Subba Row Medal

In December 27-29, 1883, during the Convention of the Theosophical Society at Adyar instituted the Subba Row Medal, to be awarded to any Theosophical writer producing the best essay on any of the following subjects:

Medal awarded to Mary K. Neff

Reverse side of medal

• Aryan Occult Science and Philosophy
• Buddhist Esoteric Philosophy
• Chaldean Esoteric Science and Philosophy and Zoroastrianism
• Jewish Kabbalah and Esoteric Interpretation of the Christian Religion

A fund was established that year to cover the costs of creating a mold and striking the medals. Over the years the medal was no longer awarded for essays, but for major contributions to the body Theosophical literature. The design of the medal shows the Hindu goddess Saraswati on the reverse side, symbolizing knowledge, arts, and music.

In 1891 it was resolved "that the medal be awarded at each Annual Convention to the author of the most valuable contribution of the year to theosophical literature, either by translation into English or by original composition."

Recipients

Year	Recipient
1885	P. Srinivasa Rao
1888	Helena Petrovna Blavatsky for her articles on "The Esoteric Character of the Gospels"
1895	Annie Besant for her Convention Lectures of 1894
1896	Alfred Percy Sinnett
1897	C. W. Leadbeater
1898	G. R. S. Mead
1899	William Scott-Elliot (W. Williamson) for The Great Law
1900	Bhagavan Das
1906	Théophile Pascal; medal presented at Third Federated European Congress in Paris
1909	Rudolf Steiner
1911	Jiddu Krishnamurti for At the Feet of the Master
1912	F. Otto Schrader
1913	Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa
1923	Purnendu Narayan Sinha
1924	Ernest Wood
1925	J. J. van der Leeuw
1934	Helena Fedorovna Pissareva for The Hidden Sense of Life
1935	George S. Arundale
1936	J. Émile Marcault
1938	Josephine Ransom
1939	Darab Dinsha Kanga
1940	Edward L. Gardner
1941	Hirendranath Datta
1942	James Cousins
1943	Bhikku Āryāsaṅga
1945	Mary K. Neff
1946	G. Srinivasa Murti
1949	L. W. Rogers
1951	N. Sri Ram
1952	Elizabeth Preston
1954	Geoffrey Hodson
1955	Rohit Mehta
1956	Clara Codd
1975	I. K. Taimni
1976	E. Lester Smith
1981	Boris de Zirkoff
1990	Virginia Hanson
1995	Geoffrey A. Farthing
1995	Hugh Shearman
2010	Joy Mills
2013	Radha Burnier
2014	John Algeo
2020	A. T. Barker

Additional resources

• Subba Row Medal in Theosophy World