The next part of Savitri we shall discuss is as followed.

Then through the pallid rift that seemed at first

Hardly enough for a trickle from the suns,
Outpoured the revelation and the flame.
The brief perpetual sign recurred above.
A glamour from unreached transcendences
Iridescent with the glory of the Unseen,
A message from the unknown immortal Light
Ablaze upon creation's quivering edge,
Dawn built her aura of magnificent hues
And buried its seed of grandeur in the hours.
An instant's visitor the godhead shone.

MEANINGS OF SOME DIFFICULT WORDS

Pallid = Abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress, (of light)
lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble.

Rift = A gap between cloud masses, A narrow gap in rock, small opening or way.
Perpetual = Continuing forever or indefinitely

Transcendences = A state of being or existence above and beyond the limits of material
experience.

Iridescent = Varying in color when seen in different lights or from different angles.

Grandeur = The quality of being magnificent or splendid or grand

In the last post we discussed how the darkness, the inconscience, the ignorance fails due to the
advent of the Light and also the Vedic Element from which the concept of a God lurking behind
this ignorance. Now there are some more consequences.

Then through the pallid rift that seemed at first

Hardly enough for a trickle from the suns,
Outpoured the revelation and the flame.

In our last post we discussed the formation of a window to heaven as Goddess Usha opens it. It is
like a small rift through which the Light outpours, which renders a revelation and a flame. Here
the word flame carries a lot of importance. We had a prevailing nescience, which now has failed
and Nature can see the Divine Consciousness for the first time. Therefore, here flame refers to
Divine Presence and Consciousness.

In the next lines we are going to discuss, Goddess Usha unveils herself slowly. Earlier her
appearance was not realized by the Nature due to its ignorance. Now when the nescience has
failed, her presence is now felt by the Nature.
The brief perpetual sign recurred above.

Perpetual sign means the Dawn, which is the outbreak of light. Dawn is the perpetual sign, which
symbolizes the continuity, the ever fresh continuity of the process if Time, and a fresh creation at
the commencement of a cycle or at the beginning of the day. It is an eternal promise o the
Supreme that is affirmed again and again. Such a sign is now realized. All the previous lines are
summed up in this one line, that is, all the previous processes we have discussed were meant to
realize this Presence of the Supreme.

Now in the next line Sri Aurobindo describes the realization of this Nature, the realization of
Goddess Usha.

A glamour from unreached transcendences

Iridescent with the glory of the Unseen,
A message from the unknown immortal Light
Ablaze upon creation's quivering edge,
Dawn built her aura of magnificent hues
And buried its seed of grandeur in the hours.

Dawn-Goddess Usha-shows her aura of magnificent colors on this “quivering edge” of creation.
She is ablaze or full of Divine Light (Prabha, Kanti), as she is “A message from the unknown
immortal Light”. There is somewhere a Light, which never fades, or a Source of eternal Light,
which is not known to our mortal eyes. Goddess Usha comes from that region as a message, as a
message from Supreme. (Also remember the lines A scout in a reconnaissance from the sun from
our previous discussion.) Therefore, she is “A glamour from unreached transcendences”.
Transcendences are the regions that are beyond our reach. Goddess Usha is glamour from such
transcendences. Therefore she is “Iridescent with the glory of the Unseen”. Here Unseen refers
to Supreme. And she buries the “seed of grandeur” in those hours of her action. “Seed of
grandeur” carries a sublime meaning. Dawn is just the beginning of day. Rest is yet to come, yet
to be seen, yet to be cherished. As the dawn recedes, the day takes over and as the day
progresses, the grandeur manifests. Therefore this seed of grandeur is the seed of Divine
Manifestation, which grows through the creation.

Here objection may be with the words like “Unseen”, “Unreached”, and “Unknown”. All these
words refer or point to Supreme Divine. Why does Sri Aurobindo describe Him as unseen,
unreachable, unknown?

It is because the Nature at this stage is not evolved to see Him, so He is Unseen. As Nature is just
started to evolve, so he is Unreachable, and it has not known Him, not even tried so far, so He is
Unknown. However, He is unknown but not unknowable, unreached but not unreachable, unseen
but not that he can never be seen. So such words suggest the possibility of reaching His
Consciousness, Knowing Him.

An instant’s visitor godhead shone.

Goddess Usha –the godhead –, who therefore is an instant’s visitor only, now shines. That is
manifests overtly.