Beyrout

See Beirut. Beza. See Bèze , Théodore de. Bezaleel (be-zal'e-el). [Heb., 'in the shadow of God.'] The artificer who executed the works of art on the tabernacle. Bezaliel. In Dryden and Tate's satire "Absalom and Achitophel," a character meant for the Marquis of Worcester, afterward duke of Beaufort. He was noted for his devotion to learning. Bèze, or Besze (bāz), L. Beza (bē'zä), Théodore de. Born at Vézelay, France, June 24, 1519: died at Geneva, Oct. 13, 1605. A noted theologian, the succe or of Calvin as leader of the Reformed Church at Geneva. He studied the cla ics under the humanist Melchior Wolmar Or IMG:content-0236.png:[blocks in formation] cru it'; hence, as a term of contempt, 'a beggar, a needy person. Used by Shakspere in "2 Henry IV.," v. 3. Bhadrinath (bhä-dri-näth'), or Badrinath (bä-dri-näth'). A sacred town in Gurhwal, Hindu stan, 80 miles north of Almora. Bhagalpur (bhäg-al-pör'). A division in Behar, British India. Area, 20,492 square miles. Population, 8,063,160. Bhagalpur. A district in the Bhagalpur division, British India. Area, 4,226 square miles. Population (1891), 2,032,696. Bhagalpur. The chief town of Bhagalpur. Population (1891), 69,106. Bhagavadgita (bha"ga-vad-gē'tä). In Sanskrit literature, 'the song of Bhagavat, that is, the mystical doctrines sung by the adorable one,' a name of Krishna when identified with the Supreme Being. The author is unknown. He is supposed to have lived in India in the 1st or 2d century of our era. His poem was at an early date dignified by a place in the Mahabharata, but is of a much later date than the body of that epic. Its philosophy is eclectic, combining elements of the Sankhya, Yoga, and Vedanta systems with the later theory of Bhakti, or 'faith.' The whole composition is skilfully thrown into the form of a dramatic poem or dialogue, characterized by great loftine of thought and beauty of expre ion. The speakers are the two most important personages of the Mahabharata, Arjuna and Krishna. In the great war Krishna re fused to take up arms on either side, but consented to act as Arjuna's charioteer and to aid him with counsel. At the commencement of the Bhagavadgita the two armies are in battle array, when Arjuna is struck with comp une tion at the idea of fighting his way to a kingdom through the blood of his kindred. Krishna's reply is made the occasion of the dialogue which in fact constitutes the Bhagavadgita, the main design of which is to exalt the duties of caste above all other obligations, including the ties of friendship and affection, but at the same time to show that the practice of those duties is compatible with the self-mortification of the Yoga philosophy as well as with the deepest devotion to the Supreme Being, with whom Krishna claims to be identified. Bhagavatapurana (bhä"gä -va-tä-pö-ränä). The purana of Bhagavata' or Vishnu, a work of great celebrity in India, exercising a more powerful influence upon the opinions of the people than any of the other puranas. It consists of 18,000 verses, and is ascribed by Colebrooke to the grammarian Vopadeva, of about the 13th century A.D. Its most popular part, the tenth book, which narrates the history of Krishna, has been translated into many of the vernaculars of India. Bhairava (bhi'ra-va) (masc.), Bhairavi (-ve) (fem.). [Skt., 'the terrible.'] Names of Shiva and his wife Devi. The Bhairavas are eight inferior forms or manifestations of Shiva, all of them terrible. Bhamo (bhä-mō'). Atown in Burma, in British