Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
with Selected Hymns
A Hymn to Savitri
[The Rishi hymns the Sun-God as the source of divine knowledge and the creator of the inner worlds. To him, the Seer, the seekers of light yoke their mind and thoughts; he, the one knower of all forms of knowledge, is the one supreme ordainer of the sacrifice. He assumes all forms as the robes of his being and his creative sight and creates the supreme good and happiness for the two forms of life in the worlds. He manifests the heavenly world, shining in the path of the dawn of divine knowledge; in that path the other godheads follow him and it is his greatness of light that they make the goal of all their energies. He has measured out for us our earthly worlds by his power and greatness: but it is in the three worlds of light that he attains to his real greatness of manifestation in the rays of the divine sun; then he encompasses the night of our darkness with his being and his light and becomes Mitra who by his laws produces the luminous harmony of our higher and lower worlds. Of all our creation he is the one author, and by his forward marches he is its increaser until the whole world of our becoming grows full of his illumination.]
5.81.1
यु॒ञ्जते॒ मन॑ उ॒त यु॑ञ्जते॒ धियो॒ विप्रा॒ विप्र॑स्य बृह॒तो वि॑प॒श्चितः॑ ।
वि होत्रा॑ दधे वयुना॒विदेक॒ इन्म॒ही दे॒वस्य॑ सवि॒तुः परि॑ष्टुतिः ॥१॥
yuñjate manaḥ uta yuñjate dhiyaḥ viprāḥ viprasya bṛhataḥ vipaḥ-citaḥ
vi hotrāḥ dadhe vayuna-vit ekaḥ it mahī devasya savituḥ pari-stutiḥ
The illumined yoke their mind and they yoke their thoughts to the illumined godhead, to the vast, to the luminous in consciousness; the one knower of all manifestation of knowledge, he alone orders the things of the sacrifice. Great is the praise of Savitri, the creating godhead.
5.81.2
विश्वा॑ रू॒पाणि॒ प्रति॑ मुञ्चते क॒विः प्रासा॑वीद्भ॒द्रं द्वि॒पदे॒ चतु॑ष्पदे ।
वि नाक॑मख्यत्सवि॒ता वरे॒ण्योऽनु॑ प्र॒याण॑मु॒षसो॒ वि रा॑जति ॥२॥
viśvā rūpāṇi prati muñcate kaviḥ pra asāvīt bhadram dvi-pade catuḥ-pade
vi nākam akhyat savitā vareṇyaḥ anu pra-yānam uṣasaḥ vi rājati
All forms are robes the Seer puts on that he may create the good and bliss for the double and the quadruple1 creature. Savitri describes by his light our heavenly world; supreme is he and desirable, wide is the light of his shining in the march of the Dawn.
5.81.3
यस्य॑ प्र॒याण॒मन्व॒न्य इद्य॒युर्दे॒वा दे॒वस्य॑ महि॒मान॒मोज॑सा ।
यः पार्थि॑वानि विम॒मे स एत॑शो॒ रजां॑सि दे॒वः स॑वि॒ता म॑हित्व॒ना ॥३॥
yasya pra-yāmam anu anye it yayuḥ devāḥ devasya mahimānam ojasā
yaḥ pārthivāni vi-mame saḥ etaśaḥ rajāṃsi devaḥ savitā mahi-tvanā
And in that march all the other gods in their might follow after the greatness of this godhead. This is that bright god Savitri who by his power and greatness has measured out our earthly worlds of light.
5.81.4
उ॒त या॑सि सवित॒स्त्रीणि॑ रोच॒नोत सूर्य॑स्य र॒श्मिभि॒: समु॑च्यसि ।
उ॒त रात्री॑मुभ॒यत॒: परी॑यस उ॒त मि॒त्रो भ॑वसि देव॒ धर्म॑भिः ॥४॥
uta yāsi savitariti trīṇi rocanā uta sūryasya raśmibhiḥ sam ucyasi
uta rātrīm ubhayataḥ pari īyase uta mitraḥ bhavasi deva dharmabhiḥ
But also thou goest, O Savitri, to the three shining worlds of heaven and thou art made manifest by the rays of the Sun, and thou encirclest on both sides the Night, and thou becomest Mitra, O god, with his settled laws of Truth.
5.81.5
उ॒तेशि॑षे प्रस॒वस्य॒ त्वमेक॒ इदु॒त पू॒षा भ॑वसि देव॒ याम॑भिः ।
उ॒तेदं विश्वं॒ भुव॑नं॒ वि रा॑जसि श्या॒वाश्व॑स्ते सवित॒: स्तोम॑मानशे ॥५॥
uta īśiṣe pra-savasya tvam ekaḥ it uta pūṣā bhavasi deva yāmabhiḥ
uta idam viśvam bhuvanam vi rājasi śyāva-aśvaḥ te savitariti stomam ānaśe
And thou alone hast power for the creation and thou becomest the Increaser, O god, by thy marchings in thy path, and thou illuminest all this world of the becoming. Shyavashwa, O Savitri, has found the affirmation of thy godhead.
1 Literally, two-footed and four-footed, but pad also means the step, the principle on which the soul founds itself. The esoteric meaning is four-principled, those who dwell in the fourfold principle of the lower world, and two-principled, those who dwell in the double principle of the divine and the human.