Book Nine. The Book of Eternal Night
| Music | Book Nine. Canto One:Towards the Black Void |
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016 Then suddenly there came on her the change 017 Which in tremendous moments of our lives 018 Can overtake sometimes the human soul 019 And hold it up towards its luminous source. 020 The veil is torn, the thinker is no more: 021 Only the spirit sees and all is known. 022 Then a calm Power seated above our brows 023 Is seen, unshaken by our thoughts and deeds, 024 Its stillness bears the voices of the world: 025 Immobile, it moves Nature, looks on life. . . . 047 This in a moment’s depths was born in her. |
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054 Like one who looks up to far heights she saw, 055 Ancient and strong as on a windless summit 056 Above her where she had worked in her lone mind 057 Labouring apart in a sole tower of self, 058 The source of all which she had seemed or wrought, . . . 073 That mightiness assumed a symbol form: 074 Her being’s spaces quivered with its touch, 075 It covered her as with immortal wings; |
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084 All in her mated with that mighty hour, 085 As if the last remnant had been slain by Death 086 Of the humanity that once was hers. . . . 107 A moment yet she lingered motionless 108 And looked down on the dead man at her feet; |
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109 Then like a tree recovering from a wind 110 She raised her noble head; fronting her gaze 111 Something stood there, unearthly, sombre, grand, 112 A limitless denial of all being 113 That wore the terror and wonder of a shape. |
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130 The two opposed each other with their eyes, 131 Woman and universal god: around her, 132 Piling their void unbearable loneliness 133 Upon her mighty uncompanioned soul, 134 Many inhuman solitudes came close. |
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179 The dim and awful godhead rose erect 180 From his brief stooping to his touch on earth, 181 And, like a dream that wakes out of a dream, 182 Forsaking the poor mould of that dead clay, 183 Another luminous Satyavan arose, 184 Starting upright from the recumbent earth 185 As if someone over viewless borders stepped 186 Emerging on the edge of unseen worlds. |
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202 Between two realms he stood, not wavering, 203 But fixed in quiet strong expectancy, 204 Like one who, sightless, listens for a command. 205 So were they immobile on that earthly field, 206 Powers not of earth, though one in human clay. . . . 212 Luminous he moved away; behind him Death |
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261 Into a deep and unfamiliar air 262 Enormous, windless, without stir or sound 263 They seemed to enlarge away, drawn by some wide 264 Pale distance, from the warm control of earth 265 And her grown far: now, now they would escape. 266 Then flaming from her body’s nest alarmed 267 Her violent spirit soared at Satyavan. |
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321 Enigma of the Inconscient’s sculptural sleep, 322 Symbols of the approach to darkness old 323 And monuments of her titanic reign, |
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331 Then, to that chill sere heavy line arrived 332 Where his feet touched the shadowy marches’ brink, 333 Turning arrested luminous Satyavan 334 Looked back with his wonderful eyes at Savitri. 335 But Death pealed forth his vast abysmal cry: 336 “O mortal, turn back to thy transient kind; 337 Aspire not to accompany Death to his home, 338 As if thy breath could live where Time must die. |
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369 Still like a statue on its pedestal, 370 Lone in the silence and to vastness bared, 371 Against midnight’s dumb abysses piled in front 372 A columned shaft of fire and light she rose. |
| Music | Book Nine. Canto Two:The Journey in Eternal Night and the Voice of the Darkness |
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| download | Listen to Full Canto |
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016 The Woman first affronted the Abyss 017 Daring to journey through the eternal Night. 018 Armoured with light she advanced her foot to plunge 019 Into the dread and hueless vacancy; |
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132 Once more she heard the treading of a god, 133 And out of the dumb darkness Satyavan, 134 Her husband, grew into a luminous shade. . . . 138 Death missioned to the night his lethal call. 139 “This is my silent dark immensity, . . . 142 Entombing the vanity of life’s desires. 143 Hast thou beheld thy source, O transient heart, 144 And known from what the dream thou art was made? |
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222 At last she spoke; her voice was heard by Night: 223 “I bow not to thee, O huge mask of death, 224 Black lie of night to the cowed soul of man, . . . 227 Conscious of immortality I walk. . . . 247 First I demand whatever Satyavan, 248 My husband, waking in the forest’s charm 249 Out of his long pure childhood’s lonely dreams, 250 Desired and had not for his beautiful life. 251 Give, if thou must, or, if thou canst, refuse.” |
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252 Death bowed his head in scornful cold assent, . . . 255 Uplifting his disastrous voice he spoke: . . . 257 I yield to his blind father’s longing heart 258 Kingdom and power and friends and greatness lost 259 And royal trappings for his peaceful age, 260 The pallid pomps of man’s declining days, 261 The silvered decadent glories of life’s fall. |
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275 But Savitri answered the disdainful Shade: 276 “World-spirit, I was thy equal spirit born. . . . 278 I am immortal in my mortality. 279 I tremble not before the immobile gaze 280 Of the unchanging marble hierarchies 281 That look with the stone eyes of Law and Fate. 282 My soul can meet them with its living fire. . . . 296 Wherever thou leadst his soul I shall pursue.” |
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308 Against the Woman’s boundless heart arose 309 The almighty cry of universal Death. 310 “Hast thou god-wings or feet that tread my stars, 311 Frail creature with the courage that aspires, 312 Forgetting thy bounds of thought, thy mortal role? . . . 340 I will take from thee the black eternal grip: 341 Clasping in thy heart thy fate’s exiguous dole 342 Depart in peace, if peace for man is just.” |
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343 But Savitri answered meeting scorn with scorn, 344 The mortal woman to the dreadful Lord: 345 “Who is this God imagined by thy night, 346 Contemptuously creating worlds disdained, 347 Who made for vanity the brilliant stars? 348 Not he who has reared his temple in my thoughts 349 And made his sacred floor my human heart. 350 My God is will and triumphs in his paths, 351 My God is love and sweetly suffers all. . . . 360 Love’s golden wings have power to fan thy void: 361 The eyes of love gaze starlike through death’s night, 362 The feet of love tread naked hardest worlds. |
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371 Once more a Thought, a Word in the void arose 372 And Death made answer to the human soul: . . . 384 Wilt thou claim immortality, O heart, 385 Crying against the eternal witnesses 386 That thou and he are endless powers and last? 387 Death only lasts and the inconscient Void. . . . 394 All from my depths are born, they live by death; 395 All to my depths return and are no more. . . . 403 I, Death, am the one refuge of thy soul. |
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439 But Savitri replied to the dread Voice: 440 “O Death, who reasonest, I reason not, 441 Reason that scans and breaks, but cannot build 442 Or builds in vain because she doubts her work. 443 I am, I love, I see, I act, I will.” 444 Death answered her, one deep surrounding cry: 445 “Know also. Knowing, thou shalt cease to love . . . 449 But Savitri replied for man to Death: 450 “When I have loved for ever, I shall know. 451 Love in me knows the truth all changings mask. |
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466 Like one disdaining violent helpless words 467 From victim lips Death answered not again. 468 He stood in silence and in darkness wrapped, . . . 471 Half-seen in clouds appeared a sombre face; 472 Night’s dusk tiara was his matted hair, 473 The ashes of the pyre his forehead’s sign. |
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477 Around her rolled the shuddering waste of gloom, 478 Its swallowing emptiness and joyless death 479 Resentful of her thought and life and love. 480 Through the long fading night by her compelled, 481 Gliding half-seen on their unearthly path, 482 Phantasmal in the dimness moved the three. |