SUMMARY OF BOOK SIX CANTO I THE WORD OF FATE Narad, the sage, from Paradise came chanting through the air "bordering the mortal's plane". He came attracted by the golden summar-earth that lay like a bowl "tilted upon a table of the Gods" He came from happy paths of the immortals "to a world of toil and quest and grief and hope", of death and life. From Mind he passed to Matter. He passed through a sea of ether and then through "primal air", from there he went through the "creative fire" and saw its triple power "to build and form". "He beheld the cosmic Being at his task" and "the eternal labour of the Gods". Then a change of mood came over Narad:

SUMMARY OF BOOK ELEVEN THE BOOK OF EVERLASTING DAY CANTO ONE THE ETERNAL DAY: THE SOUL'S CHOICE AND SUPREME CONSUMMATION NOW God's everlasting day surrounded Savitri: She lived in the finite fronts of Infinity—they were ever new to an everlasting sight. Delights, grandeur, powers, scenes, forms—all came from the eternal Source. Night was impossible there. It was "a march of universal power in Time" harbouring a cosmic rapture in endless figuring of the spirit. Of all that was there "eternity was the substance and the source". All occult planes were seen and found active: "seven immortal earths", ''homes of the blest", pastures of eter

SUMMARY OF BOOK NINE THE BOOK OF ETERNAL NIGHT CANTO I TOWARDS THE BLACK VOID So Savitri was "left alone in the huge wood", "her husband's corps on her forsaken breast". She did not weep, nor did she rise to face the dreadful god of Death. She felt "as if her mind had died with Satyavan". She elapsed closely the lifeless form of Satyavan. Then suddenly a change came over her—as it happens sometimes to the human soul—the veil was torn and then "the thinker is no more, only the spirit sees" and "all is known". "Then a calm Power seated above our brows is seen". It is "immobile", "it moves Nature, looks on life". "Then all this living mortal clay" "Is

APPENDIX III SAVITRI VOL. II "Then Spring, an ardent lover, leaped through leaves". —Book IV, Canto I. Compare: Tagore's song to the "Spring". "Hetâ sapane Shyam dekhâdile boneri kinâre". "To see her was a summons to adore, To be near her drew a high communion's force." —Book IV, Canto 2. Compare: Four aspects of the Mother—"Mother" Ch. VI. "This transient earthly being if he wills Can fit his acts to a transcendent scheme". —Book IV, Canto .3 Compare: "A magic leverage suddenly is caught, That moves the veiled Ineffable's timeless will: A prayer, a master act, a king idea Can link man's strength to a transcendent

CANTO VI THE KINGDOMS AND GODHEADS OF THE GREATER LIFE From the region of the lower vital plane where Aswapathy found the denial of the highest possibilities of man he came up to the kingdoms of the higher vital where he found at least "a dubious hope". There was in this plane of consciousness a possibility of self-finding, a sureness of form, adventure of the mind and choice of the human heart, "And a touch of sure delight in unsure things". In this higher vital world there was always the zest: of achievement, of trial and dream but none of these things ever fulfilled itself. For "To achieve would have destroyed that magic Space". They were worlds of mar

PART - TWO SUMMARY OF BOOK ONE BOOK one contains five Cantos. It opens with the Symbol-Night which turns into the Symbol-Dawn. It figures the very beginning of the Universe from the Night of Nescience to the awakening of the Dawn of the Spirit. In sublime and cosmic sweeps it covers the whole period of evolution and brings it up to the human stage. It focuses our attention on the fundamental problem of man in the situation of Sāvitrī, the main character of the poem, who is described here in short with her human-divine qualities. We yet know nothing about the life of Savitri on earth. Suddenly we find this human-divine heroine brought face to face with the centra

IV "SAVITRI" AS POETIC EXPRESSION THE origin of poetry according to modern ideas lies in the primitive peoples' faith in the power of words, or more properly, in their faith in the mystic power of incantation. The primitive people believed that they were surrounded by forces which were not physical and that it was possible to connect themselves with those supra physical forces in order to fulfil some of their desires. Thus it was accepted even by the uncivilised man that life was surrounded and influenced by super-life and that it was possible for him by incantation to influence those beings of the super-life so as to secure their helpful interventio

SUMMARY OF BOOK TEN THE BOOK OF DOUBLE TWILIGHT CANTO ONE THE DREAM TWILIGHT OF THE IDEAL IN the black dream there was no change nor even any hope of change, —all was darkness. It was "positive Non-Being's purposeless Vast." Savitri there was like "an ineffectual beam of suffering light". The will-to-be seemed there "the original sin" for which Savitri must atone. The greatest sin was to think that being "made of dust" she could equal heaven, to claim "to be a living fire of God", to harbour "the will to be immortal and divine". In that region of darkness "a great Negation was the Real's face. "Prohibiting the vain process of Time." Thus it seem

PREFACE The first edition of this book was published in 1952. In this book I have taken the opportunity of bringing under one cover the whole of epic, Savitri. Three or four topics have been added before the story of the Second part of Savitri: Yoga of Aswapathy and the Yoga of Savitri. A short story of "Overhead planes and esthetics" has also been included so that the reader may see all poetry from another view-point. Even though readers of poetry in England have not as yet come to realise the value of Sri Aurobindo's contribution, I believe that time will come when that will happen. "Savitri" is a great epic which ushers in a new age in poetic creation. Being a masterpie

SRI AUROBINDO ON SAVITRI APPENDIX I Relevant Quotations from letters throwing light on the history of Savitri and its quality. "Savitri was originally written many years ago before the Mother came, as a narrative poem in two parts. Part I Earth and Part II Beyond (these two parts are still extant in the scheme, each of four Books—or rather Part II consisted of three books and an epilogue). Twelve books to an epic is a classical superstition, but new Savitri may extend to ten Books—if much is added in the final revision it may be even twelve. The first Book has been lengthening and lengthening out....As for the second Part, I have not tou