Tagore, Debendranath

(1818–1905)

Religious and social reformer. Founder

of Sädhäran Brahmo Samäj and of the

forest retreat Ÿantiniketan, near

Calcutta. Known as ‘Mahar•i’, he dis-

carded the sacred thread and claimed to

receive direct messages from the

Almighty, which he communicated to

his disciples. He compiled the Brahmo-

dharma, an anthology from the

Upani•ads, the Mahäbhärata and

Manusmøti.

Tagore, Rabindranath

(1861–1941)

Son of Debendranath Tagore, poet,

painter, playwright, essayist, founder of

the forest university Ÿantiniketan and

the women’s university Ÿrïniketan. He

received the Nobel Prize for Literature

in 1913 for his collection of poems

Gïtäñjalï and a knighthood in 1915. He

was fond of the Baul songs of Bengal

and wrote poetry and plays both in

Bengali and English. Among his major

prose works are Sädhana and Creative

Unity. He lectured and travelled widely

all over the world, and received many

honours.

Taittirïya

(‘relating to Tittiri [the partridge])’

A Vedic sage, the pupil of YÄSKA, an

authority referred to by PÄŒINÏreputed

to be the founder of a Vedic school of

the Black YAJURVEDA. He is the author

of the Taittirïya Saƒhitä, the Taittirïya

Brähmaæaand the Taittirïya Upani•ad.

tamas

See GUŒA.

tämasa-ÿästras

(‘scriptures of darkness’)

The designation of all non-Vai•æava

scriptures by VAIÆŒAVAS.

täæõava

The dance of world destruction, per-

formed by ŸIVAin Cidambaram. Its ety-

mology is derived from Taæõu, one of

Ÿiva’s attendants, who invented the

dance.

Tanjore

A city in Tamilnäõü, famous for the

Bøhadïÿvara (Ÿiva) temple, built by the

COLAking Rajaraja I (985–1013), one

of the largest in India. According to

tradition the king built this temple in

the hope of being cured from

leprosy.

Tantra (1) (‘ritual’, ‘rule’)

The designation of a class of works con-

nected to goddess worship.

T

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