Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
SABCL 26
Fragment ID: 7966
Q: In the lines,
O Grace that flowest from the Master’s Will,
How fondly thou dost mitigate the power
Of utter summit for our volleyed sake...
What do you think of the turn “our volleyed sake”? Can it pass?
A: “For our valleyed sake” is a locution that offers fascinating possibilities but fails to sound English. One might risk, “Let fall some tears for my unhappy sake” in defiance of grammar or humourously, “Oh shed some sweat-drops for my corpulent sake”; but “valleyed sake” carries the principle of the ārṣa prayoga1 beyond the boundaries of the possible.
1 Rishi’s licence.