Publisher's Synopsis
Sri Aurobindo speaks of the Legend of Savitri belonging to the Vedic cycle. It is quickly stated in just a couple of verses in the Rig Veda, for instance, Mandala X Sukta 72 Richas 8-9, Metre Anushtubha; Rishi Loukya Brihaspati: अष्टौ पुत्रासो अदितेर्ये जातास्तन्वस्परि - देवाँ उप प्रैत्सप्तभिः परा मार्ताण्डमास्यत् --8--सप्तभिः पुत्रैरदितिरुप प्रैत्पूर्व्यं युगम् - प्रजायै मृत्यवे त्वत्पुनर्मार्ताण्डमाभरत् --9--From the body of Aditi sprang to life eight sons. With seven she went to meet the Gods and cast far away the eighth, Martanda. [8]Aditi in the earlier age went forth with her seven sons to meet the Gods. But as a mortal coming to life and dying to be brought to them she left Martanda here. [9]This is a very terse if not for us an obscure account but perhaps the race of the Age understood it immediately. But later the touch with its symbolism and intuition, with its esotericism weakened and it remained sealed in a mystical-symbolic language through the toiling millennia. Surprisingly, even during the long Upanishadic centuries its significance and the theme of the conquest of death, of immortality in the evolutionary terrestrial creation, did not find its mention in them, one does not hear in them its echoes in any rich and wonderful voice of the period, of that spirituality.However, something definite and pretty essential has been recovered and presented by Rishi-Poet Vyasa in the Story of Savitri given to us by him. It appears to be one of his quite early poetic creations written in the "morning of his genius" which matured up in the course of time. Later the story got neatly incorporated in the mammoth of Mahabharata. In it Rishi Markandeya narrates it, by way of an illustration, to the exiled Yudhishthira as how righteous conduct proves rewarding.In the Mahabharata the narration comes as an Upakhyana, a minor Episode. It runs into seven Cantos of the Book of the Forest, Vana Parva, Chapters 293-299, 300 shlokas or stanzas, with Pativrata Mahatmya as a sub-title in the Gorakhpur Gita Press publication. The present verse-by-verse rendering into English was first serialised about three decades ago in Mother India, a monthly review of culture published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry; it also included a critique of Vyasa's work in the form of an essay titled "Some Perspectives of the Savitri Upakhyana". The work came out as a book in 1996. We are glad that Savitri Foundation is to reissue it as a part of its series of publications dealing with various facets of Sri Aurobindo's epic Savitri.In the poetry of this little tale by Vyasa we already begin to see the quality of his style that is bare and austere and unornamented, robust, masculine, the verses lifted up by a forceful and unerring intellect and the substance carrying the quiet compact strength of his phrase and idiom and diction. Whatever is there is most often poetically functional, is aimed, holding to the dictum of manner shaped and formed by matter. Bearing its full charge the swift epic movement of the tale unerringly courses with unhampered speed and momentum, reluctant to linger in any purely lyrical description. It has even those early suggestive pointers of a masterpiece in the making. The original text of Savitri by Vyasa has the dignity of substance, dignity of style, dignity of creative delight, dignity of rhythm, dignity of noble vision, dignity of righteousness as a dictum in the conduct of life, a remarkable literary creation. There is all where a general overhead poetic atmosphere. In it the idea-force and idea-seeds of the spiritual perception and truth-knowledge are golden and bright.
