Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/29

BHAGAVAD-GITA. (Calcutta, 1895) ; and especially Telang, Bha- gavadjjita. Sacred Books of the East, Vol. VIII. (Oxford, 1898). For full information as to Ger- man, French, Italian, and even modern Greek versions, consult Holtzmann, Das Mahabharata, Vol. 11. (Kiel, 1888) ; and von Sehriider, Indiens Litleratiir und Eultiir (Leipzig, 1887).

BHAIRAVA, b'hi'ra-vfl, and BHAIRAVI, -vd (Skt., terrible, from bh'i, to fear). Names given to the terrible transformations of the Hin- du god Shiva and his wife, Devi.

BHAMO, b'ha-mo'. A town of Burma, Brit- ish India, on the Upper Irrawaddy, 40 miles west of the Chinese frontier, and ISO miles north- northeast of Ava (Map: Burma, CI). The for- mer capital of a Shan principality, it was a large and flourishing city, but fell into decay. It is, however, important as the chief mart of the trade with China, through western Yun-nan, a British consulate at Manwyne, Yunnan, since 1893, greatly facilitating commercial intercourse. The imports are woolens, cottons, and silks, which are brought ehiefl,v by caravans. Bhamo has also a considerable trade with the tribes of the neighborhood, who exchange their native produce for salt, rice, and a sauce made of dried fish. It is at the head of navigation on the Irrawaddy, and steamers ply to Rangoon. Its population is estimated at 7000.

BHANG, bang (Hind., Skr. bhanza, hemp). The Eastern name for hemp.

BHARAVI, b'ha'rave. A poet of India, be- longing probably to the Seventh Century a.d. He is known as the author of the Kiratarjumya, an artificial epic, based upon an episode of the national epic of the Mnhahhfirata. The Kira- tarjumya was first published at Calcutta in 1814, and since then has appeared in several edi- tions, of which the best is that of Godabole and Paraba (1889).

BHARTPUR. bhert-poor', or BHURTPORE, -por' (Bhurat, the brother of Eama -}- Skt. pur, city). The capital of the native State of the same name in Rajputana, India, in latitude 27° 12' X., and longitude 77° 33' E. (Map: In- dia, 3). Population, in 1891, 68,000; in 1901, 43,000. It is historicallv important owing to the sieges of 180-5 and 1827. The strength of the place lay in a mud wall, which was shot-proof, and a surrounding ditch, which might at any time be filled with water from a neighboring lake. The State of Bhartpur is situated in latitude 26° 48' to 27° 50' N., and in longitude 76° 54' to 77° 49' E. Its area is 1961 square miles. Population in 1891, 640,000; in 1901, 626,000. The country suffers from want of water, but in many parts the soil is rendered highly productive b.v means of irrigation. The principal crops of the State are grain, cotton, and sugar.

BHARTRIHARI, b'har'tre-ha're (Skt. Bhartrhari). The name of a Sanskrit author and legendary prince of India, whom tradition associates especially with Ujjain, the royal city of King Vikrama (q.v.). Bhartrihari's name is known to fame through a collection of 300 or more sententious stanzas, written in highly polished Sanskrit verse, with considerable rhythmical variety and comprised under the name of Satakag, centuries. These Satakas are divided into three more or less precise hundreds, according to the manuscripts which contain them. The thema of the first hundred stanzas is Good Conduct, the yiti-sataka, in which the ethics of human life, rules for conduct and moral behavior are pithily presented in brief metrical proverbs or apt illus- trations full of wise thought and Oriental pictur- esqueness. The second century is devoted to aphorisms on the Passion of Love, the Srngara- iataka. The Third Century, or Vairagya-sataka, deals with Renunciation, the abandonment of worldly desires and pleasures, which are mere vanity.

The question how far these aphoristic sayings or proverbial wisdom in verse are directly to be attributed to Bhartrihari as author, or whether the collection may not be regarded as a mere series of apothegms and wise saws drawn from various sources and attached to his name, is a point that has been much discussed. In spite of the fact that a number of the stanzas are found in works ascribed to other authors, the tendency nowadays is to favor the native tradition which upholds Bhartrihari as author of most of these poetical stanzas, so rich in philosophic judgment and sound common sense.

The second point, as to Bhartrihari's person- ality, whether he was a king, and what may have been his era, has been much debated. According to tradition he actually was King of Ujjain, and elder brother of the renowned Vikraraaditya. He is said to have abdicated the throne in favor of his brother because his life was ruined owing to disappointment in love (compare the tradi- tional interpretation of Xiti-sataka, 2) ; and he is reported to have withdrawn from the world, although after long hesitation, to pursue the existence of an ascetic. The inquiring visitor at L'jjain will yet be shown the kingly poet's hermit grave, and still will hear numerous leg- ends recounted about Bhartrihari's life. A state- ment of the Chinese traveler I-Tsing, who visited India in the Seventh Century of our era, would place the date of Bhartrihari's death at a.d. 651, although native tradition would claim that he lived several hundred years earlier. The same Chinese authorit.v likewise recognizes him as the composer of a grammatical treatise, the Takya- padiya, although its authenticity has been doubt- ed by some Hindu scholars. In such matters it may be well to suspend judgment until more ma- terial he gathered, and in all cases due weight must be given to the native tradition. For the present we may be safe in accepting Bhartrihari as a real personality, a philosophic poet of gen- uine merit, perhaps likewise as a grammarian, although this has been questioned, and probably also as one of royal estate, who may have been related to Vikrama of Ujjain.

From a literary standpoint the collection of Bhartrihari's Sententious Wisdom has real merit, and the stanzas have also the special in- terest that 200 of them were the first piece of translation from the Sanskrit known to have been published in any European tongue. This version appeared in a book by the Dutch mission- ary, Al)raham Roger, Dat Opcntot Deure hat Verborgen IJeydendom (Leyden, 1051). Numer- ous editions, translations, and criticisms of Bhartrihari have since been issued. Consult: especially, Purohit Gopi Nath, Bhartrihari, Ed- ited with Hindi and English Translations (Bom- bay, 1896) ; Kale and Gurjar, yitiMaka and