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This paper begins and ends with the observation that the Pārij ātaharaṇa or theft of the magical Pārijāta tree appears to be the only scene from the adult biography of Kṛṣṇa to have enjoyed a popularity comparable to the scenes of his childhood and youth. Inquiring why this might be the case, the article treats the oldest source of the episode, namely the Critical Edition text of the Harivaṃśa, and its elaboration in two Harivaṃśa appendices (App. I 29 and 29A). Two thematic elements characterize 29 and 29A's enlargement upon the deed: the amplification of conflict over the tree and the ritual activities of women. While the first of these themes, developed in App. 1 29, is a natural, if not predictable augmentation of the Kṛṣṇa narrative, understanding the rationale behind App. 1 29A's concerns with the ritual responsibilities of the pativratā or devoted wife requires a more sustained analysis. I argue here that 29A makes explicit a fundamental dynamic of the divine feminine and its role within the Kṛṣṇa biography which can be found at work in the earlier Critical text of the HV as well. This makes possible a final hypothesis on why the Pārijāta episode may have enjoyed a popularity in the Vaiṣṇava tradition unlike any other scene of Kṛṣṇa adult biography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Records of individuals who achieved rebirth in the pure land of Amitãbha Buddha began as a genre of hagiography in eighth-century China and began appearing in Japan in the late tenth century. Thereafter these ōjōden were produced repeatedly throughout Japanese history in greater numbers than in China, and came to function as a form of prooftext for the establishment of the Pure Land school. Focusing on an apocryphal Indian ōjōden created in the late Heian period, this paper evaluates the form and content of ōjōden as a unique genre of Japanese religious literature exhibiting influences from monastic bibliography, miracle texts, and the category of adbhutadharma in Indian Buddhist literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biography of Dharmanand Damonar Kosambi, a mathematician is presented. He was born on July 31, 1907 in Goa, India and studied at the University of Harvard in a mathematics major. He taught mathematics all his working life until his retirement. He is married to Nalini Madgavkar of Mumbia, India with two daughters. During his time, as a mathematician, he had contributed works in tensor analysis, "path-geometry" and the "Kosambi formula for chromosome mapping" in genetic.

A biography of mathematician Prabhu Lal Bhatnagar is presented. He was born on August 8, 1912 in Kota, Rajasthan. He started his schooling in Kota and completed his Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree at Maharajah's College in Jaipur in 1934. In 1951, Bhatngar went to Harvard University as a Fulbright Scholar for two years. He was the Head of the Department and concurrently a Reader of Mathematics in Delhi University. He died on October 5, 1976 at the age of 64 due to heart attack.

The article focuses on the biography of Arthur Blechynden, son of William Blechynden and successor as superintendent of roads. Arthur and his siblings were part of the mixed-race children born as a result of European incursions into India from the time of the Portuguese. The race is claimed as the majority of the slaves and servants of European Calcutta in India. His experience in this environment was arrogated to be a lesson in proper conduct.

Focuses on the biography and autobiography of Indian scholar Sarif Muhammad Murtada az-Zabidi and provides information on Islamic scholarship in the 18th century. Role in compiling the Tag al-arus Arabic dictionary; Term he used for the revival of Arabic literary culture; Contribution to the study of hadit and to the revival of the strict forms of its transmission.

A biography of Henry Vandyke Carter, a British national physician based in India, is presented. Carter was born in May 22, 1831 in Yorkshire, England and married to Mary Ellen Robison with two children. During his stay at St. George's Hospital, he worked with Henry Gray as illustrators of Gray's anatomy book where his expertise on drawing pictures was showed. Moreover, he also joined the Bombay Medical Service as assistant surgeon in January 1858. Carter died of tuberculosis on May 4, 1897.