Aurobindo & his wife Mrinalini, 1901.

Best part is she was a Girl from Shillong, and Aurobindo too expressed his displeasure in writing when Sylhet was separated from Bengal & attached to Assam.

Will cover soon, on our Shillong Girl, Mrinalini.

Shillong Connect of Aurobindo & Mrinalini.

Bhupal Chandra Bose, Sri Aurobindo’s father-in-law, belonged to the Jessore district (Now in Bangladesh).

Bhupal Chandra Basu, graduated from the Calcutta University (1881) and received an agricultural training as a State scholar +

+ at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, in England, and after his return to India, served for two years as a teacher in the Bangabasi School and College of which he was a joint founder with his lifelong friend Srijut Girish Chandra Bose, entered Government service +

+ in 1888 and after serving as an Agricultural Officer for 28 years in Bengal and Assam, retired in 1916 and settled down at Ranchi soon after his retirement.

During service his headquarters were for a year (1888-89) at Ranchi, then in Calcutta (1889-97) +

and finally for nineteen (19) years at Shillong (1897-1916), and Mrinalini spent portions of her life at all these places.

Thus the SHILLONG Connect.

She was born at Calcutta in a house in Eden Hospital Street (or lane), which with the entire lane was demolished after a year+

+ or two and merged in the extension grounds of the Calcutta Medical College.

Mrinalini spent her early childhood in Calcutta. She was at first educated under a private teacher, and soon after her father’s transfer to Shillong, she was sent down to Calcutta and +

+ lived as a boarder for nearly three years at the Brahmo Girls’ School until the time of her marriage to Aurobindo in April 1901.

More on Mrinalini Devi soon....

Mandana Misra & his wife Ubhaya Bharati Vs Adi Shankara.

“You do know that the sacred texts enjoin that a wife forms one-half of a husband’s body (ardhangini: ardha - half; angini - body). Therefore, by defeating my lord, you have but won over only half of him. +

+ Your victory can be complete only when you engage in debate with me also, and manage to prove yourself better.”

~ Ubhaya Bharati to Adi Shankara

Misra was a very accomplished ritualist, yet he seemed to lack some understanding of higher spiritual truths that Shankara seemed+

+to have experienced already. At the end of a long period, Mandana Misra was almost ready to accept defeat, when his wife, Ubhaya Bharati, declared that in order to defeat a man in debate the opponent should also defeat his wife.

Ubhaya Bharati was a learned scholar herself +

+ and a very clever one at that. Knowing very well that Shankara was a strict celibate, she asked him how can a sanyasi, who has no experience as a citizen, and a householder, claim complete knowledge? She immediately started discussing relationships and marital obligations.+

+Shankara confessed that he had absolutely no knowledge in this area, because he was a celibate. However, Ubhaya Bharati felt that she should give Shankara some time to study about this topic before resuming debate. Shankara immediately accepted the offer & left to start studies.

Through his yogic powers Shankara came to know of a certain king who was about to die. He instructed his disciples to preserve his body, which he temporarily left to enter the dying king’s body. The king happened to be a very evil man. Yet his wives were loyal to him and +

+ were in tears when the king was in his deathbed. Suddenly, when the king’s body woke up, one of the wives noticed that the king had recovered under rather mysterious circumstances and appeared to have become a changed man.

Shankara learnt from that woman, all that he needed+

+ to know about man-woman relationship and experiences. On his way out of the body he blessed that lady who had taught him so much. Empowered with this newfound knowledge, Shankara returned to resume the debate with Ubhaya Bharati. This time, he was clearly unbeatable. +

Ubhaya Bharati and Mandana Misra bowed their heads in humility and accepted defeat and became followers of Adi Shankara and staunch vedantins.

Mandana Misra was given Sanyasa dikha and was given name "Sureshwara". +

Shankara imparted to Mandana Misra the Mahavakya 'Tat tvam asi'. Shankara having thus brought the celebrated Mandana into his own fold started again on his mission.

Sri Sureshwaracharya was the most talented disciple of Shankara Bhagavatpada. +

+ He was placed as the First Head of Sringeri Sharada Peetham in the South, one of the Mutts established by Shankara. He was the greatest scholar after Shankara in those times. He was elder to Shankara in age. +

He is also called as "Vartikacharya." He wrote commentary on Shankara's Brahma Sutra Bhashyam, Dakshina Murthy Stotram..

Ubhaya Bharathi?

She wanted to finish her avatara & go back to her abode. Shankara prays to her & requests her to bless people on earth.

It's Ubhaya Bharathi who is considered to be blessing devotees as Sharadamba from Sringeri.

There is some context of above to this thread..