The next portion of the Savitri we shall discuss is as followed.

It was as though even in this Nought's profound,

Even in this ultimate dissolution's core,
There lurked an unremembering entity,
Survivor of a slain and buried past
Condemned to resume the effort and the pang,
Reviving in another frustrate world.
An unshaped consciousness desired light
And a blank prescience yearned towards distant change.
As if a childlike finger laid on a cheek
Reminded of the endless need in things
The heedless Mother of the universe,
An infant longing clutched the sombre Vast.

MEANINGS OF SOME DIFFICULT WORDS

Lurk = stay hidden,

Slain = aftermath of destruction or killings.

Pang = sharp pain, painful effort or work.

Yearn = aspiration,

Heedless = carelessness, inattentiveness.

Sombre = Gloomy, Dull.

In our last discussion we discussed the initiation of aspiration in the subconscient mind of the
enormous night. A memory awoke in the in the subconscient mind, revive that this was not the
first time that the Night was waking for a dawn. We also discussed that the creations and
destructions are like a series of days and nights.

Now, the Night or the dark woman compared this memory with the stir. And –

It was as though even in this Nought's profound,

Even in this ultimate dissolution's core,
There lurked an unremembering entity,
Condemned to resume the effort and the pang,
Reviving in another frustrate world.

The Night felt that as though something like an entity is hidden in its profound Nought (Shunya),
in the core, which is a remain of the ultimate dissolution, that is previous destruction. Therefore
entity is a “Survivor of a slain and buried past”. But, this entity does not remember its past, as
Sri Aurobindo points it as “an unremembering entity”. Also he does not say that it is exactly an
entity, but “as though”. This entity was “Condemned to resume the effort and the pang”. What
sort of an effort? This entity was enforced to mix its own aspiration for the Dawn with the stir,
which was felt so that the emergence of the aspiration is on its full and the Night gives its
consent for the Dawn, like a friend of ours encourages us to do something which is good for us
when we are not willing to do it.

An unshaped consciousness desired light

And a blank prescience yearned towards distant change.

Here unshaped consciousness means the same enormous night. Unshaped or shapeless also refers
to something which is not definite and profound, that is the inconscient night itself. Now these
two lines are self-explanatory and indicate the full emergence of the aspiration for the Dawn and
consent of the Night for the same, as a result of the stir and the entity mixing its own aspiration
with that of the inconscient Night. In this inconscience there is a prescience (knowledge of
future), but it is not precisely a prescience, it is a feeling of some thing to come, some change to
take place, it is a “blank prescience”.

As if a childlike finger laid on a cheek

Reminded of the endless need in things
The heedless Mother of the universe,
An infant longing clutched the sombre Vast.

Now, this aspiration, yearning towards a distant change and desire for the light had an effect like
a child clutches its Mother “An infant longing clutched the sombre Vast”, so that the inconscient
Night will not ignore this aspiration, as this inconscient Night is “Heedless Mother of Universe”.
This aspiration, which clutched itself to the inconscient Night, reminded its endless needs to the
bight, like a child puts its fingers on the cheeks of its Mother, when she is inattentive to it. This is
another example of Sri Aurobindo giving close-to-life examples and comparisons.

Now, why Sri Aurobindo calls this inconscience as the Mother of Universe?

I found the answer in “The Book of Beginnings” by Sri M P Pandit.

“There is a suggestion here that behind this Vast of Nature is the Face of the Mother of Universe
hidden”

CONCLUSION
From this conclusion we can conclude that now the inconscience prevailing has given its full
consent for the Dawn to appear and it is aspiring for the same. The emergence of the aspiration is
now full, as a result of the stir and the effect of the entity mixing its own aspiration with the stir.

In the coming portions, Sri Aurobindo has given the picture of the first of the Dawns, the
appearance of Goddess Usha.

References:

1. Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri – An Approach and a Study by Sri A B Purani.

2. The Book of Beginnings by Sri M P Pandit