Tallapragada Subba Row

Who was Tallapragada Subba Row?

Tallapragada Subba Row was a Theosophist from a Hindu background and originally worked as a Vakil within the Indian justice system. His primary instructors in this field were Messrs. Grant and Laing, who saw to his establishment as a Vakil, a profession which became highly profitable for the time that he held it.

However, Subba Row's interest in the law paled when compared to the way he devoured philosophy, especially after an event in which he met two particular individuals. In 1882, he invited Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott to Madras, where he convinced them to make Adyar the permanent headquarters for the Theosophical Society. Prior to this meeting however, Subba Row was not known for any esoteric or mystical knowledge, even by his closest friends and parents. It was only after meeting the pair that he began to expound on metaphysics, astounding most of those who knew him.

Upon this meeting and thereafter, Subba Row became able to recite whatever passage was so request of him from the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and many other sacred texts of India. He had, apparently, never studied these things prior to the fateful meeting, and it is stated that when meeting Blavatsky and Damodar K. Mavalankar, all knowledge from his previous lives came flooding back.