People
Rulers, teachers, poets, scholars and saints.
296 entries
A
- Abul Kalam AzadAbul Kalam Azad was an Islamic scholar turned Indian nationalist leader who served as Congres…
- Adi ShankaraAn early medieval philosopher-monk from Kerala who systematized Advaita Vedanta, the Hindu sc…
- AdipaththarThe fisherman who cast his best catch into the sea for Shiva.
- Afonso de AlbuquerqueAfonso de Albuquerque was a Portuguese admiral and the second governor of Portuguese India, w…
- AgastyaAgastya is a rishi credited with authorship of Vedic hymns, with bringing Vedic and Tamil lea…
- AhalyāAhalyā is the wife of the sage Gautama in the Rāmāyaṇa, seduced by Indra in her husband's for…
- Aiyadigal KadavarkonA Pallava king who renounced his throne and sang Shiva’s praise.
- AjatashatruAjatashatru was a king of Magadha's Haryanka dynasty, traditionally dated to about 492–460 BC…
- AkampanaAkampana is the rākṣasa in the Rāmāyaṇa who escaped the destruction of Janasthāna and first p…
- AkbarAkbar, born Jalal-ud-din Muhammad, was the third Mughal emperor, who ruled from 1556 to 1605,…
- AmaraneediThe merchant tested by Shiva as a young ascetic.
- AnayaThe cowherd whose flute drew all creation to Shiva.
- AndalThe only woman among the Ālvārs;
- AṅgadaAṅgada is the son of Vālī and Tārā in the Rāmāyaṇa, made crown prince of Kiṣkindhā at his fat…
- Annie BesantAnnie Besant (1847-1933) was a British-born theosophist, social reformer and Indian home rule…
- ApparTirunāvukkarasar;
- Apputhi AdigalWho named everything he owned for Appar out of love.
- Archibald Wavell, Lord WavellBritish field marshal who served as Viceroy of India from 1943 to 1947, presiding over the fi…
- ArivattayaThe devotee whose offering was never refused.
- AryabhataAryabhata (476 CE – c.
- AsangaAsanga was a Buddhist philosopher of the fourth century CE, the founder of the Yogacara schoo…
- The ascetic's sonThe ascetic's son is the youth in the Rāmāyaṇa whom the young Daśaratha killed by shooting at…
- Ashfaqulla KhanAshfaqulla Khan was a revolutionary of the Hindustan Republican Association executed in 1927…
- AshokaAshoka (reigned c.
- Atal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) was an Indian statesman and poet who served three terms as p…
- AtikāyaAtikāya is the colossal son of Rāvaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa, armoured by Brahmā and schooled in the…
- AtriOne of the seven seers;
- Atri and AnasūyāAtri and Anasūyā are the aged sage and his wife in the Rāmāyaṇa who received the exiles at th…
- AurangzebAurangzeb (reigned 1658–1707), known also by his regnal title Alamgir, was the sixth Mughal e…
B
- BahubaliBahubali is a figure of Jain tradition, a son of the first tirthankara, remembered for renoun…
- Bal Gangadhar TilakBal Gangadhar Tilak was a nationalist leader, journalist and Sanskrit scholar who was among t…
- Banda Singh BahadurBanda Singh Bahadur was the Sikh commander who established the first Sikh state in the Punjab…
- Bappa RawalBappa Rawal, also known as Kalbhoj, is the semi-legendary eighth-century founder of the Guhil…
- BhadrabahuBhadrabahu was a Jain teacher of the early period, remembered as the last to know the full ca…
- Bhagat SinghBhagat Singh (1907-1931) was a revolutionary nationalist and self-described socialist, execut…
- Bhai GurdasBhai Gurdas was the scribe of the Adi Granth and the author of the vars, the earliest Sikh ex…
- BharadvājaBharadvāja is the sage of Prayāga in the Rāmāyaṇa, who received the exiles at the confluence…
- BharataBharata is Rāma's younger brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, whose mother Kaikeyī won him the throne an…
- Bhimrao Ramji AmbedkarA jurist, economist and social reformer who led the movement for Dalit rights under colonial…
- BhriguProgenitor-sage who tested and marked the three great gods.
- Bhutham AlvarOne of the first three;
- Bipin Chandra PalA Bengali nationalist leader, journalist and orator, one of the "Lal-Bal-Pal" triumvirate ass…
- BuddhaghosaBuddhaghosa was a fifth-century commentator who compiled the Pali commentarial literature and…
C
- Chakravarti RajagopalachariChakravarti Rajagopalachari was a Congress leader from Madras who served as Premier of Madras…
- ChandeshvaraThe boy who struck his own father to protect the liṅga;
- Chandragupta IIChandragupta II, also known by the epithet Vikramaditya, was a Gupta emperor who ruled north…
- Chandrashekhar AzadChandrashekhar Azad was an Indian revolutionary who led the Hindustan Socialist Republican As…
- Charles Canning, Earl CanningCharles Canning, 1st Earl Canning, was the last Governor-General of India under East India Co…
- Charles CornwallisCharles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738–1805), was a British army officer and colon…
- Charles Hardinge, Lord Hardinge of PenshurstCharles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, was Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916, du…
- Cheraman PerumalThe Chera king and poet, friend of Sundarar.
- ChyavanaThe aged sage restored to youth by the Aśvins.
D
- Dadabhai NaorojiDadabhai Naoroji was a Parsi scholar, businessman and early Indian nationalist politician, th…
- DadhichiThe sage who gave his own bones to forge Indra’s thunderbolt.
- DadhimukhaDadhimukha is the keeper of Sugrīva's honey grove in the Rāmāyaṇa, whose complaint that the r…
- Dandi AdigalThe blind saint who dug the temple tank at Tiruvarur.
- Dara ShikohDara Shikoh (1615–1659) was the eldest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and heir apparent to…
- DaśarathaDaśaratha is the king of Ayodhyā and father of Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa, destroyed by two boons h…
- DhūmrākṣaDhūmrākṣa is the rākṣasa general in the Rāmāyaṇa sent out through the western gate of Laṅkā u…
- DurvasaThe short-tempered sage whose curses and boons drive many tales.
- DūṣaṇaDūṣaṇa is the marshal of Khara's forces at Janasthāna in the Rāmāyaṇa, killed with the whole…
E
- Edward Law, Lord EllenboroughBritish statesman who served as Governor-General of India from 1842 to 1844, known for ending…
- Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, Lord LyttonEdward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, was Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880, whos…
- Edward Wood, Lord IrwinEdward Wood, 1st Baron Irwin, was Viceroy of India from 1926 to 1931, whose tenure spanned th…
- EripathaThe devotee of fierce temper in Shiva’s service.
- Eyarkon KalikamaThe saint who repented doubting Sundarar.
F
- Francis Rawdon-HastingsFrancis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings, was a British soldier and colonial adminis…
- Frederic Thesiger, Lord ChelmsfordFrederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, was Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, a term sp…
- Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Lord DufferinBritish Viceroy of India from 1884 to 1888, whose tenure saw the annexation of Upper Burma an…
- Freeman Freeman-Thomas, Lord WillingdonFreeman Freeman-Thomas, Marquess of Willingdon, was Viceroy of India from 1931 to 1936, whose…
G
- GananathaThe brahmin saint devoted to Shiva’s service.
- Ganga RamSir Ganga Ram (1851-1927) was a civil engineer and philanthropist in colonial Punjab whose ir…
- Gautama BuddhaGautama Buddha, born Siddhartha Gautama, was a Shakya prince of ancient India whose renunciat…
- Gautama MaharṣiGautama is the sage of the Rāmāyaṇa whose curse condemned his wife Ahalyā to live unseen and…
- George Curzon, Lord CurzonLord Curzon was a British statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905, remembe…
- George Eden, Lord AucklandBritish Governor-General of India from 1836 to 1842, chiefly remembered for launching the Fir…
- George Robinson, Lord RiponGeorge Robinson, first Marquess of Ripon, was Viceroy of India from 1880 to 1884, remembered…
- Gilbert Elliot, 4th Earl of MintoGilbert Elliot, 4th Earl of Minto, was Viceroy of India from 1905 to 1910, a tenure marked by…
- Gilbert Elliot-Murray-KynynmoundGilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, was Governor-General of India from 1807…
- Gopal Krishna GokhaleGopal Krishna Gokhale was a moderate leader of the Indian National Congress, founder of the S…
- GuhaGuha is the Niṣāda chief of Śṛṅgaverapura in the Rāmāyaṇa, a hunter-fisher king who was alrea…
- Guru Amar DasGuru Amar Das was the third Sikh Guru, who organised the community into administrative distri…
- Guru AngadGuru Angad was the second Sikh Guru, who standardised the Gurmukhi script, collected Nanak's…
- Guru ArjanGuru Arjan was the fifth Sikh Guru, who compiled the Adi Granth, built the Harmandir Sahib at…
- Guru Gobind SinghGuru Gobind Singh (1666–1708) was the tenth and last human Guru of Sikhism, who founded the K…
- Guru Har KrishanGuru Har Krishan was the eighth Sikh Guru, who succeeded at the age of five and died of small…
- Guru Har RaiGuru Har Rai was the seventh Sikh Guru, who maintained the armed retinue he inherited without…
- Guru HargobindGuru Hargobind was the sixth Sikh Guru, who took up arms after his father's execution, built…
- Guru NanakGuru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism, a teacher of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Punjab w…
- Guru Ram DasGuru Ram Das was the fourth Sikh Guru, the founder of Amritsar, and the composer of the Lavan…
- Guru Tegh BahadurGuru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth Sikh Guru, executed at Delhi in 1675 in a case Sikh tradition…
H
- HanumānHanumān is the vānara minister of Sugrīva in the Rāmāyaṇa who leaps the ocean to find Sītā in…
- HarshaHarsha Vardhana (r.
- HemachandraHemachandra was a Jain scholar-monk of twelfth-century Gujarat, adviser to the Chaulukya king…
- Henry HardingeHenry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge (1785-1856), was a British soldier and statesman who se…
- Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, Lord LansdowneBritish statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1888 to 1894, overseeing modest legisla…
I
J
- JāmbavānJāmbavān is the ancient king of the bears in the Rāmāyaṇa, the oldest of Rāma's allies, who r…
- James Broun-Ramsay, Lord DalhousieLord Dalhousie was a Scottish nobleman who served as Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1…
- JanakaJanaka is the king of Videha and the father of Sītā in the Rāmāyaṇa, who found her as an infa…
- JaṭāyuJaṭāyu is the aged vulture king in the Rāmāyaṇa, an old friend of Daśaratha, who attacked Rāv…
- Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru was an Indian nationalist leader and the first Prime Minister of independent…
- JayachandraJayachandra (r.
- JayapalaJayapala (r.
- Jayaprakash NarayanA socialist political leader and freedom-movement activist, prominent in the Quit India Movem…
- John LawrenceJohn Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, was a British administrator who governed Punjab after its…
- John ShoreJohn Shore, later 1st Baron Teignmouth, was Governor-General of Bengal from 1793 to 1798, rem…
- Joseph Francois DupleixJoseph-Francois Dupleix was a French colonial administrator and Governor-General of French In…
K
- KabandhaKabandha is the headless, one-eyed, long-armed creature of the Rāmāyaṇa who seizes both broth…
- KaikasīKaikasī is the rākṣasī mother of Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa, Śūrpaṇakhā and Vibhīṣaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇ…
- KaikeyīKaikeyī is the second queen of Daśaratha in the Rāmāyaṇa, the wife he loved best, who called…
- KaliaWho set out to end his life when he could no longer light the temple lamp.
- KalidasaKalidasa was a classical Sanskrit poet and dramatist, traditionally placed in the 4th–5th cen…
- KalikambaThe merchant who cut off his wife’s hand for hesitating before a devotee.
- KambanKamban was the Tamil poet who composed the Irāmāvatāram, and is counted among the greatest wr…
- KanampullaWho burnt his own hair as a wick when the lamp-grass ran out.
- KanishkaKanishka I was a Kushan emperor of the 2nd century CE whose empire spanned Central Asia and n…
- KannappaThe hunter who offered his own eyes to Shiva;
- Karaikkal AmmaiyarThe skeletal woman-saint of Karaikkal;
- KariThe poet-saint and chieftain devoted to Shiva.
- KashyapaThe primal patriarch;
- KausalyāKausalyā is the senior queen of Daśaratha and the mother of Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa, whose posit…
- KazharsingaA Pallava king zealous for the devotees’ honour.
- Kesarī and AñjanāKesarī and Añjanā are the parents of Hanumān in the Rāmāyaṇa — a vānara chieftain and an apsa…
- Khan Abdul Ghaffar KhanA Pashtun nationalist leader from the North-West Frontier Province who founded the Khudai Khi…
- KharaKhara is the rākṣasa commander of Janasthāna in the Rāmāyaṇa, Rāvaṇa's kinsman, whose army of…
- KharavelaKharavela was a king of Kalinga, known almost entirely from the Hathigumpha inscription, whic…
- Khudiram BoseKhudiram Bose was a Bengali revolutionary hanged at eighteen for his role in the 1908 Muzaffa…
- Kochengat CholaThe Chola king who built many shrines to Shiva.
- KootruvaA chieftain who won a crown by his devotion.
- KotpuliThe officer who guarded the temple grain even against his own kin.
- KulachiraiMinister of the Pandya king;
- Kulasekhara AlvarA Chera king who renounced his throne for Vishnu.
- Kumaragupta IKumaragupta I (r.
- KumarajivaKumarajiva (344-413 CE) was a Buddhist monk and translator from Kucha whose Chinese rendering…
- KumbhakarṇaKumbhakarṇa is Rāvaṇa's giant brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, cursed to sleep for half the year, who…
- KundakundaKundakunda was a Digambara Jain philosopher whose Prakrit works on the soul, and their distin…
- Kungiliya KalayaWho burned incense for Shiva though it beggared him.
- KuśadhvajaKuśadhvaja is Janaka's younger brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, ruler of Sāṅkāśyā, whose two daughter…
L
- LakṣmaṇaLakṣmaṇa is Rāma's younger brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, who follows him into exile and serves fou…
- Lala Lajpat RaiA Punjabi nationalist leader, writer and one of the "Lal-Bal-Pal" trio of assertive Congress…
- LalitadityaLalitaditya Muktapida (r.
- Lava and KuśaLava and Kuśa are the twin sons of Rāma and Sītā in the Rāmāyaṇa, born at Vālmīki's hermitage…
- Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of BurmaLouis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-1979), was the last Viceroy of British…
M
- Madhurakavi AlvarDevoted disciple of Nammālvar, whose praise he sang above all.
- MahaviraMahavira was the twenty-fourth and last tirthankara of the present cycle in Jain tradition, a…
- Mahmud of GhazniMahmud of Ghazni (971–1030 CE) was the ruler of the Ghaznavid empire, centered in present-day…
- MahodaraMahodara is the courtier-general of Laṅkā in the Rāmāyaṇa who answered Kumbhakarṇa's blunt wa…
- Mainda and DvividaMainda and Dvivida are the vānara brothers of the Rāmāyaṇa, sons of the Aśvins, counted among…
- Makkhali GosalaMakkhali Gosala was the teacher regarded as the founder of the Ajivika order, known only thro…
- ManakancharaThe general who gave his daughter’s hair for a devotee’s garland.
- Māṇḍavī and ŚrutakīrtiMāṇḍavī and Śrutakīrti are the daughters of Kuśadhvaja in the Rāmāyaṇa, cousins of Sītā, marr…
- MandodarīMandodarī is the chief queen of Rāvaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa and the mother of Indrajit, whose lame…
- MangayarkkarasiyarPandya queen who kept the faith at court;
- MantharāMantharā is the hunchbacked maidservant of Kaikeyī in the Rāmāyaṇa who persuades her mistress…
- MārīcaMārīca is the rākṣasa in the Rāmāyaṇa who took the form of the golden deer that drew Rāma awa…
- MarkandeyaThe ever-youthful sage who survived the cosmic dissolution.
- MātaliMātali is Indra's charioteer in the Rāmāyaṇa, sent down with the god's own chariot so that Rā…
- Max MullerFriedrich Max Müller (1823–1900) was a German-born philologist at Oxford University whose edi…
- MeiporulThe king slain by a false ascetic, whom he spared for the holy garb.
- Michael O'DwyerMichael O'Dwyer was Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab from 1913 to 1919, whose administration app…
- Mohandas Karamchand GandhiMohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) was an Indian lawyer and political leader who develope…
- Motilal NehruMotilal Nehru was an Allahabad lawyer and Indian National Congress leader who served twice as…
- Muhammad Ali JinnahMuhammad Ali Jinnah was a lawyer and politician who led the All-India Muslim League to the de…
- Muhammad bin TughluqMuhammad bin Tughluq (r.
- MunaiyaduvarThe soldier who gave his war-spoils to Shiva’s devotees.
- MurkhaThe gambler-saint who fed Shiva’s devotees with his winnings.
- MurthiyarWho ground sandal for Shiva with his own arm when tools failed.
- MurugaThe saint of Tiruppugalur, gatherer of flowers for worship.
N
- NagarjunaNagarjuna was the Buddhist philosopher who founded the Madhyamaka school, arguing that all ph…
- NalaNala is the vānara engineer in the Rāmāyaṇa, a son of the divine architect Viśvakarman, who b…
- Nami Nandi AdigalWho lit the temple lamps with water when oil was denied.
- NammalvarThe foremost Ālvār;
- NandanarThe labourer-saint of humble birth who entered the Chidambaram shrine.
- NaradaThe wandering divine sage and musician;
- Narāntaka and DevāntakaNarāntaka and Devāntaka are sons of Rāvaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa who fought in the great sortie aft…
- Narasimhadeva INarasimhadeva I (r.
- Narasinga MuniyaraiyarThe chieftain who fostered the young saint Sundarar.
- Neem Karoli BabaNeem Karoli Baba (c.
- NeminathaNeminatha is the twenty-second tirthankara of Jain tradition, whose narrative connects the Ja…
- Nesa NayanarThe weaver who clothed Shiva’s devotees.
- NīlaNīla is the commander-in-chief of the vānara army in the Rāmāyaṇa, a son of the fire god, who…
- Ninra Seer NedumaaraThe Pandya king restored to Śaivism by Sambandar.
P
- Pakudha KaccayanaPakudha Kaccayana was a teacher of the Buddha's period who held that reality consists of seve…
- PaniniPanini was an ancient Sanskrit grammarian of Gandhara, active around the 4th century BCE, who…
- Panj PyareThe Panj Pyare are the five men who answered Guru Gobind Singh's call at Anandpur in 1699 and…
- ParasharaSage-father of Vyāsa;
- ParshvanathaParshvanatha was the twenty-third tirthankara of Jain tradition, and the earliest for whom hi…
- PatanjaliCodifier of the Yoga Sūtras;
- PeriyalvarThe “great Ālvār”;
- Perumizhalai KurumbaSaint of Perumizhalai, devoted to Shiva’s servants.
- Pey AlvarThe third of the earliest three;
- Poigai AlvarFirst of the three earliest Ālvārs;
- PrahastaPrahasta is Rāvaṇa's chief minister and commander-in-chief in the Rāmāyaṇa, held back until t…
- Pugal CholaA Chola king and Nāyanār.
- Pugazh ThunaiThe saint who clung to Shiva through utter poverty.
- Purana KassapaPurana Kassapa was a teacher contemporary with the Buddha, reported as holding that actions h…
- PusalarWho built a temple to Shiva entirely in his mind.
R
- Raja DahirRaja Dahir (r.
- Rajendra PrasadRajendra Prasad was an Indian independence movement leader and Congress politician from Bihar…
- Ram Prasad BismilRam Prasad Bismil was a revolutionary nationalist and Hindi and Urdu poet who co-founded the…
- RāmaRāma is the prince of Ayodhyā at the centre of the Rāmāyaṇa, exiled for fourteen years by his…
- Rana SangaRana Sanga (Sangram Singh, r.
- Ranjit SinghRanjit Singh was the founder and ruler of the Sikh Empire, who unified the Punjab from the mi…
- RāvaṇaRāvaṇa is the ten-headed rākṣasa king of Laṅkā in the Rāmāyaṇa, a brahmin's son, a scholar an…
- Reginald DyerReginald Dyer was the British Indian Army officer who ordered troops to fire on an unarmed cr…
- Richard Bourke, Lord MayoRichard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, was Viceroy of India from 1869 to 1872, remembered for admi…
- Richard WellesleyRichard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, was Governor-General of British India from 1798 to…
- RishabhanathaRishabhanatha is the first tirthankara of the present cycle in Jain tradition, credited with…
- Robert CliveRobert Clive was a British East India Company military officer and administrator whose victor…
- ṚśyaśṛṅgaṚśyaśṛṅga is the antelope-horned ascetic of the Rāmāyaṇa, raised without ever seeing a woman,…
- Rudra PasupathiWho stood neck-deep in water reciting the sacred hymns.
- Rufus Isaacs, Lord ReadingRufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician who…
- RumāRumā is the wife of Sugrīva in the Rāmāyaṇa, taken by his brother Vālī after he drove him out…
S
- ŚabarīŚabarī is the forest ascetic of the Rāmāyaṇa who waited at Lake Pampā on her teachers' word t…
- SadaiyaFather of Sundarar, honoured among the saints.
- Sagara and the descent of the GaṅgāSagara and his sixty thousand sons are the ancestors of Rāma in a story told within the Rāmāy…
- SakkiyaA former Buddhist who worshipped Shiva by casting a stone each day.
- SambandarChild prodigy poet-saint who lived only sixteen years.
- SambhajiSambhaji Bhosale (1657–1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, son and succes…
- ŚambūkaŚambūka is the śūdra ascetic in the Rāmāyaṇa's seventh book whom Rāma beheads for performing…
- SampātiSampāti is the elder vulture brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, wingless since he shielded Jaṭāyu from…
- Sanjaya BelatthiputtaSanjaya Belatthiputta was a sceptical teacher of the Buddha's time, characterised in the Pali…
- ŚāntāŚāntā is the princess of Aṅga in the Rāmāyaṇa, given in marriage to the ascetic Ṛśyaśṛṅga whe…
- SaptarishiThe seven great seers of the age: Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Bh…
- ŚarabhaṅgaŚarabhaṅga is the sage of the Daṇḍaka forest in the Rāmāyaṇa who kept Brahmā's world waiting…
- SaramāSaramā is the rākṣasī of the Rāmāyaṇa who befriended Sītā in captivity, exposed Rāvaṇa's illu…
- Sarojini NaiduSarojini Naidu was a poet and nationalist leader who became a prominent figure in the Indian…
- ŚatrughnaŚatrughna is the youngest of the four brothers of the Rāmāyaṇa, Lakṣmaṇa's twin and Bharata's…
- SattiThe saint who silenced slander of Shiva’s devotees.
- SeruthunaiWho punished an insult to a devotee without hesitation.
- ShashankaShashanka (r.
- ShivajiShivaji Bhonsle (1630–1680) was the founder of the Maratha Empire, crowned Chhatrapati in 167…
- ShukraVenus;
- SirappuliThe brahmin saint of Tiruvakkarai.
- SiruthondarThe general of Narasiṃhavarman who cooked his own son at Shiva’s test.
- SītāSītā is the wife of Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa, found by King Janaka in a furrow, carried off by Rā…
- Somasi MaraThe brahmin who performed the soma sacrifices for Shiva.
- SthulabhadraSthulabhadra was a Jain teacher who, tradition holds, convened the council at Pataliputra tha…
- SubāhuSubāhu is the rākṣasa in the Rāmāyaṇa who with Mārīca defiled Viśvāmitra's sacrifices, and wh…
- Subhas Chandra BoseSubhas Chandra Bose (1897–1945) was a Bengali nationalist leader who broke with Mahatma Gandh…
- SugrīvaSugrīva is the vānara king of Kiṣkindhā in the Rāmāyaṇa, driven out by his brother Vālī over…
- Śuka and SāraṇaŚuka and Sāraṇa are Rāvaṇa's spies in the Rāmāyaṇa, caught counting the besieging army, relea…
- SumantraSumantra is Daśaratha's charioteer and chief counsellor in the Rāmāyaṇa, who drove Rāma out o…
- SumitrāSumitrā is the middle queen of Daśaratha in the Rāmāyaṇa, mother of Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna, w…
- SundararThe last of the three foremost;
- ŚūrpaṇakhāŚūrpaṇakhā is Rāvaṇa's sister in the Rāmāyaṇa, who desired Rāma in the forest, was mocked and…
- Surya SenSurya Sen was a Bengali schoolteacher and revolutionary who organised and led the 1930 Chitta…
- SuṣeṇaSuṣeṇa is the vānara physician in the Rāmāyaṇa, father of Tārā, who identified the healing he…
- SutīkṣṇaSutīkṣṇa is the forest ascetic of the Rāmāyaṇa who offered Rāma the heaven he had earned by a…
- SvayamprabhāSvayamprabhā is the ascetic woman of the Rāmāyaṇa who guards an enchanted underground palace,…
T
- Tārā of KiṣkindhāTārā is the queen of Vālī in the Rāmāyaṇa, the shrewdest counsellor in Kiṣkindhā, who warned…
- TāṭakāTāṭakā is the yakṣī turned rākṣasī in the Rāmāyaṇa whose killing is the first act of violence…
- Thomas Babington MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay was a British historian, essayist and Whig politician who served as…
- Thomas Baring, Lord NorthbrookThomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook, was a British Liberal politician who served as Viceroy…
- Thondaradippodi Alvar“Dust of the devotees’ feet”;
- Tipu SultanTipu Sultan was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1782 to 1799, known both for his prol…
- Tiru Kurippu ThondaThe washerman ready to serve Shiva’s devotees at any cost.
- Tiru NeelakantaThe potter-saint, second in the traditional list.
- Tiru Nilakanta YazhpanarThe lute-player (yāḻ) who accompanied Sambandar’s hymns.
- Tirumangai AlvarA chieftain and reformed brigand turned prolific poet-saint.
- Tirumazhisai AlvarPoet-saint of Tirumazhisai;
- TirumularThe yogi-saint, author of the Tirumantiram.
- TiruneelanakkaThe brahmin saint of Tirumarugal.
- Tiruppaan AlvarOf the lowest caste, carried into the sanctum on a priest’s shoulders;
- TrijaṭāTrijaṭā is the rākṣasī in the Rāmāyaṇa who guards Sītā in the aśoka grove and protects her, r…
- TriśirasTriśiras is the three-headed rākṣasa of Khara's command in the Rāmāyaṇa who asked to face Rām…
- TulsīdāsTulsīdās was the sixteenth-century poet-saint who composed the Rāmcaritmānas, the Awadhi Rāmā…
U
- Udham SinghUdham Singh was a Punjabi revolutionary who assassinated former Punjab Lieutenant Governor Mi…
- UmasvatiUmasvati was the Jain philosopher who composed the Tattvartha Sutra, the systematic summary o…
- ŪrmilāŪrmilā is Sītā's sister and the wife of Lakṣmaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa, left in Ayodhyā for fourtee…
V
- VajradaṃṣṭraVajradaṃṣṭra is the rākṣasa general in the Rāmāyaṇa sent against the southern gate of Laṅkā a…
- VālīVālī is the vānara king of Kiṣkindhā in the Rāmāyaṇa, the strongest of his kind, who drove ou…
- Vallabhbhai PatelVallabhbhai Patel was an Indian independence leader and, as the country's first Deputy Prime…
- VālmīkiVālmīki is the sage to whom the Rāmāyaṇa is attributed, called the ādi-kavi or first poet, an…
- Vasco da GamaVasco da Gama was a Portuguese navigator who in 1498 became the first European to reach India…
- VasiṣṭhaVasiṣṭha is one of the seven great sages (saptarṣi) of Hindu tradition and, in the Rāmāyaṇa,…
- VasubandhuVasubandhu was a Buddhist philosopher of the fourth or fifth century CE who wrote the standar…
- VayilarWho worshipped Shiva in the temple of his own heart.
- VibhīṣaṇaVibhīṣaṇa is Rāvaṇa's youngest brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, who told him in open council to retur…
- Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of ElginVictor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin (1849-1917), served as Viceroy of India from 1894 to 1899, a…
- Victor Hope, Lord LinlithgowBritish Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943, the longest-serving Viceroy, whose tenure spanned…
- Vinayak Damodar SavarkarVinayak Damodar Savarkar was a nationalist revolutionary, writer and political ideologue whos…
- ViralmindaThe devotee zealous for the honour of Shiva’s servants.
- VishwamitraKing who became a brahmarṣi;
- ViśravasViśravas is the brahmin sage of the Rāmāyaṇa's seventh book who fathered both Kubera, the lor…
- ViśvāmitraViśvāmitra is the sage in the Rāmāyaṇa who took the boy Rāma from his father's house to guard…
- VyasaCompiler of the Vedas and author of the Mahābhārata.
W
- Warren HastingsWarren Hastings was a British East India Company administrator who served as the first Govern…
- William AmherstWilliam Pitt Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst, was Governor-General of India from 1823 to 1828, whos…
- William BentinckLord William Bentinck was Governor-General of India from 1828 to 1835, remembered chiefly for…