Dictionary of Proper Names

Selected from Glossary and Index of Proper Names in Sri Aurobindo’s Works (1989/1996)

C

Cabbala esoteric system of interpretation of Hebrew Scriptures based on the occult meaning of every word, letter, number, & even their accent. It also spread to some sects of Christians.

The Cabinet Mission constituted by the ministry of Atlee arrived in India on 23^rd 1946: it proposed a Union of India embracing both British India & the princely states dealing with foreign affairs, defence & communications & having the power to raise the finances required for these subjects. Any question raising a major communal issue in the legislatures was to require for its decision a majority of the representatives of each of the two major communities as well as a majority of all the members voting. All the subjects other than the Union subjects & all the residuary powers were to vest in the provinces & the states. Provinces were to be free to form groups. The Constitution, to be drawn up by a constituent assembly, was to provide each province, with the right to call for a consideration of the constitution at ten-yearly intervals. Briefly, the scheme was rooted in the unity & indivisibility of the country. The Mission had Pethick-Lawrence as Chairman, & Stafford Cripps & A.V. Alexander as members. Arriving in India in April, it first tried to effect a compromise between Gandhi & Jinnah over the constitutional problem. Wavell called a seven-day conference in May. On 16th May, the Mission declared their plan for transfer of power, rejecting Jinnah’s demand for creation of Pakistan but making Muslims the de facto rulers of Bengal-Assam & Punjab-NW Frontier-Baluchistan-Sind areas but within one undivided sovereign State of India with a federal Government at Delhi controlling Defence, Foreign Affairs & Communications; this arrangement was to last ten years after which India could change its Constitution in any way it liked. Jinnah accepted the plan fairly quickly but it took the Congress Party 40 days to examine it in detail, for Jinnah had demanded that all the Muslim members of the Govt. must be nominees of the Muslim League; even the President of the Congress, Azad, could not be a member of the Govt.... And the Cabinet Mission had acquiesced in this demand. Naturally, the Congress repudiated the proposal. The Mission then made its own proposals: (1) Formation of a Federal Union of the British Indian provinces with powers to control defence, foreign affairs & communications; (2) inclusion of the princely states with the Federal Union after negotiations; (3) formation of subordinate unions of their own by the individual provinces at their option with rights to decide for themselves the powers that they would exercise outside the range of federal subjects; (4) the convention, on the basis of these three of a Constituent Assembly representing all the parties for drawing up an agreed constitution for India; & (5) the formation, in the meanwhile of an Interim National Govt. to run the administration. But the hostility between the Congress & the League proved insurmountable, putting paid to Atlee’s noblest intentions. That August (1946), the League under Jinnah gave the non-Muslims, especially the Hindus, a foretaste of what awaited them: a blood-bath & a grievous partition. [Vide Durga Das’s From Curzon to Nehru....; Sudhir Ghosh’s Gandhi’s Emissary, 19671; S. Bhattacharya]

Cacoostha Kakut-stha, one sitting on the kakut, hump, of a bull; in Vishnu Purana a cognomen of Puranjaya, king of Ayodhya, who rode on a bull (a form assumed by Indra) & joined the Devas in one of the Devāsura wars in the Tretā Yuga.

Cadmeian Thebes Thebes was founded by Cadmus, son of Agenor, king of Tyre. He was led to the site of the city by a cow while searching for his sister Europa. Here he built Cadmeia, the citadel of the later town of Thebes. Cadmus killed a dragon, an offspring of the Olympian god Ares, to get water. Athena advised him to sow the teeth of the dragon. There came up a harvest of armed men, whom Cadmus killed by tricking them into fighting one another. Five survived & became the ancestors of the nobility of Thebes.

Caesar(s) title of Julius Caesar’s successors from Augustus to Hadrian. [Cf. Kaiser, Czar.]

Caesar & Cleopatra play (1899) by George Bernard Shaw.

Caillaux Joseph (-Marie-Auguste) (1863-1944), French fiscal expert & pacifist: finance minister in the cabinets of 1899 & 1906: premier in 1911: to defuse a political crisis with Germany, he negotiated a settlement that gave France a protectorate in North Africa in exchange for concessions in Central Africa. This brought a massive public attack upon his patriotism & his govt. fell in 1912. In 1913 he again became finance minister, but in 1914 he resigned after his wife shot dead the newspaper editor, Calmeth (q.v.).

Cain eldest son of Adam & Eve, a tiller of the soil. Enraged when God accepted his brother Abel’s offering in preference to his, he murdered Abel, & was consequently banished.

ﾇakya-muni Śākya-Muni (yogi of the Śākya clan) title of Gautama Buddha.

Calcutta When the British began exploring the areas outside their settlements of Fort William (commenced in 1757) & Dalhousie Square, Gov.-Gen. Warren Hastings built for himself the Belvedere Estate (q.v.), which became the residence of his successors until the Governor’s palace came up. Thereafter more & more Government buildings, mansions of top British bureaucrats & businessmen came up there making it the safest place to build the sprawling Alipore Jail (see Alipore). Some informative captions from Claude Campbell’s pictorial book Glimpses of Bengal, Vol.1, Campbell-Medland, 3/4 Hare Street, 1907: (1) The Govt. House in 1903: It was built at the instance of Lord Wellesley, commenced in 1799 & finished in 1803. Wellesley stated, “India should be governed from a palace, not from a counting-house, with the ideas of a prince, & not with those of a retail dealer in muslins & indigo.” (p.114); (2) Portico Govt. House Calcutta, 1903: Its pillars 45 ft. high of the Ionic order are more than a 100ft. wide at the bottom, the two flights of (17 & 16) steps lead to a platform 67ft. broad, which portico open on to the first floor. This is the state entrance, only used on grand occasions. (p.118); (3) The Throne Room, Govt. House, 1903: Throne room in the centre of the south wall under a canopy with the arms of England embroidered at the back, the Viceroy’s throne is a small gilt chair which once served as the throne of Tippu Sultan in Srirangapattinam. (p.118); (4) The Marble Durbar Hall, Govt. House, 1903: on the first floor of the central building, its floor is made of a polished veined marble; it has two rows of 10 pillars & two pilasters of Madras marble made in 1870 (p.117). The Marble Hall was the principal state room. In earlier days when the Gov.-Gen. was sometimes in residence at Calcutta in the hot weather, we hear of the Marble Hall having been occasionally used a sitting room or reception room. It was built on the model of a Roman atrium, but lacks its height. It is paved with grey marble & the coffered ceiling is gilded & painted white. [Photo-caption in British Govt. of India, vol. 1]

Calcutta remained the capital of British India until 1912. In December 1911, at a dazzling ceremonial durbar held in Delhi by Lord Hardinge to celebrate the Coronation of King George V, the King made two momentous announcements: “One was the creation of the Presidency of Bengal under a Governor. Bihar, Orissa & Chōta Nāgpur were separated from it & formed into a Province under a Lt. Governor, while Assam was restored as a Chief-Commissionership. (Both were subsequently placed under Governors.) The other was the transfer of the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi.” [An Advanced History of India, Majumdar et al, pp. 925-26]

The Mark II Lee-Metford bullet then in use with the Brit Army had a full metal jacket which travelled straight through tissue & bone without smashing it. The Brit Medical Journal published a report on one tribesman who had been hit by six such bullets but recovered in hospital. So, Lt. Col. N.S. Bertie-Clay of the Indian Ordnance Dept. of the Indian Army at Dum Dum (a suburban railway Junction of Kolkata), invented a soft pointed bullet in 1896 (thereafter known as ‘Dum Dum’) with a metal jacket that did not run the whole length of the bullet & when it hit a target the lead head mushroomed, spreading the force of the bullet out & causing larger wounds.

Calcutta University “Although the beginnings of English education on a sound basis are to be traced to the momentous decision of 1835 (see Macaulay), the evolution of a comprehensive & co-ordinated system of education had to wait…till the next revision of the Charter. A Parliamentary Committee was appointed to examine the whole subject. The result was the memorable Despatch of Sir Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control, dated 19^th July 1854, which laid down the foundations on which the educational system in British India subsequently developed. The most characteristic feature…was the creation of a properly co-ordinated system from the lowest to the highest stage…. For co-ordinating higher education a University should be established in each Presidency town…. As regards religious instruction in the Govt. institutions, the Despatch clearly lays down that as these ‘were founded for the benefit of the whole population of India…the education conveyed to them should be exclusively secular’.” [R.C. Majumdar in Advanced History of India, 1973-74, pp.813-814]

The first Indian Universities were created in 1857 by Charles John Canning (1812-62), then Gov.-Gen. of India under the East India Company, & from1^st November 1858, Great Britain’s first Governor General–cum–Viceroy of India on the model of the University of London – they were set up in Calcutta (then capital of British India), Madras & Bombay. That they were in effect a fleshing out the xenophobic Minute on Education by Macaulay which just 22 years before had laid the seed of India’s debilitating Anglo-phobia, is proved by the fact that they were merely affiliated & examining bodies with a nominated Vice-Chancellor, who held office on an honorary basis, & was to act with the advice & consent of a Senate & a Syndicate. The earlier Vice-Chancellors were all Europeans while the European Governor of the province was, as its Chancellor, the ultimate authority (see Bombay University). [S. Bhattacharya]

In 1859, an Education Department was set up to administer & supervise all education institutions. [History & Culture of the Indian Peoples, R.C. Majumdar et al, vol. X, part II: 50-60]

The Universities Act Curzon passed in 1904 was based on the recommendations made by a Commission presided over by Mr (afterwards Sir) Thomas Raleigh, the Law Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council (See Baroda College). Although it made provisions for the three universities to appoint professors & lecturers & equip laboratories & museums, it tightened Govt. control over these institutions by limiting the numbers of senators & syndics & creating a majority of Govt. nominated members in the Senate. Its main intention was to restrict their territorial jurisdictional by laying down stringent conditions for the affiliation of new colleges, & a prescribed systematic inspection of the affiliated colleges by the Universities. This provoked a great deal of popular agitation. But it had one merit. It aimed at turning the Universities from only examining bodies into institutions as well, esp. for Post-Graduate teaching, provided them the power to appoint their Professors, & Lecturers, & equip their laboratories & museums. …. Sir Gurudās Banerjee (1844-1918), who retired as a Puisne Judge of the Calcutta High Court in 1904, was appointed the first Indian Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University since he had been a Professor in a college in Bengal until 1876 when he took up law but had kept abreast of education in Bengal. Although Curzon’s Act of 1904 was fashioned to restrict the expansion of education in Bengal, Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee (1864-1924), who succeeded Sir Gurudās in 1906, inaugurated the Post-Graduate Dept., & made provision for teaching in different branches of humanities & the practical & applied sciences. He secured princely donations from Maharaja of Darbhanga, Sir Tārak Nath Palit & Sir Rāshbehari Ghosh to construct the University Library & Science Colleges which were supplied with adequate laboratories. He invited Englishmen, Germans, & Americans, besides Indians to occupy Chairs in the University which he raised to the position of the premier University in the East. [S. Bhattacharya; s/a Curzon’s Convocation Address at Calcutta University in February 1905 in Macaulay T.B.]

Calderon Pedro Calderόn de la Barca (160081), Spanish dramatist & playwright.

Caledonian native of ancient Scotland. Caledonia is still used to mean all of Scotland.

Caligula (12-41 AD) nick-name of Gaius Caesar, son of Germanicus Caesar. He was known as Caligula after he succeeded Tiberius as Roman emperor (37-41).

Calindie/ Kālindi a name of the Yamunā.

Callimachus (c.305-c.240 BC), Greek poet & scholar of the Alexandrian school.

Calmeth Gaston, editor of Le Figaro. He led the press campaign against Caillaux (q.v.). When Calmette threatened to publish love letters between Caillaux & his mistress, who had by then become Mme Caillaux, she fatally shot him.

Calvary hill outside Jerusalem where Christ was crucified for all citizens to witness.

Calvin, John (1509-64), French theologian, a most important Protestant reformer. Calvinism has three different meanings: (a) theology of John Calvin; (b) its developments by some of Calvin’s followers; (c) developments in various countries of doctrines & practices of derived from (a) & (b) that are the characteristics of the Reformed & Presbyterian churches.

Calypso nymph of Ogygia, the island on which she entertained Odysseus who, after enjoying her for seven years, spurned her offer to make him immortal if he stayed.

Cambria ancient name of Wales.

Cambridge municipal borough, county seat of Cambridgeshire in England, on the Cam (or Granta) River. The term is also used for the University of Cambridge which, with Oxford University, began in the 12^th century. By the 13^th century, a system of residential colleges sprang up which, in both Universities, are presided over by a principal, & its colleges are named for the church to which they are attached or for the saint to which they were dedicated. In 1890, Cambridge had 18 colleges for men, & two for women of which Girton opened in 1869 & Newham in 1873 but neither admitted “women students…to a full degree until 1947”!!

Campbell, Thomas (1777-1844), English poet, best known for sentimental & martial lyrics.

Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry (1836-1908), leader of the Liberal party in 1895, & prime minister from 1905 to 1908 (s/a Morley).

Canaan the Promised Land of Israelites between the Jordan, the Dead Sea, & the Mediterranean to which the Hebrews were led & settled.

Candida heroine of Bernard Shaw’s first play.

Canea capital of Crete, a port on the Gulf of Canea.

Cannae village in Apulia where Hannibal defeated the Romans in 216 BC.

Canterbury borough in county of Kent. Originally the Durovernum of the Romans & the Cantwaraburh (fort of the Kentish militia), it grew into the religious centre of England after St. Augustine settled there in 597, built his abbey & cathedral & soon became the Archbishop, the Primate of England. The murder of Archbishop Thomas À Becket (1118?-1170) & the ensuing penance of King Henry II is the subject of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Canterbury’s most important site is St. Martin Church, the Mother Church of England, established before St. Augustine’s arrival.

Canute (c.995-1035), king of England, Denmark & Norway.

Capet(s) surname of Frankish & French kings “of the third race” (the first & second “races” being the Merovingians & the Carolingians). The Capetians, 15 kings of the royal house of France) ruled from 987 to 1328. Hugh Capet removed the Carolingians for ever & became king of France in 987. His nickname gave the royal house its appellation Capetians. His descendants remained on the throne till the death (1328) of Charles IV, when the throne passed to the related house of Valois.

Capitol summit of the Capitoline hill on which stood the temple of Jupiter where victorious generals were carried in triumph to render thanks to Jupiter. It was on the temple’s Sibylline books (see Sybil) that consuls took their vows upon entering office.

Caprera island off NE coast of Sardinia where Garibaldi lived & died.

Captive Lady the only English poem written by Madhusudan Dutt.

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Emperor of Rome 211-17), nephew, son-in-law & adopted son of Emperor Antoninus Pius. An able general noted for his liberal extension of the rights of citizenship, Marcus is best known as the greatest Stoic philosopher.

Carbonari members of a secret society advocating political freedom spread over Italy, Spain, & France in early 19^th cent., which probably began in the kingdom of Naples. After 1830 the Italian section was absorbed by the Risorgimento movement.

Carcotaka a giant snake, offspring of Rishi Kashyapa & Kadru.

Caria region in SW Asia Minor; in the Trojan War, the Carians were allies of Troy.

Caribbee a native of the Caribbean islands.

Carlyle Thomas (1795-1881), British essayist, historian, social reformer famous for his On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History, & The French Revolution, which influenced, among others Matthew Arnold & John Ruskin.

Carlyle Circular dated Darjeeling 10 October 1905, issued only to magistrates & collectors over the signature of R.W. Carlyle, officiating Chief Secretary to Govt. of Bengal. It was a panic reaction of the rulers to garrotte the Nationalist movement from inspiring the educated youth they were so methodically denationalising. It was eagerly implemented by Moderate Congress ‘leaders’ whom students mistook to be patriotic but who were too self-blinded to realise that a universal educational strike would have brought about a swift reconsideration of the Partition inflicted to stifle Bengali nationalism.

Carnduff, Justice H.W.C. Carnduff, a judge of the Special Bench Appeal Court in the Alipore Bomb Case (1909). In the judgement there was a difference of opinion between him & the Chief Justice in respect of five appellants.

Carnot, Sādi Marie-Francois-Sādi Carnot (1837-94), 4^th president (1887-94) of 3^rd Republic of France. He was assassinated by an Italian anarchist.

Carolean poets belonging to the age of Charles I of England (1625-42).

Carpenter, Edward (1844-1929), English author & poet.

Carr author of The Philosophy of Benedetto Croce.

Carranza Venustiano (1859-1920), son of a landowner, he took up local & state politics in 1877. In 1910, he joined the struggle of Francisco Madero against the dictator Porfirio Diaz, & in 1913 led the forces against Victoriano Huerta who had assassinated Madero. A leader in the civil war following the overthrow of Diaz, he became president of the New Mexican Republic (1914-20). [S/a Villa, Francisco]

Cartesian of or relating to Cartesianism, traditions & attitudes derived from the rationalistic mind/matter dualism of Rene Descartes (1596-1650), who argued that the idea of mind & matter & that of God are innate. Besides its dualistic metaphysics, Cartesianism is known for its mechanistic physics & its deterministic ethics.

Cassandra Trojan princess, daughter of Priam & Hecuba. She was loved by Apollo but deceived him. In retaliation he turned her to a curse the gift of prophecy he had bestowed on her, causing her prophecies never to be believed. When Troy fell, she was dragged from the

image of Athene where she had taken refuge & violated by the Locrian Ajax, & after the War she was the slave of Agamemnon whose wife Clytemnestra killed her.

Cassiope poetic form of Cassiopeia, the Ethiopian queen who offended sea nymphs by boasting about her own or her daughter’s beauty.

Cassius Gaius Cassius Longinus, chief conspirator Caesar’s murder; later he committed suicide.

Castiglione, Baldassare (1478-1529), Italian humanist, known for his dialogue Il Cortegiaflo which influenced Surrey, Wyatt, Philip Sidney, & Edmund Spenser.

Castile kingdom in Spain, divided into Old Castile in north, & New Castile in south.

Castor & Pollux/ Kastor/ Polydeuces/ Poludeukes twin heroes called the Dioscuri. In a dispute between them, Pollux, an outstanding boxer, killed Castor, noted for training horses, but refused immortality so Zeus transformed them into the constellation Gemini. (Pollux is Latin for Polydeuces; see Dioskouroi.)

Catherine(s) Catherine I (1684?-1727), empress & czarina (1725-27); Catherine II or Catherine the Great (1729-96), empress & czarina (1762-96).

Catholic(ism)/ Catholic Christianity the term ‘catholic’ (Greek katholikos, universal) has been appropriated by the Roman Christian Church since 2^nd century to distinguish itself not only from all non-Christian religions & sects but also from Eastern Christian Orthodoxy & Protestantism & every other Christian sect.

Cato (1) Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 BC), Cato the Elder; Roman statesman & orator, sent to Carthage, he returned stern with disapproval of Carthaginian ways. All his speeches in the senate he ended with the words Delenda est Carthago: “Carthage must be destroyed”, earning him the name Cato the Censor. (2) Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (95-46 BC), great grandson of Cato the Elder, was called Cato the Younger or Cato of Utica. His high reputation for honesty & incorruptibility & stiff-necked refusal to compromise made him none too popular with his colleagues. A violent opponent of Julius Caesar, after Caesar crushed Scipio at Thapsus (46 BC), he committed suicide at Utica, bidding his people to surrender to Caesar.

Catullus, Gaius Valerius (c.84-c.54 BC), intensely emotional Roman poet whose expressions of love & hatred are considered the finest lyric poetry of ancient Rome.

Caturvyūha See “Things Seen in Symbols” SABCL 03, pp.452-53.

Cauvery Kāveri, Dakshīna Ganga, one of the seven sacred rivers; she rises in Western Ghats, flows 400 miles eastward passing Thanjavur & enters the Bay of Bengal in a wide delta; at its mouth stood the ancient port of Puhar [see Cholās]

Cavour, Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour (1810-61), premier of Sardinia (1852-59, 1860-61), he was the main force behind the unification of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy.

Cayshie a son of Dānu, who was defeated by Indra & also by Lord Vishnu.

Cecil, Algernon (Edgar Algernon) Robert Gascoigne-Cecil (1864-1958), 1^st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, British statesman, winner of the 1937 Nobel Peace Prize. He was a principal draftsman of the League of Nations Covenant in 1919 & a most loyal worker for the League until its supersession by the United Nations in 1945.

Cellini, Benvenuto (1500-71), Florentine goldsmith & sculptor, famed for his autobiography.

Cenci a drama by Shelley, written in 1820.

Centaur(s) beings having the upper part of a human being & the lower part of a horse, living in the woods or mountains of Elis, Arcadia, & Thessaly.

Cerberus three headed dog with a mane & a tail of snakes, who guards the entrance to Hades. Greeks bury honey cakes with their dead to placate Cerberus.

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes (Saavedra) (1547-1616), creator of Don Quixote.

Cestus Aphrodite’s girdle which gave whoever wore it the power to awaken love.

Chaitanya/ Gaurānga (1485/6-1533/4), born at Nadia was called Nimai Pandit. His mode of worshipping Sri Krishna with song & dance moulded Bengali Vaishnavism.

Chaitanya Charitāmrita biography of Sri Chaitanya (c.1581) by Krishnadas Kaviraj.

Chaka Shaka/ Tshaka (c.1787-1828), founded the Zulu Empire in South Africa.

Chakkarai, V. Chetty, was with Doraiswami, Bhārati, V. Sastrulu (see Tilak) & other young nationalists in Madras Presidency were fired by Sri Aurobindo’s Bande Mataram, & guided by Ganapati Muni’s deep knowledge & experience of Vedic culture, formed a secret society of their own. Bharati attended the 1905 Benares Congress session, while Doraiswami, Chakkarai & Sastrulu attended the 1907 Surat Congress. Chakkarai contributed a prose poem to the issue of Shama’a which Sri Aurobindo reviewed in Arya.

Chakravarti, Byomkesh (1855-1929) barrister, joined first phase of Swadeshi movement. Hemendranath Das Gupta: “The regular trial of the famous Alipore Bomb Conspiracy Case began on the 19^th of October 1908, before Mr Beachcroft, Additional Sessions Judge of Alipore. The prosecution was conducted by the famous lawyer, Mr Eardley Norton, while Shri Aurobindo was at first defended by Messrs Byomkesh Chakraborty & K.N. Chowdhury. Shri Aurobindo had voluntarily embraced poverty, & public subscriptions were raised for his defence. The amount however was soon spent & a time came when there was no one except Chittaranjan left to defend him.” [Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Govt. of India, 1977]

Chakrabarti/ ~borty/ ~varty/ ~varti Shyamsundar/ Shyam Sundar/ Shyam Babu/ Sham Babu/ S.S. (1869-1932) an accomplished writer & orator; he was on the editorial staff of Bande Mataram. Earlier, he had started the English daily People & Pratibāsi, & the Bengali weekly Pratibāsi which merged c.1907-08 with Sandhyā. He was for some time also associated with Sri Aurobindo’s Karmayogin & the Amrita Bazar Patrikā. In December 1908 he was arrested & deported to Burma. After his release in 1913, he joined S.N. Bannerjea’s Bengalee as sub-editor. He was arrested again in 1914 & 1922.

Shyam Babu in 1924: “Bengal began first to be interested in Bāl Gangādhara Tilak on the occasion of his historic sedition trial before Justice Strachey who invested it with a special importance with his curious interpretation of the term disaffection as want of affection.... His next claim to the esteem of intellectual Bengalis was the publication of Arctic Home in the Vedas. The late Brahmabāndhav Upādhyāya of the Sandhyā fame happened to be present at the Beadon Square Session of the Congress presided over by D.E. Wacha in 1901. Its proceedings as they were conducted in those days disgusted him but he was compensated, as he told us many times, by his first sight of the plain-dressed unpretentious Mahratta gentleman, who alone at that puppet show seemed to know & mean what he said. Since then he was full of Tilak; when he conceived the idea of celebrating Shivaji-Utsava by the worship of Bhawani, the first thing he did was invite Tilak to come & participate. Tilak at once responded. His coming gave me the first opportunity to know him as he really was. His unobtrusive greatness struck even those like me who had the good fortune to attend him while living as a casual guest in our midst. He talked little but heard much. He gave everyone his ears but few his voice. Bepin Pal, Aurobindo Ghose, Subodh Mullick, C.R. Das were his constant companions. A monster meeting was held for his reception at Panthir Math. The speech of Mr Tilak on the occasion gave a distinct impetus to the just-started self-relying politics of Bengal. At the end of the Puja, a procession was organised to take the image of Bhawani to the Ganges for immersion, & Tilak was asked to lead the procession. All the different communities of Calcutta joined it; when he came to the riverside the rush for his sight was so enormous that his life was in danger. He had his dip in the Ganges with the rest of that huge assemblage & ensured his place in the hearts of the Hindu community of Calcutta as the only true democratic leader of India. When he next came to Calcutta to attend 1906 Congress, it was with his help that Ashwini Kumar, Bepin Pal, Aurobindo & others succeeded in making the Boycott Resolution a principal part of the proceedings against enormous odds. The story goes that Sir Pherozshah Mehta, while congratulating him on his success made the reservation, ‘Tilak, you couldn’t have put up such a victory to your credit in Bombay,’ & drew from Mr Gokhale this retort, ‘No, Mr Mehta, there is no forecasting the capacity of this admirable man.’ When Lālā Lajpat Rai was released from deportation on the eve of the Surat Congress, Tilak started an agitation for making him president of that session... but Lālāji himself took the wind out of its sail by writing to the press that in the event of the country’s choice falling on him he would not attend that session at all. Tilak regretted to us that Lālāji took such a step without consulting him & his colleagues as the real object of the movement was to do the away the hitherto observed custom that whoever happens to incur the displeasure of the bureaucracy was ipso facto disqualified to guide the deliberation of the National Assembly.... I was near him when the Surat Congress broke up & though pain was unmistakably written on his furrowed brow at that unexpected event, the wonderful equanimity he evinced on the occasion gave everyone the impression that he alone was the man who could ride that tempest. A violent storm of Moderate indignation broke over him. Police took possession of the House & Mr Gokhale of Nagpur & others were taken into custody. Anguish, indecision, fear, anxiety were the prevailing emotions, but Tilak quietly helped himself to an orange offered by a friend & beckoned us to accompany him to the Nationalist Conference, which was then holding its sitting every evening under the presidency of Aurobindo Ghose. An irresistible pressure was put on him for joining the Convention decided on by the Moderate Party, but he could not find it in his heart to desert the Bengal School & participate in an organisation which forfeited its National character by its creed of exclusion. Be it said here, to the credit of Mr Khaparde, that his uncompromising attitude also proved in this case one of the deciding factor. We were in a hurry to leave Surat the very evening the Congress broke up but Tilak wanted us, as we were informed by Aurobindo Babu to wait for him at Dr. Deshmukh’s house at Bombay as he wanted to communicate to us some instructions for the future conduct of the Bande Mataram which then came to be recognised as the chief organ of the Nationalist movement. Tilak had unbounded confidence in Aurobindo Babu’s literary ability & when we met him last at Poona a little before his death he pressed us hard to go to Pondicherry to bring him back & make him, if possible, take up the work again. [Reminiscences & Anecdotes of Lōkamānya Tilak, S.V. Bāpat, Poona, 1924]

Chakravarti/ ~varty, Suresh (Chandra)/ Moni (c.18851954), arrived in Pondicherry four days on 31 March 1910 to make arrangements for Sri Aurobindo’s stay here. Except for brief visits to Bengal, he remained in Pondicherry.

Chaldea name is derived from the people who invaded the southernmost portion of the valley of the Tigris & Euphrates in the 11^th cent. BC; hence the restored kingdom of Babylonia is sometimes called the Chaldean Empire.

Chalcidice peninsula of Greece projecting into Aegean Sea from Macedonia, & ending in the three promontories of Pallone, Sithonia & Acte.

Chālukyas ruled large parts of southern & central India between 6^th & 12^th centuries. Some historians accept their claim to be Chandravanshi Kshatriyas who migrated from Ayodhyā; others believe them to be descendants of Solankīs, the Gurjara Rājputs of Rājputāna. About 550 the Ashwamedha yajña was performed by Pulakeśin I who had made Vātāpi (present Badāmi in Bijāpur District) his capital. The kingdom of Pulakeśin II extended from the Narmadā to the Kāveri. Though he was overthrown by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman in 642, the kingdom was regained in 655 by his son Vikramāditya I whose son was defeated by the Rāshṭrakūṭas in 757. In 973, the Chālukyas under Tailappā overthrew the Rāshṭrakūṭas & founded the 2^nd Chālukya dynasty that ruled from Kalyāṇi (modern Bāsavakalyān) until the end of 12^th century when the kingdom was absorbed by the Yādavas of Devagiri on the west & the Hoysalas of Dwara-samudram. ― The Eastern Chālukyas ruled in Vengi (eastern Andhra Pradesh) from c.624-c.1070. The Chālukya-Cholas were descendants of Rajendra III the 28^th Chālukya king of Vengi who united Chālukya & Cholā crowns by right of inheritance. He assumed the title of Kulottunga Cholā, & ruled from 1070 to 1122. The dynasty ruled over the Cholā kingdom till 1527 when with the death of Kulottunga Cholā III it sank into insignificance & its territories were overrun by Delhi’s Alā-ud-dīn Khilji.

The rule of the Chālukyas marks a golden age in the history of Karnātaka. The rise of this empire saw the birth of efficient administration, overseas trade & commerce & development of new style of architecture called Chālukyan architecture. Kannada literature, which had enjoyed royal support in the 9^th century Rāshṭrakūṭa court found eager patronage from the Western Chālukyas in the Jain & Veera-Shaiva traditions. The 11^th century saw the birth of Telugu literature under the patronage of the Eastern Chālukyas.

The government, at higher levels, was closely modelled after the Magadhan & Śatavāhana administrative machinery. The empire was divided into Mahārāshtrakas (provinces), then into smaller Rāshtrakas (Mandala), Vishaya (district), Bhōga (group of 10 villages) which is similar to the Dasagrāma unit used by the Kadambas. At the lower levels of administration, the Kadamba style prevailed fully. In addition to imperial provinces, there were autonomous regions ruled by feudatories such as the Alūpas, the Gangas, the Banas & the Sendrakas. Local assemblies & guilds looked after local issues. Groups of mahājanas (learned Brahmins) looked after agrahāras (called ghatikā or “place of higher learning”) such as at Badāmi which was served by 2000 mahājanas & Aihole which was served by 500 mahājanas. Taxes were levied & were called the herjunka on loads, the kirukūla on retail goods in transit, the bilkode on sales, the pannaya on betels, siddaya on land & the vaddaravula levied to support royalty.

Religion: Both Shaivism & Vaishnavism flourished; famous temples were built in places such as Pattadakal, Aihole & Mahākuta, & priests (archakas) were invited from northern India. The Badāmi kings initially dedicated temples to Vishnu, Shiva, Kartikeya, Ganapathi, Shakti, Surya, & Sapta Mātrikas. Jain temples were also erected in the Aihole complex, Ravikirti, the court poet of Pulakeśin II was a Jain. Buddhism was on a decline, having made its ingress into Southeast Asia. This is confirmed by the writings of Hiuen-Tsiang. Badāmi, Aihole, Kurtukoti & Puligere (now Lakshmeshwar) were primary places of learning.

Chamber of Deputies lower legislative chamber or 2^nd house of National Parliament in France, Italy, &c. The first French Chamber of Deputies was established in 1814.

Chāmunda the fierce form of Pārvati; she arose from a clump of Pārvati’s matted hair which she flung to the ground in order to destroy the Asura-twins Chanda & Munda. Chāmunda is described as wearing a necklace of human skulls (s/a Chandi).

Chāṇakya as son of Chaṇak, was the cognomen of Vishnugupta. Chaṇak, the most renowned scholar of his time, esp. in the sciences of politics & economy, lived in Pātaliputra, capital of Magadha then ruled by the Nanda dynasty. He was thrown into a dungeon & tortured to death by the arrogant king for warning him against his despotic behaviour & his wife & son ostracised. Upon his mother’s death young Chāṇakya migrated to the Gurukūla in Takshashilā, capital of Gāndhāra & after his studies was appointed one of its educators. And in due course, he achieved his goal of overthrowing Dhanā Nanda then king of Magadha & replacing him with his best disciple Chandragupta Maurya. An authority on the Sanātanah Dharma & humanitarian statecraft, his Artha-shāstra, built on all knowledge compiled up to his time on artha (property, economics, material success), & written under the pen-name Kautilya (the pragmatic) gained renown as the most important treatise on imperial polity. One of his basic aphorisms says:

Āhāra nidrā bhaya maithūna-ścha| sāmānyaṃ étaḍ pashubhī narānām||

Dharmo-hi téshām vividho viśéśa| Dharmenhīnā pashubhī samānāh||

Artha-shāstra: In 1905 a copy of the Artha-shāstra in Sanskrit, written on palm leaves, was presented by a Tamil Brahmin from Thanjavur to the newly opened Mysore Oriental Library headed by Benjamin Lewis Rice. It was identified by Rice’s clerk Rudrapatnam Shamasastry as Kautilya’s Artha-shāstra. During 1905-09, Shamasastry produced & Rice published English translations of the text in instalments, in their journals Indian Antiquary & Mysore Review. Inevitably, therefore European Orientalists, constricted by their religious & educational ‘isms’ translated the title & content of Artha-Śāstra as ‘Treatise on Science of Politics’, whereas the treatise actually expounds on all the four aims & aspects of Puruṣārtha, i.e. goal & purpose of human life. Hindu culture defines the four as Artha-Dharma-Kāma-Moksha: Artha includes prosperity, wealth, economic security; Dharma – laws, duties, rights, virtues, right way of living; Kāma – pleasure, emotions, sex; & Moksha is spiritual liberation. Artha-shāstra therefore defines the economics & nature of human society under an ideal government, markets & trade, agriculture, mineralogy, mining & metals, animal husbandry, medicine, forests & wildlife; all issues of political & social welfare & collective ethics.

Its sixth sutra states its basis: Sukhasya moolam Dharma; Dharmaysa moolam Artha; Arthasya moolam Rājyam; Rājyasya moolam indriya jayah; Indriyasya moolam vinaya; Vinayasya moolam vriddhopseva. The root of Happiness is Dharma; Dharma’s root is Artha;

Artha’s root is right governance; Right governance’s root is victorious inner-restraint; Victorious inner-restraint’s root is humility; Humility’s root is the service of the aged.

Government in general: Without government, in the absence of governance, the strong will swallow the weak; in the presence of governance, the weak resists the strong. The best king is a Rājrishi, a sage who never falls prey to the temptations of the senses for he knows that his greatest enemies are Kāma, Krōdha, Lōbha, Mōha, Mada, & Mātsarya (Lust, Anger, Greed, Infatuation, Conceit, & Envy; he learns continuously & cultivates his thoughts, avoids false & flattering advisors & associates with true & accomplished elders, promotes the security & welfare of his people, enriches & empowers his people, practices ahimsa, lives a simple life & avoids harmful relations & activities. Such a king gains the loyalty of his people not because he is king, but because he is just. Chapter 9 of Book 1 asks the king to maintain a council & a Purōhita who is well educated in the Vedas & its six Aṇgahs for his personal counsel. The king & his officials cause distress & disaffection when people are fined, punished, or harassed when they ought not to be while those that should be are not; when people are apprehended when they ought not to be while those who ought to be are not. When officials engage in thievery, instead of providing protection against robbers, the people are impoverished, they lose respect & become disaffected. Where courageous activity is denigrated, quality of accomplishments are disparaged, pioneers are harmed, honourable men are dishonoured, & deserving people are not rewarded, but instead favouritism & falsehood is honoured & rewarded, people lack motivation, are distressed, become upset & disloyal. The just & victorious king administers justice in accordance with Dharma, aṇsthā (natural law), Nyāya (justice), & Vyavahāra (conduct/evidence). The just punishment is one that is in proportion to the crime. Economic crimes such as conspiracy by a group of traders or artisans are to be punished with much larger & punitive collective fine than those individually, as conspiracy causes systematic damage to the well-being of the people.

Marriage laws: There are eight legally recognisable types of marriage. The bride is given the maximum property inheritance rights when the parents select the groom & the girl consents to the selection (Brahma marriage), & minimal if bride & groom marry secretly as lovers (Gāndharva marriage) without the approval of her father & her mother. However, in cases of Gāndharva marriage, she is given more rights than she has in Brahma marriage, e.g. if the husband uses the property she owns or has created with husband, he is required to repay her with interest when she demands it. A girl may marry any man she wishes three years after her first menstruation, provided she does not take her parent’s property or ornaments received by her before the marriage. However, if she marries a man her father arranges or approves of, she has the right to take the ornaments with her. A woman has the right to marry anyone she wants to: if she has been abandoned by the man she was betrothed to, if she does not hear back from him for three menstrual periods, or does hear back but waited for seven menses.

Wildlife & forests: Forests must be protected & the state treasury used to feed animals such as horses & elephants that are too old for work, sick or injured. Topic 35 recommends that the “Superintendent of Forest Produce” appointed by the state for each forest zone be responsible for maintaining the health of the forest, protecting forests to assist wildlife such as elephants, but also producing forest products to satisfy economic needs, products such as Teak, Palmyra, Mimosa, Sissu, Kauki, Sirisha, Catechu, Latifolia, Arjūna, Tilaka, Tinisa, Sal, Robesta, Pinus, Somavalka, Dhava, Birch, bamboo, hemp, Balbaja (used for ropes), Munja, fodder, firewood, bulbous roots, fruits, & flowers for preparing medicine. The Arthaśāstra also reveals that the Mauryas designated specific forests to protect supplies of timber, as well as lions & tigers, for skins.

The Secret Services: dedicates many chapters on the need, methods & goals of the secret service & how to build then use a network of spies that work for the state. Its goal is to test the integrity of government officials, spy on cartels & population for conspiracy, monitor hostile kingdoms suspected of preparing for war or in war against the state, check spying & propaganda wars by hostile states, destabilize enemy states, get rid of troublesome powerful people who could not be challenged openly.

On War & Peace: One can lose a war as easily as one can win it. War is inherently unpredictable. War is also expensive. Avoid war. Try Upāya (four strategies); if that fails then try Sadaguṇya (six forms of non-war pressure). Understand the opponent & seek to outwit him. When everything fails, resort to military force. It classifies war into three broad types – open war, covert war & silent war. It then dedicates chapters to defining each type of war, how to engage in these wars & how to detect that one is a target of covert or silent types of war. The text cautions that the king should know the progress he expects to make, when considering the choice between waging war & pursuing peace: When the degree of progress is the same in pursuing peace & waging war, peace is to be preferred. For, in war, there are disadvantages such as losses, expenses & absence from home. ― The state must always be adequately fortified, its armed forces prepared & resourced to defend itself against acts of war. Peace is better than war, because in most situations, peace is more conducive to creation of wealth, prosperity & security of the people. All means to win a war are appropriate; including assassination of enemy leaders, sowing discord in its leadership, engagement of covert men & women in the pursuit of military objectives & as weapons of war, deployment of accepted superstitions & propaganda to bolster one’s own troops or to demoralize enemy soldiers, as well as open hostilities by deploying kingdom’s armed forces. After success in a war by the victorious just & noble state, the text argues for humane treatment of conquered soldiers & subjects.

On regulations & taxes: The Arthaśāstra discusses a mixed economy, where private enterprise & state enterprise frequently competed side by side, in agriculture, animal husbandry, forest produce, mining, manufacturing & trade. Royal statutes & officials regulated private economic activities, some economic activity was the monopoly of the state, & a superintendent oversaw that both private & state owned enterprises followed the same regulations. The private enterprises were taxed. Mines were state owned, but leased to private parties for operations. ― Protecting the consumer must be an important priority for the officials; there must be restraint on taxes imposed, fairness in the amounts & how tax increases should is implemented. The tax should be convenient to pay, easy to calculate, inexpensive to administer, equitable & non-distortive, & not inhibit growth. Since fair taxes build popular support for the king some manufacturers & artisans, such as those of textiles, were subject to a flat tax. Taxes should only be collected from ripened economic activity, & should not be collected from early, unripe stages of economic activity.

Agriculture on privately owned land was taxed at the rate of 16.67%, but the tax was exempted in cases of famine, epidemic, & settlement into new pastures previously uncultivated & if damaged during a war. New public projects such as irrigation & water works were exempt from taxes for five years, & major renovations to ruined or abandoned water works were granted tax exemption for four years. Temple & Gurukūla lands were exempt from taxes, fines or penalties. Trade into & outside the kingdom’s borders, was subject to toll fees or duties. Taxes varied between 10% to 25% on industrialists & businessmen, & it could be paid in kind (produce), through labour, or in cash.

Chand/ Candarāya (d.1601), one of twelve Bengali zamindars who were brilliant naval commanders. He did not submit to Akbar & remained independent all his life.

Chandannagar/ Chandernagore town on the Hooghly, 30km upriver from Calcutta. Seized in 1673 by the French; snatched by the English in 1757; restored to France in 1815 in return for alliance in First War; merged into India in 1949.

Chandavarkar, Justice Sir Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar (1855-1923), educated at Elphinstone College, Bombay (where he was a class-fellow of Tilak): a successful pleader of Bombay: accompanied Lalmohan Ghose & others to England for educating the British public on Indian conditions, 1885: elected president of the Congress in 1900: gave up politics when he was appointed a judge of the Bombay High Court in 1901: succeeded M.G. Ranade as leader of Ranade’s movement to reform Hindus & Hinduism: fulfilled his duty as head of the Special Tribunal which sentenced Vināyaka Sāvarkar to two consecutive life terms in the Andamans in July 1910: hence knighted on retirement from the High Court in 1912; then for his safety, made Dewan of Indore. In 1914 he left Indore & re-joined the Moderate Congress.

Chandi Chandipātha, the Tantric scripture forming an episode of the Mārkandeya Purana. It is a poem of 700 stanzas celebrating the goddess Durgā’s victories over the Asūras. The work is also called Chandi-Mahātmya or Devi-Mahātmya.

Chandi Bhāva the force of Mahākāli manifest in the temperament.

Chandidās (14^th-15^th cent.), Bengali poet & singer whose songs about washerwoman Rami was/is a source of inspiration to Bengal’s Vaishnava & Sahajiya religious movements based on the identity between human & divine love.

Chāndod c.30 miles south of Baroda, is on the northern bank of Narmadā. Not far from there is the temple-town Karṇāḷi. In 1905 Sri Aurobindo & K.G. Deshpande visited a Kali temple there. In a conversation with disciples in the 1920s, he said, “I went to one of the temples, & saw in an image of Kāli, the living Presence.” His poem “The Stone Goddess” describes that experience.

Chandpur river port in Comilla, Bengal, on the east bank of the Meghna.

Chandra/ Chundra the moon as a planet, or as a god: Devatā of Smṛti or Prajñā. The physical & psychological effects of the solar system (including the moon) on the creatures of the earth is not unknown to Science. As a symbol seen in sādhanā it indicates, says Sri Aurobindo, “movement or action of inner forces… of spirituality… sometimes also the flow of spiritual Ananda”. [S/a Soma & Prabhāsa-Pātaṇ]

Chandrābali/ Chundrā a Gopi who participates in Sri Krishna’s mystic Rāsaleela.

Chandrabhāgā/ Chundrobhāgā one of the five rivers of Aryavarta perverted to Chenab of pāñchā-aab (origin of name Punjāb).

Chandragupta Maurya (reigned c.321-c.298 BC), was the founder of the Maurya dynasty. According to tradition the title Maurya is derived from Murā, the mother or grandmother of Chandragupta, who was the wife of a Nanda king. Medieval epigraphs represent the Mauryas as Kshatriyas of the solar race. Buddhist writers of an early date knew them as members of a clan of Kshatriyas ruling the little republic of Pipphalivan, probably lying between Rummindel in the Nepalese Tarai & Kasai in the Gorakhpur district, in the days of the Buddha. The Maurya clan was reduced to great straits in the 4^th century BC, & tradition avers that Chandragupta grew up among peacock-tamers, herdsmen, & hunters. According to the Puranas, he was the son of a Nanda king of Magadha born of a maid-servant named Mura, but the cognomen Vrishala applied to Chandragupta in the play Mudrārākshasa does not invariably mean a man of Shudra extraction. It can safely therefore be safely inferred that Mura was his mother’s nickname from her being from the Maurya clan of Pipphalivan & was kidnapped by the Nanda king’s raiders. While still a lad he is said to have encountered the megalomaniac invader Alexander in one of his camps in present Punjab. The Macedonian invader couldn’t countenance Chandragupta’s bold speech & condemned him to death, but the lad escaped before Alexander’s guard could capture him. In the place of his refuge he is said to have been joined by a Takshashilān Brahman, the famous Chāṇakya or Kauṭilya, who had prior to this gone to Pātaliputra to beg the Nanda emperor to throw out the murderous invaders but, being insulted by the reigning Nanda king, repaired to the Vindhya forest where he met Chandragupta. With the help of a buried treasure they unearthed, they recruited an army of mercenaries & overthrew Nanda king & established the Maurya rule over Magadha’s dominions. In the meantime Alexander had not only gone back from India, but also died, & taking advantage of the situation which thus arose in the present Punjab, Chandragupta overthrew the Greek rule there, probably between 324 & 321 BC. The army of Chandragupta, according to Pliny, included 600,000 infantry 30,000 cavalry, & 9,000 elephants, & a very large number of chariots. The protection of his person was entrusted to an Amazonian bodyguard of armed women. With this force he overran & conquered Mālwā, Gujarāt, & Saurāshtra, & extended his dominions to the Narmadā, if not beyond it. His power was challenged in 305 BC by the Greek general Seleukos who had become the sovereign of all the eastern dominions of Alexander. He was defeated & forced to conclude a humiliating peace by which he surrendered the satrapies of present Kabul, Herat, Qandahar, & Baluchistan, entered into a matrimonial alliance & received 500 elephants in return. This treaty, which has been dated 303, marked the culmination of the conquests of Chandragupta. In the course of 18 short years Chandragupta Maurya not only raised himself to the throne of Magadha, he expelled the Macedonian garrisons from present Punjab & Sindh, conquered Mālwā, Gujarāt, & Saurāshtra, & extended his dominion up to Narmadā. In 305 BC he defeated Seleukos & took over his satrapies of present Kabul, Herat, Qandahar, & Baluchistan. In the opinion of Megāsthenes, the Macedonian ambassador in Pātaliputra, Chandragupta’s palace excelled in splendour & magnificence the palaces of Susa & Ecbatana. “These achievements,” says Mccrindle’s Ancient India, “entitle him to rank among the greatest & most successful kings known to Western historians.” [Based on S. Bhattacharya: 223-24; Majumdar et al’s Advanced History, pp.92-93] ― Chandragupta fasted to death in sorrow for his famine-stricken people [Compare. Lytton’s reaction in Pax Britannica].

Chandralōka the world of the god Chandra or Sōma; it is 3^rd of the eight lōkas or spiritual planes of Swar (q.v.) where the gods dwell; at their summit is Kailāsa & at the base is Swarga with Pitrilōka just above Swarga [s/a Bhūr].

Chandra Vamsha (1) the lineage or race of Kshatriyas who worship Chandra taken as a symbol of Swar (q.v.). It is divided into two great kūlas – the Yādava & the Paurava, descended respectively from Yadu & Puru, sons of Yayāti; (2) son of Atri & Rohini, & father of Budha. (3) Seen in a vision it symbolises spirituality, usually of the mind, or simply the spiritual consciousness. Sometimes it also indicates spiritual Ananda.

Chandrayān (vow) a one-month fast in which the quantity of food taken increases & decreases with waxing & waning moon: beginning with one morsel on the 1^st day of the shukla-paksha (bright fortnight) till on Poornima (full-moon) the number of morsels taken rises to fifteen, after which the morsels decrease in the krishna-paksha (dark fortnight), ending with none on Amāvāsya (no-moon). For one initiated into the spiritual path this vow is a sādhanā to embody the movement or action of spiritual forces leading to the nectar of spiritual Ananda.

Chapman George (1559?-1634), English dramatist & poet, translated Iliad& Odyssey.

Charaka Charaka-Saṁhitā deals with pathological & medical aspects of Ayurveda.

Chārana a celestial singer

Charlemagne Charles the Great or Charles I (c.742-814), Frankish king (768-814); he conquered nearly all Christian lands of Western Europe & ruled as emperor from 800 to 814. He & his twelve peers became the centre of a cycle of romantic legends.

Charles I (1600-49), king of Great Britain & Ireland (1625-49), provoked a war that led to his execution.

Charles II/ Charles Stuart (1630-85), king of Great Britain & Ireland (1660-85).

Charles V (1500-58), as Charles I, king of Spain (1516-56); as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1519-56) when he tried to realise the hope of the Catholic Church to ‘unite’ all European kingdoms under its own flag by waging constant wars with Francis I & Henry II of France. In 1556 he assigned his title to his brother Ferdinand & his possessions to his son Philip, to focus on procuring funds for their wars.

Charudeshna son of Sri Krishna & Rukminie.

Charvak(a) advocated total rejection of the spiritual truths & experiences recorded in the Vedas such as immortality of the soul, its transmigration (i.e., its lives before & after the present one) on this earth as a means of its own & the earth’s evolutionary transformation – a doctrine after the heart of Western Scientific Scholarship because it justified its own materialistic doctrines & policy of total opportunism.

Charybdis daughter of Poseidon & Gaea; thrown into the sea off Sicily by Zeus where, by swallowing & spewing water, she created a whirlpool.

Chatalja/ Chataldja/ Tchataldja also spelt Çatalca, a city in Turkey west of Istanbul. The First Battle of Çatalca was one of the heaviest battles of the First Balkan War fought between 17 & 18 November 1912. It was initiated as an attempt of the combined 1^st & 3^rd Bulgarian Armies, under the overall command of Lt. General Radko Dimitriev, to defeat the Ottoman Çatalca Army & break through the last defensive line before the capital Constantinople (q.v.). The high casualties however forced the Bulgarians to call off the attack & allow their adversary to claim victory. This was the greatest military success of the Ottoman Army for the entire duration of the war & the first major defeat of the Bulgarian Army since its establishment in 1878. Upon expiration of the armistice, on 3 February 1913, hostilities recommenced & the Second Battle of Çatalca (in the First Balkan War) began. It was a series of thrusts & counter-thrusts by both the Ottomans & the Bulgarians & lasted until 3 April 1913.

Chateaubriand, François René, vicomte de (1768-1848), French diplomat, writer & founder of French romanticism. His memoirs are his most enduring work.

Chatterjee(~ji), Bejoy/ (1879-1943), a renowned barrister at-law.

Chatterjee (~ji), Rāmānanda (1865-1943), started & edited the English monthly The Modern Review in 1907, making it the most authentic & lively record of current significant events with a brilliant commentary in his analytical pen. He also started & edited the Bengali monthly Probāshi, & published the Hindi monthly Vishāl Bhārat.

Chatterjee, Satish Chandra (1873-1938) organized along with Ashwini Kumar Dutt the Swadeshi movement in Barisal; & also the Barisal branch of Anushilan Samiti. One of the nine Nationalist leaders deported in 1908, he worked intermittently as principal of the Brajamohan College until his death.

Chatterji, Amar Amarendranath (1880-1957); around 1906-07, he was sent by Upendranath Banerjee to meet Sri Aurobindo at his residence in 23, Scott’s Lane, Calcutta, for receiving the Diksha (initiation) into the revolutionary movement. Recalling that meeting Amar wrote in 1950: “I was not merely enchanted by my first meeting with him, ― I became strong, I became powerful. I got a personal proof of the idea that Diksha can be given merely by Darshan (sight) & it does not require either touch or a mantra. …. He asked me, ‘I suppose Upen had talked to you about the work…. You have given a lot of money to the Swadeshi movement…. But is the country going to be freed by the politics of salt & sugar only? If we want to secure the freedom of the country we have to sacrifice everything for it, & we should be ready to give up even our life for it. If we want to free the country we shall have to conquer the fear of death…. Is it so difficult to sacrifice oneself for the Motherland? Men go through so much suffering & trouble to get happiness in life. No sacrifice should be difficult to make for the freedom of the country. If India does not become free man also will not be free. People of other countries think only of own interest; people of India, even when they think about India, think of the whole world…. Surrender yourself to God & in the name of the Divine Mother get along with the service of India. That is my Diksha to you.’ That Diksha has moulded my life. All fear, all attachment left me.” ― That year Amar was given the work of collecting money for the maintenance of the young revolutionaries of the party. On 30 May 1909 he was sent to Calcutta to fetch Sri Aurobindo to speak to the Sanātanah Dharma Association. He writes: “I went to the Sanjivani office…. I saw him there absolutely quiet, as if he was in meditation. So, I also did not talk long with him. We went by train to Uttarpāra…. The time for the meeting was 5:30 pm. The zamindar of Uttarpāra, Raja Piyāri Mohan & his son Michhari Babu came to the station to receive Sri Aurobindo…. The meeting was fixed at the open courtyard of the Library on the eastern side, on the west of the Ganges…. He was heard in pin-drop silence…. A heap of garlands was on the table…. One of them was prepared by Michhari Babu…. When the lecture was over, as usual with him Sri Aurobindo left the heap of garlands on the table & went away. The long garland prepared by Michhari Babu was taken away by somebody…as a token of the occasion…. Michhari Babu was very angry…. Next morning he got the garland back but Michhari Babu was quiet…. He told Amar, “Yesterday if he was caught he would have got such a thrashing! But today the iron had turned into gold…. Sri Aurobindo’s speech had produced immediate result.”

Amar & Manmathnath Biswas were charged to ferry Sri Aurobindo from Chandernagore’s Dumur Tālā Ghāt to the steamer Dupleix docked in Calcutta’s Chandpal Ghāt. Extract from Nāgendra Guhā Roy’s reminiscences, “It was almost eleven at night when the carriage carrying Sri Aurobindo reached Chandpal Ghāt. After putting the luggage on the coolie’s head the four of us [Sri Aurobindo, Bijoy, Amar, & he] boarded the Dupleix & entered the reserved cabin. The coolie arranged the luggage & then left. Bijoy made Sri Aurobindo’s bed.

Amar-da & I stood facing Sri Aurobindo near the door. Amar-da took some currency notes from his shirt-pocket & gave them to Sri Aurobindo saying that they were from Michhari Babu. He accepted the notes without a word. Then Amar-da lowered his head, & touching his forehead with folded hands made namaskāra to him. I laid my forehead on his feet… & in the touch of that divine body, I felt fulfilled.” The only persons who knew about this departure were Motilal Roy, Suresh Chakravarty (Moni) already at Pondicherry, Amar, Manmathnath, Surendra Chakravarty, Sukumar Mitra, Nāgendra, & Bijoy Kumara Nag, who accompanied him, & Michhari Babu.

While travelling incognito over India as Swami Kevalānanda with a retinue of sannyasins, Amar came to Pondicherry in 1920-21. He came alone to the ‘Guest House’. Staying there then with Sri Aurobindo were the Mother, Barin, Datta (Miss Hodgson), Amrita, Motilal Roy, Hrishikesh (afterwards Vishuḍhānanda Giri), Rameshwar De, & Natwardas. Kevalānanda, tall with matted hair carried a staff & tongs in his hands & no one recognised him. After some time he revealed his identity to Natwardas. When Motilal learned that it was Amar he rushed up to him, embraced him & took him upstairs to Sri Aurobindo. On being informed that Gabriel had come, Sri Aurobindo exclaimed, “Good Lord!” Sri Aurobindo had received reports from Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, & other places that a Punjabi sadhu had been preaching his ideas & philosophy. Now he knew who it was. That night Amar dined at the Guest House. Sri Aurobindo advised him to return to Bengal &, in the changed circumstances after the war, to disclose his identity but refrain from revolutionary activities. The next morning Amar & his party left Pondicherry. Abiding by the Diksha Sri Aurobindo had given he surrendered himself to God & in the name of the Divine Mother & got along with the service of India. [See footnotes on pp.104 & 105of A.B. Purani’s Life of Sri Aurobindo, 1978; & pp.182-83 of Nirodbaran’s Sri Aurobindo for All Ages, 1990]

Chatterji, Baidyanath assistant doctor of the Alipur Jail hospital, “a personification of charity & philanthropy” in Sri Aurobindo’s words. In a way all-in-all in the hospital administration, his failing was excessive sympathy, which was responsible for his dismissal from service after the murder of the approver Noren Gossain.

Chatterji/ Chattopadhyay(a)/ Bankim Chandra (1838-94) Sri Aurobindo called him “the Rishi of modern Bengal”. [1] Buckland: (a) Chatterji, Bankim Chandra: Bengali novelist & prose writer: son of Jādab Chandra Chatterji, a Deputy Magistrate: born June 27, 1838: educated at the Midnapur School, Hughli & Presidency Colleges: in 1858 he was the first native of India to take the B.A. degree, Calcutta: at once appointed to be a Deputy Magistrate, & became a prominent member of the Provincial service, acting for a time as Assistant Secretary to the Bengal Govt. His reputation was made in literature, as the Bengali novelist of his time: his novels were numerous, & are said to be still [1905] popular: he brought out a literary magazine, 1872, & wrote the first Bengali historical novel, under the title of Durgesh Nandini. This was followed by Kapāla Kundalā, Mrinālini, & Bisha Briksha, which was translated into English & very favourably criticised by Professor Darmesteter: Debi Chaudhurani, Ananda Matha, & Krishna Kanter Will: wrote also on Hindu religion, Krishna, the Vedas, & Hindu literature: made Rai Bahadur & C.I.E.: retired from Government service in 1891: died April 8, 1894. (b) Darmesteter, James: (1849-94): born in Alsace of a poor Jewish family: delicate, puny, & almost deformed: educated at the Lycèe Condorcet, Paris: Doctor in Letter, 1877: devoted himself to Oriental scholarship & literature: became the greatest authority on Zoroastrian literature; appointed Assistant Professor of Zend Avesta at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes, 1877, & Director 1892: Secretary of the Socièté Asiatique 1885: travelled in India to study subjects locally, residing there Feb.1886-Feb.1887, chiefly at Bombay, Peshāwar & Hazarā: wrote Lettres sur l’Inde, 1888: was an editor of the Revue Critique, & later of the Revue de Paris: wrote in them, & in the Journal des Débats, critical notices of books & Oriental essays. [Buckland]

[2] Internet on Mukherji Satish: Bankim Chandra was not only one of the first in India to write on Comte & his philosophy but also had zealous Positivist friends like Yogendra Ghose & Raj Krishna Mukherjee; in 1874, Bankim published the latter’s article on Positivism in his Baṇga darshan, which began with the sentence, “Among the successfully educated classes of our country, there is a great deal of animation concerning the philosophy of Comte.” While writing on psychological purification, Bankim wrote: “He who has been psychologically purified is the best Hindu, the best Christian, the best Buddhist, the best Muslim, the best Positivist.” In 1884, in the preface of his novel Devi Chaudhurani, Bankim quoted from the Catechism of Positive Religion: “The general law of Man’s progress…consists in this that Man becomes more & more religious.”

Chatterji/ Chattopadhyaya, Sarat Chandra (1876-1938) Bengali novelist & short story writer; his popularity surpassed that of any other Bengali writer especially through his works which were translated in all major languages of India.

Chatterton Thomas (1752-70), English poet of Gothic literary revival; precursor of the Romantic Movement.

Chattopadhyay, Harindranath/ Harin (1898-1990), playwright, poet, actor, & musician, he used English as if it were his mother tongue.

Chattopadhyay Mrinalini/ Mlle Chattopadhyay (1883?-1968), younger sister of Harin & editor of Shama’a. Cooperating with her revolutionary elder brother, Virendra Nath, she supported the freedom movement from Germany; & met Sri Aurobindo in mid-1920.

Chaucer, Geoffrey (c.1342/43-1400), his Canterbury Tales made him the most important English poet before Shakespeare.

Chaudhuri/ Chowdhuri/ ~ry, Asutosh (Sir) (1860-1924), son of Dewan Ramdev Chaudhuri of Natore, zamindar of Haripur: took, simultaneously, Presidency College’s B.A. & MA. Degrees, 1881: joined St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he founded the Indian Majlis, & obtained his B.A. & LLB, 1884-85: married into the Tagore family: founder-secretary of the Bengal Landholder’s Association & connected it with many educational institutions & organisations: presided over the Bengal Provincial Conference at Burdwan in 1904 & the Pabnā district Conference in 1907: exhorted Nationalists to divert energy from “parochial or provincial politics & employ it in industrial development” because “our salvation” lay in it: judge of Calcutta High Court, 1912-20: knighted 1917.

Chaudhuri, Rambhuj Datta (1866-1923), son of Chaudhury Radha Kishan Dutt, Rambhuj was born in Kanjrur (now in Pakistan), graduated from F.C. College Lahore, obtained his Law degree & practiced in Lahore High Court. A staunch Arya Samajist, & social activist, he was close to Bhagat Singh’s uncle Sardar Ajīt Singh, Lālā Lajpat Rai, Lālā Harkissen Lal & Master Amir Chand. He was the member of the Municipal Corporation, Lahore. As part of his active work in civic affairs, he launched two newspapers in Urdu, & The Hindustan in English. A founder-member of the INC, he attended at every annual session, ardently contributing to all discussions. At the 1900 Lahore Congress seconded Surendranath Banerji’s resolution, condemning the exclusion of Indians from higher Public Services. In due course he was appointed to its working committee & made President of the Punjab Congress Committee. In 1905 Rambhuj married Saralā Devi (1872-1945), daughter of Jānakinātha Ghosal (one of the earliest secretaries of the Bengal Congress) & Swarnakumari Devi (first Bengali woman novelist) who was the daughter of Debendranath Tagore. Saralā Devi had passed her University Entrance examination in 1886 & B.A. (English literature) at Calcutta University receiving the Padmāvati Gold Medal & maintained links with the revolutionary Suhrid Samiti of Mymensingh. In September 1902, she met Tilak. At the plenary session of the 1905 Congress, presided over by Gokhale, Rambhuj supported Tilak’s resolution on famine, poverty & land revenue. (That was the session at which Subramanya Bhārati first met Nivedita.) At the 1908 (23^rd) Congress Session, Rambhuj moved a resolution demanding that posts of higher ranks in the army might be thrown open to Indians. In September that year he went to England to explain to the British Government the cause of unrest in the Punjab province & the Government had to implement his scheme to cool down the unrest in the province. At the 1910 Allahabad Session, he represented Punjab on a committee appointed to prepare an address to be presented to Lord Hardinge. At the 1913 Karachi Session, he condemned Govt. of Canada’s policy of racial discrimination against fellow members of the same Empire. In 1919, he opposed the Rowlatt Act & took prominent part in the agitation against it. That year Rambhuj & Saralā Devi became followers of Mahatma Gandhi & sent their son to his ashram for education & at his marriage permitted only Gandhian khādi dress. Praising their patriotism & self-sacrifice, Gandhi held that their message “asks one never to accept defeat, come what may, to love God & work on with patience & fortitude”. The same year, he became the undisputed leader & uncrowned king of Lahore. After the delighted General Dyer’s massacred all at Jāllianwāla Bagh, Rambhuj was arrested on April 14, 1919, along with Harkishan Lal & Dhani Chand, described as the “Chief Spokesman” of the Lahore Conspiracy Case, sentenced to transportation & his property confiscated. After his release under the general amnesty to create favourable atmosphere for introduction of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms scheme, Rambhuj & Saralā Devi joined the Khilafat Agitation. A memorial named “Pandit Rambhuj Dutt Veda Shālā” was setup by late Shri B. D. Birla. The foundation stone of which was laid by Kasturba Gandhi near Awankha. [Dictionary of National Biography, Ed. S.P. Sen, 4 Vols. Calcutta: Institute of Historical Studies, 1972-74; & internet]

Chedi/ Chedis/ Chedies ancient kingdom between the Yamuna & the Narmada; its most infamous king was Shishupāla, a cousin of Sri Krishna. Later Chedi was one of the mahā-janapadas mentioned in early Buddhist texts.

Cheiro Count Louis Hamon an Englishman famous his books on palmistry & other methods of fortune-telling. Though he correctly predicted the dates of the death of Queen Victoria, Edward VII & Lord Kitchener, he remains a controversial figure.

Chenier André-Marie de Chenier (176294), greatest French poet of his times.

Cheops Khufu (c.2900 BC), king of ancient Egypt for 23 years. He was the founder of the Fourth dynasty & is famous as the builder of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh.

Cherā(s) ancient Dravidian dynasty of Tamil origin, who ruled parts of the present-day states of Tamil Nadu (Kongu Nadu) & Kerala in India. Together with the Chōlas & the Pāṇdyās, they formed the three principal kingdoms known as Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakkam. They ruled Keralaputra & Kongu-nada (parts of present Tamil Nadu & Kerala) from their capital Korura (Karur) for about 800 years from 3^rd cent. BC. Their kingdom later extended to the plains of Kerala, the Pālghāt gap, along the river Bhārathappuzha & occupied land between the river Bhārathappuzha & river Periyar, creating two harbour towns, Tondi (Tyndis) & Muciri (Muziris) where the Roman trade settlements flourished. Once the Arab, Greek & Roman adventurers discovered how the Monsoon winds could carry their ships directly from the Arabian sea to the west coast of India, discovered how easily they could navigate the local rivers & go right into the hinterland, discovered spices & other items they had never imagined could be grown so abundantly, discovered how cheaply they were sold by trusting natives, their traders rushed to plunder the local markets & make huge profits in markets at home. Soon enough these traders were cast aside by raiders, conquerors & missionaries of their own lands who took over their settlements in India & caused a swift decline in the lots of the native peoples & rulers after the 2^nd century. The third dynasty, the Kūlasekharas ruled from the 9^th century from Mahodayapuram (Kodungallur), their capital on the banks of river Periyar. The next dynasty, the Cherā rulers of Venad, based at the port Quilon in southern Kerala. Saṇgam literature describes a long line of Cherā rulers, & the court poets. Uthiyan Cheralathan, Nedum Cheralathan & Senguttuvan Cherā are some of the rulers mentioned in its poems. Senguttuvan Cherā is famous for the legends surrounding Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic Sīlapathikaram.

Chersonese/ Chersonesus Greek for peninsula applied to several regions.

Cherubim & Seraphim celestial winged beings with human, animal, or birdlike characteristics depicted in Jewish, Christian, & Islamic literature. They act as throne bearers or throne guardians of the deity. In later theology Cherubim are angels of the second order, & Seraphim of the first.

Chesterton, Gilbert Keith (1874-1936), English critic & writer who used the weapon of paradox to probe the profound ambiguities of Christian theology. He was a younger contemporary of Sri Aurobindo at St. Paul’s School.

Chetti, Shanker a respectable businessman at whose house Sri Aurobindo spent the first six months of his stay in Pondicherry (April to October 1910). The only three-storeyed house in the town at that time, it was on Comouthy (Tamil pronunciation of Gōmati, the sacred river) vidi, later 39, Calve Subraya Chettiar Street.

Chhandogya (Upanishad) an Upanishad of the Sama-Veda. It seems to be the most ancient of the extant Upanishads.

Childe Harold Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: A Ramaunt by Byron is a narrative poem describing the different places in Europe & their associations in history.

Chiliānwāla where the Sikhs put up a heroic fight against the Indo-British army’s second invasion of their native land in c.1848.

Chimera firebreathing creature with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, & a serpent’s tail.

Chitnavis, Sir Gangādhara Rao Madhavrao (1863-1929): leader of Prabhu community: Hon. Magistrate: President of Nagpur District Council 1888, & of Nagpur Municipality 1894: represented Central Provinces as Member of Gov.-General’s Legislative Council 1893-5: C.I.E. or Companion of the Indian Empire 1895: guest of the nation, representing Central Provinces at His Majesty the King’s Coronation 1902: conferred knighthood at the 1911 Delhi Durbar. [Buckland] Chitnavis fulfilled his allotted role in shifting the 1907 Congress from Nagpur to Surat.

Chitore Chittodgadh was, from 7^th century the capital of the steadfast Sūryavanshi Rāṇās of Mewār (q.v.) until 1568 when Udaya Singh II, shooed out by Akbar, fled to the plains where he had previously founded Udaipur. One of the largest forts in India, Chittodgadh was built by Chitrāngada Mori, a Rajput king, on a hill 180m in height spread over an area of 691.9 acres above the plains drained by the Berach, a tributary of Banās on the other side of which is the Banāskānthā district of Gujarat, bordering Rajasthan. Encircled by soaring battlements, the gadh could only be entered after crossing seven huge well-fortified gates. It maintained 84 ponds, wells & step-wells fed by natural catchment & rainfall, enough for an army of 50,000 for four years, & of course a series of palaces & temples (the main to Mahākāli), & two ornamented victory-towers. In 1734, Bāppā conquered or received it as dowry & made it the capital of Mewār. For 834 years, with unavoidable interruptions, it remained in the possession of his descendants, the Guhilots (Gehlots) & their offshoots, the powerful Sisodias & Aheris, enabling them to block & chase away the constant waves of the blood-thirsty jihadi hordes from the west & north.

In 1301, ‘Alā-ud-din Khalji Sultan of Delhi turned to Raṇathambhor which though ravaged & occupied by Qutb-ud-din & Iltutmish, had been recovered by the Rajputs & was then held by Rai Hamīr Deva. On the excuse that Hamīr had sheltered some Afghans, ‘Alā-ud-din sent his brother Ulugh Khan & his Wazir who laid siege to the fort. But while fortifying their position the Wazir was killed by a stone discharged from a catapult in the fort destroying the barbarian armies’ morale. So the Sultan rushed to Ranthambhor & tricked two of the Rai’s generals to defect to his side, but the Rai fought on. After one year of inconclusive skirmishes, Rai Hamīr Deva’s resources dwindled to such an extent that, one night the Rai lit a fire at the top of the fort & his queen herself led all their family & all the women trapped inside into the safety of those flames of Agni-deva. Then the Rai & all his men rushed on the enemy & sacrificed their lives. When he was severely wounded & realised his end was near, he cut off his head with his own sword. The episode is best preserved in the Hamīr Mahā kāvya. This was how, in July 1301, the barbarian captured Ranthambhor.

The next year, ‘Alā-ud-din invaded Mewād, not merely was it the logical next target, there was Padmini, Rāṇā Ratan Singh’s queen famous for her beauty. Rāṇā Ratan Singh & his formidable his generals helped by the people inside, resisted the invaders until further resistance seemed impossible. 26 August, 1303, a funeral pyre was lighted in a cave in the hill, all women & girls led by the queen Padmini committed Jauhar, while all the males, resident, young & old, wore saffron turbans applied saffron on the forehead & joined the soldiers as they opened the huge outer gates & rushed on the Sultan’s army. However, within a few years Chittor was recovered by Rāṇā Hamīr & once again became the capital Mewār. Hamīr died c.1364, “leaving a name still honoured in Mewār as one of the wisest & most gallant of her princes & bequeathing well-established & extensive power” to his son Kshetra Simha. In 1531, Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, annexed Mālwā then ruled by Mahmud II. In 1534-35 or 1535-36, Bahadur Shah stormed Chittod, then under Rāṇā Bikramjeet Singh who beat him back. In 1567, taking advantage of internal discord after the death of Rāṇā Ratan Simha he besieged the fort of Chittodgadh. Rāṇā Udai Singh fled to the hills, leaving his capital to its fate. But there were some who under the leadership of Jaimal & Patta, staved of the imperialists from 20^th October to 23^rd February 1568, till Jaimal was killed by Akbar himself & Patta too fell later. According to Abul Fazl 30,000 persons were slain, still fuming Akbar’s hereditary bloodlust fell upon what James Tod calls ‘the symbols of regality’, & he demolished the fortress, carried off the gigantic kettledrums eight or ten feet in diameter – the reverberation of which proclaimed for miles around the entrance & exit of the royals from the huge gates of Chittodgadh, the massive candelabra from the shrine along with the sanctified Moorti of the presiding Goddess, & dragged them off to Ᾱgrā – as to what actually happened to all he carted off from Chittod, no historian seems to dared unearth. Rāṇā Jagat Singh rebuilt the fortress which Akbar’s son Shah Jahan demolished in 1654. Finally, Mewār’s capital had to be shifted to Udaipur on the eastern flank of Aravalli hills.

Chittodgadh remains replete with historic associations & holds a very special place in the hearts of Rajputs, as it was a bastion of the clan at a time when every other stronghold had succumbed to invasion. It also contains the ancient & beautiful temple to Goddess Kali called the Kālikā Mata Temple. Being closely associated with Mirābāi & Rāṇā Pratap Singh, Chittod is revered as Bhakti aur Shakti ki nagari & annually hosts the largest Jauhar Mela commemorating the three suicidal battles & jauhars, self-immolations, by more than 13,000 women & children, the first led by Rani Padmini in 1303, the last by Rani Karṇāvati in 1534-35 or 1536-37. That day hundreds of Rajputs, including the descendants of most of the princely families, take out a procession to celebrate these events. Chittodgadh was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013 along with five other fortresses of Rajasthan.

[Based on An Advanced History of India by Majumdar et al; & Internet]

Chitralekha a companion of Urvasie in Kālidāsa’s Vikramorvasīyam.

Chitrāngadā When the Pandavas were in exile Arjūna visited ancient Maṇipura (q.v.), where, he met princess Chitrāngadā & married her after agreeing to the king’s stipulation that he would take away neither his wife nor any children born to her. But when their son Babruvāhana went to see his father, Arjūna did not recognise him & called him a vagrant. So when Arjūna went to Manipur with the horse intended for emperor Yudhishthīra’s Ashwamedha yajña, he had to fight King Babruvāhana who killed him. This was on account of a curse on Arjūna laid by the Vāsūs for having killed Bhīṣma. When repentant Babruvāhana determined to kill himself, his stepmother, Uloopi, gave him a gem which restored Arjūna to life & the two went together to Hastināpūra.

Chitraratha king of the Gāndharvas.

Chittagong archaeological surveys showed the region has been inhabited since Neolithic times; historical records indicate it was dominated by the Chandra Vamsha (dynasty), followed by the Varman dynasty & Deva dynasty, then was part of the Bengali kingdoms of Samataṭa & Harikela. The natural harbour of Chittagong is an ancient gateway to the region, making it a port city with a recorded history dating back to 4^th century BC. Roman geographer Ptolemy who visited it in the 1st century BC considered it one of the largest Eastern ports. Chinese traveller Xuanzang described the area as “a sleeping beauty rising from mist & water”. The name was given by an Arakanese king invading in the 9^th century. ─ In 1154, Al-Idrisi wrote of a busy shipping route between Basra (see Bassora) & Chittagong, & Sufi missionaries settled in Chittagong to spread a soothing but sure Islam. ─ Bengal’s Sultan Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah of Sonārgaon conquered Chittagong in 1340. In 1528, the Bengal Sultanate gave permission for a Portuguese settlement in Chittagong, making it the first European colonial enclave in Bengal. In 1531 Arākān declared independence & established the Kingdom of Mrauk U, as a result the Bengal Sultanate lost control of Chittagong & the Portuguese gained unhindered control of Chittagong for over a century. They introduced their cartaz (cartel) system requiring all ships in the area to purchase licenses from them, promoted slave trade & piracy, conquered the nearby island of Sandweep in 1602, repulsed a joint fleet of Dutch East India Co & Arakanese, but & subsequently allied with the Arakanese & launched pirate raids on Mughal Bengal. In 1666, Bengal’s Mughal viceroy Shaista Khan attacked Chittagong & expelled the Arakanese & the Portuguese from there. He renamed Chittagong Islamabad & linked it to the Grand Trunk Road (q.v.) which thereafter connected North India to Central Asia. Chittagong was integrated into the prosperous greater Bengali economy, which also included Orissa & Bihar. Shipbuilding swelled under Mughal rule & the Sultan of Turkey had many Ottoman warships built in Chittagong during this period. ─ In 1793, the Octopus swallowed Chittagong when it “took complete control” of Mughal Bengal. The 1^st Anglo-Burmese War in 1823 threatened the British hold on Chittagong. During the Indian uprising of 1857, when the 2^nd, 3^rd, & 4^th companies of 34^th Bengal Infantry Regiment revolted & released all prisoners from the city’s jail, the Octopus’ Sylhet Light Infantry massacred them.

Chitta/ Chittaranjan/ Chitta Das/ Das, C.R. (1870-1925) was the eldest son & 2^nd of Bhuban Mohan Das’s eight children. Inspired by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, early in life he came in contact with Bipin Chandra Pal. In 1886, he was admitted to Presidency College, Calcutta University & sent to London in 1890 to get admitted to the ICS. There he first met Sri Aurobindo in October 1892 while being, like most Indian students there, taken up by the politics of England’s parliamentary elections. He had failed that year’s entrance exam for ICS but the next year though he stood 43^rd among the fifty who passed, the Service took in only 42! Chitta was admitted to the Inner Temple & called to the Bar in 1893. Back in India, he was sworn in as an advocate of the Calcutta High Court in December 1893. By 1907 he established himself as a successful lawyer both in civil & criminal law. He defended both Brahma Bāndhab Upādhyāya & Bipin Chandra Pal in their sedition cases. His successful defence of Sri Aurobindo in the Bomb Case Trial in the Sessions Court of Alipore brought a lucrative practice & his active role in the Congress, a lifelong friendship with Motilal Nehru. ― Hemendranath: “In 1918, while a Bench of the Calcutta High Court held that the Calcutta Improvement Trust could not acquire private land at will, another Judge of that Court had ruled in an analogous case that that Trust had the power of such acquisition. To reconcile these conflicting rulings a Special Bench was formed with the Chief Justice, Justice Sir Woodroffe, & Mr Chitty. Upon this the Patrika suggested that the Bench should have included an Indian Judge owning land in place of Chitty. When the Patrika was prosecuted from contempt of Court, it engaged Messrs Jackson, Norton, Chakraborty Byomkesh, & Chittaranjan Das. While Jackson, Norton, & Chakraborty failed to get the Judge’s understanding, Das managed to get it by explaining that the paper had not intended to cast any reflection on the High Court but merely to raise various points of controversy & answer them albeit the article did use expressions that should have been avoided ‘as such the article might be improper but that did not constitute contempt of court’. To this Das added a distinction between civil & criminal liability. That sufficed to exonerate the Patrika.” R.C. Majumdar: “The fact that Gandhi carried his pro-British resolution in 1919 in spite of the opposition of prominent Indian leaders like Tilak, C.R. Das & Jinnah, & again, without more ado, carried the opposite resolution eight months later (September 1920), again in the teeth of opposition by C.R. Das & other leaders, proves beyond doubt that he had already attained the position of spiritual guru in politics, whose word was law. This was further demonstrated by the Nagpur Congress of 1920 where leaders like C.R. Das ‘who came to scoff, remained to pray’…. The Calcutta resolution (of Special Congress Session on 4^th September 1920 at Calcutta) was the first, but not the last, of Gandhi’s political somersaults…. [The] third Para of the Non-co-operation resolution moved by Gandhi & accepted by the Congress…conveys the definite idea that Swaraj was demanded only to redress Panjab & Khilafat wrongs…. The inclusion of Khilafat wrongs as a ground for demanding Swaraj would perhaps appear to many as nothing short of grotesque. Even the Panjab wrongs, grievous though they were, should not have been put forward as the basis of demand for Swaraj. By adopting this Para, political India went back upon what had hitherto been regarded as the fundamental issue, so tersely put by Tilak: Swaraj is my birth-right & I shall have it…. The resolution on Non-co-operation passed in the Special session of the Congress at Calcutta had to be ratified in the regular session…. It was generally expected that there would be a fresh trial of strength between Gandhi & the opponents of Non-co-operation. But, curiously enough, no such thing took place, & the resolution was ratified with only a few dissentient voices. This was mainly due to another inexplicable & sudden political somersault, – this time on the part of C.R. Das. Subās Chandra Bose, who shortly afterwards became the most confidential lieutenant of Das, gives the following version of the whole affair: ‘Mr Das & his followers mustered strong at Nagpur hoping to cross swords with Mr Gandhi once again. But through the latter’s tactful handling of the situation an understanding was arrived at between him & Mr Das. The boycott of the legislatures, to which Mr Das was chiefly opposed, was no longer a live issue as the elections had already taken place. It was therefore possible to persuade Mr Das to come to an agreement. When this was done, the non-co-operation resolution was ratified with practical unanimity, though Pandit Malaviya, Mrs Besant, Mr Jinnah & Mr B.C. Pal remained irreconcilable.’ The explanation is vague & unconvincing. Das did not indicate in the Calcutta session that his opposition was limited to the boycott of legislature. Even if it were so, the holding of one election could not be a decisive factor, as there was to be another election after three years. Besides, Bose’s own statement that Das started for Nagpur with a strong contingent to fight against Gandhi takes away the force of his argument, for even before Das started for Nagpur, the election was over & the boycott of legislature ‘had ceased to be a living issue’. Here, again, one might ask, what happened during his stay at Nagpur – perhaps during less than twenty-four hours – which induced Das to give up the fight & join wholeheartedly with Gandhi? The incident further shows the beginning of dictatorial regime (or guruvāda) in Indian politics….”

In December 1921, Das, Motilal, & Lajpat Rai & Maulana Azad were among Gandhian leaders arrested. In a final bid to retrieve the situation Malaviya met Viceroy Reading who agreed to release the over 10,000 arrested Satyagrahis if Gandhi withdrew the agitation, saying it was possible to introduce provincial autonomy within the ambit of the 1919 Act. Das & Azad wanted to give Reading’s idea a chance but Motilal refused. In 1922, Gandhi, arrested on a charge of sedition, was sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment. The upshot of that year’s Congress held at Gaya forced Das, Motilal, Ajmal Khan & Viṭhalbhai Patel (q.v.) to form of the Swaraj Party (q.v.) within the Congress. When Chitta visited Sri Aurobindo in June 1923 to obtain his support in his political career, Sri Aurobindo promised Chitta only spiritual not public support to Swaraj Party & suggested he leave politics & take up sādhanā. Since, in spite of failing health Das refused, he advised him to attend to his spiritual life as much as possible & promised his help in it.

In Bengal, led by C.R. Das the Swaraj Party became the largest single party capturing 46 seats out of its 139 seats but Das declined the offer made by Lord Lytton, the Governor of Bengal, to form a new ministry. The Swarajists elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1923 found an ally in Jinnah. Together they commanded a majority & demanded release of all political prisoners, repeal of repressive laws, provincial autonomy & immediate summoning of a Round Table Conference to draw up a scheme for full control of the Councils over the Government. But in Feb.1924, following an attack of appendicitis Gandhi was released & immediately disrupted their progress. Nehru & Das tried in vain for his endorsement. Gandhi hustled them into a compromise by which he would not disrupt their progress if they became his foot-soldiers & quickly sealed this pact at that year’s Congress over his presided. It was this sort of fate that Tilak had warned them against at Amritsar in 1919.

Hemendranath: In 1925, the Swaraj Party of Bengal created a great fervour in the country. On 29^th March, at the behest of Lord Lytton, Lt.-Governor of Bengal, Das declared: “...I am opposed to the principle of political assassination... if violence is to take root in the political life of our country it will be the end of our Swaraj.... I equally abhor any form of repression; it will only encourage political assassination.” Pleased by this signal, the Secretary of State for India Lord Birkenhead (q.v.), offered to consider any constructive proposals Das could make: “Give us evidence of sincere co-operation & India & you will not find England a niggardly bargainer.” This Das did in his last public speech, “Swaraj & Dominion Status”, given as President of the Faridpur Conference on 2^nd May: “...Swaraj implies, firstly, the freedom of working out the consolidation of the diverse elements of the Indian people; secondly, we must proceed with this work on national lines – not going back 2000 years ago, but going forward in the light & spirit of our national genius & temperament.... Thirdly, we must not be obstructed by any foreign power.... I do not like either Home Rule or Self-Government... my culture is antagonistic to the word rule, home or foreign.... Dominion Status today is in no sense servitude. It is essentially an alliance, by the consent of those who form part of the Empire.... [It] affords complete protection to each constituent... secures to each the right to realise itself, [thus] expresses & implies all the elements of Swaraj.... I believe... that the British Empire as a federation of diverse races, each with its distinct life, civilisation, mental outlook, if properly led by the statesmen at the helm, is bound to make a lasting contribution to the problem of knitting the world into the greatest federation – the Federation of the Human Race... but it involves apparent sacrifice on the part of the constituent nations, & the giving up for good the Empire idea, with its ugly attribute of domination.... ...We have been gravely told that Swaraj is within our grasp if only we cooperate with Govt. in working the present Reforms Act [of 1919].... But I am not willing to sacrifice the substance for the shadow.... The Government should divest itself of its wide discretionary powers of constraint... proclaim a general amnesty of all political prisoners... guarantee to us the fullest recognition of our right to the establishment of Swaraj within the Commonwealth in the near future & in that meantime... a sure & sufficient foundation of such Swaraj should be laid at once. What a sufficient foundation is, & must necessarily be, is a matter of negotiation & settlement... not only between the Govt. & the people as a whole, but also between the different communities, not excluding the European & Anglo-Indian communities.... I believe that with a change of heart on the part of the Government... such as I have described, the revolutionary movement will be a thing of the past....”

Birkenhead was to “make an important announcement” on 7 July. But, broken by his exertions & rigours of the prison-life Das passed away on 16 June, 1925. Sri Aurobindo’s message in Bombay Chronicle of 22 June: “Chittaranjan’s death is a supreme loss. Consummately endowed with political intelligence, magnetism, personality, force of will, tact of the hour & an uncommon plasticity of mind, he was the one man after Tilak who could have led India to Swaraj.”

[Durga Das’s India–From Curzon to Nehru & After, 1969; R.C. Majumdar’s History of the Freedom Movement in India, Vol.1, Calcutta, 1963; S. Bhattacharya; Lajpat Rai’s Young India – An interpretation & a history of the nationalist movement from within, Servants of the People Society, 2, Court Street, Lahore, 4^th Reprint, 1927; GOI’s India in 1923-24:268-9ff; Deshbandhu Ch. Das by Hemendranath Das Gupta, Builders of Modern India series, 1977; S.P. Sen’s Dictionary of National Biography, in 4 volumes, Calcutta, 1972; SABCL Vol.26; P. Heehs’ A&R ’Dec85:227; Sri Aurobindo Circle 1984:36, & 1977:8; A.B. Purani’s Life of Sri Aurobindo, & Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, 2007; Bhattacharya Abinash, “Sri Aurobindo” Mother India, July 2012:528-39]

Chokha Mela (died 1332 or 1338), poet-saint of South India settled Maharashtra. One of the earliest followers of Marathi saint Jñānadeva, he constantly evoked the Divine. He died when a boundary wall which he was repairing fell on him.

Cholā(s) natives of Cholā Mandalam, a Tamil kingdom (c.600BC–f1200 AD). Cholā Mandalam, the kingdom of Cholās, extended along the western coast of India from Nellore to Pudukottai, its people spoke Tamil & developed a rich literature crested by Tiruvallavur’s Thiru Kūral. Its king built a 100 mile long embankment along the Kāveri in the 1^st century, & transferred the capital from Uraiyur to Kāveripatnam. In the 7^th century the boundaries of Cholā Mandalam shrunk, due to the rise of the Pallavas in its north & the Pāṇdyās to its south, to just the district of Cuddapah & its king became a feudatory of the Pallava king Narasimhavarman. But it revived after the Chālukya king Vikramāditya defeated the Pallavas in 740 &, in mid-9th cent its king Parantaka I overthrew the Pallavas & captured its capital Madurai & invaded Shree Lanka founding the Cholā dynasty which ruled till the close of the 13th cent. Its king Raj raja I (985-1016) ruled of all of south India including Shree Lanka. He built the Brihadeshwar temple in his capital Thanjavur. His son Rajendra I (1016-44) maintained a strong navy by which he conquered Pegu & Martaban (Nicobar & Andaman) islands. In the north, he attacked the king of Bengal & Bihar & assumed the title of Gangaikonda. A new dynasty, the Chālukya Cholā arose with Rajendra Kulottunga I (1070-1122) whose father was a Chālukya prince & mother a Cholā princess who ruled for 40 years & regained Kalinga. All the Hindu kingdoms in South India were overrun in 1310 by Alā-ud-din Khilji’s general Malik Kāfur (from Kāfir for non-Muslim) – a Hindu warrior of Gujarat whom Khilji purchased, castrated & subsequently made him his Malik Naib (lieutenant). But by the end of the 14th century they were absorbed in the Kingdom of Vijayanagaram.

Administration: Cholamandalam was divided into six largely autonomous mandalas (provinces), each of them was formed of a group of fairly autonomous nādus (districts), each of which was constituted by a certain number of kurrams or kottams (union of villages) each of which managed its local affairs through an assembly whose members were elected annually, & had its own local treasury. The land revenue was one-sixth (the Mogul & Marathas extracted one-fourth) of the produce & payable in kind or gold kasus (each weighing about 28 grams.

Art & Architecture: Both were purely indigenous. The best known is the magnificent matchless Brihadeshwar, the massive temple to Lord Shiva built by Raj raja I (985-1016) in Thanjavur, his capital. The 14-storeyed temple rises to a height of 190 feet & is crowned by a single block of stone 25 ½ ft. square weighing 80 tons. From the base to the top endless sculptures & decorative mouldings form its outer sheath; the four sides of its vast courtyard is filled with small subsidiary temples & verandas; over 50 metres away from the temple, sitting on a high platform of its own with a vast ornate roof overhead, sits probably the largest Nandi in India facing its lord & master, the great Mahādev. The model for Brihadeshwar was built in Gangaikonda-Cholāpūram beside a vast artificial lake with a 15-mile long embankment, near a magnificent palace. Later examples of Cholā art came up in Madurai, Srirangapattinam, Rameshwaram & many other places on the coast. In the opinion of James Fergusson the Cholā artists & architects conceives as titans & finished as jewellers. [Internet]

Jacob Koshy: The Dept. of Science & Technology (DST) is looking to send robotic vehicles into the sea near Dwārkā (q.v.) & Puhar, Tamil Nadu, to look for submerged structures that may, according to a person aware of the project [=not the official spokesperson], point to evidence of ancient cities. The programme...is expected to involve organisations such as the National Institute Ocean Technology, Chennai, & the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa. The former has indigenously built vehicles capable of plumbing 5,000 metres & the NIO has previous experience in marine archaeology. “Along with historical interest, this is also to test several technologies such as sophisticated imaging technology, being able to map the ocean floor with sonar & being able to date old stones & recoverable implements using the latest techniques”, a person at the DST [=not the official spokesperson] told me. “A proposal has been cleared but funding should be clear in three months.” ― “Along with historical interest, this is also to test several technologies such as sophisticated imaging technology, being able to map the ocean floor with sonar & being able to date old stones & recoverable implements using the latest techniques”, a person at the DST [=not the official spokesperson] told me. “A proposal has been cleared but funding should be clear in three months.” – “Last year divers, geologists & archaeologists of National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, working off the coast of Tamil Nadu, found stone-remains suggestive of an ancient port & temples, which were reportedly buried about 30 feet into the sea. Tamil & Buddhist literature have references to Poompuhar, or Puhar (see Cauvery), as being the port capital of the Cholā dynasty.” [The Hindu of July 1, 2017, p.9]

Chosroes Choshroe I (d.579), king of Persia (531-79), the greatest of the Sassanid or Sasānian monarchs, surnamed “the Just”, was a great reformer. Choshroe II (d.628), surnamed Parviz “the Victorious”, ascended the throne in 590; under him the Sasānian Empire achieved its greatest expansion.

Chouhan(s) a clan of Rajputs who ruled for several centuries in Sāmbhar in Rājputāna, with Ajmer as their capital.

Choudhuri/ Chowdhuri, Jogesh Chandra (1864-1951), barrister turned politician with “an instinct for the need of the moment”, he founded the Palli Samāj, & was the first to start an industrial exhibition of Swadeshi articles as an annexe to the Indian National Congress in December 1901.

Christ, Jesus Jesus is Greek for the original Hebrew Joshua meaning Saviour, & Christ from the Greek Christos translation of the Hebrew Messiah. The main sources of his life are the Old Testament compiled in Hebrew from the 13^th to the 1^st century BC, & the New Testament written probably in Greek, during the 1^st century AD. No original manuscripts of either survived resulting in theological controversies on where & in which year, month & day he was born, whether he was of the ‘same substance’ or only a ‘similar substance’ as God, etc., etc., until 6^th century Christian theologians resolved to begin the Christian era with Jesus’ birth on December 25, c.6 BC & hence his crucifixion in 29 AD – at the age of 35.

Sri Aurobindo: There are four very great events in history, the siege of Troy, the life & crucifixion of Christ, the exile of Krishna in Brindavan & the colloquy with Arjūna on the field of Kurukshetra. The siege of Troy created Hellas, the exile in Brindavan created devotional religion (for before there was only meditation & worship), Christ from his cross humanised Europe, the colloquy at Kurukshetra will yet liberate humanity. Yet it is said that none of these four events ever happened. [SABCL 17:83] ― The Avatar, comes as the manifestation of the divine nature in the human nature, the apocalypse of its Christhood, Krishnahood, Buddhahood, in order that the human nature may by moulding its principle, thought, feeling, action, being on the lines of that Christhood, Krishnahood, Buddhahood transfigure itself into the divine. The law, the Dharma which the Avatar establishes is given for that purpose chiefly; the Christ, Krishna, Buddha stands in its centre as the gate, he makes through himself the way men shall follow. That is why each Incarnation holds before men his own example & declares of himself that he is the way & the gate; he declares too the oneness of his humanity with the divine being, declares that the Son of Man & the Father above from whom he has descended are one, that Krishna in the human body & the supreme Lord & Friend of all creatures are but two revelations of the same divine Purushottama, revealed there in his own being, revealed here in the type of humanity. [SABCL 13:140-41] ― When we thus understand the conception of Avatarhood, we see that whether for the fundamental teaching of the Gita, our present subject, or for spiritual life generally the external aspect has only a secondary importance. Such controversies as the one that has raged in Europe over the historicity of Christ, would seem to a spiritually-minded Indian largely a waste of time; he would concede to it a considerable historical, but hardly any religious importance; for what does it matter in the end whether a Jesus son of the carpenter Joseph was actually born in Nazareth or Bethlehem, lived & taught & was done to death on a real or trumped-up charge of sedition, so long as we can know by spiritual experience the inner Christ, live uplifted in the light of his teaching & escape from the yoke of the natural Law by that atonement of man with God of which the crucifixion is the symbol ? If the Christ, God made man, lives within our spiritual being, it would seem to matter little whether or not a son of Mary physically lived & suffered & died in Judea. [SABCL 13:12]

Maganbhai Desai: “I was simply a country lad, way back, without any hopes or future…. Since the age of fourteen I have had a strange pull for religious life. I lived a spartan life, slept on a plank & ate the simplest kind of food. But a hankering for spiritual life was constantly there & hence a search of a Guru…. In 1953 I had, for the first time, an interview with the Divine Mother. It lasted for about 45 minutes…. During this talk I told her some of my experiences & asked if they were simple imaginings. She assured me that they were real experiences. (1) For some two or three years I felt the nearness of Jesus Christ. Behind him was the Mother Mary. His body would be identical with the shape of my body & a brilliant light (as powerful as a searchlight) would emanate from my heart (the sacred heart of Jesus). It was very powerful & lasted for a long time. (I no longer have that experience though I often feel the presence of Jesus, even as I write this!)” [“The Grace of the Mother” in Breath of Grace, ed. M.P. Pandit, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, 1972]

Christendom communities dominated by any sect of Christianity.

Christian a character in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Christianity “Christ came into the world to purify, not to fulfil. He himself foreknew the failure of his mission & the necessity of his return with the sword of God into a world that had rejected him.”― “When all is said, Love & Force together can save the world eventually, but not Love only or Force only. Therefore…Mahomed’s religion, where it is not stagnant, looks forward through the Imams to a Mahdi.” [SABCL 17:99-100] ― “The Messenger suffered on the cross, & what happened to the truth that was his message? The Christ himself foresaw, it has never been understood even by its professors. For a hundred years it was a glorious mirage for which thousands of men & women willingly underwent imprisonment, torture & death in order that Chris’s kingdom might come on earth & felicity possess the nations. But the kingdom that came was not Christ’s; it was Constantine’s, it was Hildebrand’s, it was Alexander Borgia’s. For another thirteen centuries the message was – what? Has it not been the chief support of fanaticism, falsehood, cruelty & hypocrisy, the purveyor of selfish power, the key-stone of a society that was everything Christ had denounced? … Now in its last state, after such a lamentable career, Christ’s truth stands finally rejected by the world’s recent enlightenment (see European Enlightenment) as a hallucination or a superstition which sometimes helpfully, sometimes harmfully, amused the infancy of the human intellect.” [SABCL 17:163; s/a SABCL 13:41]

― All fanaticism is false because it is a contradiction of the very nature of God & of Truth. Truth cannot be shut up in a single book, Bible or Veda or Koran, or in a single religion. The Divine Being is eternal & universal & infinite & cannot be the sole property of the Mussulmans or of the Semitic religions only, – those that happened to be in a line from the Bible & to have Jewish or Arabian prophets as their founders. Hindus & Confucians & Taoists & all others have as much right to enter into relation with God & find the Truth in their own way. All religions have some truth in them, but none has the whole truth; all are created in time & finally decline & perish…. God & Truth outlast these religions & manifest themselves anew in whatever way or form the Divine Wisdom chooses. [SABCL 26:483-84]

The Mother: “In all religions we find invariably a certain number of people who possess a great emotional capacity & are full of a real & ardent aspiration, but have a very simple mind & do not feel the need of approaching the Divine through knowledge. For such natures religion has a use & it is even necessary for them; for, through external forms… it offers a kind of support & help to their inner spiritual aspiration…. But it is not the religion that gave them their spirituality; it is they who have put their spirituality into the religion. Put anywhere else, born into any other cult, they would have found there & lived there the same spiritual life. It is their own capacity, it is some power of their inner being & not the religion they profess that has made them what they are. [CWM 3:76-81]

Christine, Sister Christine Greenstidel (b.1866) of Detroit, worked for time in the Sister Nivedita School, Calcutta.

Christ in Hades narrative poem in blank verse by Stephen Phillips.

Chryses in Iliad, a priest of Apollo, on the island of Sminthus. His daughter Chryseis was kidnapped by Achilles & awarded to Agamemnon as his share of the spoils.

Chunda Mahāsegn Chunda Pradyōta Mahāsena, a contemporary of Bimbisāra & Ajātashatru of Magadha, ruled Avunthie during the time of the Buddha from his capital Ujjayini. Udayana carried off & married his daughter.

Churchill Charles (1731-64) English poet & satirist who wrote in heroic couplets.

Cicero Marcus Tullius (106-43 BC); greatest of Roman orators, he was scholar, lawyer, writer, & staunch upholder of republican principles during the civil wars that destroyed the Roman Republic. His surviving letters “constitute a primary historical source such as exists for no other part of the ancient world.”

Cichaka Kīchaka, brother-in-law of King Virāṭa & the commander of his forces. He tried to outrage the modesty of Draupadi, who was staying in disguise along with the Pandavas in the service of Virāṭa. For this misdeed he was slain by Bhīma.

Cid Le Cid, tragicomedy by Corneille, considered by many as the beginning of modern French drama. The probable date of its first performance is 1637.

Cimmerian “thick”, “gloomy”; people originally living north of the Caucasus & the Sea of Azov, driven out by the Scythians over the Caucasus & into Anatolia in the 8^th century BC. In the next century they swept across Asia Minor & conquered Phrygia.

Cineas friend of Pyrrhus, who advised him not to fight the Romans.

Circe daughter of Helios (the Sun) who changed Odysseus’s companions into swine, but he forced her to break the spell.

Civil & Military Gazette/ C.M. Gazette a full-throated Anglo-Indian rag of Lahore which poured vitriol & ridicule upon educated Indians; after petitions & prayers piled up at his feet, Lt. Governor, Sir Denzel Ibbetson gave a soft slap on its wrist.

Clarence George Plantagenet (1449-78), Duke of Clarence, revolted against his brother King Edward IV who tried conciliation by making him Earl of Warwick & Salisbury. But Clarence hatched a plot for which he had to be executed.

Clarke (1) Reginald Clarke, the commissioner of police, Calcutta, who arrested Sri Aurobindo on 2 May 1908. (2) A govt. officer who, in 1907, dealt with the Hindu-Muslim riots at Jamalpur & Dewangunj in Bengal with open hostility against Hindus.

Clarke, Sir George/ Sydenham (1848-1933) (1) Sir George Sydenham Clarke, 1^st Baron Sydenham of Combe (1848-1933): educated at Repton & Rossall schools, Haileybury College run by East India Company & Wimbledon House School: topped entrance & final examinations of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich: joined the Royal Engineers 1868: served in Egypt in 1882, examining the Alexandria fortifications after the British bombardment. His significant report was followed by his appointment to the War Office staff in 1883: served in the Sudan in 1885, & promoted major: Secretary to the Colonial Defence Committee (1885-92) & the royal commission on army & navy administration (1888-90): promoted colonel in 1898: Governor Victoria, Australia, 1901: recalled in November 1903 to serve on the committee for the reconstitution of the War Office: secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence 1904: appointed governor of Bombay Presidency 1907. He first supported greater participation of Indians in the administration; however, disturbed by growing political violence, he became preoccupied with law & order. His prosecution & conviction in 1908 of the Brahman leader Tilak for sedition led to riots in Bombay & reproaches from Secretary of State John Morley. [Edited extract from Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National Univ., Vol. 8, 1981]

(2) …during his entire tenure (1907-13), in fact, Lord Sydenham, perhaps Lord Curzon in miniature, had raised the hornet’s nest in his dealing with the University & its affairs that made him most unpopular in Western India. He used the first convocation address to make peace with the nationalist sentiment that so prominently prevailed among the Indians of that time. He quoted couplets from the Bhāgawad Gita, applauded the victory of Asiatic Japan over Russia, & categorically distanced himself from Macaulay’s famous pronouncement of 1835: ‘We must do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us & the millions whom we govern, a class of persons Indian in blood & colour but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, & in intellect.’ To reassure the Indians of what his attitude towards them would be, further Clarke added: ‘We cannot, by education, transform the ‘intellect’ of an ancient people, or reconstruct their ‘tastes’ & ‘opinions’ in exact accordance with foreign models. Even if such a proceeding were practicable, it would be eminently undesirable; because a process of artificial conversion which takes no account of inherent genius & aptitudes is more likely to injure than to elevate a native population.’ But Sir George’s commitment was very short lived. [Aruna Tikekara, The Cloister’s Pale: A Biography of the University of Bombay on Internet]

(3) Sir Clarke’s prosecution & conviction in 1908 of the Brahman leader Tilak for sedition led to riots in Bombay & reproaches from John Morley. Clarke continued to repress sedition & agitation by western-educated Indians, causing concern in London. On his retirement in 1913, Clarke was raised to the peerage as Lord Sydenham of Comb. He spoke frequently in the House of Lords & continued writing, becoming increasingly reactionary. [From Australian Dictionary of Biography…, Vol. 8, 1981]

Claudio character in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure.

Claudius epithet of the descendants of Attus Clausus, renowned for licence, cruelty, pride, & genius.

Cleisthenes (c.570-508 BC), founder of Athenian democracy, made himself by 506 BC the undisputed ruler of the city. He reorganised the social & political constitution on so stable a basis that civil war disappeared from Athenian life.

Cleon (d.422 BC), uneducated son of a tanner, became the leader of Athenian democracy in 429 BC after the death of his political enemy Pericles.

Clive Robert (1725-74) Governor of Bengal: educated at Lostock, Market Drayton, Merchant Taylors’ & Hempstead: reached Madras as a ‘writer’ in the E. I. Co.’s Civil Service 1744: in the capitulation of Madras 1746, escaped to Fort St. David: obtained military employ 1748: at Boscawen’s siege of Pondicherry: fought at Devikota 1749 on behalf of the Tanjore ruler: at the flight at Valkonda: seized Arcot 1751 to divert Chanda Sahib from besieging Md. Ali at Trichinopoly: besieged in Arcot by Chanda Sahib, held on for 50 days until Chanda Sahib retreated: defeated Chanda Sahib & the French at Caveripak 1752: destroyed the town of Dupleix Fatehbad: defeated French army near Trichi, took Covelong & Chingleput: in England 1753-6: returned as Lt. Colonel but was captured by pirate Angria at Gheria out of Bombay: Lt-General of Fort St. David June 1756, sent up to Bengal after the Black Hole tragedy, took Calcutta & Hugli from Nawab Sirāj-ud-daula: again defeated him at Chandernagore through Umichand whom he deceived by the fraud of two copies, one of them being a fictitious copy, of the treaty made a treaty with Mir Jā’far to desert the Nawab: fought the battle of Plassey June 23, 1757, routed the Nawab, who fled & was killed [by Mir Jā-far’s son]: installed Mir Jā’far as Nawab & received large sums from him; made Governor of Bengal: asserted himself against his colleagues in the Govt.: defeated the Dutch near Chinsurah: send Colonel Ford to the N. districts of Madras: to England again 1760-5: made Baron Clive of Plassey in 1762, K.C.B. in 1764, M.P. of Shrewsbury: described as “heaven-born General”: quarrelled with Sullivan, Chairman of E.I. Co.’s Directors & defeated him: reappointed Governor of Bengal & C-in-C to reform the abuses prevailing there in his absence, held office May 3,1765 till Jan.1767: obtained from Emperor Shah Alam of Delhi the Diwani (authority to administer Civil Govt. & collect revenues) of Bengal, Bihar & Orissa in Aug. 1765: restored Oudh to Shuja-ud-daulah: reformed the administration, checking malpractices [of natives alone] & giving adequate salaries [to white only]: measures of retrenchment [whose?] provoked mutiny which he promptly repressed: finally retired in 1767, poorer than in 1765: a £70,000 legacy [that he extracted] from Mir Jāfar he devoted to “the Clive Fund” for military men: attacked in England by numerous enemies, his administration subjected to Parliamentary inquiry: partly condemned, but it was finally decided that Clive had rendered great & meritorious services to his country: worn out by ill-health & persecution he took his own life on Nov.22, 1774. His character is much discussed: his bravery, ability, masterfulness, power of leading & governing are generally admitted: but his deceit of Umichand cannot be justified & his acceptance of large presents from Mir Jāfar can only be excused by special considerations of contemporary custom, & their openness.” [Buckland deciphered]

Cloten in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline son of the Queen of Britain by a former husband

Clough Arthur Hugh (1819-61), English poet whose work reflects the perplexity & religious doubt of mid-19th century England. He was a friend of Matthew Arnold & the subject of Arnold’s commemorative elegy Thyrsis.

Cluses town in Haute Savoie in the French département in the Alps.

Clymene wife of Merops, king of Ethiopia, who bore Apollo’s son Phaethon.

Clytemnestra/ Clytaemnestra half-sister of Helen. She married Agamemnon & bore him three children. But when Agamemnon was fighting in the Trojan War, she fell in love with Aegisthus; & when Agamemnon returned the lovers killed him.

Cnossos an ancient city of Crete located on the north coast near modern Candia.

Coan/ Cos Latin of Kos, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, SW of Turkey.

Cocānada Kākināda, a seaport & H.Q. of East Godāvari district, Madras. It was here that the Dec.1923 INC Session was held under presidentship of Md. Ali, the chief architect of the Khilafat Agitation. It rejected Das’ Bengal Pact & approved the Resolution moved by Lajpat Rai & Dr. Ansari reserving 25% share in all-India services for Muslims. Md. Ali announced that “extra-territorial sympathies are part of the quintessence of Islam” & asked Muslims to join Gandhi & Muslim League’s agitation to ensure their Pan-Islamic objective. At the same time, the Jamait-ul-Ulema Conference being held alongside, denounced Hindus attempting to reconvert former Hindus as “worst enemies of India, & their work likely to weaken the basis of Hindu-Muslim unity”.

A.B. Purani: “On 6 January 1924: Some men who had attended the Cocānada session of the Congress came to Pondicherry. They had a row with the French police while registering their names. Some members of the group were known to some inmates of Sri Aurobindo's house & there was a chance that Sri Aurobindo might become involved in the trouble. He said, ‘This is an effort of the outside forces to disturb the atmosphere which I have established here with great difficulty.’ [Life of Sri Aurobindo]

Cocytus river of wailing, tributary of Acheron (see Acherontian waters) in Hades.

Codlin in Dickens’ Old Curiosity Shop Codlin & Short travel with a Punch & Judy show. Codlin suspects little Nell & her grandfather have run away with their friends & to get the reward for their discovery, assures Nell, “Codlin’s the friend, not Short”.

Colan character in Chesterton’s The Ballad of the White Horse.

Coleridge Samuel Taylor (1772-1834), leading English Romantic poet, author of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, & one of the most profound literary theorists of his day.

Collins William (1721-59), English lyricist whose odes adhered to neoclassical forms but they were Romantic in theme & feeling. Though his literary career was brief & his output slender, he is considered one of the finest English lyric poets of 18^th century.

Colmar capital of Haut-Rhin department, NE France, bordering the German frontier. It was annexed twice by Germany: from 1871 to 1919 & again during World War II.

Comte, Auguste (1798-1857), founder of Positivism – a system of thought & knowledge claiming to provide a basis for political organization in industrial society.

Comudica Kumūdikā, Bakulavalikā’s friend in Kālidāsa’s Mālavikāgnimitram.

Comus a poetic masque by Milton; Comus a Greek god of mirth, depicted as a winged youth bearing a torch & a drinking cup.

Confucius Kong Fu-Tse (551-479 BC), Chinese philosopher; Confucianism has been the substance of learning, the source of values, & the social code of the Chinese.

Connaught one of the five ancient kingdoms of western & north-western Ireland.

Conquest of Happiness book by Bertrand Russell.

Conrad, Joseph (1857-1924), Polish-born English novelist & short-story writer.

Conservative Party heir, & in some measure the continuation, of the old Tory Party.

Constable, John (1776-1837), English painter; famous for his landscapes.

Constance Arthur’s mother in Shakespeare’s play King John.

Constantine (288?-337), Roman emperor who converted to Christianity, turned his empire into a Christian Western & Byzantine medieval state, & ordered the compilation of Christ’s teachings. Sri Aurobindo: “Sons of Light come, the earth denies & rejects them; afterwards, accepts them in name to reject them in substance. Only a small minority grows towards a spiritual birth, & it is through them that the Divine manifestation takes place…. It was after Constantine embraced Christianity that it began to decline…. The King of Norway, on whom Longfellow wrote a poem, killed all who were not Christians & thus succeeded in establishing Christianity! It is not kings & emperors that keep alive spirituality but people who are really spiritual that do so…. The same thing happened to Mohammedanism (see Islam).” [Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo, A.B. Purani, 2007, pp. 576-79]

Constantinople (renamed Istanbul in 1930) capital of the Byzantine Empire, built on seven hills, it had an almost inconceivable wealth of artistic & literary treasures before it was sacked in 1204 & in 1453. [See Abdul-Hamid II]

Convention & Revolt in Poetry by Livingstone Lowes

Coochbehar Maharaja Sir Nripendra Bhoop Bahadur, a year younger than Sayājirao, was installed on his throne in 1883 (Sayājirao in 1881): appointed Lt. Colonel of 6^th Bengal Cavalry: Staff Officer of General Yeatman-Briggs in the Tirah campaign, he saw action at Dargal & Samana: married (1878) Keshab Chandra Sen’s daughter Suniti who, as Queen of Coochbehar, was made Member of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India in 1887. The Maharaja was awarded Companion of the Bath 1898, made Honorary ADC to His Majesty the King. [Buckland] ― This loyalty qualified Nripendra in 1907 for admission into Morley’s Advisory Council of Notables. Sayājirao’s daughter Indira Rāje (b.1892) fell in love with Nripendra’s brother Jitendra when their families were camped in Delhi for the Durbar of 1911. They married, against the wishes of her parents in London on 25 August 1913; by 1917 she was Maharani of Coochbehar.

Dr Cook, Frederick Albert (1865-1940), surgeon on the Peary Arctic expedition (1891-92).

Dr Coomaraswamy, A.K. Ananda Kentish (1877-1947), historian & exponent of Indian art.

Coontybhoj Kūntibhōja, adoptive father of Kūnti.

Coral Mill(s) textile mill located at Tuticorin & run with British capital. In 1908 there was a strike at the mill organised by the nationalists led by Chidambaram Pillai; it ended in an absolute victory for the labourers but the British made them all pay very heavily for working for freedom.

Corneille Pierre (1606-84), called Father of French classical tragedy.

Corobhus Karabha, a vassal of Jarāsandha.

Cortes Hernan or Hernando Cortez (1485-1547), Spanish conquistador; he captured Mexico for Spain, obliterating an ancient & far more cultured civilisation.

Cotton, Henry Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton (1845-1915), son of J.J. Cotton of Madras Civil Service: educated at Magdalen College School, Brighton College, & King’s College, London: Bengal Civil Service 1867: numerous appointments before becoming Secretary to Bengal Govt., Revenue Dept. 1888: Secretary in Financial Dept. 1889: Chief Secretary 1891-6 (when Sri Aurobindo passed ICS & arranged for his posting in Arrah, as requested by Dr. K.D. Ghose): Acting Home Secretary to Govt. of India 1896: Chief Commissioner Assam 1896-1902: retired 1902: wrote to London Times opposing Curzon’s policy in Tibet: author of New India, or India in Transition, besides official publications: took a prominent part in starting the Indian National Congress (1885), & was the president of INC’s 20th session held at Bombay in 1905. [Buckland]

Cotton, James/ J.S. James Sutherland Cotton (1847-1918), younger brother of Sir Henry Cotton, born in India at Coonoor: educated at Magdalen College School, Brighton College, Winchester, & Trinity College, Oxford (Scholar) First Class in Moderations & Final Classical School, M.A.: Fellow & Lecturer at Queen’s College, Oxford: editor of Academy, & of the revised edition of the Imperial Gazetteer of India: author of India (Citizen Series), Mountstuart Elphinstone (“Rulers of India” Series), Decennial Report on the Moral & Material Progress of India 1885: Quinqennial Report on Education in India 1898. [Buckland; s/a St. Paul’s School, I.C.S., Baroda]

Cou Emile (1857-1926), French pharmacist & psychotherapist who helped curing by optimistic autosuggestions such as: “Day by day, in every way, I am better & better.”

Court of Cassation Court of Appeal of European countries other than England.

Courtship of Miles Standish poem (1858) by Longfellow.

Cousins, James H. (1873-1956), Irish poet, theosophist, social worker, & educationist & prolific writer, best known for his New Ways in English Literature. He & his wife settled in India in 1915 & were among the founders of Kala Kshetra, an institution of art & culture at Ādyār, Madras. He was also close associate of Mrs Annie Besant, & the literary sub-editor of her paper New India.

Coventry city & borough in Warwickshire 1888-1974, thereafter metropolitan county of West Midlands. The phrase “send to Coventry”, meaning “ostracize socially”, refers to social ostracism of individual workers by their fellows.

Cowell, Professor Edward Byles Cowell (1826-1903): educated at Ipswich: attracted to William Jones’ works studied Persian: went to Magdalen Hall, Oxford, studied under H.H. Wilson, 1st class 1854: joined Educ. Dept. as Prof of History & Political Economy at Presidency College, Calcutta 1856: Principal of Sanskrit College 1858: left India 1864: LLD of Edinburg: D.C.L. at Oxford: Fellow of corpus Christi College, Cambridge: after he was elected 1st Prof of Sanskrit at Cambridge 1867, the study of Oriental languages increased at Cambridge, he taught Sanskrit, Indian Philosophy, Comparative Philology, Persian, Pāli, Zend, etc.: a Board of Oriental Studies was formed & a Board of ICS studies, the Semite Languages Tripos was established 1878, the Indian Languages Tripos 1893, the Oriental Languages Tripos 1895; he wrote on Persian poetry, the Hindu drama etc., in Westminster Review, also in Asiatic Journal, Journal of Philology, Gentleman’s Magazine, Journal of Asiatic Socy. Bengal, Calcutta Review: he wrote a Prakrit grammar, translated & edited many Sanskrit works both at Calcutta & Cambridge: knew Welsh & the Classics: In 1872 he reviewed in Macmillan’s Magazine Bankim Chandra’s first novel Durgesh Nandini which was written in 1862-64 & published in 1865. [Buckland]

Cowper William (1731-1800), one of the most widely read English poets of his day. In his sympathy with commonplace phenomena, his concern for the poor & downtrodden, he wrote of the joys & sorrows of everyday life.

Cowsambie Kauśāmbi, an ancient city near Prayāga.

Cowshalyā princess of Koshala, chief queen of Dasharatha.

Creon brother of Jocasta, regent of Thebes, after banishment of Oedipus.

Cre・a daughter of Priam & Hecuba, wife of Aeneas, mother of Ascanius.

Cripps, Stafford Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps (1889-1952), like Nehru, a socialist democrat to the core whom, in 1940 Churchill appointed him ambassador to the USSR where he concluded the Anglo-Soviet Pact. In 1942, he was appointed Lord Privy Seal, leader of the House of Commons & a member of the War Cabinet. He was known to be liberal in his views regarding the constitutional changes to be introduced in India. On 11^th March 1942, not long after the Japanese entered Singapore & Rangoon had fallen, Churchill announced that the War Cabinet was sending out Sir Stafford with a set of proposals that constituted a far-reaching advance towards satisfying Indian aspirations. However, the proposals were “to be accepted as a whole or rejected as a whole”. Arriving on 22^nd Cripps announced his proposals on 29^th at a press conference. Its long-term plan postulated the setting up, immediately after the war, a constitution-making body to frame the constitution of a new Indian Union which would have the full status of a Dominion with the power to secede from the Commonwealth.

An Indian Dominion may have been ushered in 1925 by Birkenhead had C.R. Das not died & Gandhi not scuttled it. Another form of it may have happened had Indian & British participants in the three Round Table Conferences (1930-34) of Ramsay Macdonald, worked it out without cavil, prejudices, & deceit. For it forced Macdonald to inflict the Govt. of India Act 1936.

Cripps’s Indian Dominion was to be elected by a college consisting of members of the provincial legislatures for which fresh elections would be held. The British Govt. would accept & implement that constitution on two conditions: provinces were free to frame by a similar process their own constitution giving them the same status as the new Indian Union, & a treaty should be negotiated between the British Govt. & the Indian constituent assembly covering all matters arising out of the transfer of responsibility, particularly the protection of racial & religious minorities. Britain, meanwhile, was to retain control & direction of the defence of India as part of their world war effort “but the task of organising the full military, moral & material resources of India” was to be “the responsibility of the Govt. of India with the co-operation of the people of India”.

Sri Aurobindo sent S. Doraiswamy to Rajagopalachari (close friends since their college days) to convey his advice to the Congress leadership to accept the proposals. He was to explain to them that the world atmosphere was so grave that to safeguard the established intellectual & spiritual values was of supreme importance against the diabolical forces working behind Hitler & the rising Japanese imperialism; hence it was indispensable to fully support the Allied Cause first. Anticipating their inability to see beyond their petty personal interests, Sri Aurobindo had provided five solid reasons: (1) Japan’s imperialism being young & based on industrial & military power & moving westward, was a greater menace to India than the British imperialism which was old, which the country had learnt to deal with & which was on the way to elimination. (2) It would be better to get into the saddle & not be particular about the legal basis of the power. Once the power came into our hands & we occupied the seats of power, we could establish our positions & assert ourselves. (3) The proposed Cabinet would provide opportunities for the Congress & the Muslims to understand each other & pull together for the country’s good, especially at that time of the crisis. (4) The Hindu Mahāsabhā also being represented, the Hindus, as such would have a chance of proving their capacity to govern India not only for the benefit of the Hindus but for the whole country. (5) The main problem was to organise the strength of India in order to repel the threatened aggression.

Cripps expected his personal relations with Nehru (both being socialists) would help him win the approval of the Congress Working Committee. But Gandhi rejected his Proposals under the ludicrous pretext that it did not immediately grant of full Dominion Status! To Sri Aurobindo, the Mahātmā sent a saintly advice: Leave India to me; mind your Bengal. When informed of Gandhi’s reaction, Sri Aurobindo merely commented had done his duty. The Mother, who had hoped India would not make the same mistake France had made (rejected England’s offer of alliance to oppose Hitler & paid heavily) remarked in private, “Now calamity will befall India.”

While Congress’s rejection must have shocked Cripps, what must not have shocked him was Churchill retracting his assurance to Maulana Azad that the Viceroy’s Executive Council would function as a Cabinet with an Indian as defence secretary. Cripps also knew that it was the Britons & Anglo-Indians who represented the British Press gave their reports an anti-Congress, anti-Hindu, pro-Muslim, pro-League slant had successfully poisoned Indo-British relations. In July 1942, after a luncheon with Churchill, with whose stand he fully agreed with, King George noted in his diary: “Cripps, the Press & the US public opinion have all contributed to make their minds up that our rule in India is wrong, & has always been wrong for India. I disagree & have always said India has got to be governed, & this will have to be our policy.”

Only in October 1943 did Rajagopalachari finally dare express his support to Sri Aurobindo’s advice in an article he published in the Amrita Bazar Patrika suggesting Congress re-consider & revive the Cripps’ Proposals. Sri Aurobindo’s only comment on this article, in private on 4^th October, was that Wavell will be defeated by the same three-cornered ordeal as had Cripps, namely, the British Civil Servants vs. Gandhi’s Congress vs. Jinnah’s League. He was proved right: Wavell as well as the Cabinet Mission failed as had Cripps. In 1946, Cripps, now a member of the Cabinet Mission was responsible for its proposals which suggested the creation of a Federal Union of the British Indian provinces controlling the defence, foreign affairs & communications. The States might join after the negotiations. The individual provinces were to be at liberty to form subordinate unions of their own. Details were to be settled by a constituent assembly & pending the completion of the new changes there was to be an interim National Government of all the parties at the centre. But the hostility between the Congress & the League proved insurmountable. The proposals were rejected & the last effort to arrive at a solution of the Indian problem by peaceful means failed. Cripps lived long enough to see Indian win independence through a blood-bath & a grievous partition. While India remembers Sir Stafford with gratitude for putting into practice the true socialist philosophy against all odds, England judges him chiefly by the austerity programme he imposed on it as Chancellor of Exchequer (1947-50). [Durga Das, India – From Curzon to Nehru & After, London, 1969; S. Bhattacharya; “Escape from Empire – The Atlee Govt. & the Indian Problem” by R.J. Moore, London, 1983]

Critānta who ends all things & at last himself shall end, an epithet of Lord Yama.

Critavurm Kritavarma, who accompanied Ashwatthāmā to make the murderous night attack upon the camp of the Pāndavas.

Croce, Benedetto (1866-1952), Italian historian, humanist, critic, & philosopher.

Lord Cromer Evelyn Baring (1841-1917), 1^st Earl of Cromer: educated at Ordnance School Carshalton & Royal Military Academy, Woolwich & entered the Royal Artillery 1858: Major 1876: Private Secretary to Viceroy Lord Northbrook (1826-1904) 1872-6: Financial Member of the Supreme Council of the Governor-General 1880-3: transferred to Egypt, rose to Minister Plenipotentiary in the Diplomatic Services: Agent & Consul General of Egypt, hence its virtual ruler, reformed finances, administration, & education: resigned in 1907: Baron 1892, Viscount 1898, Earl 1901. [Buckland]

Cromwell Oliver (1599-1658), Lord Protector of England, Scotland, & Ireland (1653-58), he led parliamentary forces in the English Civil War.

Cronion epithet of Zeus, as son of Cronos.

Cronos/ Cronus Kronos, the youngest of the twelve gigantic primeval children of Ouranos & Gaea (Heaven & Earth). He ruled the world after overthrowing his father, until he in turn was vanquished by his own children, Zeus & the Olympian gods. The Romans identified him with Saturn, the god of agriculture. His reign was regarded as the Golden Age.

Crouncharundhara a pass in the Himalayas opened by Parashurāma with his arrows to make a passage from Kailāsa southwards. But Vāyu Purana attributes the opening of the pass to Shiva’s son Kartikeya, who used his lance.

Cuckoo To the Cuckoo by Wordsworth.

Cunning Old Fury character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Cursetji private secretary of Nawab Salimullah of Dacca. He was involved in the Comilla incident of 1907. The ICS (British India) Officers List mentions a Rustomji Cursetjee as having passed the ICS exam in 1874 & joined the ICS in 1876; his last postings were as Judge in the province of Agra & Oudh, & thereafter in United Provinces.

Curtius Marcus Curtius. In 362 BC a deep chasm opened in the Roman Forum. The seers declared that the pit would never close until Rome’s most valuable possession was thrown into it. Claiming that nothing was more precious than a brave citizen, Curtius, armed & on horseback, had leaped into the chasm which immediately closed.

Lord, Curzon George Nathaniel, First Baron (Marquis) of Kedleston (1859-1925, Grand Master of the Star of India, Grand Master of Indian Empire, Privy Councillor, Fellow of the Royal Society, Justice of Peace, Doctor of Civil Law), son of Rev. 4^th Baron Scarsdale, educated at Eton & Balliol College, Oxford, & appointed Asst. Pvt. Secretary in 1885 to Lord Salisbury (see St Paul’s School): toured Central Asia, Persia, Afghanistan, the Pamirs, Siam, Indo-China, & Korea, & published Russia in Central Asia (1889), Persia & the Persian Question (1892), & Problems of the Far East (1894): Under Secretary of State for India in 1891-92, & for Foreign Affairs in 1895-98. As Viceroy & Gov.-Gen. Jan. 1899 to Apr. 1904, & Dec. 1904 to Aug. 1905), he conquered Waziristan; created North-West Frontier Province to tyrannise its ‘turbulent tribes’; reinforced British army presence in Persia to dominate that region; oversaw Bombay Govt.’s strong-arm measures during a famine there; built Calcutta’s Victoria Memorial Hall with funds extorted from ‘wealthy natives’; held the Delhi Coronation Durbar of Dec.’02–Jan.’03 (where Sayājirao broke protocol leading to legal wrangle with Sri Aurobindo then Gaikwād’s Secretary); imposed what he deemed ‘necessary improvements’ disregarding all protests in India & England; appointed commissions on (a) Universities to directly control Higher Education, (b) Irrigation to intimidate the farmers, (c) Police to stalk nationalists; passed the Official Secrets Act; sent army to Tibet ostensibly to neutralise Russian but to stir up a war & enforce the Anglo-Tibet Treaty in Sept 1904. He resigned in August 1905, owing to want of support of the British Govt. on his difference of opinion with the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Kitchener, regarding the position of the Military Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council in India. ― Curzon was, arguably, Macaulay’s worthiest successor. E.g. his Commission on University Education had only European educationists, & the Act he passed handed over the entire system of education in India into the hands of the Govt. & the Christian missionaries swarming the country, thus ensuring Macaulay’s goal of creating an ‘educated’ a class of Indians European in tastes, opinions, morals & intellect. In his Convocation Address to the Graduates of Calcutta University in February 1905, Curzon declared that to many true friends of India, among whom he counted himself, the most distressing symptom of the day was the degree to which abuse was entering into public controversy & the tendency to exaggeration which those who indulged in controversy displayed (see Bengal National College). Let those who were now going forth from the portals of this University, he added, be on their guard against these dangers. “Do not exaggerate; do not flatter; do not slander; do not impute, but turn naturally to truth as the magnet flies to the pole. I hope I am making no false or arrogant claim when I say that the highest ideal of truth is, to a large extent, a western conception”; Truth in his opinion had taken a high place in the moral codes of the West before it had been similarly honoured in the East, where craftiness & diplomatic wile had always been held in high repute. The Amrita Bazar Patrika, always prompt in hunting out apposite references, confronted Lord Curzon with an egregious lie which, in the course of his Asiatic travels before his appointment as the Viceroy of India, he had told the Korean Minister. Quoting chapter & verse from Curzon’s ‘Problems of the Far East’ the Patrika had proved to the hilt that this apostle of truth glorified in telling lies. In the 21^st February 1905 issue of Kesari Tilak wrote: “Lord Curzon has harped on the expression ‘Oriental Diplomacy’. Why did he ignore expressions like Machiavellian policy & perfidious Albion?” [Based Buckland; S. Bhattacharya; Sanderson Beck’s “India’s Freedom Struggle 1905-1918” & “India’s Renaissance 1881-1905” on internet; Karandikar: pp.209-10]

Curzon-Wyllie, Sir William William Hutt-Curzon Wyllie (1848-1909): joined Indian Army, 1866-80: Military Secretary to Governor of Madras 1881: Resident in Nepal, 1893-8: Viceroy’s Agent in Central India 1898-1900 & Rājputāna 1900-1: Political ADC to Secretary of State for India, 1901-9; knighted, 1902: shot dead by Dhingrā at the Imperial Institute in London on July 1, 1909. [Buckland]

Cushān / Cushānian Kushān or Yueh-chih, one of the three foreign tribes that invaded Indian & supplanted the Greeks – the other two were Śaka or Scythian, Pahlava or Pārthian. In early 2^nd century BC, the Central Asian nomadic tribe known as Yueh-chih, driven out from their lands c.165 BC & between 145 & 125 BC, burst into Bactria & Parthia in the Oxus valley taking advantage of the Pārthian decline. A generation later, they were pressing into Kandahar valley & onto the Punjab plain. By the next century one of the five Yueh-chih chiefs attacked & defeated the others, leaving his clan the Kuei-shang (Kushāns) in control. Kujula Kadphises established the Kushān dynasty in 78 AD by overcoming the existing dynasty of Pahlava & Scytho-Parthians, & gaining control of the prosperous region of NW India, known as Gāndhāra under the Hindus & Kandahar under the Mohammedans & the British. His grandson Vima Kadphises’ reign saw emergence of the Kushān Empire which covered all of NW India & built trade with China, Central Asia, Egypt, & Rome, making it wealthy & prosperous. Soon Vima embraced Hinduism & proclaimed himself an incarnation of Maheshwara (Mahā-Ishwara, Lord Shiva). He also introduced the first gold coins of India; a large number of Kushānian gold & copper coins have survived. Vima’s son Kanishka (100-126 AD) was the greatest ruler of the Kushān Dynasty. He & his descendants called themselves devaputras. He established the Shaka era which starts from 78 AD & is still in popular use in India. His empire consisted Bactria (modern Afghanistan), part of Central Asia (Tajikistan), Northern India up to Pātaliputra. Kanishka I was succeeded by Huvishka who founded the city called Hushka in Kashmir. The Kushān Empire was at its zenith during Kanishka’s & Huvishka’s reign. The Kushāns were totally assimilated into the Indian culture. Vāsudeva I was the last great king of the dynasty when the Kushān Empire was at its height of splendour & prosperity. Around c.230 AD, the Nāgas seem to have supplanted the Kushān rule in part of the Jumna valley. By the 4^th century both dynasties were supplanted the Gupta Empire which is believed to have begun c.320 & went into decline in the 6^th century. [S. Bhattacharya; Majumdar et al, Advanced History of India]

Cybele a Greek-Roman Mother of the Gods, who usually appears with mural crown & veil, seated on a throne or in a chariot, & accompanied by two lions.

Cyclades 24-island group of the Greek archipelago in the Aegean Sea, SE of Attica.

Cyclopes one-eyed giants descended from Uranus & Gaea. Some of them were shepherds, like Polyphemus, who captured Odysseus, others worked in the smithy of Hephaestus, forging thunderbolts for Zeus, & often on the fortifications of ancient cities. In Homer, they are savage & lawless rustics.

Le Cygne French sonnet by Mallarmé.

Cymbeline leading character in Shakespeare’s comedy Cymbeline based on Cunobelinus the British king c.1^st century who resisted the Romans.

Cymric of Cymru, Wales in the Welsh language.

Cynthia or Cynthius, names of Artemis (Diana) & Apollo, derived from Cynthus, a mountain in their native Delos.

Cynthia poem by Keats.

Cyprian/ Cypris Aphrodite, from her sanctuaries in Cyprus (at Paphos & Amathus).

Cyrene Greek colony on the coast of Libya, founded c. 632 BC

Cythera/ Cytherea Aphrodite who landed on Cythera, an island off Peloponnesus, after her birth in the sea.