A poem by Sri Aurobindo
"Glory and greatness and the joy of life, Strength, pride, victorious force, whatever man Desires, whatever the wild beast enjoys, Bodies of women and the lives of men— I claim to be my kingdom. I have force My title to substantiate, I seek No crown unearned, no lordship undeserved. Ask what austerity Thou wilt, Maker of man, Expense of blood or labour or long years Spent in tremendous meditation, lives Upon Thy altar spent of brutes or men; Or if with gold Thy favour purchasable, I may command rich offerings to glut Thy triumphs and Thy priests. I have a heart, A hand for any mighty sacrifice, A fiery patience in my vehement mood; I will submit. But ask not this of me, Meek silence and a pale imprisoned soul Made colourless of its humanity, Ask not the heart that quakes, the hand that spares, What strength can give, not weakness, that demand. O Rudra! O eternal Mahadev! Thou too art fierce and mighty, wrathful, bold, Snuffing Thy winds for blood of sacrifice And angrily Thou rul'st a prostrate world. O Rakshasa Almighty, look on me, Ravan, the lord of all Thy Rakshasas, Give me Thy high command to smite Thy foes; But most I would afflict, chase and destroy Thy devotees who traduce Thee, making Thee A God of Love, a God too sweet to rule. I have the knowledge, what Thou art I know
And know myself, for Thou and I are one." So prayed the Lord of Lanka, and in heaven Sri Krishna smiled, the Friend of all mankind, And asked, "O masters of the knowledge, Seers Who help me by your thoughts to help mankind, Hearken what Ravan cries against the stars Demanding earth for heritage. Advise, Shall he then have it?" And a cry arose, "He would root out the Brahmin from the earth, Impose his dreadful Yoga on mankind And make the violent heart, the iron hand Sovereign of all." Sri Krishna made reply, "From out Myself he went to do My will. He has not lied, he has the knowledge. He And I are one. How then shall I refuse? Does it not say, the Veda that you know, 'When one knows That, then whatso he desires, It shall be his'?" And Atri sage replied, "Let him then rule a season and be slain." And He who reigns, "Something you know, O Seers, Not all my purpose. It is long decreed, The Rakshasa shall rule the peopled earth. He takes the brute into himself for man Yielding it offerings, while with grandiose thoughts And violent aspirations he controls; He purifies the demon in the race Slaying in wrath, not cruelty. Awhile He puts the Vanara out of the world, Accustoming to grandeur all mankind; The Ifrit he rejects. Were he denied His period, man could not progress. But since He sees himself as Me, not Me in him, And takes the life and body for the whole, He cannot last. Therefore is Atri's word Accepted." And before the Rakshasa, Out of the terror of the sacrifice, Naked and dark, with a blood-dripping sword And dreadful eyes that seemed to burn the world, Kali the Rakshasi in flames arose.
"Demand a boon," she cried, and all the gods Trembled. "Give me the earth for my delight, Her gods to be my slaves", the Rakshasa cried, "Of strength and pride." "So let it be," She answered. "Shall it be eternal then?" Ravan demanded and she thundered, "No, For neither thou nor I are best nor last. The Asuri shall arise to fill my place, The Asura thy children shall dethrone. An aeon thou hast taken to evolve, An aeon thou shalt rule. But since thy wish I have denied, ask yet another boon." "Let this be mine then, when at last I sink, Nor brute nor demon, man nor Titan's hand, Nor any lesser creature shall o'erthrow, But only God himself compel my fall." And Kali answered, smiling terribly, "It is decreed," and laughing loud she passed. Then Ravan from his sacrifice arose.
"Glory and greatness and the joy of life, Strength, pride, victorious force, whatever man Desires, whatever the wild beast enjoys, Bodies of women and the lives of men, I claim to be my kingdom. I have force My title to substantiate, and I seek No crown unearned, no lordship undeserved. Ask what austerity Thou wilt, Maker of man, Expense of blood or labour or long years Spent in tremendous meditations, lives Upon Thy altar spent of brutes or men, Or if with gold Thy favour purchasable I may command, rich offerings to glut Thy temples and Thy priests. I have a heart, A hand for any mighty sacrifice, A fiery patience in my vehement mood; I will submit. But ask not this of me, Meek silence and a pale imprisoned soul Made colourless of its humanity; Ask not the heart that quakes, the hand that spares. What strength can give, not weakness, that demand. O Rudra, O eternal Mahádev, Thou too art fierce and mighty, wrathful, bold, Snuffing Thy winds for blood of sacrifice, And angrily Thou rul'st a prostrate world. O Rákshasa Almighty, look on me,
Rávan, the lord of all Thy Rákshasas, Give me Thy high command to smite Thy foes; But most I would afflict, chase and destroy Thy devotees who traduce Thee, making Thee A God of love, a God too sweet to rule. I have the knowledge; what Thou art, I know, And know myself, for Thou and I are one." So prayed the Lord of Lunca, and in Heaven Sri Krishna smiled, the Friend of all mankind, A smile of sweetness and divine delight, And asked, "O Masters of the knowledge, Seers Who help me by your thoughts to help mankind, Hearken what Rávan cries against the stars, Demanding earth for heritage. Advise, Shall he then have it?" And a cry arose, "He would root out the Brahmin from the earth, Impose his dreadful Yoga on mankind, And make the violent heart, the iron hand Sovereign of all." Sri Krishna made reply, "From out Myself he went to do My will. He has not lied, he has the knowledge. He And I are one. How then shall I refuse? Does it not say, the Veda that you know, When one knows That, then whatso he desires, It shall be his'?" And Atri sage replied, "Let him then rule a season and be slain." And He who reigns, "Something you know, O Seers, Not all My purpose. It is long decreed, The Rákshasa shall rule the peopled earth. He takes the brute into himself for man, Yielding it offerings, while with grandiose thoughts And violent aspirations he controls; He purifies the demon in the race, Slaying in wrath, not cruelty. Awhile He puts the Vánara out of the world, Accustoming to grandeur all mankind;
The Ifrit he rejects. Were he denied His period, man could not progress. But since He sees himself as Me, not Me in him, And takes the life and body for the whole, He cannot last. Therefore is Atri's word Accepted." And before the Rákshasa, Out of the terror of the sacrifice, Naked and dark, with a blood-dripping sword And dreadful eyes that seemed to burn the world, Kálí the Rákshasí in flames arose. "Demand a boon!" she cried, and all the gods Trembled. "Give me the earth for my delight, Her gods to be my slaves," the Giant cried, "Of strength and passion let me have my fill, Of violence and pride." "So let it be," She answered. "Shall it be eternal then?" Rávan demanded and she thundered, "No! For neither thou nor I are best nor last. The Asurí shall rise to fill my place, The Asura thy children shall dethrone. An aeon thou hast taken to evolve, An aeon thou shalt rule. But since thy wish I have denied, ask yet another boon." "Let this be mine, that when at last I sink, Nor brute nor demon, man nor Titan's hand, Nor any lesser creature shall o'erthrow, But only God Himself compel my fall." And Kálí answered, smiling terribly, "It is decreed," and laughing loud she passed. Then Rávan from his sacrifice arose.
Part IV : Calcutta and Chandernagore (1907-1910) > Poems Written in 1910 and Published in 1920-1921
How to read the color-coded changes below? 1. SABCL version : lines with any changes & specific changes 2. CWSA version : lines with any changes & specific changes
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