (Purani, p. 217) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]

Dutt, Manmatha Nath editor of an English translation of the Mahabharata. (A) a 3:170

Dutt, (Michael) Madhusudan (1824-73), Bengali poet and dramatist, the first great poet of modern Bengali literature. A dynamic, erratic person, he was a genius of a high order. Meghanddavadha-kdvya is his magnum opus. (Enc. Br.; Gaz.-II) Var: Madhousudan a 3:76, 78-79, 90, 95-97, 101-02 4:pre. 5:27 9:307-08, 543-44 22:413 26:11 VI: 140-41, 143 XIII: 53

Dutt, Okhay Kumar (1821-86), Indian journalist, social reformer, and educationist. He was a pioneer of Bengali prose. (Enc. Ind.) a 3:78, 95-96

Dutt, Romesh (Chandra) (1848-1909), a member of the I.C.S. from 1871 to 1897. He promoted social reform and, after retirement, took a prominent part in the Indian national movement. In 1899 he was elected president of the Congress session held at Lucknow. R. C. Dutt served Baroda State as revenue minister from 1904 to 1906, and became prime minister of that state in 1909. Engaged in manifold administrative and other activities, he also found time and energy for literary pursuits. He wrote in Bengali a series of historical and social novels and translated the Rig-veda into Bengali and the Ramayana and the Mahabharata into English verse. Sri Aurobindo considered all his work, with the exception of the historical novels, successful journalism rather than literature. Nevertheless, he considered Dutt a gigantic worker who did an immense amount of pioneer spadework. (Enc. Ind.; D.I.H.; Wolpert, p. 259; A) Var: Ramesh Chandra Dutt; Romesh Chandra Dutta; Dutt D 1: 190, 199, 388, 415, 627, 705-06, 755 4:43, 226 9:453 17:367-70 23:527 26: 128 27: 17, 33. 437, 440 XIII: 62 XIV: 127

Dutt, Toru (1856-77), an Indian poet, "an accomplished verse-builder with a delicate talent and some outbreaks of genius" (9: 453). Her translations of the Romantic poets won high critical acclaim. In her short life of only 21 years she also wrote novels in French, and learnt Greek. (Enc. Am.; A) a 3:79 9:453-54

Dutta name given by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother to Dorothy Hodgson (1884-1948), an Englishwoman who, after being the Mother’s companion in France and Japan (1915-20), became their disciple in Pondicherry. She stayed in the Ashram till the end of her life. [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]

Dutt(a), Aswini (Kumar) (1856-1923), the most revered Nationalist leader of Barisal, a district of Bengal (now in Bangladesh). He was universally respected for his high moral character. He started an association called the "Little Brothers of the Poor". He was proprietor ofBrajamohan Institute (College and School), and also, for some time, professor of English literature and of law. (D.N.B.;A;P.T.I.) Var: Aswin Dutta; AshwiniBabu a 1:329, 609 2:45-47, 57-58, 60, 62-63, 76-77, 88-89, 91, 96, 154, 281, 343 4: 229 27: 36 VIII: 124

Dutta, Romesh Chandra See Dutt, Romesh (Chandra)

Dvija See Brahmin Dvipantara The reference is to the Andamans, a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal where a prison colony was maintained for those sentenced to transportation for life. a 4:289

Dwaipayan See Vyas(a)

Dwapara (Yuga) in the Indian astronomical reckoning devised by the Hindus, the third of the four Yugas (ages), traditionally said to last for 864, 000 years. In this Yuga righteousness is diminished by half. Vishnu manifested in the Dwapara Yuga as Krishna, his eighth incarnation. (Dow.) n 3:453 4:67-68, 85, 95 11:448-49 , .451-52 15:118 16:412 27:363 11:35, 37-38 111:56 V:96 VI: 155-56 VIII: 191, 193 XIV: 119

Dwar(a)ka one of the seven sacred cities of India and the main place of Hindu pilgrimage in the west of the country. Dwaraka was Krishna’s capital in Gujarat, founded after his flight from Mathura. It is said to have been submerged by the ocean seven days after his passing away. The present Dwarka is a town in Jamnagar district of western Gujarat. It was once part of the former princely state of Baroda. (Dow.; Enc. Br.) Var: Dwar(a)ca 1:596 5:84, 226 8:30, 38, 44, 406 23:676 26:130, 136, 188 27:116 1:22

Dwarbhanga Maharaja of DARBHANGA. Dwarbhanga is perhaps the original form of Darbhanga. n 4:223

Dwarkadas, Lala a respected leader of Punjab in the early 20th century. (A) D 4:179

Dwayawins a category of the "dualisers", "those powers who divide all the energies (in the universe) into acceptable and un- acceptable, friends and hostile, accept some and repel others". [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]

Dwita the god or Rishi of the second plane of the human ascent, that of the Life-Force. (A) D 10:403-04, 417 11:242

Dwita Mriktawahas a Vedic Rishi, descendant of Atri. a 11:230

Dwypaian See Vyas(a)

Dyau(s); Dyauh; Dyuloka 1. Heaven; the highest of the three cosmic regions spoken of by the Rishis; 2. the plane of the pure mental consciousness, of which Swar, the luminous mind, is the summit; 3. name of a masculine deity in the Vedas, occasionally called "Dyau-pitri" (heavenly father), the

earth being regarded as the mother. He is the father of Usha, the Dawn. (A; Dow.) 10:42, 55, 113-14, 171, 275, 316-17, 345 11:3, 24 11:76-77 XV: 25 XVII: 46

Dyaushpita in the Vedas, king of the heavens. (A) a 10:195, 448

Dyer, John (1699-1757), a Welshman chiefly remembered as the author of Grongar Hill (1726), a short descriptive and meditative poem in which the countryside is portrayed largely in terms of classical landscape. (Enc. Br.;0x. Comp.) 11:11-12, 16

Dyrrhachium the modern Durres or DURAZZO, in Albania. In 48 BC there was a temporary reversal in Julius Caesar’s march against Pompey near Dyrrhachium, which dealt a severe blow to Caesar’s prestige. (Enc. Br.) n V:63

Dyuloka See Dyau(s)

Dyumat(h)sena literally, "Lord of the Shining Hosts", in the tale of Satyavan and Savitri as narrated in the Mahabharata he is the father of Satyavan. Symbolically, he represents "the Divine Mind here fallen blind, losing its celestial kingdom of vision". (A) a 8:16 26:265 27:511 29:403, 424, 722

Dyumna Vishwacharshani a Vedic Rishi, descendant of Atri. (Jn) a 11:235

E

East, the; the Orient the eastern part of the Eurasian landmass, especially Asia and the nearby islands; countries east of the Mediterranean and southern Europe. (The term "Orient" is sometimes used to denote the Far East.) (Web.; C.O.D.) Der:

Eastern; Easterners; Oriental; Orientalist a 1:41, 48, 68, 156, 261, 365, 388, 426, 460, 466, 468, 487, 527-28, 576, 619, 625-26, 713, 757, 768, 770, 800, 8142:29, 209, 217-18, 258, 381, 402, 411 3:10, 101, 113, 286, 425, 447-48 4:25, 154-55, 165-68, 187, 227 5:176-77, 400, 403, 414, 419, 455, 461, 466, 476, 480, 485, 518 6:28, 412, 432 7:598, 712, 742, 1024 9:97, 99.110, 118, 253, 285, 443, 455-56, 536 12: 54-55, 486, 503 13:28, 141, 495 14:15, 17-8, 23, 37, 50, 54, 66, 77, 8183, 191, 211, 229, 233, 367, 376, 392, 431 15:2, 11-12, 14, 19, 22, 30, 33, 123, 166, 250, 295-96, 302, 346, 356, 430, 446, 480, 566 16:126, 220, 241, 309-13, 322-27.330, 366, 407 17:169, 180, 182, 193, 195, 274-76, 279, 300, 313-16, 324, 367, 370-71, 400, 404 18:21 19:876, 879-80, 1051 20:18, 367,

428, 434 22:132, 159-60 23:555-56, 558-59, 767 24:1236 25:228 26:413-16 27:149, 285, 355, 419 111:1, 26 IV: 161-63 VIII: 173-74 IX: 31 X: 113, 174 XIII: 26-27, 40-41, 50 XV: 24 XVI: 138, 182, 184, 186 XVII: 10-11, 66 XVIII: 150, 157, 160

East Bengal and Assam name of a province of India between 1905 and 1911, created as a consequence of the partition of Bengal. Fifteen districts of eastern Bengal were separated and linked with Assam to form the new province. (Enc. Br.) a 27:8, 26

Easter the annual Christian festival in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, the English name being derived from Eostre, goddess of Spring. It is a movable feast, the date of which cannot fall earlier than March 22 nor later than April 25. After many disputes among the early Christians, it was eventually ruled at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 that Easter Day should be the first Sunday after the full moon on or following the vernal equinox (March 21). If this hap- pens to be a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday after. (Pears, p. L35) n 1:702

Eastern Lights title of a book (1935) by Mahendra Sircar. It is a brief account of some phases of life, thought and mysticism in India, a 26:383

East India Charter a royal charter issued on December 31, 1600 under the name of the Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading with the East Indies, incorporating the British East India Company as a commercial organization. (Enc. Br.) a 1:464

E.B.S.R. Eastern Bengal State Railway. (A &R, XI: 110) D 2:365.370

Ecbatana now officially named Hamadan, a city beautifully situated at the foot of Mt. Elvend (or Alvand) and northeast of Behistun, in west-central Iran. It has had many names; the Greeks called it Ecbatana. It was one of the Median capitals under Cyrus II the Great (d. 529 BC), and later the summer residence of Achaemeriid and Parthian kings. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) (3 6:380, 384, 400

Echemus in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, a Hellene warrior, son of Aetes. (M.I.) D 5:518-19 VI:135

Eddington, Sir Arthur Stanley (1882-1944), British astronomer, physicist and mathematician. He was a pioneer in the fields of relativity, cosmology, and the internal constitution of the stars. He was also a writer on science and the philosophy of science. (Enc.Br.) 22:205-06 26:385-87

Eden Garden of Eden, in Genesis, the Biblical earthly paradise inhabited by the first created man and woman, Adam and Eve, prior to their disobedience of the commandments of God. (Enc. Br.) a 1:466 3: 33 5:28, 198, 200, 203, 208, 253, 532, 536, 547, 549 7:748, 806, 868, 913, 917, 935, 1002 17:137, 144, 148 26:352 28:127, 234 29:604 VI: 195 XII: 185 XVIII: 128

Eden Garden a public garden in Calcutta, laid out in 1835 by Mrs. Eden, sister of Lord Auckland, the then Governor General of India. It was the principal gathering place for the people of Calcutta in the evening. (Guide) n 3:85

Edinburg historical capital and cultural centre of Scotland, and one of the more distinctive of North European cities. It lies close to the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. Until 1975 Edinburgh was an independent borough or county of a city. The University of Edinburgh (founded in 1583) is particularly noted for its schools of medicine and law. (Enc. Br.) n 2:195 4:82

Edison, Thomas Alva (1847-1931), American inventor and a genius of technology. He held over a thousand U.S. and foreign patents, including those on the incandescent electric lamp, phonograph, and motion-picture projector. (Enc. Br.) 12:42 24:1235

Edith name of the woman (probably imaginary) addressed in Sri Aurobindo’s poem Night by the Sea 5:16, 18

Edur1 in Prince of Edur, the capital of Rana Curran; it is probably drawn after Idar, a town in Sabarkantha district, Gujarat, about fifty kilometres from its border with Rajasthan. (S.Atlas) d 7:739, 741, 743, 745, 747-48, 756, 758, 763-64, 766, 771-75, 777-78, 781-82, 787, 790-91, 800, 806, 809, 812, 815

Edur2 a character – Prince of Edur and Rana Curran of the Rathor clan – in Sri Aurobindo’s drama Prince of Edur. 0 1:745, 756-57, 777, 780, 801, 813

Edward, Sir See Baker, Sir Edward

Edward II a historical play (c. 1592) by Marlowe. Edward II was king of England from 1307 to 1327. (Col. Enc.) a 3:186

Edward IV (1442-83), collateral descendant of Edward III and king of England from 1461 to 1470 and

from 1471 to 1483. He spent the period 1470-71 in exile. He was an able but dissolute Yorkist leader whose reign brought about a revival in the power of the monarchy, in English sea power, and in foreign trade. (Col. Enc.; Pears) D 4:99 15:357

Edward VII (1841-1910), King of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India from 1901 to 1910. He was an immensely popular sovereign, best remembered as an affable man of fashion, a leader in the British sporting world and a free-lance diplomat throughout Europe and elsewhere. He gave his name to the Edwardian period in dress and English literature. (Enc. Br.) a 1:159

Edwardian the Edwardian Age of English literature, the period 1901-14, so called after King EDWARD VII. It was predominantly an age of prose. In poetry it was an age of endings and beginnings, Victorianism lingering on and the reaction to it appearing in the work of men like Kipling, A.E., and Yeats. (H.L.) D 9:346-47.

Egypt 1. a modern country (called United Arab Republic of Egypt) occupying the northeast corner of Africa and the Sinai peninsula of southwest Asia (Sinai is presently held by Israeli forces); its capital is Cairo. 2. an ancient country situated in the same region. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) Der: Egyptian(s) 1: 135, 242, 261, 267, 297, 305, 391, 413, 598, 602, 605, 721-22, 863, 881 2:35, 217, 406-07 3:186, 227 4:143, 252 5:350 6:15, 46, 333, 339-40, 344, 348, 351, 359, 361, 366, 368, 375, 385-87, 391, 403-04, 409, 419, 424, 427, 430, 435-36, 438, 440, 443, 451-52, 469 7:665-66 9:170, 316 10:23, 30, 147, 439, 445 11:4, 468 12:521 14:25, 190, 228-29, 233, 367, 392, 402 15:46, 298, 313, 342, 346, 447, 498, 502, 505-06, 644 16:309, 339, 406 17:195, 303, 387 19: 876, 1051 20:428 22:1, 103, 393, 489 26: 316, 395, 433, 467 27:280 V: 95 XIII: 44, 50 XV: 17 XVI: 186 XVII: 48 XIX: 24

Egyptian (language) extinct language of the Nile valley. It belongs to the Hamito-Semitic language family. The history of the language dates from before 3000 BC to at least the 17th century AD. Egyptian was originally written in hieroglyphs. Coptic, the last form of the Egyptian language, was written in a Greek alphabet modified by the addition of seven characters from the demotic script. (Enc.Br.) D 26:234

Egypto-Chaldean of the Egyptian and Chaldean civilisations, a 10:25

Eight Upanishads a compilation of texts and translations by Sri Aurobindo of eight Upanishads: Isha, Kena, Katha, Mundaka, Mandukya, Prashna, Taittiriya, and Aitareya. They are preceded by an essay "On Translating the Upanishads". (I & G) D 22:210

Einstein, Albert (1879-1955), American (born in Germany of Jewish paients, became an American citizen in 1940) theoretical physicist, best known for the formulation of the relativity theory. He was one of the most creative intellects in human history, and was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for physics for his photoelectric law and work on theoretical physics. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) Der: Einsteinian 6:2 14:199 16:82 22:202, 210 24:1248-49 26:386

Eire Irish (Gaelic) equivalent of Ireland. D [Indexed with Ireland]

Elburz major mountain range in northern Iran, south of the Caspian Sea. (Enc. Br.) a 7:579 Eldorado El Dorado, fictitious country or city abounding in gold. (C.O.D.) a 28:46

Elegy (An) Elegy (Written) in a Country Churchyard, a meditative poem in quatrains of ten-syllabled lines, by Thomas Gray. It was begun in 1742 and published in 1750/51. Gray was recognized only after the publica- tion of this poem. Its success was instantaneous and overwhelming. (Ox. Comp.; Enc. Br.) a II: 15-16

Elements of Politics title of a book (1891) by Henry Sidgwick. (Enc. Br.) a 1:427

Eleusinian (Mysteries) the principal secret religious rites of ancient Greece, held at ELEUSIS. The mysteries dealt with the leg- ends ofDemeter, Kore (Persephone), and Dionysus. They were supposed to give the initiated a happy life after death. The nature of the secret rites that took place at Eleusis remains unknown despite ingenious guesses from ancient times to the present. (Col. Enc.) D 1:10 9:197 10:4-5, 25 11:4, 468-69 14:143, 145, 147 15:176 16:336, 338, 364 28:221 29:777 VI: 169 XVI: 138

Eleusis ancient city of Attica in Greece, northwest of Athens, at the mouth of the Cephisus River. Through ancient times it was the seat of the Eleusinian Mysteries. There was in it a large temple to Demeter. Ruins of the city and temple near the modern village of Eleusis have been excavated. (Col. Enc.) a 10:439 XV: 20

Elgar, Sir Edward (William) (1857-1934), a composer whose works in the late 19th- century orchestral

idiom stimulated a renaissance of English music. He was the first English composer of international stature since Henry Purcell (1659-95). (Enc.Br.) a 22:203

Elibank, Master of "Master" is a title given to certain Scottish peers. The Master of Elibank referred to by Sri Aurobindo was Alexander William Charles Oliphant Murray (1870-1920). A Liberal M.P. from 1900 to 1912, he was Undersecretary of State for India from 1909 to 1910 (before Montague took over) and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury from 1910 to 1912. (Wolpert, p. 282) a I : I 43

Elinoure and Juga a collection of poems by Chatterton (1764); they were supposedly written by a 15th-century monk of Bristol, Thomas Rowley, a fictitious character created by Chatterton. The name was taken from a civilian’s monument brass at St. John’s Church, Bristol. (Enc.Br.; A) D II: 18

Eliot, Thomas Steams (1888-1965), American-English poet, playwright, and critic. A leader of the modernist movement in poetry, he was awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize for literature. His works are widely translated. (Enc.Br.) a 5:374 9:480 29:780

Eliot, George pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans (1819-80), great Victorian novelist who developed the method of psychological analysis that is characteristic of modern fiction. (Enc.Br.) a 9:327

Elizabeth Elizabeth I of England (1533- 1603), queen of England (1558-1603). During the 45 years of her reign, England passed through one of the greatest periods of its national history – a period that produced Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Francis Bacon, Walter Raleigh and other notable figures, a period in which England became a first-rate European power and colonization was begun. The meaning of the term "Elizabethan Age" in English literature is sometimes extended to include the Jacobean Period (1603-25). (Col. Enc.; H.L.) Der:

Elizabethan a 3:96, 108, 233, 302-03, 305-06 4:99, 212, 219 6:1 9:25, 51-53, 57, 60, 62-63, 66-70, 72-76, 78-82, 86, 106, 111-13, 116, 168, 170-71, 226, 314, 395, 523, 529 14:302 15:357, 513 26:253-54, 264, 317, 322-23 27:81 29:758 I: 13-14 II: 12-13 Ella a character participating in "A Dialogue" (incomplete) written by Sri Aurobindo about 1891. (A&R, II:91) a 11:9

Ella, an Interlude a poem by Chatterton. n II: 18

Ellis, Havelock (Henry) Havelock Ellis (1859-1939), English essayist, editor, and physician who studied human sexual behaviour. (Enc. Br.) 9:329

Elohim, The a proposed character mentioned in the Dramatis Personae of Sri Aurobindo’s play The Birth of Sin. It is the common Hebrew name of God. (C.O.D.) 7:901

El Roghi Moorish soldier who, along with his captured followers, received in 1909 a most barbarous treatment from his victorious rival, MulaiHamid. (A) 2:216

Elsass-Lothringen German equivalent of ALSACE-LORRAINE, 15:410

Elysium also called Elysian Plain or Elysian Fields, in Greek religion, the pre-Hellenic paradise, a happy otherworld for heroes favoured by the gods, and identified with the Isles of the Blessed. It was situated in the distant west, at the edge of the world. In later tradition and in Virgil, it is a part of the underworld (Hades) and a pleasant abode for the righteous dead. (Col. Enc.) Der: Elysian 3:1, 488 5:31, 449, 460 6:18, 469 28:234 29:493, 523

Emerson1, Ralph Waldo (1803-82), American lecturer, poet, and essayist. He was the leading exponent of New England Transcendentalism. (Enc. Br.) a 1:189 9:1, 179, 460 14:16, 46 17:181 V: 18 XVIII: 154

Emerson2 superintendent of Alipore Jail in which Sri Aurobindo was kept as an under- trial prisoner. He had all the virtues of a Christian gentleman, but lacked in energy and administrative efficiency. (A) 04:273, 276, 297

Emmett Robert Emmet (1778-1803), Irish patriot remembered as a romantic hero of Irish lost causes. In July 1803 he started a march on Dublin Castle. The rebellion turned into a brawl and Emmet fled. He was captured, tried and hanged. (Col. Enc.) 1:368, 413

Empedocles (c. 490-430 Be), Greek philosopher, statesman, poet, religious teacher, and physiologist. (Enc. Br.) 9:320 16:341, 350 XIV: 127

Empire an Anglo-Indian journal of Calcutta, a contemporary of Bande Mataram. (N.S.I.) n 1:187, 332, 343, 364, 407-08, 555-56, 650 3:454 4:220, 257

Empire Day May 24th, birthday of Queen Victoria, observed as a holiday, especially a school holiday, in the former British Empire. (C.O.D.) 1:328-29, 478

Enceladus in Greek mythology, a giant with a hundred arms, a son of Uranus and Ge, who fought against the gods. He was hurled down by Athene and imprisoned beneath Mt. Aetna in Sicily. When he stirs, the mountain shakes; when he breathes, there is an eruption. (M.I.; Web.) 5:494 29:507

Encyclopedia Britannica ("Brittanica", in the text, is a misspelling) the oldest and largest English language general encyclopedia. It has been continuously published since 1768 when its first edition began to appear in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since the 14th edition (1929) this encyclopedia has been published in the United States. The New Encyclopedia Britannica (15th edition) of 1977 is in 30 volumes. The passage quoted here (27: 353- 54) is from a pre-1907 edition. n 27:353

Endymion in Greek mythology, the son of Aethlius and king of Elis. He was loved by Selene, the goddess of the moon, by whom he had 50 daughters. John Keats in his poem Endymion elaborated on this legend. Here (3:69), however, the reference is not to the mythological king, nor to the poem, but to the writer of the poem, Keats. (Enc. Br.) 3:69

Endymion a long poem (1818) by John Keats on a Greek legend (see previous article). It begins with the famous line "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever". Much abusive criticism was heaped on this poem. (Enc. Br.) 3:254 9:130-31

An Enemy of the People drama of social criticism by Henrik Ibsen, first performed in 1883 and published in 1939. It is about a medical officer in conflict with city authorities over the issue of sewage con- tamination in a town prosperous from its famous baths. (Enc. Br.) n 15:485

Enghien Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Conde, due d’Enghien (1772-1804), French prince who was suspected by Napoleon of participating in a conspiracy. Napoleon had the duke kidnapped and, within the space of a few hours, had him court-martialled and shot. This atrocity ended all hope of reconciliation between Napoleon and the royal House of Bourbon. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) a 17:384