Book Six. The Book of Fate
| Music | Book Six. Canto One:The Word of Fate |
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001 In silent bounds bordering the mortal’s plane 002 Crossing a wide expanse of brilliant peace 003 Narad the heavenly sage from Paradise 004 Came chanting through the large and lustrous air. |
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077 As darts a lightning streak, a glory fell 078 Nearing until the rapt eyes of the sage 079 Looked out from luminous cloud and, strangely limned, 080 His face, a beautiful mask of antique joy, 081 Appearing in light descended where arose 082 King Aswapati’s palace to the winds 083 In Madra, flowering up in delicate stone. |
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096 He sang to them of the lotus-heart of love 097 With all its thousand luminous buds of truth, 098 Which quivering sleeps veiled by apparent things. |
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107 Even as he sang and rapture stole through earth-time 108 And caught the heavens, came with a call of hooves, 109 As of her swift heart hastening, Savitri; 110 Her radiant tread glimmered across the floor. . . . 118 She stood before her mighty father’s throne . . . 123 He flung on her his vast immortal look; 124 His inner gaze surrounded her with its light |
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160 What feet of gods, what ravishing flutes of heaven 161 Have thrilled high melodies round, from near and far 162 Approaching through the soft and revelling air, 163 Which still surprised thou hearest? They have fed 164 Thy silence on some red strange-ecstasied fruit 165 And thou hast trod the dim moon-peaks of bliss. 166 Reveal, O winged with light, whence thou hast flown 167 Hastening bright-hued through the green tangled earth, 168 Thy body rhythmical with the spring-bird’s call. |
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214 But Aswapati answered to the seer; - 280 As grows the great and golden bounteous tree 281 Flowering by Alacananda’s murmuring waves, 282 Where with enamoured speed the waters run 283 Lisping and babbling to the splendour of morn 284 And cling with lyric laughter round the knees 285 Of heaven’s daughters dripping magic rain 286 Pearl-bright from moon-gold limbs and cloudy hair, 287 So are her dawns like jewelled leaves of light, 288 So casts she her felicity on men. |
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325 Virgin who comest perfected by joy, 326 Reveal the name thy sudden heart-beats learned. 327 Whom hast thou chosen, kingliest among men?” 328 And Savitri answered with her still calm voice 329 As one who speaks beneath the eyes of Fate: 330 “Father and king, I have carried out thy will. 331 One whom I sought I found in distant lands; 332 I have obeyed my heart, I have heard its call. . . . 339 My father, I have chosen. This is done.” |
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340 Astonished, all sat silent for a space. 341 Then Aswapati looked within and saw 342 A heavy shadow float above the name 343 Chased by a sudden and stupendous light; |
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391 But now the queen alarmed lifted her voice: 392 “O seer, thy bright arrival has been timed 393 To this high moment of a happy life; . . . 512 Hide not from us our doom, if doom is ours. 513 This is the worst, an unknown face of Fate, 514 A terror ominous, mute, felt more than seen 515 Behind our seat by day, our couch by night, 516 A Fate lurking in the shadow of our hearts, 517 The anguish of the unseen that waits to strike. 518 To know is best, however hard to bear.” |
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519 Then cried the sage piercing the mother’s heart, 520 Forcing to steel the will of Savitri, 521 His words set free the spring of cosmic Fate. . . . 531 “The truth thou hast claimed; I give to thee the truth. 586 Heaven’s greatness came, but was too great to stay. 587 Twelve swift-winged months are given to him and her; 588 This day returning Satyavan must die.” |
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590 But the queen cried: “Vain then can be heaven’s grace! . . . 596 Mounting thy car go forth, O Savitri, 597 And travel once more through the peopled lands. . . . 605 Plead not thy choice, for death has made it vain. . . . 609 But Savitri answered from her violent heart,- . . . 611 “Once my heart chose and chooses not again. 612 The word I have spoken can never be erased, 613 It is written in the record book of God. |
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638 “O child, in the magnificence of thy soul 639 Dwelling on the border of a greater world 640 And dazzled by thy superhuman thoughts, 641 Thou lendst eternity to a mortal hope. . . . 680 Thou who art human, think not like a god. 681 For man, below the god, above the brute, 682 Is given the calm reason as his guide; . . . 698 Leave not thy goal to follow a beautiful face. |
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718 But Savitri replied with steadfast eyes: . . . 748 If for a year, that year is all my life. 749 And yet I know this is not all my fate 750 Only to live and love awhile and die. 751 For I know now why my spirit came on earth 752 And who I am and who he is I love. 753 I have looked at him from my immortal Self, 754 I have seen God smile at me in Satyavan; 755 I have seen the Eternal in a human face.” |
| Music | Book Six. Canto Two:The Way of Fate and the Problem of Pain |
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190 Then after a silence Narad made reply: 191 Tuning his lips to earthly sound he spoke, . . . 273 Implacable in the passion of their will, 274 Lifting the hammers of titanic toil 275 The demiurges of the universe work; 276 They shape with giant strokes their own; their sons 277 Are marked with their enormous stamp of fire. |
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298 The Eternal suffers in a human form, 299 He has signed salvation’s testament with his blood: 300 He has opened the doors of his undying peace. . . . 329 How shall he cure the ills he never felt? . . . 335 He carries the suffering world in his own breast; |
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400 “Hard is the world-redeemer’s heavy task; . . . 489 He must enter the eternity of Night 490 And know God’s darkness as he knows his Sun. 491 For this he must go down into the pit, 492 For this he must invade the dolorous Vasts. 493 Imperishable and wise and infinite, 494 He still must travel Hell the world to save. |
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527 Haste not towards Godhead on a dangerous road, 528 Open not thy doorways to a nameless Power, 529 Climb not to Godhead by the Titan’s road. 530 Against the Law he pits his single will, 531 Across its way he throws his pride of might. 532 Heavenward he clambers on a stair of storms 533 Aspiring to live near the deathless sun. |
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603 Bear; thou shalt find at last thy road to bliss. 604 Bliss is the secret stuff of all that lives, . . . 613 Indifference, pain and joy, a triple disguise, 614 Attire of the rapturous Dancer in the ways, 615 Withhold from thee the body of God’s bliss. |
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620 "O mortal who complainst of death
and fate, . . . 623 Thou art thyself the author of thy pain. 624 Once in the immortal boundlessness of Self, 625 In a vast of Truth and Consciousness and Light 626 The soul looked out from its felicity. . . . 630 Then, curious of a shadow thrown by Truth, 631 It strained towards some otherness of self, 632 It was drawn to an unknown Face peering through night. . . . 653 As one drawn by the grandeur of the Void 654 The soul attracted leaned to the Abyss: |
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677 A huge descent began, a giant fall: 678 For what the spirit sees, creates a truth 679 And what the soul imagines is made a world. |
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689 Then Aswapati answered to the seer: . . . 694 I deemed a mighty Power had come with her; 695 Is not that Power the high compeer of Fate?” 696 But Narad answered covering truth with truth: . . . 856 A day may come when she must stand unhelped 857 On a dangerous brink of the world’s doom and hers, 858 Carrying the world’s future on her lonely breast, 859 Carrying the human hope in a heart left sole 860 To conquer or fail on a last desperate verge, |
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898 He spoke and ceased and left the earthly scene. 899 Away from the strife and suffering on our globe, 900 He turned towards his far-off blissful home. 901 A brilliant arrow pointing straight to heaven, 902 The luminous body of the ethereal seer 903 Assailed the purple glory of the noon 904 And disappeared like a receding star 905 Vanishing into the light of the Unseen. |