Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/28

BEZOLD. olo{;ical Institute. His investigations in thermo- dynamics are important. His publications in- ciii( Die Farhenlchre im Dinhlich aiif Kmixl und Ktinstgenerhe (1874): Die KiilteriirkfaUe im Mai (1883) ; and Ziiiidcndc BUtze im KUnig- rcich liniirrn (1884).

BEZO'NIAN (It. hisogno, need, needy fellow, bejrgar, Fr. hesoin, need. want). An Elizabethan term, of Continental derivation, applied to either 'needy' or 'needed' persons, but in both cases de- noting a low and useless member of society, needed to fill up mercenary ranks, etc.

BEZOUT, bft'zrTTT'. Etie.vne (173083). A French mathematician. He was born in Ne- mours, and died in Paris. He was one of the best-known writers of his day on mathematics. He made considerable contributions to the theory of elimination, and was one of the first to recog- nize the value of determinants. His Thforie ghifirale den equations algebriques, published posthumously (Paris, 1799), and his fours com- jilet de maih('matiques (Paris, 1780) are his best-known works.

BEZSONOFF, byez-s6'nAf, Peteb Alexete- vnm (ISiiS-US). a" Kussian student of folk-lore. He was born in Moscow, and after serving as librarian at the university of his native city (1867-79), was professor of Slavic languages at the University of Kharkov from 1879 till his death. He published /{o/.(/ars/,-)i/a /'ycs/ii (1855), the first great collection of Bulgarian folk-.songs; a collection of Servian folk-songs, under the title of Lazarica (1857); several collections of Russian songs (181)1-71) ; and a number of trea- tises on the Bulgarian, Serb, and Russian lan- guages and literatures.

BHAGALPUR, b'h-i'gnl-poor', or BOGXIPOOR' (Hind, hliagal. tiger + Skt. pur, city). The capital of a district and divisicm of the same name in Behar, Province of Bengal, British India, latitude 25° 11' N., longitude 87° E. (Map: India, E 3). It stands on the right bank of the Ganges, which is here 7 miles wide in the rainy season, and is 2(J5 miles northwest of Calcutta by rail. The situation is unhealthy; malaria is endemic and cholera is epidemic. It is the headquarters of the troops for keeping in check the Sonthal tribes, has numerous mosques and a Government seminary. Coarse silk goods are manufactured. Pojjulation, in 1891, 08.780; in inOl, 75,275. In the vicinity of the town two round towers, about 70 feet in height, of un- known origin, are objects of interest, as also the British and the native monuments to Augustus Cleveland (175.5-84). whoso administration did much to advance civilization in this district. Bhagalpur district contains 422C square miles, and in 1891 had 2.033.000 inhabitants; in 1901, 2.088.500. It lies south of Xepal, in latitude 24° 17' to 20° 20' N., longitude 80° 1.5' to 88° 3' E. About a fifth is covered by hills, which, ptretehing to the southwest, connect with the Vindhya Mountains, the grand dividing ridge be- tween the Nerbudda and the Ganges. The division of Bhagalpur, comprising five districts, has an area of 20,511 square miles. Population, in 1891, 8,582,000: in 1901, S.721.484.

BHAGAVAD-GITA, b'bu'gu-viid-ge'ta (Skt., 'the Song of the Divine One,' i.e. rhythmically recited by Krishn.a, an incarnation of the god Vishnu), or the DmxE SoNG. So.ng Cele.sti.m., Sacred Canticle. The name of a Sanskrit philo- sophical ])oem of some seven hundred double verses, which forms an episode in the Mahabha- rata (q.v.). The title Bhagaiad-gita, feminine, is best explained by understanding the noin vpanisad, the significance being a philosophical treatise rendered in metre by the Blessed One. This remarkable production, in the form of a colloquy between the divine Krishna and the hero Arjuna, comprises 18 cantos in the sixth book of the Mahabh.nrata (6.25.1 — 0,42.78 = 11.830 — 1532). The situation is a striking one. The rival armies of the Kurus and Pandus, foe- men allied by the ties of family and blood alike, but severed by a fatal feud, are drawn up against each otlier in battle array. Before the final sig- nal is given, Arjuna. the valiant leader of the Pandu hosts, hesitates to fight, foreseeing the awful slaughter and the bloodshed of kindred that must ensue. The divine incarnation of Vishnu, in the form of Krishna, as Arjuna's charioteer, overcomes his scruples and dispels his doubts by a long discourse on life and duty, and tlie part which every one must play in ful- filling his obligations in the world. Action is inevitable in the performance of duty; but in devotion to the Supreme Spirit alone is salvation to be found. A vision of the Supreme Spirit is revealed to Arjuna in the transfigured image of Krishna, as described in Canto xi. 15, seq.

This philosophic discourse, hallowed by its association with the most momentous battle of ancient India, which follows at its close, has exer- cised great iniluence upon the Hindu thought and mind from the earliest times to the present. The allegorical interpretation of it as bearing upon the contending forces of rival passions is a favor- ite one with modern theosophisls, and the Bhaga- vad-gita lias been looked upon for ages as a sacred text-book. The date of the poem, however, and its precise relation to the Great Epic, is a subject of much discussion. Scholars who do not regard this didactic piece as an integral part of the Mahabharata, nevertheless consider it to be undoubtedly one of the older poems in the epic, though not necessarily an old part of it. The critical tendency at present is to place the piece in the centuries preceding the Christian Era rather than following it. Points of resemblance between Gita and the New Testa- ment need not claim any necessary consideration. From the standpoint of philosophy thcBhagavad- gita is generally regarded as combining the Sankhya doctrine of matter and spirit with the Yoga tenets of meditation and Vedanta panthe-- ism, although as a poem it has no really con- sistent system, and it is regarded by some as ])robahIy composed prior to the formal Vedanta and the formal Sankhya as actual schools. Con- sult the articles under these names.

Editions of the Bhagavadgita, criticisms and discussions of the poem, especially in India, num- ber scores. The earliest printed edition of the Sanskrit text is by a Brahman, Baburama (Cal- cutta, 1808). There are modern versions in most of the Indian vernaculars. For the earliest European translation into English, consult C. Wilkins (London, 1785; revised edition. Bombay, 1887). For later English renderings, consult: Thomson (Hertford, 1855) : Davies (London, 1882) : Sir Edwin Arnold, The l^ong Celestial, 7Mi-trical (London and Boston, 1885) ; M. N. Dutt