'Translations' by Sri Aurobindo - Page 1 of 30   Act III   Scene I. — Hermitage of the Saint Bharat in Heaven. Galava and Pelava.   GALAVA Pelava, thee the Sage admitted, happier Chosen, to that great audience in the house Of highest Indra, — I meanwhile must watch The sacred flame; inform my absence. Was The divine session with the acting pleased?   PELAVA Of pleased I know not; this I well could see They sat all lost in that poetic piece Of Saraswatie, "Luxmie's Choice", — breathlessly Identified themselves with every mood. But —   GALAVA Ah, that but! It opens doors to censure.   PEL

An Aryan City   PROSE VERSION   Coshala named, a mighty country there was, swollen and glad; seated on the banks of the Sarayu it abounded in wealth & grain; and there was the city Ayodhya famed throughout the triple world, built by Manu himself, lord of men. Twelve leagues was the beautiful mighty city in its length, three in its breadth; large & clear-cut were its streets, and a vast clear-cut highroad adorned it that ever was sprinkled with water and strewn freely with flowers. Dasaratha increasing a mighty nation peopled that city, like a king of the gods in his heavens; a town of arched gateways he made it, and wide were the spaces between its shops; full w

  The Birth of the War-God   EDITORS' NOTE   In the first and third versions of this translation, Sri Aurobindo left some lines or parts of lines blank, apparently with the intention of returning to them later. Such incomplete portions are indicated by square brackets enclosing a blank of appropriate size.   The Birth of the War-God STANZAIC RENDERING OF THE OPENING OF CANTO I   1   A god mid hills northern Himaloy rears His snow-piled summits' dizzy majesties, And in the eastern and the western seas He bathes his giant sides; lain down appears Measuring the dreaming earth in an enormous ease.

'Translations' by Sri Aurobindo Page 1 of 10 Note on the Texts   Note on the Texts   Fluent in English from his childhood, Sri Aurobindo mastered five other languages — French, Latin, Greek, Sanskrit and Bengali — and learned something of seven others — Italian, German, Spanish, Hindi/ Hindustani, Gujarati, Marathi and Tamil. On numerous occasions over a period of half a century he translated works and passages written in several of these languages. The present volume contains all Sri Aurobindo's translations from Sanskrit, Bengali, Tamil, Greek and Latin into English, with the exception of his translations from the Rig Veda and the Upanishads. (His Vedic and Upanishadic t

  Section Four   Disciples and Others   Hymn to India   India, my India, where first human eyes awoke to heavenly light, All Asia's holy place of pilgrimage, great Motherland of might! World-mother, first giver to humankind of philosophy and sacred lore, Knowledge thou gav'st to man, God-love, works, art, religion's opened door.   India, my India, who dare call thee a thing for pity's grace today? Mother of wisdom, worship, works, nurse of the spirit's inward ray!   To thy race, O India, God himself once sang the Song of Songs divine, Upon thy dust Gouranga danced and drank God-love's mysterious wine,

  Mother India   1   Mother India, when Thou rosest from the depths of oceans hoary, Love and joy burst forth unbounded, life acclaimed Thee in Thy glory; Darkness fled before Thy splendour, light its radiant flag unfurled. All acclaimed Thee, "Hail, O Mother! Fosterer, Saviour of the world!" Earth became thrice-blessed by the rose of beauty of Thy feet; Blithe, she chanted: "Hail, World-Charmer! Hail, World-Mother! Thee I greet."   2   Damp from ocean's kiss Thy raiment, from its waves still drip Thy tresses. Greatness spans Thy brow, and flower-like lucent-pure Thy smiling face is. Sun and moon and stars go d

'Translations' by Sri Aurobindo - Page 1 of 30 APPENDIX   Prefatory Note on Bhartrihari   BHARTRIHARI'S Century of Morals (Nitishataka), a series of poetical epigrams or rather sentences upon human life and conduct grouped loosely round a few central ideas, stands as the first of three similar works by one Master. Another Century touches with a heavy hand Sringar, sexual attraction; the third expresses with admirable beauty of form and intensity of feeling the sentiment of Vairagya, World-disgust, which, before & since Buddha, has figured so largely in Indian life. In a striking but quite superficial manner these brief stanzas remind us of the Greek epigram in the most masterly

  Section Two   Bankim Chandra Chatterjee   Hymn to the Mother Bande Mataram   Mother, I bow to thee! Rich with thy hurrying streams, Bright with thy orchard gleams, Cool with thy winds of delight, Dark fields waving, Mother of might, Mother free. Glory of moonlight dreams Over thy branches and lordly streams, — Clad in thy blossoming trees, Mother, giver of ease, Laughing low and sweet! Mother, I kiss thy feet, Speaker sweet and low! Mother, to thee I bow.   Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands, When the swords flash out in twice seventy million hands And seventy mil

  Hexameters from Homer   Down he fell with a thud and his armour clangoured upon him.   *   Down from the peaks of Olympus he went, wrath vexing his heart-strings.   *   Down from the peaks of Olympus she went impetuously darting.   *   Silent he walked by the shore of the many-rumoured Ocean.   Page – 606  

  Selected Poems of Bidyapati   1   Wherever her twin fair feet found room There the flowers of the water bloom; Wherever her golden body shone, There have the waves of lightning gone. Wonderful beauty, golden-sweet, How in my heart hast thou set thy feet! Wherever her eyes have opened bright, The bloom of the lotus burns its light; Wherever her musical laugh has flown Need of the nectar is not known; Wherever her shy curved glances rove, There are ten thousand arrows of love; Eyes, for a little your orbs did see! In the three worlds now there is none but she. O shall I see her ever aga