-27_Glossary and Index Page 341 to 355.htm

Victor Amadeus Victor Amadeus II (1666-1732), Duke of Savoy who through his diplomacy became (1720) the first king of Sardinia-Piedmont and thus established the foundation for the future Italian national state. (Enc. Br.) 1: 506

Victor Emmanuel probably, Victor Emmanuel II (1820-78), Italian king of Sardinia-Piedmont and first king of united Italy (1861-78). (Col. Enc.) a 17:385

Victoria (1819-1901), Queen of England (1837-1901) and Empress of India (1876- 1901). Her reign was the longest in English history. It restored dignity and popularity to the British crown and may have saved the monarchy from abolition. The term "Victorian" in English literature is used (1) to designate broadly the literature written during the reign of Queen Victoria, or bearing its characteristic qualities and attitudes, and (2) more narrowly, to suggest a certain complacency or hypocrisy or squeamishness more or less justly assumed to be traceable to or similar to prevailing Vic- torian attitudes. (Pears; Enc. Br.; H.L.) Der: Victorian 9: 20, 53, 63, 132-33, 135-36, 138-39, 141-42, 144, 156, 172-73, 246, 346-47, 456, 550 22:189-90 26:255, 263 27:115

Victoria Cross the highest British military decoration, given for deeds of exceptional valour, founded by Queen Victoria in 1856. (Web.;C.O.D.) VI: 201

Victoria Memorial Hall a stately building in the midst of spacious grounds in Calcutta. It was conceived and carried out by Lord Curzon, who was desirous of founding a grand monument to British rule in India. It is built of white Jodhpur marble. In this hall are kept collections of pictures, statues, historical documents and other objects of interest especially of the Victorian Era. (D.I.H.;Gaz.-II;Guide) 1:396, 420 Vicuma’ a character – a son of King Mahasegn of Avunthie – in Sri Aurobindo’s play Vasavadutta. 6:207, 234-35, 246-48, 281-83, 304-07, 309-10, 313-15, 317-20, 323-26, 329

Vicuma2 in the Mahabharata, a son of Dhritarashtra. He was a great hero. (M.N.) Var: Vikama 3: 194 4: 76 8: 77

Vidarbha an ancient name of Birar or Berar in Maharashtra, also probably including the adjoining district of Beder. The old name of the region has revived in popular usage. See afaoBerar(s). (Dow.) Var: Vidurbha Der: Vidarbhan; Vidurbhan 8: 135, 144-45 12:295, 299 X: 116, 125

Videha I. originally, an epithet (meaning "bodiless") or a name of King Nimi, who had shed the body-ego. Later all the kings in the dynasty, including Janaka, were known as Videha. 2. name of the country ruled by King Videha; sometimes it was also called MITHILA. The people of the country were referred to as Videhas. (M.N.) 3:189 8: 16 VI: 155

Vidisha a historic town and district in Bhopal division of Madhya Pradesh. The town, headquarters of the district, lies just east of the Betwa River in the northeast corner of the fertile Malwa Plateau. Vidisha is of great antiquity, mentioned in the Maha- bharata and the Ramayana. In modern times, until a few years ago, the place was known as Bhilsa (or Bhelsa), which is probably a corruption of Vidisha. (Enc. Br.) 0 3:215, 289 8:135 X: 116, 176

Vidula m the Mahabharata, queen of Sauvira, who reproached her son Sanjaya for deserting the battlefield, defeated by the king of Sindhu. Thus indirectly encouraged by his mother, Sanjaya returned to the battle, fought bravely, and was victorious. This episode comprises four chapters in the Udyoga-parva of the Mahabharata. (M.N.; Nari). 1: 399 8: 61, 63, 65

Vidula one of the longer poems of Sri Aurobindo, conceived and written in Bengal during a period of intense, political activity, and first published in Bande Mataram in 1907 under the title The Mother to her Son. It is based on the episode of Vidula and Sanjaya in the Mahabharata. It is not a close trans- lation, but rather a free poetic paraphrase. .(A) 8: 61 26: 12, 44

Vidura in the Mahabharata, a son of Vyasa by a Sudra slave-girl. He was known for his wisdom and gave good advice to both the Kauravas and the Pandavas. In the war he sided with the latter. (Dow.) 3:192, 194 4: 71 22: 406 23: 676 26:130

Vidurbha; Vidurbhan See Vidarbha

Vidyadhar(a) in Hindu mythology, a class of inferior deities (Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Yak- shas, etc.) inhabiting the regions between the earth and the sky and generally of bene- volent disposition. They are attendants upon Indra, but they have their own chiefs and kings. (Dow.; Pur. Enc.) 6:265 VI: 183 Vidyapati (1360-1475?), an Indian poet, born in MITHILA, famous for his Padavali, a collection of poems written in Maithili, a

dialect of northern India with affinities both to Hindi and Bengali. "He was a consum- mate artist of word and line" (14: 318). (Enc.Ind.;A) Var: Bidyapati Q 4: pre. 8: 219, 226, 236, 242, 256-57, 259, 263 14: 256, 318 ‘

Vidyaranya (fl. 14th cent.), the name by which Madhavacharya was known as a san- nyasin. Later he became the Shankaracharya of Shringeri Math. He was brother of the commentator Sayana, and was himself a brilliant commentator on all the four Vedas. He wrote books on various subjects, the most famous of which is Panchadasi on Vedanta. Vidyaranya was the chief coun- sellor to the Vijayanagar rulers and was principally reponsible for propagating the glory of the Vijayanagar dynasty and par- ticularly its administrative traditions. He had a rare combination of statesmanship, erudition, spiritual knowledge and sagacity. See also Vedaranya. (Bh. S.K.; The Hindu, July 11, 1980) 3:123 4:47 14:21 VIII: 190

Vidyasagar, Isvar Chandra (1820-91), learned Sanskrit scholar, eminent educa- tionist, social reformer, and sage of Bengal. He laboured like a Titan to create a new Bengali language and a new Bengali society. He is considered the father of Bengali prose. (Enc. Br.) 1: 328 3: 78, 95-97 24: 1394

Vienna capital of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country on the Danube. (Enc. Br.) a XXI: 100

Vijaya’ Vijaya is supposed to have gone from India and conquered Ceylon about the time that Gautama Buddha lived (6th century BC). In the Ajanta caves there is perhaps a representation of Vijaya crossing to Ceylon, with horses and elephants being carried across in ships. Vijaya gave the name of Sinhala to the island. (G.W.H., p. 103) 14: 241

Vijaya2 (Vijaya), in Kalidasa’s poem Kumdrasambhavam, a friend of PARVATI. (A) 3:308 Vijayanagar(a) the kingdom of the last great Hindu dynasty of South India; also the name of its capital, which was founded in c. 1336 and was originally called Vidyanagara. The kingdom practically became extinct with the destruction of the city by Muslim forces in 1565. The site of tlie city on the Times New Roman- bhadra River is now partly occupied by the village of Hampi in Bellary district of Karnataka. (D.I.H-; Dow.; Enc. Br.)  3:215 14:377-78 26:411

Vijnanabhikshu 16th-century Hindu philosopher of the Sankhya school, perhaps the last acharya of the school, who lived in Kashi. He wrote commentaries on Sankhya, Yoga, and Vedanta. (Bh. Dar.) 12: 427 17: 291

VijnanaQoka) the Truth-plane, the supra- mental world; the same as Mahar(loka). (I&G) Var: Vijnanam 10:93, 293 12: 85-86, 124, 126, 140-41 17: 30, 64 20: 399, 465-67 XV: 25, 46 XVI: 154-55

Vikama See Vicurna2 Viking(s) Northern sea-robbers of the 9th to the llth century. The raids of these Scandinavian warriors on the coasts of Europe and the British Isles gave to that period the name "the Viking Age". Vikings are also known as NORSEMEN, and in eastern Europe as Varangirans. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) 3:486 6:477 7:885-86 XV: 17

Vikramaditya a title, meaning "the Sun of Prowess", assumed by various ancient Indian kings. Tradition associates it with a king of Ujjayini, in whose court lived nine learned scholars (navaratna) including Kalidasa. This king, who was considered to be the repository of prowess and all virtues, was victorious over the Sakas. The Vikrama Era dating from 58-57 BC is attributed to this King Vikramaditya. There is, however, no histori- cal evidence of any such powerful king in the second half of the first century BC. Of the several historical sovereigns bearing the title of Vikramaditya, Chandragupta II, the third Gupta emperor (AD 380-415), is considered to have the best claims for being regarded as the original King Vikramaditya. (D.I.H.) Var: yikram(a) 3:11, 95, 213, 215, 229, 262 4:99 1:26

Vikram and the Nymph See Vikramorvasie

Vikramorvasie (also called by Sri Aurobindo Vikram and the Nymph, and in some places referred to simply as Urvasie), a Sanskrit play named Vikramorvasiyam written by Kalidasa; it is the second of his three extant dramas. A story of the love of Urvasie, the nymph, and Pururavas, the Vikram or hero, on which the play is based, was first told in the Satapatha Brahmana. Sri Aurobindo translated the play under the title The Hero andthe Nymph. (A;Enc.Br.) n 3:261, 276, 282, 287, 290, 295.323 7: 907, 911-12 9:433 26:235-36, 253 27:85 111:19 X: 141. 145, 154, 169, 174, 177

Vilata more correctly, Vilayata, an Arabic word meaning a "foreign country" or "other country".

Originally used to signify Turkey or Iran, the term now connotes any country of Europe, especially the U. K. (U. H. S.) Var: Vileta Der: Vilati (of Vilayata) 4: pre., 154, 156, 176, 178-79, 184-85, 189, 192-94, 196, 204-06, 208-09, 212-14, 218, 221, 225, 233, 242, 266, 268, 273, 278, 330 XV: 62

Villa, Francisco (‘Pancho’), (1878-1923), revolutionary and guerilla leader of Mexico. In 1909 he joined Francisco Madero’s uprising against the dictator of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz. In 1913, combining his force with that of Venustiano CARRANZA, Villa revolted against the dictatorship of Huerta, and won several victories. But rivalry be- tween Villa and Carranza soon led to a break between the two and Villa was forced to flee Mexico City. He was assassinated. -(Enc. Br.; Web. N.C.D.; P.P.) [From "Record of Yoga" MSS Nov. 1913-Oct. '27]Villars Claude-Louis-Hector, due de Villars (1653-1734), marshal of France, the last of the great generals of Louis XIV, his most successful commander in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14). Villars was defeated by Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy at Malplaquet (1709), but he suc- cessfully defended the French frontier during the succeeding years. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) 7: 847

Villenour a small town in former French India (now in the Union Territory of Pondicherry), about 7 km west of Pondicherry. a 27: 447, 449

Villipattan a small town (Srivilliputtur is probably the modern name) in the district of Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. (Bhakta Ch.) n 17: 372

Vimada (Aindra or Prajapatya) (Vimada Aindra or Prajapatya), a Vedic Rishi, des- cendant of Indra or Prajapati. n ll: 396, 398 Vincent one of the highest police officials, perhaps Commissioner, of Bombay in 1909. (A)a 2:238 Vincent, Sir Howard Sir (Charles Edward) Howard Vincent (1849-1908), English public official; he was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in 1885 and retained the seat until his death. (Enc. Am.) 1-1 1: 435

Vindhya a broken mountain chain separating the plains of northern India from the southern plateau of the Deccan. Der:

Vindhyan 1:701 5:27, 335 6:229, 234, 305, 315 17:278 IX: 1, 2

Viola a character – sister of Sebastian – in Shakespeare’? romantic comedy Twelfth Night. (Shakes.) 12: 470 27: 207 I: 40

Viradha in the Ramayana, a horrible man- eating Rakshasa who encountered Rama, Lakshmana and Sita in the Dandaka forest during their exile. (Dow.) 8: 21-23 Virangana Kavya a set of twenty-one epistolary poems in Bengali, on the model of Ovid’s Heriodes by Michael Madhusudan Dutt; it was published in 1862. (Enc. Br.) XIII: 53 Virasena in Kalidasa’s drama Malavi- kdgnimitram (translated into English by Sri Aurobindo), brother of Dharinie, the queen ofVidisha. (A) Var: Verosegn 8: 143, 145 X: 122, 125

Virat(a) in the Mahabharata, king of a country known as Matsya. It was at his court that the Pandava princes and Draupadi lived in disguise. Virata fought on their side in the war and was killed by Drona. (Dow.) a 3: 161, 195, 200-01, 207 4: 75 8; 59, 77-78 IV: 115

Virat (Purusha) the universal or cosmic Soul; "God practical"; Lord of Waking-Life, who governs, preserves and maintains the sensible creation which Hiranyagarbha (see Hiranya- garbha’, 2) has shaped. (A; A & R, I: 40) Var: Virat; Virat; Virat Vaisvanara 1: 533, 537 2: 148-49 3: 452, 483 9: 72, 478 11:447 12:11, 90, 103, 448, 471, 506, 508 13:315, 341 14:336 20:325, 355 22: 256 24: 1222 25: 68 29: 680-81 I: 40 III: 66 IX: 10 XV: 10 XXI: 28

Virgil sometimes spelled Vergil, full name: Publius Vergilius Maro (70-19 Be), the greatest Roman poet, best known for his epic the Aeneid. (Enc. Br.) Der: Virgilian 3: 55 5: 342, 346, 386 9: 32, 62, 76, 82-83, 85, 296-97, 303, 313, 315, 317-18, 372, 374-76, 387, 407, 434, 479, 521, 523-24, 546 14: 285, 298 17: 297 22: 451 26:227-28, 235, 262, 297-98, 338-40 29: 765, 774, 800, 803-04, 809, 815 XIII: 53

Virgin’ (Latin, Virgo) the sixth sign of the zodiac. In Hindu astronomy it is known as Kanya, referred to by Sri Aurobindo as "GIRL", the literal translation of the word Virgo. (A) D 17:257

Virgin2; Virgin Mary See Mary

Viriathus (d. c. 139 Be), leader of a Lusitanian rebel movement in the Roman province of Farther Spain who inflicted a series of severe defeats on Roman forces

from c. 147 to c. 139 BC. The rebellion collapsed soon after Viriathus’ assassi- nation. (Enc. Br.) m: 23

Virochana in Hindu mythology, name of a Daitya, son of Prahlada and father of Bali. (Dow.) n 3:171, 177

Virupa (Angirasa) (Virupa Angirasa), a Vedic Rishi, descendant of Angu-as. 11: 342, 365-66

Visaldeo a character – a Brahmin, Rana Curran’s minister, formerly in the service of the Gehlote Prince of Edur – in Sri Aurobindo’s drama Prince of Edur. 7: 739, 741-46, 750, 752-54

Vishn(o)u 1. in the Veda, the All-pervading Godhead, the Eternal Personality of Con- sciousness, the wide-moving One, that which has gone abroad triply extending himself as Seer, Thinker, and Former in the super- conscient Bliss. 2. i. the Mahabharata and the Puranas, the second member of the Triad, the embodiment ofsattva-guna, the preserving and restoring power. This power has manifested in the world as the various incarnations of Vishnu, generally accepted as being ten in number. Vishnu’s heaven is Vaikuntha, his consort Lakshmi and his vehicle Garuda. He is portrayed as reclining on the serpent-king Sesa and floating on the waters between periods of cosmic manifes- tation. The holy river Ganga is said to spring from his foot. Of his several names and epithets, Hari, the most well-known, is indexed here. (A;V.G.; Dow.) 2:148, 429 3: 238-39, 299, 452 4: 22, 30, 314 5: 40, 60, 85, 199, 301 6: 212, 248 7: 951 8: 33, 127, 175, 191, 199, 206, 343-44, 346, 398, 400-01 10: 5, 102, 114, 144, 331-38, 342, 371, 422, 438, 447, 449, 461 11: 3, 22, 33, 81, 167, 172, 207, 379, 446-47, 449, 451-55, 466 12: 39, 48, 199, 251, 317, 326, 416, 448, 462, 478, 506, 508 13: 6, 85, 152, 157, 161, 264, 272, 349, 372, 412 14: 137, 151, 153, 312, 318 15: 118, 240, 592 16: 278, 319, 343, 360, 363 17: 47-48, 59, 98, 107, 119, 262, 272, 372, 374 18: 15, 42, 198, 486 20: 365 21: 561, 575, 708 22: 82, 245, 390-91, 404 23:789-90, 977-78 24:1335 25:56 27: 98-99, 159, 230, 325-26, 363 29: 416 I: 20, 38, 41 II: 37, 59 III: 54, 66 IV: 149-50, 191 V: 6, 10, 39, 41 VI: 137, 145, 155-56, 182-83 VIII: 146 X: 163, 179 XII: 174 XIII: 60 XIV: 110; 119 XV: 27 XVI: 134 XIX: 54

Vishnoupurana See Vishnu Purana

Vishnuchitta a famous Vaishnava saint, yogin and poet of South India. The foremost among the Alwars, he is generally known as

Perialwar ("Great Alwar"). (A; Bhakta Ch.) 17:372

Vishnu Purana one of the eighteen major Puranas, generally standing third in the list. One of the oldest Puranas, it is specially consecrated to the glorification of Vishnu and his incarnation Krishna. According to Wilson: "Of the whole series of Puranas the Vishnu most closely corresponds to the definition of a Panch-lakshana Purana, or one which treats of five specified topics (Primary Creation, Secondary Creation, Genealogies of Gods and Patriarchs, Reigns of the Manus, History)". (Dow.) Var: Vishn(o)upurana 3: 296, 357 4: 53 11:451 14:71, 314-15 16:404 18:122 22: 404 27: 311 II: 37 X: 160 XIV: 119 XV: 32

Vishvamitra See Vis(h)wamitra

Vishwadevas the All-gods, or all the gods; the universal collectivity of the divine powers. In the Vedas they form a class of nine, all being deities of an inferior order. In later times they form a class of deities particularly interested in funeral offerings. They are generally said to be ten in number, but the lists vary, both as to the number and the names. (I&G;Dow.) Var: Viswadevas; Visve Devah; Visvadevas 4: 45-46 10: 75, 81-82, 84, 289, 438-39, 444, 446 12:271, 479 111:31 XV: 12, 30, 39, 42, 49 XVI: 149, 159, 174-78

Vishwamanas Vaiyashwa a Vedic Rishi, sonofVyasva. 11:330

Vis(h)wamitra a celebrated Indian sage who was bom a Kshatriya, but by intense austerities raised himself to Brahminhood and became one of the seven great Rishis. Vishwamitra occupies a prominent position in the Rig-veda, being the Rishi of most of the hymns in the third Mandala, including the one that contains the famous Gayatri mantra. He is spoken of as the son of a king named Kusika (or Kusinabha). In the Maha- bharata, however, he is described as the son of Gadhi (or Gathin). A noteworthy feature about the Vishwamitra of legend is his animosity and active and persistent struggle for supremacy with Vasishtha. The story of their reconciliation is given in the Ramayana. Other popular legends connected with Vishwamitra describe his relationships with Rishi Jamadagni, Trishanku, Harishchandra, RAMA’, and with the Apsara Menaka (resulting in the birth of Shakuntala). Some authorities hold that the Vishwamitra of these legends is different froro the seer Vishwamitra of the Vedic hymns. (Dow.; V. Index; M.N.) Var: Vis(h)vamitra 4: 17-18, 23-24, 26, 29 9: 72, 207 10: 5, 13, 54-56, 103, 108, 112-13, 183-84, 186, 207, 219, 249, 283, 458 11:105, 109,

 147 13:39 14:267 XIV: 133 XV: 11, 30, 39 XVI: 146: 47, 156, 158 XVII: 32, 56, 59-60

Vishwasaman a Vedic Rishi, descendant of Atri. (V. Index) n ll: 234

Vishwawara a Vedic Rishi, descendant of Atri. 11: 243 Vision The Vision, an English monthly magazine "devoted to universal love", issued from Anandashram (Kanhangad, Kerala). Started in 1933, it contains the teachings of Swami Ramdas. 23: 798 A Vision of Science a short poem by Sri Aurobindo; it was written during the period 1895-1908 and first published in the collec- tion Ahana and Other Poems (1915). (I&G) 22:207 Visions and Voices title of a book (1929) by Amrita, a disciple of Sri Aurobindo. (See Amrita, K.) 25: 74

Visnagar a town in the former princely state of Baroda (now in the state of Gujarat), about ten miles northeast of Mehsana. (A; S. Atlas) 27: 116

Visvadevas See Vishwadevas Visvakannan "doing or wroughting all". This name seems to have been originally an epithet of any powerful god, but in course of time it came to designate a personification of the creative power, invested with the powers and offices of TWASHTRI. In the Ramayana, Visvakarma is represented as having built the city of Lanka. Visvakannan revealed the sciences of architecture and mechanics to men and is the patron deity of workmen, artisans, and artists. (Dow., Enc. Br.) VI: 182 Visvamitri a small river flowing north-south near Baroda (now known as Vadodara). On both sides of the river there is an extensive park, laid out during Sri Aurobindo’s time, with several bridges spanning the river. <G.R.A.) a XXI: 13 Visvas the Reception Officer at Srinagar, Kashmir; he was a Bengali at whose house Sri Aurobindo met several other Bengalis during his Kashmir tour of 1903. (A) IV: 194-95

Visve Devah; Viswadevas See Vishwadevas

Viswamitra See Vis(h)wamitra

Vitahavya Angirasa (Vitahavya Angirasa), a Vedic Rishi, descendant of Angiras.  11:271,

Vithova (Vithoba), an incarnation of Vishnu who is the Ista-devata (chosen deity) of the Varkari sect among the people of Maharashtra and Karnataka. 3: 483

Vittoria Corombona chief character of a tragedy named The White Devil of Vittoria Corombona by J. Webster. The play is based on events that took place in Italy in 1581-85. Vittoria is tried for adultery and the murder of her husband, and, in spite of her "innocent-resembling boldness", is sentenced to confinement, whence she is carried off and married by the duke of Brachiano, her lover. Towards the end, she is killed and Brachiano is poisoned. (Ox. Comp.) 3:276 X: 157

Vivasvan literally ‘ ‘the bright one”; in Hindu religion, an epithet or name of the Sun-god. (Dow.) Var: Vivaswan 3:173 8: 88 12: 238, 462 13:24, 137 VI:155 XIV: 125

Vivekacudamani a Sanskrit poem attributed to Shankaracharya. (A) Var: Viveka- chudamani n 14: 309 18: 439 19:683

Vivekananda, Swami (1863-1902), one of the greatest spiritual teachers of modern India, who carried the message of Vedanta to the West and won international renown. His original name was Narendranath Dutta. While a student of law, he met Sri Rama- krishna, and became his chosen disciple. In 1898, after his master’s passing, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission, a society having its headquarters at Belur Math near Cal- cutta. To organize the work of the Mission, Vivekananda travelled widely, establishing branches of the Mission throughout India and in the West. To the catholicity and universalism of the religious teachings of Sri Ramakrishna he added an emphasis on social service – to ameliorate the sufferings of men and to remove their ignorance. He also dedi- cated himself to the national regeneration of India. This was to be effected by improv- ing character and developing the spirit of self-sacrifice. His speeches and writings, published by the Ramakrishna Mission, fill eight volumes. (A; D.I.H.) 1:65-66, 428, 715, 855 2:37, 88, 171, 412 3: 344, 375, 463 4: 239, 293, 305, 310 13: 30 14: 8, 129, 187, 415, 419 17: 56, 68, 90, 98, 100, 332 19:1050 20:2, 51, 257, 260 22:32, 55, 149-50, 178, 358, 407, 456 23: 552, 557, 619, 621, 721, 731, 773, 789 24: 1388 26: 16, 24, 58, 68, 106, 117, 125, 151, 258, 354, 383 27: 65, 435 29: 797 IV: 169, 198 VI: 164 VIII: 172

XII: 171 XIII: 29 XIV: 124, 131, 139, 163-64 XVII: 7, 9 XVIII: 152 XIX: 57

Vividha Rachana First published in 1955, the book contains miscellaneous unrevised writings by Sri Aurobindo in Bengali prose taken from his notebooks. In the 2nd edition (1975) two incomplete poems have been included, 4: pre.Vladivostok a seaport and administrative centre of Primorsky maritime territory, Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Far East. It is the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. (Enc. Br.) 27: 123

Vocoolavalica See Vacoola(valica)

Volapuk an artificial language constructed in 1880 by Johann Martin Schleyer, a German cleric, and intended for use as an inter- national language. Although the complexity of Volaplik grammar made it difficult to learn, hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts studied and tried to popularize the language before it lost out to its more successful competitor ESPERANTO, which appeared in 1887. (Enc. Br.) D 26: 321

Volga a river of central and East-European Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. It is the largest river of Europe and the principal waterway of the U.S.S.R. It rises in the Valdai Hills and falls into the Caspian Sea. (Col. Enc.) 6:543 27:347

Volsungsaga Volsungasaga, saga of the Volsungs, the descendants ofVoIsi, a legendary king; it is an Icelandic heroic saga based evidently on earlier poetic materials which are represented in Germany by the Nibelungenlied. It was probably compiled in the 12th or 13th century. (Col. Enc.; Web.) 27: 90

Voltaire Francois-Marie-Arouet de Voltaire (1694-1778), French philosopher and one of the greatest of 18th-century authors, remem- bered as a crusader against tyranny, bigotry, and cruelty, and noted for his characteris- tic wit, satire, and critical acumen. His pub- lished writings cover more than fifty volumes, leaving aside his huge correspondence. Biographies and studies of Voltaire reflect continued controversy as to his real thought and beliefs. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) 1: 862 3: 455 4: 218 9: 522, 545, 552 15: 1 Voronoff, Serge (1866-1951), French surgeon and pathologist. He specialized in the trans- plantation of animal (chiefly monkey) glands in the treatment of thyroid deficiency in children and for rejuvenation in old age. (Enc. Am.; Col. Enc.) 24:1229

Vredenburg, E. an art critic who contrib- uted an article to Rupam on the continuity of the pictorial tradition in Indian art. (A) D 17: 302-03

Vricodar in the Mahabharata, an epithet of Bhimasen, meaning "Wolf-belly". He had an enormous appetite. (Dow.) 4: 76 8: 51

Vriddha Kshatra in the Mahabharata, king of Sindhu and the father of Jayadratha. (M.N.) 3: 191

Vrikas "the tearers", "wolves"; in the Veda, a class of adversaries. (M.W.) a XXII: 183

Vrindavan a forest grove, in the district of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, where Krishna passed his youth as Gopala among the cow- herds. In place of the grove there exists now a town called Vrindavan, the most sacred place on earth for devotees of Krishna. (Dow.) Var: Brindaban; Brindabon; Brindavan 1:665, 811 3:84, 295, 354 4: 14, 29 5: 532, 536, 548-50 7: 750 8: 255-57 9: 380 13: 13 16: 276, 429 17: 83, 241 18: 23 22: 83, 315, 392, 426-27 23: 676 26: 130, 136 II: 59 X: 145

Vrisha Jana (Vrsa Jana), a Vedic Rishi, also known as VrsaJara. a n: 203

Vrishaparvan in the Mahabharata, an Asura or Daitya, son of Kashyapa by Danu. He had a daughter named Sarmistha (see Surmishtha) Var: Vrishopurvan 3: 176 8: 31 27: 158

Vrishny (Vrsni), in Hindu mythology, a descendant of Yadu and an ancestor of Krishna, from whom he got the name Varsneya. The descendants of Vrishny are also called VrisZobeidah (d. 831), wife of Harun-al-Rashid, the Caliph of Baghdad. She was renowned for her beauty. (Enc. Br.) a 7:696 hnis. (Dow.) 5:319 8:43, 45, 51 13:151, 350 27:83

Vrishopurvan See Vrishaparvan

Vrishtihavya a Vedic Rishi whose sons were the Upastutas. (V. Index) a 11: 429 Vritra in the Veda, the Coverer who holds back the Light and the waters and hides from us our full powers and activi ties. Vritra, the Serpent (Ahi), is the grand adversary, for he obstructs with his coils of darkness all possibility of divine existence and divine action. Indra is constantly at war with him. The Vritras are powers and forces of Vritra that fulfil his function. (A; V.G.; Dow.) Var: Ahi Vritra Der: Vritric 4: 22-23, 25, 29, 37 8: 68 10: 19, 29, 44, 56, 71, 100, 104, 107-08, 121, 126, 134, 138-40, 145, 161, 163, 166, 169, 171-74, 182-83, 187, 189, 193-94, 199, 209-10, 216, 221, 227, 232-34, 237-38, 246-47, 250-51, 253, 297, 300, 309-10, 335, 423, 448, 450, 493, 502, 513, 534 11: 9-10, 13-14, 17, 27, 29, 32, 47, 143, 288, 326, 363-65, 467, 478 12: 130, 410 27: 189, 191 II: 55-56 IV: 128 V: 28 VI: 145, 147, 149 IX:

3-7 X: 180 XIII: 56, 59-60 XIV: 131 XV: 27, 49 XVI: 144, 152, 170, 174 XVII: 45, 54, 56, 59 XVIII: 172, 183 XXI: 17, 35, 88 XXII: 183, 196

Vulcan in Roman religion, the god of fire, particularly in its destructive aspects as volcanoes or conflagrations. Poetically he is given all the attributes of the Greek HHPHAESTUS. (Enc. Br.) a 7: 1074

Vuthsa (Udayan) a character – King of Cowsambie – in Sri Aurobindo’s play Vasavadutta. Vatsa, the name of the kingdom in the tale of the Kathasaritsagara on which the play is based, is in the play used as a personal name of King Udayan. Historically, Udayan (6th cent. Be) was king of Vatsa and was commonly called Vatsaraja. He was a direct descendant of the Pandavas, and his capital was Kausambhi. (A; Dow.) Var: Udaian; Udayan n 6: 205, 207, 211, 215-33, 236-43, 245-50, 252, 255-60, 262-67, 269-79, 281-93, 296-309, 312-29 7: 748

Vyara a town about twenty km east of BarodainGujarat. (G.R.A.) a XV: 72

Vyas(a) (fl. 5th cent. BC?), "an arranger". This title is common to many old authors and compilers, but it is especially applied to Veda-vyasa or Krsna Dvaipayana. He was the illegitimate son of Rishi Parasara and Satyavati. From his complexion (dark) he received the name Krsna, and from his birthplace (an island, dvip, in the Yamuna), the name Dvaipayana. He was a very learned sage and is traditionally cited as the author of the Mahabharata and many other works, but he is best known as the compiler of the Vedas. (Dow.; I & G) Var: Krishna Dvypaiana Vyasa; Krishna Dwypaiana Vyasa; Krishna of the Island; Dwaipayana; Dwypaian; Veda Vyasa Der: Vyasian; Vyasic a 3: 141-42, 145-50, 152-59, 162-66, 168, 170, 172, 174-79, 185, 187, 200-03, 205, 213, 217-18, 220-21, 223, 227, 229, 276, 295, 312, 322 4: 59, 71, 81-82, 127, 291 5: 83-84 8: 37 9: 310, 334, 521-23 10: 10, 15, 461 11: 451 13:151-52, 344, 350, 425 16: 429 17: 182 26: 234 27: 80-82, 150, 154, 248 29: 815 II: 37 III: 14, 19 VI: 137, 156, 175 X: 145, 157 XVI: 147

Vyashwa a Vedic Rishi whose name occurs in several hymns of the eighth Mandala of the Rig-veda. (V. Index) a 11:333-34 Vyshya See Vaishya

W

Wacha SeeWa(t)cha, D.E.

Wagner, (Wilhelm) Richard (1813-83), German musical dramatist whose operatic creations represent a new art form on drama- tic, musical, and verbal levels. His work marked a Romantic culmination. Much of the later history of music stems from him, either by extension of his discoveries or in reaction against them. (Enc. Br.) a 15:35 17:318 Wales one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is usually described as a principality. Wales is a peninsula jutting westward from England into the Irish Sea. It possesses a distinctive culture based largely on the Welsh language, which is still spoken by a quarter of the population. (Enc. Br.) Der: Welsh (in senses other than the lan- guage) n 1: 38, 367 2: 379 3: 486 4: 248 9: 42 15: 268, 291, 306, 308-10, 349, 475, 479, 496, 520-21 II: 6, 15

Wallace, Sir William (c. 1270-1305), one of Scotland’s greatest national heroes, leader of the Scottish resistance forces during the first years of the long, and ultimately successful, struggle to free Scotland from English rule. (Enc.Br.) o l: 623

Waller, Edmund (1606-87), English poet whose adoption of smooth, regular versi- fication in place of the argumentative struc- ture and dramatic immediacy characteristic of earlier 17th-century poetry prepared the way for the heroic couplet’s emergence by the end of that century as the dominant form of poetic expression. (Enc.Br.) a 9: 80 1:13

Walloons general term applied to the French-speaking people of Belgium living mainly in the south and east, in contrast to the Flemish-speaking FLEMINGS of the northern and western provinces. Walloon in its proper meaning is a French dialect spoken in the Liege region. The rivalry between the Walloons and the Flemings remains a critical political issue. (Col. Enc.) 15: 417

Walpole, Horace (1717-97), 4th Earl of Oxford, writer, connoisseur, and collector, who is remembered today as perhaps the most assiduous letter-writer in the English language. (Enc. Br.) II: 18

Waltair a city of Andhra Pradesh, near the port of Vishakhapatnam on the Bay of Bengal. It is the seat of Andhra University. (S. Atlas) II: 85

Walter Abelard a character – Stephen’s grandfather – in Sri Aurobindo’s story "The Door at Abelard". a 7:1026, 1034 War and Self-Determination a collection of four essays by Sri Aurobindo first published in 1920. Three of these essays were repro- duced from Arya, and a fourth written especially for the volume. (I & G) 27: 485

Warburton an Anglo-Indian employee, or the Resident, of the princely state of Patiala in 1909. (A) a 2:250

War-god See Kartikeya

Warsaw capital and cultural centre of Poland and an autonomous administrative unit and chief town of Warsaw province in central Poland, on both banks of the Vistula. (Col. Enc.) 15: 643

Warton, Thomas (1728-90), poet laureate from 1785, and author of the first history of English poetry. (Enc. Br.) a n: n

Washington, George (1732-99), commander- in-chief of the Continental army in the American Revolution and first President (1789-97) of the United States of America. He is called the "Father" of the country. (Col. Enc.) 1: 379 12: 484 17: 385

Wa(t)cha, D. E. Dinshaw Eduiji Watcha (1844-1936), a Moderate leader of Bombay, and a close associate of Sir Pherozshah Mehta. He was one of the pioneers of the nationalist movement in India, taking an especial interest in economic problems. He presided over the Calcutta session of the Congress in 1901. (A;Enc.Ind.) 1: 192-93, 195-96, 587 2: 216 4: 179, 231 27: 33, 41-42

Waterloo a town in Belgium, nine miles south of Brussels; the famous battle of Waterloo was fought just south of the town in June 1815. In this battle the power of Napoleon I was wiped out by the combined British and German forces. (Col. Enc.) 24: 1588 III: 23 XIII: 44 Watson, Sir (John) William (1858-1935)

English poet, author of lyrical and political verse with a special gift for occasional poems; "a genuine poet… but somewhat thin in thought and substance". (Enc. Br.; A) 26:254

Wavell Archibald Percival Wavell (1883-1950), 1st Earl Wavell, British field marshal and Viceroy of India from 1942 to 1947. In a speech delivered in New Delhi on 14 June 1945, he made certain proposals known as the Wavell Plan designed to ease the political situation. He invited prominent leaders of various communities and political parties to a conference in order to consider these proposals. This was held at Simla from 25 June to 14 July. Disagreement among the various parties, aggravated by the inflexible stance of the Muslim League, led to the failure of the Simla Conference. (Enc. Ind.; A & R, XVII: 76) XVH: 65 Weber possibly Prof. A. Weber of Berlin, a distinguished scholar of Sanskrit, one of those who helped in the compilation of the great seven-volumed Sanskrit-German Thesaurus. (M.W., p.v) a 3:143-45, 188

Web of Indian Life The Web of Indian Life, title of a book by Sister Nivedita, first published in 1904. n 14:43

Webster’, John (c. 1580-1625), English playwright whose major plays. The White Devil and The Duchess ofMalfi, are generally regarded as the paramount 17th-century English tragedies outside Shakespeare and as masterpieces of poetic drama. (Enc. Br.) 5: 349 9: 69 XIII: 53

Webster2 (Webster’s Dictionary); Noah Webster (1758-1843) was an American lexicographer known for his American Spelling Book (1783) and his American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). There are many editions of this dictionary, abridged and unabridged. (Enc. Br.) 1: 455

Wedderbum, Sir William (1838-1918), a distinguished member of the I.C.S. who represented Liberal England and, after " retirement, took a leading part in encour- aging the founding of the Indian National Congress. Later, he presided over its annual sessions held at Bombay in 1889, and at Allahabad in 1910. (D.I.H.) 1:172, 186, 201, 565 27:18, 33

Wellesleys 1. Marquess Richard Colley Wellesley, the Governor-General of India from 1798 to 1805, one of the greatest British rulers of India. 2. Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington), a younger brother of Lord Wellesley. He was a military officer in the service of the East India Company from 1797 to 1805 and won great renown by defeating the Marathas at the battles of Assaye and Argaon. See also the next entry. (D.I.H.) 1: 738

Wellington, (Duke of) Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), 1st Duke of Wellington, British soldier and statesman, conqueror of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, and prime minister of England from 1828 to 1830. In 1842 he was made Commander- in-Chief for life and on his death was buried with great pomp in St. Paul’s. See also the previous entry. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) D 1: 704 2: 255

Wells, H. G. Herbert George Wells (1866-1946), English journalist, novelist, sociologist, and popular historian who exerted a powerful influence in the 20th- century movement toward change in society, morals, and religious beliefs. Much of Wells’ writing was ephemeral, but he was one of the most forward-looking and influential writers of his time. Sri Aurobindo’s idea that within a generation of Wells’ death his speculations would cease to be read or remembered, has proved true except with regard to his stories, especially his science- fiction. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.; A) 9:548, 551-52 17: 324-26 26: 378

Welsh (language) language of Wales, with an unbroken literary history since the 6th century AD. (Pears) a l: 526 15:306, 390, 480, 496 II: 15 West, the or The Occident; Europe and North America considered as a cultural unit. Since the Second World War it has come to denote the countries of Western Europe and America as opposed to the Communist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. Der: Western; Westerner; Westemise(d);

Occidental(ism) D 1:40-41, 48, 50, 62, 67-68, 176, 199, 242, 259-60, 320, 365, 466-68, 481, 560, 570, 654-55, 712, 732, 741-42, 756-57, 759, 770-71, 800, 807, 813-15, 902 2:17-18, 20, 29, 49, 78, 86, 122, 209, 217-18, 253, 338, 381, 402 3: 30, 81, 101, 113, 122, 228, 232, 338, 345.359, 417, 429, 447, 463 4: 24-25,49, 81, 86, 92, 113, 115, 117, 127, 131, 139-41, 143-44, 151.154-56, 159-60, 163, 165-68, 193, 212, 216, 219, 251-52, 271, 291, 299-303, 306, 311-12 5: 399, 404, 408 6: 7, 432 7:773 9: 55, 97, 110, 285, 443, 455, 504 10: 341, 352, 546 11: 12, 468 12: 4, 8, 53, 57, 492, 499, 520 13: 10 14: 8, 11-12, 15, 17-20, 23, 26, 33-35, 37, 44, 47, 49-51, 54, 56, 58, 60-63, 65-66, 70, 73, 75-76, 78, 80-82, 85-88, 91-92, 94, 98-100, 104, 110,  123, 129-30, 132-35, 139, 147-48, 176-77, 211, 233, 244-45, 252, 261, 266, 270, 336, 362, 364, 367, 377, 380-81, 385-87, 399-400, 409, 411-13, 415, 429, 431-33 15: 11, 14-15, 19, 30, 33, 123, 166, 168, 251, 295, 328, 332, 340-41, 348, 356, 384, 418, 445, -46, 454, 460. 480, 495, 521, 566 16: 79, 125-26, 241, 312-13,

 324, 326-27, 329-31, 370 17: 93, 180-82, 184, 193-94, 196, 252, 265, 275-76, 279-81, 313-16, 324, 327, 337, 339-40, 367, 370, 393, 400-01, 404 18: 114, 324 19: 696, 754, 873, 876, 879-80 22: 67, 132, 158-60, 305-06 23: 556-59, 676 24: 1236, 1256 25: 228 26: 137, 354, 378, 381, 406, 413-16 27: 68, 112, 116, 124, 149, 265, 486 I: 48-49, 60 II: 84 III: 1, 5, 26, 28 IV: 161, 163 V: 79 VI: 191, 199 VIII: 158, 173, 193 IX: 31 X: 111, 161 XIII: 24-25, 29, 38-41 XIV: 116-18, 126 XV: 3, 24, 41 XVI: 133-34, 181-82, 184, 186 XVII: 10-11, 34, 37 XVIII: 150, 155 XIX: 25

West Indian of the West Indies, an archi- pelago, more than 1500 miles in length, that lies between North America and South America, separating the Atlantic from the Caribbean. (Enc. Br.; N.L.W.D.) 27: 439

Westminster officially "City of Westmin- ster", one of the thirty-two boroughs in Greater London. Situated in the heart of London’s West End, it is London for many tourists. Sri Aurobindo uses the term also for Westminster Palace and the House of Parliament. (Enc. Br.)- 1:97, 350, 463, 550 15: 420

Westmoreland former county of England, which in 1974 became part of the county of Cumbria. Much of it lies in the pictuesque region’known as the Lake District. (Enc. Br.) 2: 379

Whiggism .See Tory a 1:849

White House 1. the official residence of the President of the United States of America in Washington D.C. It is a white building in Palladian style, officially called the "Execu- tive Mansion"; hence 2. the executive branch of the United States Government. (Web.; N.L.W.D.) 1:507 White Codges In theosophy, the Brother- hood of the White Lodge is the hierarchy of adepts who watch over and guide the evolution of humanity, and who have preserved the ancient truths unimpaired, reasserting them from time to time, as necessity arose. There are different occult lodges throughout the world, ranging from white through all shades of grey to black. (Occultists who are unselfish and wholly devoted to carrying out the Divine Will, or who are aiming to attain these virtues, are called "white". Those who are selfish and are working against the Divine purpose in the universe are called "black".) It is to some members of the Great White Lodge – the Himalayan or Tibetan Brotherhood, as it is often called – that the Theosophical Society owes its inception. (A.W., pp. 46 and 85) XIII: 33

White Russia also called Byelorussia, republic of west European U.S.S.R. It borders on Poland in the west, on Lithuania and Latvia in the northwest, on the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic in the east, and on Ukraine in the south. (Col. Enc.) 15: 512

Whitman, Walt(er) (1819-92), American journalist, essayist, and poet whose Leaves of Grass (first edition 1855) was so radical in form and content that it made him a revolu- tionary figure in American literature. (Enc. Br.) Der: Whitmanesque; Whitmanic 5: 371-73, 375 9: 18, 31, 147-55, 157-58, 163, 179-81, 183, 185, 187-88, 196, 203, 223, 229, 252, 284, 287-88 15: 81 26: 250 29: 795 VI: 198

Why I am not a Christian a booklet of thirty- one pages by Bertrand Russell, published in 1927 by Watts & Co., London. a 9: 554

Wilberfbrce, William (1759-1833), English politician and philanthropist who was prominent from 1787 in the struggle to abolish the slave trade and then to abolish slavery itself in British overseas possessions. (Enc. Br.) 27: 121

Wilde Oscar (Fingal O’Flahertie Wills) Wilde (1854-1900), Irish-born British wit, poet, and dramatist whose reputation rests on his comic masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest. He was a spokesman of the late 19th-century Aesthetic movement in England, which advocated art for art’s sake. Sri Aurobindo refers to him as the "Irish Plato" in "The Harmony of Virtue" (3:3). Wilde was a friend of Sri Aurobindo’s brother Manmohan. (Enc. Br.) 9:545, 548-49, 551

Wilhelm II, Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm Victor Albert (1859-1941), last German emperor and king of Prussia (1888-1918), popularly regarded in Allied countries as the prime instigator of World War I. He abdicated after his defeat. (Enc. Br.; Web.) Var: William II 4: 156 15: 34, 503

Wilkes, John (1727-97), outspoken journalist and popular – in some circles, notorious - London politician who came to be regarded as a victim of persecution and a champion of liberty because he was repeatedly expelled from Parliament. (Enc. Br.) l: 619

William II See Wilhelm II, Kaiser

Wilson Broome Wilson, one of the partici- pants in the dialogues "The Harmony of Virtue" and "Beauty in the Real", two of the earliest surviving writings of Sri Aurobindo. 3: 1-19, 21-25, 29-30, 32-63, 65-66, 68

Wilson, President (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), 28th President of the United States of America (1913-21), recognised as one of the pivotal figures of American and world history, and noted for his high-minded and sometimes inflexible idealism. His daughter Margaret became a disciple of Sri Aurobindo in 1938; she settled in the Ashram and died.here in 1944. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) 15:507 Wilson, Prof. probably Prof. H. H. Wilson, British Sanskritist and lexicographer, the first occupant (1832) of the Boden Chair at Oxford University. He was a distinguished predecessor and teacher of Monier Monier- Williams, the compiler of the famous Sanskrit- English Dictionary. (M.W., p. ix) III: 19 X: 154

The Wind and the Whirlwind a poem addressed to England, composed by Wilfrid Blunt, some verses of which admirably express the basic motive of the Nationalist movement in India. (A) 1: 465

Windsor Forest a pastoral poem by Pope, published in 1713, combining descriptions of the English countryside and field sports with historical, literary, and political passages. (Ox. Comp.) I: 12

The Witch of Atlas a poem in ottava rima by Shelley, composed in 1820. It is evidently here and there a fantasia on such inventions as steam or electricity can animate. (Ox. Comp.; Enc. Am.) 3:291, 294 9:528 X: 141, 144

Wolfe, James (1727-59), British soldier who was given the command of an expedition against Quebec which he himself had urged. He took 5, 000 men in boats down the St. Lawrence by night. He was victorious, but in the hour of victory he fell. (Col. Enc.) 1: 704

Woodburn, Sir John (1843-1902), Lt. Governor of Bengal from 1898 till his death. He joined the I.C.S. in 1863. After spending his early career in Oudh, he became Chief Commissioner of Central Provinces

(1893-96) and Member of the Viceroy’s Council (1896-98). (Dutt; Gilbert, p. 77) 1: 479

Woodroffe, Sir John a British judge in India who became, under the pen-name of Arthur AVALON, a well-known scholar of Tantric philosophy. He translated a number of Tan- tric texts and expounded and popularized the basic principles of Saktism, dispelling many false ideas about Sakta observances. He described the Sakta doctrine as the wor- ship of the Supreme Power in the form of the Mother. (Gaz.-I) 14:1, 8, 10, 17, 43, 46, 77

Woodward, Helen a character participating in "A Dialogue", written by Sri Aurobindo around 1891. (A & R, II) 11:5, 7-9 Woolf, Leonard Leonard (Sidney) Woolf (1880-1969), English man of letters, pub- lisher, political worker, journalist, and inter- nationalist who influenced literary and political life and thought more by his personality than by any one achievement. Woolf s most en- during accomplishment was probably his autobiography. (Enc. Br.) 22: 167, 185-86 26: 387 ,

WT^lf Vi.-CTin;-. ( A ylolir.o’t \/;mn; 0 Wnlf Woolf, Virginia (Adeline) Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), English author who made an original contribution to the form of the novel, and was one of the most distinguished critics of her time. She was the wife of Leonard Woolf. (Enc. Br.) 9:327 Worcester Battle of Worcester (1651), between the armies of Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II of England, which ended in the final victory of the former and a com- plete rout of the latter. (Enc. Br.; Col. Enc.) 7: 1048 Wordsworth, William (1770-1850), the great- est poet of the English Romantic movement, who described himself as a "worshipper of Nature" and is often referred to as "Nature’s priest". His name is inextricably linked with his native Lake District in the north of Eng- land, from which he derived the inspiration for much of his best work. (Enc. Br.) Der: Wordsworthian 3:101, 107, 47, 156, 253 5:8 9:51, 53-54, 74, 86, 91-94, 100, 112, 115-17, 119-21, 123, 126-27, 129, 131, 133, 162, 171-72, 192, 212, 246, 253,  271, 273-76, 303-05, 324, 368-69, 379, 472, 521-22, 524-25 20: 292 23: 896 24: 1296 26: 238, 267, 297-98, 314, 328, 331-32 27:120 29:785, 803, 805, 809 1:9-10, 13 II: 11-12, 16 VI: 198 XV: 37 XVI: 142

World The World, a London newspaper founded in 1787. (Enc. Br.) a 2:119

(World) War 1. World War I, a war lasting from 1914 to 1918, in which Austria- Hungary, Germany, and Turkey (the principal Central Powers) were opposed by Russia, France, and Great Britain (the Entente Powe’rs or Allies),

 who were joined by Japan, Italy, the United States and vari- ous smaller nations. The United States entered the war in 1917. (Enc. Br.) 15: 25, 27, 33, 36, 44, 224, 235, 288, 312, 319, 324, 328, 330, 367,  441, 447-48, 530, 618, 637, 642 17: 404-05 22: 153 25:72 26:368 27: 466-67, 479

2. World War II, a war lasting from 1939 to 1945, in which fifty-seven nations. Allied and Axis, were belligerents. This war gave a great impetus to the awakening of backward and colonial peoples. (Enc. Br. 1960 ed., Vol. 23, pp. 793, Q and R) a 15: 566 ("the last war") 26: 393 ("On the War"), 394 ("Mother’s War")

Womdale in Sri Aurobindo’s story "The Devil’s Mastiff", name of an imaginary place where there was a church. 7: 1049, 1051 Worship title of a poem by Harindranath ‘"’h'stt^iT’lrlh’.'^v -tnhli^h^cE i" hi"; fnllpptinn Chattopadhyay, published in his collection The Feast of Youth, which was reviewed by Sri Aurobindo in Arya. 17: 308

Wotan also known as Odin, one of the principal gods in Norse mythology. His exact nature and role are difficult to determine; but from earliest times he was a war-god, and appeared in heroic literature as the protector of heroes. Odin was the great magician among the gods and was associated with runes. See also Odin. (Enc. Br.) a 5:112 Wrecker The Wrecker, a novel (1892) by R. L. Stevenson, written in collaboration with Lloyd Osbourne. (Col. Enc.) 3: 184

Wriothesley, Henry (1573-1624), 3rd Earl of Southampton, English nobleman and patron of letters. He is chiefly remembered as a patron of Shakespeare, who dedicated to Wriothesley two of his principal poems Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece(1594). (Col. Enc.) 3:230

X

Xanthus a name of the river SCAMANDER or, as in Homer, the god of that river. (M.I.)  5: 391-92, 403, 411, 413, 426, 439-40, 457-59, 461, 463, 465, 468, 474, 488, 491, 504, 514, 517 VI: 134-35

Xantippe Xanthippe (fl. late 5th cent. Be), wife of the Greek philosopher Socrates, the prototype of the quarrelsome, nagging wife. (Enc.Br.;Web.)- D 7:652

Y

Yadava(s) descendant(s) ofYADu2. Yadava is used as an epithet of Krishna, who was born in the Yadu line. Under him the Yadavas established a kingdom at Dwarka in Gujarat. The city was submerged by the ocean after Krishna withdrew from the body, and all the Yadavas who were present in the city perished. A few who were absent perpetuated the race, from which many princes and chiefs still claim their descent. The Yadava dynasty was founded c. AD 1191 at Devagiri (site of modern Daulatabad), its capital. The dynasty ended in 1318. (Dow.; D. I. H.) Var: Jadhavas; Yadav(s); Yadove 1:599, 768 3:191, 193, 215 4:93, 95 8:30, 38, 41, 58 13:375, 378

Yadneshwar, Manohar one of the persons who received Sri Aurobindo at Nasik Road station on 24 January 1908. (A) a 1:1

Yadove See Yadava(s)

Yadu1 in the Veda, an adorer of Indra and’ an enemy of Sudasa. The name occurs many times in the Rig-veda, in both singular and plural; Yadu seems to be closely related to Turvasha. (B.P.C.) ll:49 11:45 VI: 148

Yadu2 in the Mahabharata, the first son of King Yayati of the Lunar race and founder of the line of the Yadavas in which Krishna was born. (Dow.;M.N.) 27:140

Yahweh See Jehovah

Yajnavalkya a celebrated Vedic Rishi to whom are attributed the Sukia (White) Yajur-veda, the Satapatha Brahmana, the Brhad Aranyaka (with its Upanishad) and the Ydjnavalkya-Smrti, a code of law. (Dow.) 4: 121 9: 555 11: 443 12: 495 14:280 17: 183 18: 452 20: 99 22: 97, 234 23: 773 26: 133 III: 71 IV: 168 VIII: 179-80, 184 XIII: 24 XIV: 124-25, 133 XVI: 134 XVII: 32

Yajur (Veda) the second Veda, the manual of the priesthood, which also contains some prose passages. The Yajur has two Sarhhitas commonly known as the Black (Krsna) and the White (Sukia). The former is more ancient, while the latter is more orderly and systematic and contains some additional texts. A mantra of the Yajur-veda is called a

Yajus. (Dow.) D 9:218 12:64, 270, 276, 300, 309-10, 321, 329, 386, 448 13: 314 14: 277 19: 702 DC: 11 XV: 57 XVII: 24, 33, 63

Yaksha(s) in Hindu mythology, a class of supernatural beings attendant on Kuvera, the god of wealth. See also Gandharva(s). (Dow.) Var: Yuksha 3: 241 4: 91 12:216, 409 13:349, 470 14:197 27:101, 159 II: 37 VI: 183

Yakshini a female YAKSHA. D 5: 543

Yama in Hindu religion, the Lord of death, generally looked upon with terror. He is also the guardian of Dharma, the master of the Law in the world, dispensing rewards and punishments according to deserts. In the Rig-veda he seems to be originally a form of the Sun (even as late as the Isha Upanishad, we find the name used as an appellation of the Sun). Later he is described as one of the twin children of the wide-shining Lord of Truth. Yama has many names descriptive of his office. Those occurring in Sri Aurobindo’s writings are: Controller, Critanta (Krtanta), Death, Dharma (or Dhurma), Ender, Ordainer, Shade, Shadow. (Dow.; V.G.; I & G) a 4: 12 5: 243-44, 249, 252-56 8: 57 10: 53, 152, 180, 184, 213, 232, 440 11: 14 12: 67, 125-26, 237-47, 253-54, 262, 265, 334, 356-57 13: 349, 374 14: 275, 278 16: 91-92 17: 257, 339 27: 154, 156, 158-59 28: 13, 17 29: 565, 575, 577, 580, 585-86, 588-90, 592-95, 605,  612, 614, 616-17, 621, 623, 626, 633-38, 647, 649-54, 656, 663-68 II: 37 XVIII: 140

Yami in the Veda, daughter of Surya, and twin-sister of Yama. The word seems to be the origin of the "Yamuna" of the Puranas. (Dow.) 10: 184 Yam(o)una a river which rises in the Himalayas near Jamnotri and joins the Ganga near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The river is personified as the daughter of Surya and twin-sister of Yama. The Yamuna is known by a number of other names, of which Sri Aurobindo has used one, namely Kalindi (or Calindie). (Dow.) Var: Jamouna; Jamuna; Jumna 4: 50 5: 532, 536, 548, 550 7: 935, 941, 990 8: 42, 231, 256, 281, 291-92 9: 145, 380 10: 89, 136, 543 14: 313 27: 159 III: 34 XVI: 146 XVIII: 144

Yanoun or Yanam, formerly one of the settlements comprising the overseas territory of French India. Since the transfer of the territory to the Government of India in 1954, it has been one of the four constituents of the centrally governed state of Pondicherry. Yanam is an enclave within the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh with an area of7.8sq. miles, on the principal mouth of the Godavari River. (Enc. Br.) a n: 403

Yara in Sri Aurobindo’s play Eric, name of the town where Eric, the king of Norway, lived. (A) 6:473, 538

Yarislaf in Sri Aurobindo’s play Eric, the father of Eric. (A) 6:539-40, 543, 547-48

Yaska (fl. c. 4th cent. AD), ancient Indian lexicographer, author of the Nirukta, the oldest known gloss on the text of the Vedic hymns. He lived before the time of Panini, who refers to his work. Yaska was not, however, the first writer of a Nirukta, for he himself refers to several predecessors. (Dow.;M.W.) a 4:21, 24 10:14, 17, 30 11:5-6, 470-71, 476 27:166 XIV: 124 XV: 25 XVI: 135, 163 XVII: 45 XVIII: 154

Yatudhanas In Indian mythology, Yatu- dhana was one of the sons of Kasyapa and Surasa. All the Rakshasas born in this family are known as Yatudhanas. (Pur. Enc.) Der: Yatudhani (female) a 17: 378, 381 XVI: 152

Yavan(a) a Sanskrit term that may have originally indicated the lonians, perhaps derived from Yauna, which would be the equivalent of lonia. The Puranas represent the Yavanas to be descendants of Turvasa, son of King Yayati by Devayani. They are always associated with the tribes of the northwest frontier, and it is possible that the Macedonian or Bactrian Greeks are the people usually intended by the term. To the present day it is applied to the Persians, Afghans and other races northwest of India, and more widely to Mohammadans in general. (Dow.;A) a l: 705 3:198-99 8: 40 XVIII: 136

Yayati in the Mahabharata, the fifth king of the Lunar dynasty, son of Nahusa. Yayati was a man of amorous disposition. He had two wives, Devayani and Sarmistha (see Surmishtha). The former gave birth to Yadu and the latter to Puru. (Dow.) o 8:39 27: 158 XIII: 44

Yeats, William Butler (1865-1939), Irish poet and playwright and nationalist politician. He is the greatest lyric poet Ireland has pro- duced and one of the major figures of 20th- century literature. He was the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923. (Col. Enc.) n 9:2-3, 7, 157, 159, 161, 165, 174-75, 187, 196, 210, 229, 346, 444, 532-34 26:255, 273, 289-90 Yellow Peril the alleged danger to the world supremacy of the white, or Caucasian, peoples created by  the vast numbers and potential political power of the yellow, or Mongolian, peoples. (Web.) 1: 814

Yemen a republic (formerly a kingdom) in southwest Arabia, the most southerly part of the Red Sea coast, bounded by Saudi Arabia in the north and Southern Yemen (which became an independent sovereign state in 1967) in the south. (Col. Enc.; Pears) D 5:276 7:597

Yildiz Palace Yildiz Kiosk (Pavilion) of the former sultan of Turkey, located north of Pera on the Bosphorus. The sultans shifted their residence from Istanbul (Constantinople) to this kiosk and the Dolma Bagtche palace in the 19th century. (Col. Enc., under Istanbul) a 2: 248

The Yoga and its Objects a book by Sri Aurobindo, first published in 1921. An earlier version was worked on by him sometime before 1913. The book represents an early stage of Sri Aurobindo’s sadhana. (I & G; A) a 2: pre. 16: 409 22: 48, 64, 223 24:1760 26:372 27:431, 434 IV: 192

Yoga-Sutras popular name of a Sanskrit work (Pdtanjala) Yoga Darsanam by Patanjali (2nd cent. BC). A collection of terse aphoristic sentences, it is the basic text of the orthodox Yoga philosophy. See also Patanjali. a 24: 1236

Yoga-Vasistha also called Vasistha Ramayana, a Sanskrit work in the form of a dialogue between Vasistha and his pupil Ramachandra, treating of the way to obtain happiness and liberation. (M.W.) n 22: 79, 333, 364

Yogi, Ram Rao name assumed by a Maharashtrian in the hire of the British police as a detective to watch the movements of Sri Aurobindo and his associates in Pondicherry around 1911. (A) a XIX: 29

Yogic Sdahan a book received by Sri Aurobindo as automatic writing in 1910; at one time its publishers claimed that the book was written by Sri Aurobindo, but he dis- claimed personal responsibility. He once mentioned that he thought that Ram Mohan Roy had some connection with the book’s origination. Sri Aurobindo contributed a short "Editor’s Epilogue" when the book was published in 1911 by K. V. Rangaswamy lyengar, the zamindar of Kodailam, at Vani Vilas Press, Srirangapuram. The epilogue was signed "Uttara Yogi" (Yogi from the North) – a name by which Sri Aurobindo came to be known in South India because of a prediction made by lyengar’s guru that a yogi, later recognised as Sri Aurobindo, would come to the South from the North. The book was later

published in 1933 by the Arya Publishing House, Calcutta. More than fifty years later, Yogic Sadhan was published again in the April 1986 issue of Sri Aurobindo: Archives and Research as an example of Sri Aurobindo’s automatic writing. (A; Purani; Auro-II) 26: 372-73 IV: 192 XIX: 15-16, 55-57

Yokohama a city in Kanazawa prefecture, central Honshu, Japan; now part of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area, an urban agglomeration on Tokyo-wan, an inlet of the Pacific. The area includes the national capital Tokyo, the port city Yokohama, and the manufacturing centre Kawasaki. (Enc. Br.; Pears) 22:190

Yorkshire formerly the largest county of England; after 1974 it was partitioned to form the county of North Yorkshire and the metropolitan counties of West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. (Enc. Br.) 2: 379 3: 41

Yougundharayan a character – Minister of Vuthsa Udayan, King of Cousambie, formerly the Regent – in Sri Aurobindo’s play Vasavadutta. a 6: 205, 207, 215-20, 222-26, 238, 243-45, 299-300, 319, 321-27

Young, Edward (1683-1765), English poet, dramatist, and literary critic, author of Night Thoughts. (Enc. Br.) a n: n, 16

Younghusband, Sir Francis Sir Francis Edward Younghusband (1863-1942), army officer and explorer whose travels, mainly in northern India and Tibet, yielded major contributions to our geographical knowledge of this region. He also forced the conclusion of the Anglo-Tibetan Treaty (1904), in which Britain won long-sought trade concessions. (Enc. Br.) a 1: 394, 396

Young Italy an Italian journal (in Italian, Glovine Italia) published by Mazzini from 1832 to 1834 to propagate his ideas. "Young Italy" was^also the name of the movement founded by Mazzini. (Enc. Br.; A) n 2: 164

Young Turks popular name for the Committee of Union and Progress, a revolutionary group that led a rebellion against the authoritarian regime of the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1908. The term is also applied to other insurgent groups within organizations or political parties. (Enc. Br.) a 2: 167 XXI: 94

Yudhaman’yu in the Mahabharata, a great hero who fought for the Pandavas. He was prince of Panchala. (M.N.) a 4:75 8:77

Yudhishthira in the Mahabharata, the eldest of the five Pandava brothers, and mythologi- cally the son of Dharma or Yama, the god of justice. He was renowned as a man of calm, passionless judgment, strict veracity, un- swerving rectitude, and rigid justice. He excelled as a ruler, but not as a warrior. (Dow.) Var: Yudhishthere; Yudhisthere;

Yudhisthir(a); Yudisthira (a misspelling) 1:146 3:161, 191-96, 201, 203, 207-09 4: 68, 71, 77, 84-85, 88, 93-96 8: 27, 29-30, 34-38, 42, 44, 47, 59-61, 77 14: 193, 292, 372 22: 93 26: 136 27: 79, 83 IV: 115-16 VII: 51 XVII: 44

Yugantar a Bengali weekly of Calcutta, the organ of the revolutionary party in Bengal. It was started in March 1906 by a band of young patriots including Barindra Kumar Ghose, Abinash Chandra Bhattacharya, Bhupendra Dutta, and others. It ceased publication in May 1908. Sri Aurobindo wrote articles for some of the earlier issues of the paper and always exercised general control over it. (I & G) a 1: 262, 430, 490, 492, 497, 505, 522, 542, 544, 549, 652, 792, 907 2: 383-84 4: pre. 26: 16, 24, 41-42, 44, 69 27: 68 IV: 110 VIII: 132

Yugoslavia formerly a kingdom, now a socialist federal republic of southeastern Europe, largely in the Balkan Peninsula. Belgrade is its capital. See also Serbia. (Col. Enc.) Der: Yugoslav a 5:596 15:301, 625

Yuksha See Yaksha

Yuvanas(h)wa in the Mahabharata, a king of the Solar dynasty, father of Mandhata. A legend represents this son as being conceived by and born of his father. (Dow.; M.N.) 0 3: 190 8: 46

Yuyudhana See Satyaki(e)

Z

Zaruthrusta the same as Zarathustra or Zarathrushtra (see Zoroaster). (Enc. Br.) a: 38 Zeb in Sri Aurobindo’s play The Viziers of Bassora, a companion of Nureddene. (A)  7: 630, 643, 645 Zendavesta Zend-Avesta. See Avesta D XVI: 166

Zephyr Greek personification of the westerly winds. He was gentle, and his mythical role was of a peacemaker. (Col. Enc.) a 5: 25, 34 7: 877, 1080

Zero translation of the Sanskrit word "sunya", used by Bengali writers wishing to remain anonymous. The seven articles of the series "Bankim Chandra Chatterji", written by Sri Aurobindo, were published in Indu- prakash of Bombay in 1894 over the signature "Zero". (A) n 3:73

Zethus in Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, a Hellene chieftain, son of Arithoa. He seems to have been promised a boon by Achilles for saving his life in "Memnon’s battle". Zethus re- quests "to meet Penthesilea in battle" as his boon. The boon is granted and in the battle he is slain by Penthesilea. (M.I.) a 5: 514-15, 517 VI: 134-35

Zeus the supreme god in Greek religion; son of Cronos, the Titan, whom he overthrew. He decrees all that shall be, subject only to the mysterious power of ANANKE. The lord of the heavens, he has as his special manifestations in Nature: thunder, lightning and the tempest. He is regarded as the universal Father, though mythology makes him the actual father (by a variety of goddesses and mortal women besides his consort Hera) of only some of the gods and certain extra- ordinary human beings such as Perseus, Helen, Sarpedon, and Dardanus. In Sri Aurobindo’s Ilion, the fall of Troy is the inscrutable will of Zeus which even the gods cannot prevent, though they are free to struggle against it. By his command, the gods withdrew from the fighting during the last year of the Trojan War, resuming their participation’only when Achilles returned to the battle. (M.I.) 5:394, 405-06, 420, 424-26, 428-29, 431, 434, 437, 449-50, 455, 457-58, 468, 470, 472-74, 476, 480, 483,  485, 490-94, 496, 498, 501-11, 515-16 6: 1, 3, 12-13, 22, 24, 30, 34,  39, 53, 82-84, 129, 151, 163, 171, 173, 177, 198, 200, 392, 433 8: 409-10 9: 317, 333 10: 153 11: 3 16: 125, 337, 346-50, 357,  360, 368 17: 257 II: 26 VI: 135 XV: 11, 15

Ziauddin, Dr. Dr. Ziauddin Ahmad (1878- 1947), a well-known mathematician; he served as a teacher of mathematics at M.A.O. College, Aligarh (U.P.), and later became first pro-vice-chancellor (1920-28) and then vice-chancellor (1935-47) of Aligarh Muslim University. (D.N.B.) a 1:480

Zobeidah (d. 831), wife of Harun-al-Rashid, the Caliph of Baghdad. She was renowned for her beauty. (Enc. Br.) a 7:696

Zola, Emile (-Edouard-Charles-Antoine) (1840-1902), French novelist and critic, the founder of the Naturalist movement in literature. (Enc. Br.) Q 9: 329

Zollverein German customs union, estab- lished in 1834 under Prussian leadership. It created a free-trade area throughout much of Germany and was a key step towards German reunification. (Enc. Br.) n 15:312, 315

Zones, Joe probably, JoeGans (1874-1910), a professional boxer known as the "Old Master". A Negro, he was perhaps the greatest fighter in the history of the light- weight division. (Enc. Br.) a 26: 378

Zoroaster (c. 628 – c. 551 BC), a great religious teacher and reformer of ancient Persia, the founder of Zoroastrianism, or Parsiism, as it is known in India. Little is known with certainty about Zoroaster’s life. He is said to have received a vision from Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, who appointed him to preach the Truth. Zoroaster is the Greek form of Zarathus(h)tra, the Persian name. In Old Italian the form is Zarathrusthtra. (Col. Enc.; Enc. Br.) Var: Jarad-Drashta; Jarat-Karu (doubtful reading); Zaruthrusta a 13:454 22:393 II: 38 XVII: 43

Zoroastrian (adherent) of the religious system taught by Zoroaster and his followers in the Avesta or Zend-Avesta. Zoroastrianism, founded in the 6th century BC, is the ancient pre-Islamic religion of Iran (Persia) that survives there in isolated areas and more prosperously in India, where the descendants of Zoroastrian immigrants are known as Parsees or Parsis. (Enc. Br.) Der: Zoroastrianism a 10: 44 13: 163 17: 341 18: 603

Zoyla a character – attendant of Cleopatra - in Sri Aurobindo’s play Rodogune. 6: 333, 342, 417-18

Zuleikha according to Muslim tradition, the name of Potiphar’s wife who tempted Joseph. Some call her Rail, but the name by which she is best known is Zoleikha. (Ox. Comp.) 5: 275