Yama Critanta Kṛtanta : an aspect of Surya & the Lord of Truth.
... sacred fig-tree; chompuc (but this has been made familiar by Shelley's exquisite lyric); coil or Kokil, for the Indian cuckoo; and names like Dhurma (Law, Religion, Rule of Nature) and Critanta, the ender, for Yama, the Indian Hades. These, I think, are not more than a fairly patient reader may bear with. Mythological allusions, the indispensable setting of a Hindu legend, have been introduced sparingly... sacrificed and drank the Soma wine of the offering; Vaiou, the Wind; Agni, who is Hutaashon, devourer of the sacrifice, the spiritual energy of Fire; Varouna, the prince of the seas; Critanta, Death, the ender, who was called also Yama (Government) or Dhurma (Law) because from him are all order and stability, whether material or moral. And there were subtler presences; Cama, also named Modon or Monmuth, the... Spirit of Degeneracy, the genius of the Iron age, overpowered by a steadfast conjugal love. Similarly, in this story of Ruaru and Priyumvada the great Spirits who preside over Love and Death, Cama and Yama, are the real actors and give its name to the poem. The second essential feature of the Hindu epic model is one which you have selected for especial condemnation and yet I have chosen to adhere to ...
... required Yama to explain to Nachiketas the nature of the Mystic Fire. We know the question that Nachiketas asks Yama with regard to the third boon. This question was extremely difficult and Yama tried to dissuade Nachiketas from asking it. But Nachiketas persisted, until Yama felt happy to answer it. We shall first repeat that question and listen to the dialogue between Nachiketas and Yama until the... Nachiketas was carried away by the messengers of Death; they were the attendants of Yama, who is known as the Lord of the realm of Death. When Nachiketas reached the realm of Death, he could not be received since Yama was away. Hence, three nights passed and only then did Yama arrive. His attendants reported to Yama who, thus, spoke to Nachiketas: "Because for three nights thou hast dwelt in my... Hence, please explain to me what this Fire is and how one should awaken that Fire and how one should practise the austerities with regard to that Fire. This, 0 Yama, is the second boon that I have chosen. PART II Yama answered: "This fire is not the fire that we normally see in this physical world; .this is not the fire that burns you when you touch it, although it is one of the ...
... death. That is why Yama says that the gods are full of doubts and puzzled about this matter. But Yama himself is in possession of this knowledge, he is aware of the Truth that lies beyond him, on the other shore. Nachiketas says to Yama, "Since I have been able to find you, I am sure of gaining this knowledge; there is none other so wise who can speak about it." The reason is that Yama has been called... Nachiketas left for the abode of Yama and came and sat on the latter's doorstep. Page 115 There he lay in wait for three whole nights in the hope of getting a chance to meet Yama. Even as the boys Dhruva and Prahlada had had a vision of God through their simple faith, so did the simple but stout-hearted Nachiketas too reach the abode of Yama and meet him. The minions of Yam... I must have some work to do with Yama, the Lord of Death." The boy went on musing on the subject of death, "Look, what has happened to those who were there before, and to those also who came after. Mortal beings ripen like the grains in the field and are shed, they come to birth again like those grains." This indeed is a mystery, a mystery to which the God Yama alone has a clue. That is why Nachiketas ...
... the abode of Yama and came and sat on the latter's doorstep. Page 1 There he lay in wait for three whole nights in the hope of getting a chance to meet Yama. Even as the boys Dhruva and Prahlada had had a vision of God through their simple faith, so did the simple but stout-hearted Nachiketas too reach the abode of Yama and meet him. The minions of Yama went and told... death. That is why Yama says that the gods are full of doubts and puzzled about this matter. But Yama himself is in possession of this knowledge, he is aware of the Truth that lies beyond him, on the other shore. Nachiketas says to Yama, "Since I have been able to find you, I am sure of gaining this knowledge; there is none other so wise who can speak about it." The reason is that Yama has been called... must have some work to do with Yama, the Lord of Death." The boy went on musing on the subject of death, "Look, what has happened to those who were there before, and to those also who came after. Mortal beings ripen like the grains in the field and are shed, they come to birth again like those grains." This indeed is a mystery, a mystery to which the God Yama alone has a clue. That is why ...
... Vyasa's Savitri The Dialogue between Savitri and Yama; with Savitri's Commendable Utterances Yama's Getting Pleased and his Granting her Several Boons; Satyavan's Coming back to Life and, after Some Talk Amongst them, their Setting forth towards the Ashram. Markandeya said: Then... pleases you, pray tell me who you are and what you propose to do, O god! Yama said: O Savitri, as you are devoted to your husband, and as you practise askesis, I can converse with you; know me, O virtuous lady, to be Yama. Your husband Satyavan, earth-born as he is, his life is over, and I have come to bind him forcibly and take him... come myself in person. Then Yama pulled out with force Satyavan's soul, the Page 43 being no bigger than the thumb, who is fettered by his body and subject to it. With the departure of the life-breath his respiration ceased; his body, bereft of all lustre, remained immobile and was not pleasing to look at. Yama then tied it up and started moving towards ...
... is. He is Yama, he says, and he has come to carry off Satyavan, as his days Page 244 on earth are over; and he has come himself, as befitting so worthy and virtuous a person as Satyavan. So saying Yama draws forth from Satyavan's body his life {prana), which is the measure of a thumb, and so the body becomes untenanted, lustreless, inert and unsightly. As Yama now walks away... and the power of Love, the law of adamantine Necessity and the variant play of Freedom; Yama at first asks Savitri to retrace her steps and perform her husband's funeral rites. She says that wherever her husband goes or is taken, there she must follow him; whatever the hazard. Having walked seven paces with Yama already, she can claim the privilege of friendly converse with him. Actually she seems to... have been living the second, which properly lived, can assurely lead to realisation as the others. Her whole point is that Yama, who is also Dharma, should permit Savitri and Satyavan to continue their dharma or grihastha mode of life and not separate them. 4 Yama is pleased, and asks her to choose a boon, only the life of Satyavan excepted. Savitri asks for the restoration of eyesight ...
... to who that Person is and why he was there. Yama introduces himself and tells her that Satyavan's life is over and he has come to carry away his soul. He throws the noose around it and pulls it out. Satyavan's lifeless corpse now appears very faded and unpleasant. Savitri, though afflicted with grief, follows Yama determinedly. A little later Yama looks behind and notices her following him... thus prove to be the protectors of the entire world. Immensely pleased with the sublimity of these utterances Yama grants her boon after boon. Indeed, the more she speaks of the dharma, acceptable always in the conduct of life in every circumstance, the more the admiration of Yama for her grows. Finally, gladdened by her words of dharma, he releases the noose from around the soul of the dead... are staying as exiles in the forest. In the forest there are sages and learned ascetics engaged in hallowed spiritual practices, one prominent and well respected among them being the sage Gautama. Yama or the God of Death is at once frightful-dark and kind-gracious in the benignity of the Upholder of the Order of the Worlds. Princess Savitri's own birth was in response to Aswapati's prayer to the ...
... of the offering of Nachiketas by his father in a fit of anger to Yama, Lord of death, and the bestowing of three boons to Nachiketas by Yama. It also covers the account of the boons asked by Nachiketas, and we are told that while the first two boons are granted readily, the third boon asked by Nachiketas is so very special that Yama tries his best to dissuade him from pressing for it. Nachiketas, however... of worldly pleasure. He repeats his boon in unequivocal terms. In the second chapter, we find Yama granting him the third boon and expounding the secret of the Supreme Reality behind the universe, and of the realization of that Reality by sacrificing all worldly things, which are momentary. Yama also explains the symbolism of OM. This chapter ends with the description of the immortality of the... patience from one's own body as one separates from a blade of grass its main fibre. Thou shall know Him for the Bright Immortal,, yea, for the Bright Immortal. 2 The story of the dialogue between Yama and Nachiketas ends here, and we are told: Thus did Nachiketas with Death for his teacher win the God-knowledge: he learned likewise the whole ordinance of Yoga: thereafter he obtained God and ...
... increasingly Yama is put on the defensive. Yama is also Dharma; the Lord of Death is also—should be also—the Lord of Righteousness. This is the whole point of her gentle, seemingly sententious, speeches. She doesn't ask, it is Yama who offers one boon after another; and she takes them as they come, thinks first of her parents-in-law, then of her own parents, and last only of herself and Satyavan. Yama almost... in Satyavan and Yama stands in front of her, her self-possession doesn't leave her, she is Savitri still. There is just a hint of defiance (not meant Page 250 as such, though) in her question: Who are you, and what is it you want to do? When Yama carries away Satyavan's life (prana), she follows her husband, and every time speaks only when spoken to by Yama; there is no pleading... awakened to his true role as Dharma, and so it is with relief that he releases Satyavan's life and takes leave of Savitri. As Winternitz remarks,...in the whole of the Mahabharata the idea prevails that Yama, the god of death, is one with Dharma, the personification of Law. But nowhere is the identification of the King of the realm of death with the lord of law and justice expressed so beautifully as in ...
... laden with significance": such are Yama's reactions, and boon follows boon, culminating in the release of Satyavan himself. Savitri too claims to have done no more than praising the god (Yama) with "true speech" {Satyena vacas ā ). But when one looks beneath the surface, it is clear that what really happens is this: Savitri effects a transformation in Yama himself; the static God of Death... strength that envelops her on account of her elders' blessings—against this stern adamantine law of predestination. Her speeches to Yama are a strange mixture of naivety and subtlety and even a little ambiguity. There is no pleading, there is no fight or defiance; Savitri and Yama are both on their best behaviour, exchanging civilities and disarmingly polite expressions. "I'm pleased with your words...you... Aswapati's eighteen-year long austerities followed by the birth of Savitri, the challenge of fate when Savitri marries Satyavan, Savitri's three-nights' fasting and austerities, and Savitri triumphing over Yama and fate and reclaiming 'lost' Satyavan and redeeming her parents' and parents-in-law's family fortunes. Sri Aurobindo's epic retains these cardinal features but packs them with enormous ...
... son, his atman, raised by Yama-Dharma-Raja to immortality. The same writer has also given a phenomenal interpretation of the legend: Satyavan is the moon wedded to Rohini, daughter of the Sun or Savitar; the star helps the moon through his winter and rough sams ā ric weather; on the new moon day, Satyavan (the moon) dies on the lap of Savitri (Rohini), "not far from Yama, the regent of the asterism... Such interpretations are more fanciful than otherwise. The old legend is very clear on two points: Satyavan first dies, and there is then—after an interval—a resurrection. Yama being also Dharma feels compelled by the impact of Savitri's personality to grant a renewal of Satyavan's life. The gods are gods, after all, and they can amend inexorable fate itself. And men and women... Pururavas exceeded the human bounds, Rishi Vishvamitra's austerities enabled him to work wonders, including the creation of a new heaven, and Savitri was also able to effect a "change of heart" in Yama and obtain her heart's desire. The gods and men do verily belong to one world, and they do come together sometimes, and out of their partnership great things do happen. Such was the faith of the ancients ...
... the fruits of the field and like the fruits of the field he is born again." His attendants say to Yama: 7. "Fire is the Brahmin who enters as a guest the houses of men; him thus they appease. Bring, 0 son of Vivasvan,' the water of the guest-rite. _________ 1. Yama, lord of death, is also the master of the Law in the world, and he is there fore the child of the Sun, luminous... never shall I find another like thee9 to tell of it, nor is there any other boon that is equal." ____________ 9. Yama is the knower and keeper of the cosmic Law through, which the soul has to rise by death and life to the freedom of Immortality. Page 43 Yama speaks: 23. "Choose sons and grandsons who shall live each a hundred years, choose much cattle and elephants and... has gained and the good and truth that he has spoken and the wells he has dug and the sacrifices he has offered and all his sons and his cattle are torn from him by that guest unhonoured." Yama speaks: 9. "Because for three nights thou hast dwelt in my house, 0Brahmin, a guest worthy of reverence, — salutation to thee, 0 Brahmin, on me let there be the weal, — therefore three boons ...
... frightful. Savitri, afflicted with agony, follows Yama. A little later Yama looks back and notices Savitri following him. He advises her to return, as she has paid the debt to her husband by accompanying him over the permitted distance. He further reminds her that she has to attend to the funeral rites of the deceased. Savitri does not accept Yama's advice. She has walked with the God seven steps... with folded hands. Her heart is trembling but she asks that Person who he is and why he has come. That Person introduces himself as Yama and avers that he could converse with Savitri because she is a devout and chaste woman, a practitioner of difficult austerities. Yama praises the soul of Satyavan; but now as his life here is over he has to take it away with him, the soul that is no bigger than a thumb... matrimony. She therefore reiterates her request for the life of Satyavan. Without him, she tells Yama, she herself would be dead; she would abstain from any pleasure, even that of entering heaven. Without Satyavan the boon would thus lie waste. Then, in a kind of dialectics, she points out the strange anomaly in Yama's words and actions: You have given me the boon of a hundred sons and you yourself are ...
... sacrifice?" Thrice he asked this question, displeased and angry with the demand of his son, the father said that it was to Yama, the Lord of Death, to whom he was offered. Even at the home of Yama, he had the patience to wait for three nights, since Yama was away and absent. On arrival, Yama, pleased with the patience of Nachiketas, bestowed on him three boons. As a first boon, Nachiketas, keen to ensure ... reality which is truly immortal? It is to the exposition to this theme that Yama now turns decisively and provides an answer, which speaks both of the method of the yoga of immortality and the knowledge and he firm foundation of the immortal reality to which these methods lead. Yama speaks explicitly adhyātma yoga..27 Yama states: "Realizing the Supreme through adhyātma yoga, the yoga that... Hence Yama states: "For this Syllable is Brahman, this Syllable, if one knows, whatsoever one shall desire, it is his." This secret knowledge of the Veda is the knowledge of the Brahman, of the Supreme and of this (Brahmavidya) Yama describes as knowledge of the One as immortal. Having described the One as one who slays not, and one who is never slain, and as the great Omnipresent self, Yama elucidates ...
... forest dwells the monarch faint and weak, Grant him back his wealth and kingdom, Yama, in thy mercy speak!" "Loving daughter," Yama answered, "wealth and kingdom I bestow, Turn, Savitri, living mortal may not with King Yama go!" Still Savitri, meek and faithful, followed her departed lord, Yama still with higher wisdom listened to her saintly word. And the Sable King... and weak, Grant him sight and grant him vigour, Yama, in thy mercy speak!" "Duteous daughter," Yama answered, "be thy pious wishes given, And his eyes shall be restored to the cheerful light of heaven. Turn, Savitri, faint and weary, follow not in fruitless woe, And no farther living creature may with monarch Yama go!" "Faint nor weary is Savitri," so the noble... what bright name thou bearest, what thy message unto me." "Know me," thus responded Yama, "mighty monarch of the dead, Mortals leaving earthly mansion to my darksome realms are led. Since with woman's full affection thou hast loved thy husband dear, Hence before these, faithful woman, Yama doth in form appear. But his days and loves are ended, and he leaves his faithful ...
... and falls asleep. Yama's arrival, his taking away Satayavan's prana; Savitri follows her husband; Yama grants five boons, and finally releases Satyavan. Book VIII, Canto 3: 'Death in the Forest' (pp. 564-566) Book IX, Cantos 1-2; Book X, Cantos 1-4; and Book XI, Canto 1: Death (Yama) appears, and walks away with... and crown. Canto 7. In the morning, the people of Shalwa come in deputation and offer the crown to Dyumasena. Return to Shalwa and coronation. All five boons granted by Yama are fulfilled in due course. Part of this is anticipated in Book XII (Epilogue), and the rest is implied, and is to be taken for granted. It will be ...
... immediate context, but it is bound to occur in the evolutionary future. It is a new world whose birth is helped and supported by Yama, the true Yama as a possessor of gracious kindness. In it the authentic meaning, the actual significance of mrityuloka , becomes clearer. Yama shall thus prove to be the excellent Upholder of the Worlds. He shall then be pitrarājastām bhagavān , the beneficent King-Father... from Yama. Now if we remember that the Vedic Yama is an immortal who drinks ambrosia under the supalāsha tree, then we at once realize as how the tale acquires its significance in the marvellous intent of this world's creation. The common name of the supalāsha tree is the Flame of the Forest which the Mother sees as the Beginning of the Supramental Realisation . It is this true Yama enjoying ...
... w and heirs for her father. Yama agreed but she still did not turn back. Yama offered one last boon for herself as all her wishes had been for others, but not the life of her husband. She said she wished to see the happy and prosperous life of her sons. 'So be it,' said Yama unthinkingly. Savitri pointed out she could not have children without her husband. So Yama was tricked into restoring life... as she supported him, saw a figure, who told her that he was Yama, king of the dead, and that he had come for her husband's spirit. Yama carried off the spirit towards the shades, but Savitri followed him. Her devotion pleased Yama, and he offered her any boon except the life of her husband. She extorted three such boons from Yama, but still Page 557 she followed him, and he... see emerging from the legend. It answers more than Nachiketa's query to Yama: "A man who has passed, does he exist or does he not?" If he exists, then Yama is not all that powerful; if he does not, then how is he there with him? This perplexing situation becomes clear only when we assert that he does exist but is bound by Yama, is under the sway of the Law of the mortal World. Death cannot dissolve ...
... father-in-law and heirs for her father. Yama agreed but she still did not turn back. Yama offered one last boon for herself as all her wishes had been for others, but not the life of her husband. She said she wished to see the happy and prosperous life of her sons. "So be it," said Yama unthinkingly. Savitri pointed out she could not have children without her husband. So Yama was tricked into restoring life... she, as she supported him, saw a figure, who told her that he was Yama, king of the dead, and that he had come for her husband's spirit. Yama carried off the spirit towards the shades, but Savitri followed him. Her devotion pleased Yama, and he offered her any boon except the life of her husband. She extorted three such boons from Yama, but still she followed him, and he was finally constrained to restore... see emerging from the legend. It answers more than Nachiketa's query to Yama: "A man who has passed, does he exist or does he not?" If he exists, then Yama is not all that powerful; if he does not, then how is he there with him? This perplexing situation becomes clear only when we assert that he does exist but is bound by Yama is under the sway of the Law of the mortal World. Death cannot dissolve ...
... while the dramatic situation derives from the Mahabharata original, the dialectic in which Savitri and Death (Yama) engage begins increasingly to assume a distinctly Aurobindonian hue and cast. In Vyasa's epic, Savitri is the pure wife whose deathless love for her husband moves Yama—who is also Dharma Raja or Lord of Righteousness—to compassion as well as admiration, till at last he readily grants... grants her the final boon of Satyavan's return to life. Essentially, Savitri is the silent and worthy suppliant, while Yama is the gracious and righteous giver In the Aurobindonian conception, on the other hand, Death (the name 'Yama' is scarcely mentioned) is the static God of ignorance, illusion and destruction, while Savitri is both humanity evolving into divinity and the transcendent ...
... insistence, pronounces that he is offered to Yama. The young Nachiketas visits the abode of Yama, where he waits for three days for Yama's arrival. When Yama comes, he is pleased with Nachiketas for his patience and sincerity, and offers him three boons. Nachiketas first asks for his father's Page 56 appeasement and his well-being, which Yama grants readily. Next, he asks for the knowledge... death, of what happens to man after death and what really is the secret of immortality. Yama does not intend to give away this secret and offers him the choice of worldly happiness in the form of riches and progeny and success. However Nachiketas is firm in his demand and rejects the choice offered by Yama. Yama is pleased with the steadfast adherence of Nachiketas to his noble search, and grants him... him the secret knowledge. The short extract presented here in this book is a dialogue between Yama and Nachiketas, in which Yama explains the distinction between the good and the pleasant, and points out that since Nachiketas chose the good in preference to the pleasant, he considers Nachiketas a worthy pupil who deserves to be given the secret knowledge. The third story, taken from the Chhandogya ...
... were Mitra, Varuna and Yama. Varuna is the god of the vast consciousness (Brihat), the wide universal, the Infinite. His eye naturally penetrates everywhere and nothing can escape his notice. Mitra is harmony and rhythm of the infinity. Every individual element he embraces and he holds them all together in loving union—his is the friendly tie of comradeship with all. Finally Yama is the master of the... to start and just at the moment the one needed most is nowhere. So the gods organise a search party to find out the whereabouts of the runaway god. The search party consists of Varuna, Mitra and Yama. We shall presently understand the sense of the selection. They look about here and there—in ten directions, it is mentioned—and at last spot the defaulting god hiding within a huge thick strong cloak... blazing fuel that move to the gods ? The gods 3 0 Agni! god self-conscient, we seek you, you who have entered variably into the waters and into the growths of the earth. You shine richly. Yama has seen you as you flame out of your ten seats. Agni 4 0 Varuna! I fled because I was afraid of the work of the priest. The gods must not yoke me to that work. That was why I imbedded my ...
... Mitra, Varuna and Yama. Varuna is the god of the vast consciousness (Brihat), the wide universal, the Infinite. His eye naturally penetrates everywhere and nothing can escape his notice. Mitra is harmony and rhythm of the infinity. Every individual element he embraces and he holds them all together in loving union—his is the friendly tie of comradeship with all. Finally Yama is the master of the... start and just at the moment the one needed most is nowhere. So the gods organise a search party to find out the Whereabouts of the runaway god. The search party consists of Varuna, Mitra and Yama. We shall presently understand the sense of the selection. They look about here and there—in ten directions, it is mentioned—and at last spot the defaulting god hiding within a huge thick strong... move to the gods? The gods 3.O Agni! god self-conscient, we seek you, you who have entered variably into the waters and into the growths of the earth. You shine richly. Yama has seen you as you flame out of your ten seats. Page 5 Agni 4.O Varana! I fled because I was afraid of the work of the priest. The gods must not yoke me to ...
... limitations and obstacles by means of courage, battle and adventure. There are degrees and heights of heroism determined by the intensity, persistence and vastness of sacrifice. Page 8 Yama ( detail of a painting by Naqndal Bose) Page 9 Heroism attains the highest states of greatness and refinement when it is guided by the highest wisdom and inspired by the sense of service... father does not falter in the performance of his duties as a sacrificer, and the first boon that he asks for is, tranquility and a happy welcome from his father on his (Nachiketas's) return journey from Yama, where his father had sent him in a fit of anger. The story is, therefore, an appropriate illustration of the theme of the value-education series which is devoted to illumination, heroism and harmony... knowledge, the possession of which leads to the highest fulfillment, namely, realisation of immortality. What is still more important is his persistence in seeking this knowledge even when his teacher, Yama, offers him an alternative that is full of ordinary lures and pleasures; he declines this alternative. In other words, he was able to Page 10 distinguish between Preyas, that which is pleasant ...
... with his insistence, pronounces that he is offered to Yama. The young Nachiketas visits the abode of Yama, where he waits for three days for Yama's arrival. When Yama comes, he is pleased with Nachiketas for his patience and sincerity, and offers him three boons. Nachiketas first asks for his father's appeasement and his well-being, which Yama grants readily. Next, he asks for the knowledge of the... death, of what happens to man after death and what really is the secret of immortality. Yama does not intend to give away this secret and offers him the choice of worldly happiness in the form of riches and progeny and success. However, Nachiketas is firm in his demand and rejects the choice offered by Yama. Yama is pleased with the steadfast adherence of Nachiketas to his noble Page 67 ... search, and grants him the secret knowledge. The short extract presented here in this book is a dialogue between Yama and Nachiketas, in which Yama explains the distinction between the good and the pleasant, and points out that since Nachiketas chose the good in preference to the pleasant, he considers Nachiketas a worthy pupil who deserves to be given the secret knowledge. The third story, taken ...
... Who will conquer this world of illusion and the kingdom of Yama 1 and the world of the gods? Who will discover the path of the Law as the skilled gardener discovers the rarest of flowers? The disciple on the right path will conquer this world of illusion and the kingdom of Yama and the world of the gods. He will discover the path of the Law as the skilled gardener ...
... more transformed. When Yama explains to Nachiket as that there is a beingin us, which is seated in the center of one's self arid which is no bigger than the thumb, he refers to the psychic being. Hence, the first important thing for the individual to do is to get in touch with the psychic being. But this cannot be done if one remains turned outwards. That is why Yama points out that one should... should turn inward. It is by turning inward more and Page 84 more that one can discover the psychic being. Yama further points out that this turning inward would not be easy, if one does not distinguish between what is pleasant and what is good. Yama also adds that if one seeks pleasure, one will remain constantly in the world of blindness. It is by choosing the good that one becomes able to... identity with the Brahman, and therefore, one attains to the immortality of the Brahman. Let us, therefore, read once again what Yama says about the Brahman. First of all, the Brahman is described as At manor the Self, since the Self is the essence, which is imperishable. Yama says to Nachiketas that the Self is not to be won by eloquent teaching, or by brainpower, or by much learning. None Page ...
... fuel. At about noon, when Satyavan was cutting wood for fuel, he fell ill and immediately succumbed in the lap of Savitri. Yama, the King of Death, came to take Satyavan's life and there was verbal duel between Yama and Savitri. In the end, with the boons granted by Yama, Satyavan's life revived and his father got back his lost eyesight and the lost kingdom too. Savitri did not forget her own... Inconscience and Death Here we have Savitri's encounter with Death in its own den or sphere, long discourse of Savitri with Yama — the mighty incarnate Power of Darkness and Ignorance and the Keeper of Cosmic Law. In the last encounter Death Incarnate, Yama, addressed Savitri: Who then art thou hiding in human guise? Thy voice carries the sound of infinity, Knowledge is with... not a single word or punctuation mark was changed after the first draft was dictated." This we learn from The Liberator (Sisir Kumar Mitra, based on Nirodbaran's evidence). When Death — Yama — the dire universal shadow vanished in the Void and Satyavan and Savitri were left alone, the whole atmos- 17 Ibid., p. 665. 18 Ibid., pp. 666-68. Page 415 phere ...
... were Mitra, Varuna and Yama. Varuna is the god of the vast consciousness (Brihat), the wide universal, the Infinite. His eye naturally penetrates everywhere and nothing can escape his notice. Mitra is harmony and rhythm of the infinity. Every individual element he embraces and he holds them all together in loving union-his is the friendly tie of comradeship with all. Finally Yama is the master of the... to start and just at the moment the one needed most is nowhere. So the gods organise a search party to find out the whereabouts of the runaway god. The search party consists of Varuna, Mitra and Yama. We shall presently understand the sense of the selection. They look about here and there – in ten directions, it is mentioned – and at last spot the defaulting god hiding within a huge thick strong ...
... Suddenly she beholds Yama, the God of Death, standing before her with noose in hand. She rises and asks why he had come himself instead of sending one of his emissaries as is his custom. Yama tells her that this prince is endowed with such a sea of virtue and accomplishment and beauty that he is too worthy to be borne away by anyone but the God of Death himself. Then Yama takes the soul of Satyavan... proceeds southward. Savitri, undaunted, follows him. Time and again Yama turns to stop her; but with wise and appealing words she moves him to grant one boon after another, except the life within his hand. Still she continues to follow him, right into his dark cave, until finally her devotion and unparalleled love and wisdom move Yama to return the soul of Satyavan. Savitri hastens to the woods where... where her lord's body lay and woos the soul back into consciousness and together they return to their home and all the boons promised by Yama are fulfilled. Adapting this legend as a symbol for a great living spiritual experience, Sri Aurobindo changes King Aswapati's sacrificial asceticism into the Tapasya or conscious spiritualisation of an aspiring soul of humanity. Savitri is not only ...
... three boons offered to him by Yama the knowledge of the sacred Flame by which man crosses over hunger and thirst, leaves sorrow and fear far behind him and dwells in heaven securely rejoicing. Immortality in that sense he takes for granted as, already standing in that farther world, he must surely do. The knowledge he asks for involves the deeper, finer problem, of which Yama affirms that even the gods... Upanishad the question is raised in a very instructive Page 272 fashion quite apposite to the subject we have in hand. Nachiketas, sent by his father to the world of Death, thus questions Yama, the lord of that world: Of the man who has gone forward, who has passed away from us, some say that he is and others "this he is not"; which then is right? what is the truth of the great passage? Such... heaven, that returns upon the earth with a new body, but is it really the same person that thus survives? Can we really say of the man " He still is," or must we not rather say "This he no longer is"? Yama too in his answer speaks not at all of the survival of death, and he only gives a verse or two to a bare description of that constant rebirth which all serious thinkers admitted as a universally ac ...
... with any brood of puppies. The two Sarameya dogs, messengers of Yama, are mentioned in a late hymn in the tenth Mandala, but without any reference to Sarama as their mother. This occurs in the famous "funeral" hymn X.14, and it is worth while noting the real character of Yama and his two dogs in the Rig Veda. In the later ideas Yama is the god of Death and has his own special world; but in the Rig... good (or effective) path." Of that path to heaven they are the four-eyed Page 221 guardians, protecting man on the road by their divine vision, yau te śvānau yama rakṣitārau caturakṣau pathirakṣī nṛcakṣaṣau , and Yama is asked to give them as an escort to the soul on its way. These dogs are "wide-moving, not easily satisfied" and range as the messengers of the Lord of the Law among men... IX.113, is the indestructible Light, where Swar is established, yatra jyotir ajasraṁ, yasmin loke svar hitam . The hymn X.14 is indeed not a hymn of Death so much as a hymn of Life and Immortality. Yama and the ancient Fathers have discovered the path to that world which is a pasture of the Cows whence the enemy cannot bear away the radiant herds, yamo no gātuṁ prathamo viveda, naiṣā gavyūtir apabhartavā ...
... the fruits of the field and like the fruits of the field he is born again." वैश्वानरः प्रविशत्यतिथिर्ब्राह्मणो गृहान् । तस्यैतां शान्तिं कुर्वन्ति हर वैवस्वतोदकम् ॥७॥ His attendants say to Yama: 7) "Fire is the Brahmin who enters as a guest the houses of men; him thus they appease. Bring, O son of Vivasvan, 1 the water of the guest-rite. आशाप्रतीक्षे संगतं सूनृतां चेष्टापूर्ते... Nachiketas." Page 107 The First Cycle; Second Chapter अन्यचछ्रेयोऽन्यदुतैव प्रेयस्ते उभे नानार्थे पुरुषं सिनीतः । तयोः श्रेय आददानस्य साधु भवति हीयतेऽर्थाद्य उ प्रेयो वृणीते ॥१॥ Yama speaks: 1) One thing is the good and quite another thing is the pleasant, and both seize upon a man with different meanings. Of these whoso takes the good, it is well with him; he falls from the... and by the sacrifice of momentary things I won the Eternal. कामस्याप्तिं जगतः प्रतिष्ठां कतोरनन्त्यमभयस्य पारम् । स्तोमं महदुरुगायं प्रतिष्ठां दृष्ट्वा धृत्या धीरो नचिकेतोऽत्यस्राक्षीः ॥११॥ Yama speaks: 11) When thou hast seen in thy grasp, O Nachiketas, the possession of desire and the firm foundation of this world and an infinity of power and the other shore of security and great praise ...
... as Satyavan and Savitri: the all-illuminating light and the all-creative truth, light's being and its truth-becoming. The second term, of course, is Yama or Death, not the Yama that is both Death and Dharma, but the Yama that is Death and Falsehood and Ignorance and all the scheming, deluding, baffling Titans who obstruct the passage to Bhaga or Felicity. The two terms thus become three: ...
... exasperation would like to declare? Nachiketas, the young aspirant of the Kathopanishad, asked Yama for the solution to this problem of death — Yama "the knower and keeper of the cosmic Law through which the soul has to rise by death and life to the freedom of Immortality." 1 Even when asked by Yama, the Lord of Death: "Another boon choose, O Nachiketas; importune me not, nor urge me; this, this ...
... Savitri SECTION D 'THE BOOK OF EVERLASTING DAY' I 'The Eternal Day' The great Savitri-Yama dialectic has spanned the ineluctable spaces of Eternal Night and the Double Twilight, and with the withdrawal of the shadow, twilight gives place to day—the symbol realm of Everlasting Day—and Savitri and Satyavan are... has decisively and finally vanquished Death's thesis? This would be too crude an end to the cosmic debate. A synthesis is called for, a harmony that involves both thesis and antithesis, both a changed Yama and a subdued Savitri. The poetic projection of the synthesis is the subject of 'The Book of Everlasting Day.' When night flees, when twilight lifts, then is the time for day's unfolding ...
... ingredient of the epic, Savitri, is the prolonged trial of strength between Savitri and Death. In the original legend, Death (Yama) is no villain, no principle of primordial Evil, but a bright God, Dharma himself. In Sri Aurobindo's poem, he is referred to neither as Yama nor as Dharma, but only as Death. Savitri and Death meet by the side of prone Satyavan as antagonistic powers and personalities ...
... Savitri- ballad the sublime character of Yama. In the discourse with Yama we can discern what Savitri felt in the depth of her soul. Toru Dutt reveals that the God behind the traditional Yama is Love indeed. That imparts to the legend a genuine quality charged with high spiritual contents. Transformed Death in Sri Aurobindo's Savitri is this noble Yama bestowing the boon of divine life on earth... to arrive. On this day Satyavan must die. Satyavan's death occurs in the forest. Yama himself comes to carry Satyavan's soul, he being an ocean of noble qualities. Savitri follows Yama and discusses matters of Satya Dharma with him. Her understanding of the principles of righteous living pleases Yama. She maintains that the commerce of the world is actually borne by the spiritual practices... the immediate context, but it is bound to occur in the evolutionary future. It is a new world whose birth is helped and supported by Yama, true Yama as the possessor of gracious kindness. In it the authentic meaning, the high purport of mrityuloka, becomes clear. Yama shall thus prove to be the true Upholder of the Worlds. He shall then be pitrarājastām bhagavān, the beneficent King-Father and Lord ...
... original Godhead and the supreme resting-place of this All; Thou art the knower and that which is to be known and the highest status; O infinite in form, by Thee was extended the universe. Thou art Yama and Vayu and Agni and Soma and Varuna and Prajapati, father of creatures, and the great-grandsire. Salutation to Thee a thousand times over and again and yet again salutation. (Translation by Anil ...
... Vivasvan, the Sun-god, and in him does the Dharma abide and by it does he protect or guard immoertality. "Surya the Lord of Light is bom as the guardian of the divine Law and the Yama-power." 33 This is the positive aspect of Yama in the creation; therefore he is also known as the ordainer of the worlds. On the other hand, Death as a dark power in the material creation leads it to its entire dissolution... spiritual progress,—to the extent that we can even transform the physical body into an altar for her sacrificial fire that shall bring auspicious merits of the Yajna to us. The Deadlock Yama as the Dark Terrible has snatched the soul of Satyavan and is taking it away to the Abode of the Departed which is located deep in the South. Savitri follows him closely, her mortal pace equalling the... Vol. 6, p. 186. Page 98 then moves out and surrounds Satyavan with her nameless infinity to give him love's complete protection. The three march on in a procession, Savitri behind Yama and Satyavan in front of them. They cross the "weird country" and reach dangerous regions of Death's colossal nothingness. The Dark Terrible declares to her: This is my silent dark immensity, ...
... a frontispiece as well as a cover-jacket for his collected poems The Secret Splendour , 1993 edition Page 435 A Pencil sketch of Yama by Amal Kiran made in his Savitri -copy in the blank space at the end of Canto Two, Book Nine 1951 edition. Page 436 A Pencil sketch of Arjava by ...
... husband wherever he goes. Yama repeatedly asks her to turn back. But she is undaunted and responds with a series of aphorisms on Dharma. Pleased by her intelligence, virtue and constancy, and yielding to her tenacity, Yama grants boon after boon. As the final boon, he restores Satyavan to life. At no point in Vyasa's dialogue does Savitri openly defy the authority of Yama or challenge the established... earliest versions of Savitri. The nature of these divergences is significant, for Sri Aurobindo' s innovations in retelling the story reveal his creative purpose. In the Mahabharata when Yama sees Savitri following him, he addresses her with words such as might be expected from one who is not only the God of Death, but also the Lord of Dharma: Savitri, turn back and attend to the... with disdain for the illusions he will soon dissolve. But a fundamental difference from the traditional account is that Death does not restore Satyavan's life as a boon. In the Mahabharata, Yama grants this boon in the end, keeping his absolute authority intact. In Sri Aurobindo's Savitri, on the other hand, Death suffers a real defeat. Stated in the terms of Sri Aurobindo's philosophy and ...
... earliest version, 106 must have approximated much closer to the 'legend' in the Mahabharata than to the present epic. The power of Savitri's radiant purity of purpose and fiery chastity confronts Yama; and Yama who is both the Lord of Death and the upholder of Dharma, being irresistibly awakened by her mere presence and the flow of apt speech from her to a realisation of his latter role, consents at last ...
... present and the actual. But Yama did answer and unveil the mystery and impart the supreme secret knowledge—the knowledge of the Transcendent Brahman: it is out of the transcendent reality that the immanent deity takes his birth. Hence the Divine Fire, the Lord of creation and the Inner Master— sarvabhutantaratma, antaryami— is called brahmajam, born of the Brahman. Yama teaches the process of tra... something else ? First, a significant epithet is given to it— white; secondly, although it asks for food, it says that Om is its food and Om is its drink. I n the Vedas we have some references to dogs. Yama has twin dogs that "guard the path and have powerful vision." They are his messengers, "they move widely and delight in power and possess the vast strength." The Vedic Rishis pray to them for Power... ess in the mortal which purifies and uplifts (pavaka) mortality into immortality. It is the god "seated in the secret heart, who is the possession of infinity and the foundation of existence," as Yama says to Nachiketas. 1 Indeed, it was to this godhead that Nachiketas turned and he wanted to know of it and find it, when faith seized on his 1 Katha, 1.1.14. Page 352 ...
... of his 'test.' Regarding me, this is more or less what he said: 'First of all, I want an agreement from you so that under any circumstances you never leave the Ashram. Whatever happens, even if Yama 1 comes to dance at your door, you should never leave the Ashram. At the critical moment, when the attack is the strongest, you should throw everything into His hands, then and then only the thing... Thy Will be done.' I hope to hear from you soon. My love is with you. Signed : Mother Page 311 × Yama : the god of Death in the Hindu pantheon. × A caravansary, or Indian style shelter. ...
... and the actual. But Yama did answer and unveil the mystery and impart the supreme secret knowledge-the knowledge of the Transcendent Brahman: it is out of the transcendent reality that the immanent deity takes his birth. Hence the Divine Fire, the Lord of creation and the Inner Master – sarvabhūltāntarātmā, antaryāmī – is called brahmajam, born of the Brahman. Yama teaches the process of t... else? First, a significant epithet is given to it – white; secondly, although it asks for food, it says that Om is its food and Om is its drink. In the Vedas we have some references to dogs. Yama has twin dogs that "guard the path and have powerful vision." They are his messengers, "they move widely and delight in power and possess the vast strength." The Vedic Rishis pray to them f or Power... ess in the mortal which purifies and uplifts (pāvaka) mortality into immortality. It is the god "seated in the secret heart, who is the possession of infinity and the foundation of existence," as Yama says to Nachiketas.¹ Indeed, it was to this godhead that Nachiketas turned and he wanted to know of it and find it, when faith seized on his ¹ Katha, I .1.14. Page 19 pure ...
... his Dakshinamurti aspect. Also the banyan tree is one of the aspects of Shiva. Satyavan passed away under a banyan tree. Savitri did puja to the tree and brought back Satyavan's soul upon earth. Yama, the God of Death, is also one of the aspects of Shiva. Till now the Indian women do puja to the banyan tree on full moon days, and pray for their husbands' long life. There are numerous legends about ...
... discipline of the heart, its perfection in the four great qualities of love, purity, courage and calm, without which siddhi in the Rajayoga is impossible. Patanjali prescribes the practice of the five yamas or regulating moral exercises, truth, justice and honesty, harmlessness, chastity and refusal of ownership, and the five niyamas or regulating moral habits, cleanliness and purity, contentment, austerity... intelligent Will in the spirit on whatsoever the Yogin wishes to possess, from the realisation of God to the enjoyment of mundane objects. But how is this silencing of the vrittis to be effected? for the yamas and niyamas only establish certain good habits of life, they do not thoroughly purify mind and heart. We have to do it by a process of removal by replacement, always depending on abhyasa, replacing ...
... legend, as also in the symbol, Savitri faces Yama, the God of Death. But in the legend the conversation which takes place between Savitri and Yama is rather conventional and is only religio-ethical in its manner; where as here, in this epic, Savitri clearly stands not merely as the representative of the race but also as the embodiment of the supreme Grace. Yama, on the other side, puts before her all the... of Satyavan and accordingly took it. Savitri Page 4 followed the spirit of Satyavan separated from his physical body and captured in the noose of the God of Death. She conversed with Yama, the God of Death, while following him, and her conversation so pleased him that he granted her several boons, the last of which was the restoration of the life of Satyavan. Thus Savitri triumphed over... the Supreme coming down to humanity to share in its burden of suffering and ignorance in order to enable it to achieve the victory over forces of Darkness and Death. Savitri achieved this by facing Yama, the God of Death, at the time when he came to take the life of Satyavan. It is by the extension of her protection, of her own Infinity and Immortality, that she saved Satyavan from the God of Death ...
... high displayed He bears the throne of Death. There sat supreme With those compassionate and lethal eyes, Who many names, who many natures holds; Yama, the strong pure Hades sad and subtle, Dharma, who keeps the laws of old untouched, Critanta, who ends all things and at last Himself shall end. On either side of him The four-eyed dogs mysterious rested prone, Watchful, with huge heads on their... made stone." But at the name of Love all hell was moved. Death's throne half faded into twilight; hissed The phantoms serpentine as if in pain, And the dogs raised their dreadful heads. Then spoke Yama: "And what needs Love in this pale realm, The warm great Love? All worlds his breath confounds, Mars solemn order and old steadfastness. But not in Hell his legates come and go; His vernal jurisdiction ...
... foundation is therefore identical with the supreme plane, the foundation of the Truth, ṛtasya budhnaḥ , and, finally, that they can hardly be wholly unconnected with the twin children of Surya, Yama and Yami,—Yama who in the tenth Mandala is associated with the Angiras Rishis. 3 Having thus described the ancestral thought with its twin Page 192 children, slayers of darkness, Vishwamitra... powers that Page 187 have conquered immortality by the work, have attained the goal and are invoked to assist a later mortal race in the same divine achievement. Quite apart from the later Yama hymns of the tenth Mandala in which the Angirases are spoken of as Barhishad Pitris along with the Bhrigus and Atharvans and receive their own peculiar portion in the sacrifice, they are in the rest... advancing on the path. × It is in the light of these facts that we must understand the colloquy of Yama and Yami in the tenth Mandala in which the sister seeks union with her brother and is put off to later generations, meaning really symbolic periods of time, the word for later signifying rather "higher" ...
... all were received in due state by Bhima, and assigned royal quarters, pending the day of Damayanti's Swayamvara. And even amongst the gods did the news go forth, and Indra, and Agni, and Varuna, and Yama himself, the King of Death, set out from high heaven for the city of the Vidarbhas, each eager to win the hand of the Princess. But as the proud gods went, they overtook a mortal wending his... should carry for you?" Said Indra, "We are the Immortals, come hither for the sake of Damayanti. Indra am I. Here at my side is Agni, God of Fire. There is Varuna, Lord of Waters. And next to him stands Yama, destroyer of the bodies of men. Do thou, on our behalf, appear before Damayanti, saying, 'The Guardians of the World are coming to thy Swayamvara. Choose thou, I pray thee, one of the gods for thy... severe?" Hearing these words, the King answered, " My name, O Princess, is Nala. I have entered here undiscovered, by the power of the gods. I come as their messenger. Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama, all alike desire, O beauteous one! at the morrow's Swayamvara to be chosen by thee. As their messenger, I say, 'Choose thou one of them for thy lord!' " Damayanti bowed as she heard the names ...
... departure? Surely not! One has only to descend into the land of the dead or intercede with the gods for the restoration of life to the person one has loved. Thus Savitri engages in a debate with Yama, the Lord of Death, and skilfully manoeuvres to have her husband Satyavan restored to life for a further lease of four hundred years. 2 Behula intercedes with Lord Shiva to resuscitate her snake-bitten... rescues from there her only son Tammuz, 4 Dionysos goes down into the land of the dead and brings back to life his mother Semele, 5 and Nachiketas returns to the realm of the living, learning from Yama the secret of death. 6 In some mythical accounts this restoration to life has been conditional and partial; thus Alcestis 7 sacrifices her life so that her husband Admetus may be spared ...
... in this world and the other. Follow the teaching of wisdom and not that of evil. The sage knows happiness in this world and the other. One who looks upon the world as a bubble or a mirage, Yama the King of Death cannot find him. Come, look upon the world as the brightly-coloured chariot of a Raja, which attracts the foolish, but where, in truth, there is nothing attractive. One who ...
... the Ram, Agni (Moloch, Thor) the Bull, the Aswins (Castor & Pollux) the Twins, Upendra (Baal) the Crab, Varuna (Poseidon) the Lion, Aditi, called also Savitri or Sita (Astarte, Aphrodite) the Girl, Yama (Hades) the Balance, Aryama (Ares) the Scorpion, Mitra or Bhava (Apollo Phoebus) the Archer, Saraswati called also Ganga (Nais) the Crocodile, Parjanya (Apis) the Jar, Nara (Nereus) the Fish. All these ...
... Spiritual seekers all over the world know that spiritual life is based upon certain moral rules and principles. These are truthfulness, non-injury to others, non-stealing, continence etc. called Yama in Raja Yoga. The others are Niyama which consists of cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study and self-surrender to God, Without these virtues there can be no basis of spiritual life. ' Naturally ...
... the connection of Agni with Satya, the Truth. The good, the "Shreyas", which Agni does is the increase in Truth – Satyam. In the Brahmanas there are many hints that suggest the symbolism in the Veda. Yama, probably, is the Truth working on the physical aspect of the universe. The word dhl, 'rtam, satyam, brhat are among the important words for Vedic interpretation. Trim rocana when applied to svar refers ...
... bollo — é niyé ki hobé — aar phirod niyeshché!” (“Batti, Yama took me, had one look and said what to do with this wreck and returned me.”) Does this sound a sad and discouraged Kobi? Not when you heard it from Kobi. You rather felt he was patting Yama in sympathy. Having lived so close for so long with Death, there was no room for fear. Yama came when he wanted, and Kobi quietly slipped away with him ...
... divided in the established system under two heads, five yamas and five niyamas . The first are rules of moral self-control in conduct such as truth-speaking, abstinence from injury or killing, from theft etc.; but in reality these must be regarded as merely certain main indications of the general need of moral self-control and purity. Yama is, more largely, any self-discipline by which the rajasic ...
... Satan" (Apage Satana) and he was free. In the Upanishads also, we know of the story of the boy Nachiketas who wanted to possess the truth, the Immortality, and Yama came to him or rather he came to Yam a and asked for these things. Yama, the King of Immortality, said in effect, a young boy like him need not strive for such abstract things that confuse the mind even of gods, "I will give you better ...
... But the text doesn't invalidate the prologue; it is often the prologue that offers the real key to the text. A myth like the legendary story of Savitri redeeming Satyavan from the clutches of Yama or of angered Rudra reducing Kama the God of love to a handful of ashes is, in its own sovereign right, an utter rendering of reality, "an ideal interpretation in which the phenomena are digested and ...
... Kurukshetra, a religious symbol like the Cross, a hunting symbol like the Hound Page 270 of Heaven pursuing the frightened sinner, a dialectical symbol like Savitri vanquishing Yama, are all vivid and vague at once, vivid and therefore fixed in the mind, vague and therefore intriguing and hence compelling a drawing on or tapping of "a stored experience and a vestigial wisdom." ...
... Virgil, 284 Vishnu, 106, 183-4, 358 Vivekananda, 349 Vrindavan, 183, Vyom, 280, 331 WORDSWORTH, 257n – Ode on the Intimations Immortality", 257n Wu Wei, 144 YAMA, 400 Page 409 ...
... who regrets the hero's failure to live up to the Aryan ideal of King, Yama too is overcome by disappointment. Neither Luxmie nor Yama actually plays the role of a Tempter; rather do they place the alternatives squarely before Pururavas and Ruru, who are alike poised on the crest of the dread predicament "Either - Or". In vain Yama tries to persuade Ruru to give up Priyumvada, in vain he expatiates... passage not obstructed because of Madan's flower, he approaches the throne of Hades. There are muttered exclamations and explanations; there are giant dogs, four-eyed and mysterious; and there is Yama himself whom Ruru confronts at last. Once more a Temptation Scene breathlessly unfolds itself before us. Pururavas was willing to abandon his kingly dharma on earth in order to rejoin Urvasie... victory - is it only a defeat in disguise? In one sense, "Pururavas and Ruru - the former by beyonding earth's confines to find his felicity in the world above, the latter by penetrating to the den of Yama in the underworld to rescue lost Priyumvada and bring her back to the earth - both of them attain their heart's desire, setting at nought every other consideration. Yet isn't a King - isn't a Rishi ...
... Did not the Christ declare that a camel could pass through the eye of a needle, never a rich man enter the kingdom of Heaven. And Nachiketas too, a heroic boy that he was, flung back into the face of Yama himself all the riches offered to him by the Lord of Death. Have life and property then no value in the eye of God? To the divine consciousness are these things mere m ā y ā , transient objects ...
... The quotations in this chapter are from Sri Aurobindo's The Secret of the Veda. Page 44 Swar is the world of Yama, the guardian of the law of the Truth, the guardian of immortality. It is the world of immortality where is the indestructible Light. "Yama and the ancient Fathers discovered the path to that world which is a pasture of the Cows whence the enemy cannot bear away the radiant ...
... concrete practices such as aāsana, prānāyāma, japa and the like to be followed by all its practitioners. Nor does it formulate a set of ethical norms and principles, do's and don'ts, yama and niyama, as part of its core discipline. Hence the difficulty experienced by many sadhakas who feel at a loss as to the what and how of the practice of Sri Aurobindo' s Yoga. One practice ...
... 56 Vibhutis 93 Vijnana 14 Vishwamitra 8 Vyasa 103 W Western Powers 83 White Goddess 77 Wordsworth 16, 39, 97, 98, 99, 101, 102, 103 Y Yama I Yoga 33 Yogis 83 Yuga-sandhi 91 Yves Bonnefoy 76 Z Zeus 4, 32 Page 106 ...
... Dhammapada On the Dhammapada Questions and Answers (1929-1931) Impurity Now you are like a withered leaf; the messengers of Yama await you. It is the eve of your departure, and you have made no provision for your journey! Quickly make for yourself an island of refuge, strive hard and become wise. When you are cleansed and ...
... –Aeneid, 73n. WORDSWORTH, 51 –Poems if the Imagination, "To a Skylark", 51n. World War II, 13 YAJNAVALKYA, RISHI, 49-56, 58-9 Yama, 138-9 Yamuna, 148, 266, 286 Page 313 ...
... original Godhead and the supreme resting-place of this All; thou art the knower and that which is to be known and the highest status; O infinite in form, by thee was extended the universe. Thou art Yama and Vayu and Agni and Soma and Varuna and Prajapati, father of creatures, and the great-grandsire. Salutation to thee a thousand times over and again Page 26 and yet again salutation... way you be and in whichever manner you abide or conform, it is to you that such a praise do I offer. O Lord, unbounded and eternal, you are Vayu the All-Pervasive Page 28 and you are Yama the Ordainer and, living in creature-kind, you are Agni. Varuna the Ruler over the Waters you are, and Soma the Moon-God. You are the Creator as Brahma and even beyond him, that Supreme, you are; you ...
... governs the universe as the Master of Nature, the Disposer of its Laws, the Almighty Providence, the Master of the Dharma. It has a similar sense to the word यमः applied to the single god of Dharma, Yama. There is an echo of this use in the Vishnu Purana when it is said that Vishnu is born in the Satya Yuga as Yajna, in the Treta as the Chakravarti Raja, in the Dwapara as Vyasa. In the Satya Yuga mankind ...
... extracts) The Flowers Who will conquer this world of illusion and the kingdom of Yama' and the world of the gods? Who will discover the path of the Law as the skilled gardener discovers the rarest of flowers? The disciple on the right path will conquer this world of illusion and the kingdom of Yama and the world of the gods. He will discover the path of the Law as the skilled gardener discovers... save us. When death seizes us, our kinsmen cannot save us. Knowing this perfectly, the intelligent man, guided by good conduct, does not delay in taking up the path which leads to Nirvana. 1. Yama: The God of Death. 2. The Perfectly Enlightened One'. The Buddha. 3. Taking one's food with the tip of a blade of Kusa grass symbolises an act of asceticism. 4. Gandharva: Celestial ...
... proper detail. Narad, the high soul, had foretold to me my husband's death long before; this was to happen today and for that reason I did not leave him alone. When he fell asleep Yama himself came there, accompanied by his assistants; he subdued him and tied him and started moving in the direction of the departed, the abode of the forefathers. Then to ...
... on the Intimations of Immortality, 119n. -Miscellaneous Poems, 132n. -"A slumber did my spirit seal", 132n. -"We are Seven", 195n. World War, 66-7, YAJNAVALKYA,21,134 Yama,44 Yeats,84n. -The Wild Swans at Coole, 84n. -"The Phases of the Moon", 84n. Yudhisthira, 76-7 ZEUS, 25, 98, 253 Page 434 ...
... foreheads of their brothers with sandalwood powder, give them sweetmeats and if they can, a gift of cloth. In this way they hope to ward off the coming of Yama, the Lord of Death. And they recite: On my brother's brow I have made the mark, On Yama's door the bolt has fallen. It is not sandalwood but love that protects and blesses, the love of sister for brother and brother for sister. But ...
... him. He looked round and lost her for ever' (Virgil, Georg. iv). 1 In India we have similar accounts in the- mythical restoration of life to Satyavan through Savitri's intercession with Yama, the Lord of Death, and to Lakhindar as a result of the loving venture of Behula. The Nachiketas Upākhyān of the Kathopanishad is also a case in point. (iv) Myths about legendary heroes' ...
... In the second canto, entitled 'The Issue', we see Savitri very near to the mighty issue between Death ignominious and Life Eternal. Only a few hours, and the issue will be joined between Yama and Savitri. This is the crucial moment in her life. To draw back and leave Fate to its devastating work is out of the question. For, it is she in whom the Universal Mother has descended to save humanity ...
... village. Yama arrives to take Satyavan away. Savitri is overcome with sorrow. The owner of the jatra who is dressed up as 'Vivek' (conscience) with a turban on his head breaks into a song but his throat is sore and the song sounds awful. Yama meanwhile is dragging Satyavan away. A widow in the audience who couldn't control herself suddenly jumped onto the stage. She stands in front of Yama and starts ...
... truth of the spirit and the Eternal: The face of the Truth is covered with a golden lid: O fostering Sun, that uncover for the law of the truth, for sight. O fosterer, O sole Rishi, O controlling Yama, O Surya, O son of the Father of creatures, marshal and mass thy rays: the Lustre that is thy most blessed form of all, that I see, He who is this, this Purusha, He am I. The kinship in difference... and beyond all cosmos, the Immortal, the One, the Infinite is hymned without veils in the splendour of his eternal transcendence and his manifold self-revelation. A few passages from the teachings of Yama, lord of the Law and of Death, to Nachiketas, will be enough to illustrate something of their character. OM is this syllable. This syllable is the Brahman, this syllable is the Supreme. He who ...
... end, terminus, boundary, limit; of close or finale; so the close of all, death or even mukti; and all kindred significations. We have म, slaying, destroying, deadly, in the sense of poison, also of Yama, the lord of death; मा, to conclude, infer; मी, to kill, destroy; to impair; to hurt, violate, transgress, and, intransitively, to die; to be lost or go astray, all evidently derived from the passive ...
... 11 Whitehead, A.N., 25 world-consciousness 8, 79 world-knowledge 22; see also knowl edge world-nature, intangible energies, of 62; see also Nature Yājnavalkya 97 yama 26 Yoga 21, 29; collective 15; cosmic 15; the conscious adventure of 53: the first steps of 54 Yogic consciousness 80 Page 106 ...
... distinction between the pleasant, preyas, and the good, shreyas, and the choice for the latter even when the former is guaranteed. Next, this inquiry is to be aided by a competent teacher, such as Yama in the Katha Upanishad, or as Pippalada in the Prashna Upanishad, or Brahma, the first of the Gods — devanam Prathamah, to Atharvan, he to Angir, Angir to Satyavaha the Bhardwaja, or Angiras in the... Upanishad. "Arise, awake, find out the great ones and learn from them; for sharp as a razor's edge, hard to Page 21 traverse, difficult of going is that path, say the sages." 26 This is what Yama demands of Nachiketas and through him to all those who seek truly and sincerely. The demand of the seeker results in response of the teacher in the form of that secret teaching that enters into the ...
... The authorities came and found me quite alive. I told them the warder was a fool." In Alipore Jail his sadhana moved very fast. And it showed physically, as had happened when he was doing prana-yama. His hair, for instance. The boys were greatly struck by its brilliance. They thought at first that it was due to oil. But the prisoners were not getting any oil in the jail! Upen put the question to ...
... Upanishad's parallel passage: The face of the truth is covered with the brlliant golden lid: O fostering Sun, that uncover for the law of the truth, for sight. O Fosterer, O Sole Rishi, O Controlling Yama, O Surya, O Son of the Father of creatures, marshal and mass the rays: the Lustre that is the most blessed form of all, that I see, He who is this, this Purusha, He am I." ...
... mental consciousness in which the activities of the emotional and sensational life and of thought and consciousness arise. The primary movement of Raja Yoga is a careful self-discipline consisting of yama and niyama. By the practice of truth, by renunciation of all forms of egoistic seeking, by abstention from injury to others, by purity, by constant meditation and inclination to the divine Purusha ...
... of something that happened long ago — "in far past times when the whole thing had to be opened." In the Mahabharata, it is the story of an individual victory over death; or rather, the story of Yama's boon of her husband's life to a chaste and noble wife. Surely, Sri Aurobindo's Savitri is much more than that. Is it the forecast of something that is to happen in the future? Alas, Death still... Death himself. In the original Mahabharata story, as in Sri Aurobindo's, the heroine doesn't flinch at the prospect of Satyavan's foretold death, nor even in the face of death or the sight of Yama the Lord of Death. She has prepared for the event, not by securing external aids, but by going within herself and forging the links with her secret self. She doesn't falter at any time, she doesn't... that happens during the day — why it happens and how, and who makes it happen — is the theme of the poem. What happens is the defeat — or rather the transmutation, transfiguration — of Death. Yama is not mentioned by name; always the sinister and dark Power figures as Death. Life and love and the soul's freedom are in utter jeopardy because of the seeming omnipotence of Death. It is the classic ...
... to the Mystic Fire, SABCL Vol. 11, p. 14. 12. Ibid. Page 200 O Pushan, that remove for the vision of the law of the Truth. O Pushan (Fosterer), Seer, O Yama, O Sun, O Child of the Father of beings, marshal and gather together thy rays; I see the Light which is that fairest (most auspicious) form of thee; he who is this Purusha, He am I." Sri Aurobindo... Upanishad translates into his own later style, keeping the central symbol of the Sun but without any secrecy in sense, a mystic thought or experience in a passage of the Rig-veda. "Pushan", "Kavi", "Yama", "Prajapati" are also Rig-vedic names though not present in that passage itself. The earlier formulation (V.62.1) runs: "There is a Truth covered by a Truth, where they unyoke the horses of the ...
... suddenly feels exhausted and there is profuse sweating as well as intense pain. He comes down from the tree and puts his head in the lap of Savitri. The noon has become dark with the presence of Yama, the God of Death. Savitri knows that Satyavan is there no more now with her. Page – 69 IX: 1 Towards the Black Void Calm and ungrieving, Savitri holds dead Satyavan... life divine. With the Boon held dear the two return to earth. XII: Epilogue: The Return to Earth The Epilogue in the Vyasa story of Savitri runs briefly as follows: Yama has departed and Savitri comes to the place where the dead body of Satyavan was lying. He regains his consciousness and makes enquiries about the terrifying figure who had dragged him with him to... pleading of Gautama Savitri relates everything. She begins with the prophecy made by Narad and the purpose of her accompanying Satyavan that day to the forest. She narrates about her encounter with Yama and how she received several boons from him. The mighty God, she tells, was immensely pleased with her utterances of the Truth and, finally, among several boons granted a life of four hundred years ...
... स्तोमकारिभिः कृता—rather active? or “formed by the hymn of affirmation”. Object of Mantra. 2 दिवश्चित् The interaction of the higher thought & the lower. 3 यमा. S. Usha mother of the Aswins. Perhaps Yama & Yami. तपुष्= Tapas. S. day. एता. P.P. आ +इता S. एतावागतौ. Perhaps P.P. wrong & एता = एतौ. 4 निंदिता—blame or limit, obstruct. दृंहिता = दृंहितानि 5 नवग्वैः .. दशग्वैः. The difference ...
... he enlarges and opens man's dark and limited being into a luminous and infinite consciousness. He is the sole Seer, Seer of Oneness and Knower of the Self, and leads him to the highest Sight. He is Yama, Controller or Ordainer, for he governs man's action and manifested being by the direct Law of the Truth, satyadharma , and therefore by the right principle of our nature, yāthātathyataḥ . A luminous ...
... not fight", "Do not utter bad words", "Do not steal", "Do not lie", etc. In the ancient methods of spiritual discipline those methods formed the elementary and basic part—in Rajayoga they are called Yama and Niyama (ahims ā , asteya, etc.). The Buddhists also started their spiritual training with the same lessons; they named them the Panchashilas: good conduct ( vinaya), etc. Withdrawal (praty ā ...
... original Godhead and the supreme resting-place of this All; thou art the knower and that which is to be known and the highest status; O infinite in form, by thee was extended the universe. Thou art Yama and Vayu and Agni and Soma and Varuna and Prajapati, father of creatures, and the great-grandsire. Salutation to thee a thousand times over and again and yet again salutation, in front and behind and ...
... Light that dwells near the dark end of things, or The One by whom all live, who lives by none, or that tremendous statement of Savitri's whole dynamic being against the argued sophistries of Yama, the God of Death, that passionate refusal to be overwhelmed by the mere Reason which can destroy but cannot build: I am, I love, I see, I act, I will. Effects like these are as good as impossible ...
... yet perceived all the perfection of its wearisomeness, then I knew that my mind was conquered.' × Yama : the god of Death. He is also the guardian of the Law. × Night of July 24, 1959 . ...
... been terribly harassed and humiliated by the Asura; they feel totally helpless and there they stand, in front of Brahma, crestfallen and resembling faded flowers: Varuna's noose droops in his hand, Yama aimlessly scrapes the ground with his rod as if with a wooden stick, Indra's thunderbolt has its edges blunted and the Rudras hang their head from where the crescent moons dangle. The attributes that ...
... arises in one's nature. People who come to him, he says, seem to be ready for the arising of Presence. In Sri Aurobindo's yoga, as in Eckhart's teaching, there is no mental code of conduct like the Yama—Niyama (do's and don'ts) of Patanjali or the Eightfold Path of Buddhism for the preparation and purification of the ordinary nature. Page 90 ...
... , 140 Whitehead, A. N., 345-6 Wordsworth, 183, 194 World Review, the, 353 World War I, 101, 373 YADUPATI,91 Yajnavalkya, 160, 167,200,259 Yama, 381 Yeats, 152, 195 Yudhisthira, 93 ZEUS, 24, 123,220,222 Zola, 145 ...
... 39-55; the call of Savitri, 55-57; Sri Aurobindo on the recasting of Aswapati's travels, 84; Sri Aurobindo's views on 'Fixt Fate and free Will, 151-153; Sri Aurobindo's symbolism in the Savitri-Yama dialectic, 210-211; Sri Aurobindo's expansion and changes to the original legend,257-264; his ideas on the symbolic content of Savitri, 264-265; Sri Aurobindo on the Vedic myths, 269-271; on the ...
... of something that happened long ago - "in far past times when the whole thing had to be opened". In the Mahabharata, it is the story of an individual victory over death; or rather, the story of Yama's boon of her husband's life to a chaste and noble wife. Surely, Sri Aurobindo's Savitri is much more than that. Is it the forecast of something that is to happen in the future? Alas, Death still... original Mahabharata story, as in Sri Aurobindo's, the heroine doesn't Page 661 flinch at the prospect of Satyavan's threatened death, nor even in the face of death I or the sight of Yama the Lord of Death. She has prepared for the event, not by securing external aids, but by going within herself and forging the links with her secret Self. She doesn't falter at any time, she doesn't... that happens during the day - why it happens and how, and who makes it happen - is the theme of the poem. What happens is the defeat - or rather the transmutation, transfiguration - of Death. Yama is not mentioned by name; always the sinister and dark Power figures as Death. Life and love and the soul's freedom are in utter jeopardy because of the seeming omnipotence of Death. It is the classic ...
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