________________
THE FALL.
and, enraged at the sight of her smiling rival, pronounced diverse curses on the gods who had taken part in the ceremony. She then walked away, leaving the gods in a state of consternation. The young bride, thereupon, herself modified the curses of her divine rival, and promised all kinds of blessings, including final absorption into him, to all the worshippers of her Lord. Finally, Vishnu and Lakshmi brought back the angry Sâvitri, and Gâyatri threw herself at her feet. Upon this Savitri, having raised and embraced her, said,
"Since the virtuous wife will do nothing to displease her husband, therefore let us both be attached to Brahmâ."
Gâyatri, too, bashfully murmured in reply:
"Thy orders will I always obey, and esteem thy friendship precious as my life; thy daughter am I, O goddess! deign to protect me,"
187
The explanation of this legend lies in the psychological functions of the will, personified as gods and goddesses in the Puranas. There are two tendencies in the will which appear as intuition and intellect. As Bergson says:
Jain Education International
"The two tendencies, at first implied in each other, had to separate in order to grow. They both went to seek their fortune in the world, and turned out to be instinct and intelligence......Life, that is to say, consciousness launched into matter, fixed its attention either on its own movements or on the matter it was passing through; and it has thus been turned either in the direction of intuition, or in that of intellect" (The Creative Evolution).
Intuition is the sense which gives rise to immediate self-awareness, and in the highest sense means omniscience pure and simple, but intellect is the faculty which deals with forms. In the Puranas the former is personified as the goddess, and the latter as the milkmaid. The jar of butter which Gâyatri carries in her hand indicates
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org