Since 1980, Shraddhavan has been teaching English in Auroville through close readings of Sri Aurobindo’s revelatory epic Savitri: a legend and a symbol. In August 1998 these classes were resumed at Savitri Bhavan, with a growing number of students, including young Tamil teacher-trainees from the Arul Vazhi School located in Promesse, Auroville. These classes were given the name ‘The English of Savitri’ and they concluded in May of 2009 as this group reached the end of the poem. This book is based on the transcripts of a new series of classes given by Shraddhavan between August 2009 and October 2010, which have been edited for conciseness and clarity, while aiming to preserve some of the informal atmosphere of the course. Edited transcripts of these classes began to be published serially in the Bhavan’s journal of Study Notes on Savitri, ‘Invocation’, from issue 32 onwards, since it was felt that they may be of interest to a wider audiance. They are now being published in book form in several volumes by Yukta Prakashan publishers of Vadodara. This suggested the idea of collecting the original English articles into a book form as well. This is the first such volume, covering all the five cantos of Book One of the poem, ‘The Book of Beginnings’.

Indian mythology is home to charming kings and honest hermits, also reflecting the radiance of mighty kingdoms and charismatic queens. This book is a jewel from the pages of mythology, highlighting the story of Satyavan and Savitri. They are seen as an epitome of love, where Savitri fought even the God of Death to win back her husband’s life. Dotted with glimpses into the lives of humans and gods alike, this is an inspiring tale of love, faith and perseverance.

Even the merciless Lord Yama is charmed by Savitri. This gentle, beautiful princess is admired by gods and kings, the rich and the poor, the young and the old. But when the shadow of death hangs over her husband she is filled with courage spurred by her selfless love for him. She strives for a miracle – with amazing success!

Almost all of the essays collected in this volume were written for and first published as monthly instalments in Next Future, the e-journal of the Sri Aurobindo Society Pondicherry. The 47 instalments ended with the passing of Dr. Nadkarni in September 2007, and cover Savitri Book by Book, Canto by Canto, from the beginning up to the climactic point in the middle of Book Eleven, where Savitri is offered four boons of merger with the Supreme, and asks instead for the Supreme Peace, Oneness, Energy and Bliss ‘for Earth and Men’. Dr. Nadkarni has written other essays on Savitri as well as giving many other talks, but this collection represents a masterly ‘Introduction’ (as he modestly called it) to the revelatory poem which he loved so much and understood so well. It has been compiled and published at the request of his family, and we feel sure that it will be welcomed by Savitri readers and students all over the world, and to a certain extent make up for the great loss that his many admirers experienced when he passed away in September 2007 at the age of 74.

Rabindranath Tagore S Drama Chitra Is Aimed At Reminding Man That The Ultimate Truth Is To Be Found Not At The Physical Level But In The Steady Evolution Of The Self. The Illumination Of A Young Princess Mind Lies In The Recognition And Realization That It Is In Truth Alone That True Happiness Resides. Similarly Aurobindo S Epic Savitri Seeks To Narrate The Story Of A Young Princess Who Saves The Life Of Her Husband From Death To Suggest The Ultimate Liberation Of Man From Universal Death. Chitra And Savitri Are Upanishadic Works In The Sense That Their Principal Theme Is The Search For Vidya (Knowledge) That Liberates Man From Avidya (Ignorance), And That Their Main Stylistic Device Is The Conversation Between The Human And Divine Characters. Evolution Thus Becomes The Watchword Of Both Aurobindo And Tagore. The Awakening Of The Self Or Raising The Life And Existence To A Higher Level Of Consciousness Is One Of The Parallel Themes Observed In Chitra And Savitri. Further, The Integral Transformation Of Chitra And Savitri And Their Inner Intuitive Development Has A Much Wider Connotation To Mankind At Large. Chitra And Savitri Are Thus Established As Works Of Self-Discovery. Although There Are Fundamental Differences In Terms Of The Nature Of Chitra And Savitri S Awareness, There Is No Denying The Fact That These Legends From The Mahabharata Are Exquisite Examples Of The Female Aspect Of The Indian Women.

This is the sixth volume of the English of Savitri series, based on transcripts of classes led by the author at Savitri Bhavan, in this case from 23 June to 29 December 2016. The transcripts have been carefully revised and edited for conciseness and clarity, while aiming to preserve the informal atmosphere of the course. This volume contains detailed explanations of the texts of the two closing Books of Sri Aurobindo’s epic: Book Eleven - The Book of Everlasting Day and Book Twelve - Epilogue: The Return to Earth. Each sentence is examined closely and explanations are given about vocabulary, sentence structure and imagery. The aim is to assist a deeper understanding and appreciation of the poem which the Mother has characterised as 'the supreme revelation of Sri Au robin do's vision'.

Having applied the standards of modern critical theory, it may sound fruitless to account for biographical details of writer in interpreting his work as the biographical details either hold no importance or have nothing to do with the work of art in the sense that once a work of art is born, it looses its connection with the creator. Moreover, even in the moment of creation, the author remains detached from his creation. However, there are some exceptions to this. It has been observed that the biographical details are of immense help in partly making sense of what the concerned author has encoded.