Writings in Bengali and Sanskrit
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Sri Aurobindo started learning Bengali, his mother tongue, in England, as a probationer for the Indian Civil Service. After his return to India he began a serious study of the language with a view to acquiring proficiency in reading, writing and speaking. He wrote poems, essays, translations and letters in Bengali from his years as an administrative officer and professor in Baroda (1893-1906), through the period of his political activism in Calcutta, where he edited the Bengali weekly “Dharma” in 1909-10, to the 1930s when he corresponded in Bengali with a few members of his Ashram in Pondicherry.
Sri Aurobindo’s writings in Sanskrit are much less extensive than those in Bengali, but likewise include poetry and prose on a significant range of topics. They show in a brief compass Sri Aurobindo’s development from the period when he was assimilating India’s cultural heritage after his return from England, through his days as a nationalist leader, to his flowering as a Yogi, scholar and thinker contributing to the recovery of the ancient wisdom of the Veda and Upanishads. These writings were not published during his lifetime, but were discovered in his manuscripts after his passing.
Writings in Sanskrit:
- Vividhāḥ ślokāḥ (1900-03)
- Prāṇa idaṁ sarvam (1900-03)
- Bhavānī Bhāratī (1904-08)
- Tāntrikasiddhiprakaraṇam (1910-11)
- Saptacatuṣṭayam (1910-12)
- Ekamevādvitīyaṁ Brahma (1912-13)
- Kaivalyopaniṣad commentary (1912)
- Ṛgvedaḥ commentary (1920, 1916)
- Sā sarvā (1927)
- Mantrāḥ (1927-1933)
Bengali Writings translated into English
I. Hymns
II. Stories
A Dream (Suprabhat, 1909-1910) 11 The Ideal of Forgiveness (Dharma, No. 26, February, 1910) 21
III. The Veda
The Secret of the Veda (Vividha Rachana, 1955) 27 Agni — The Divine Energy (Vividha Rachana, 1955) 35 The Rigveda (Vividha Rachana, 1955) 42
IV. The Upanishads
The Upanishads (Dharma, No. 15, December, 1909) 57 The Integral Yoga in the Upanishads (Vividha Rachana, 1955) 60 The Isha Upanishad (Vividha Rachana, 1955) 63
V. The Puranas
The Puranas (Dharma, No. 17, December, 1909) 71
VI. The Gita
The Dharma of the Gita (Dharma, No. 2, August, 1909) 77 The Vision of the World Spirit (Dharma, No. 23, February, 1910) 86 The Gita: An Introduction (Dharma, Nos. 7-9, 1909-1910) 91 The Gita: Text — Translation (Dharma, No. 10, 1909) 107 Sanjaya's Gift of Divine Vision (Dharma, Nos. 11-18, 1909-1910) 117 The Gita: Text — Translation (2) (Dharma, Nos. 19-24, 1910) 151
VII. Dharma
The Chariot of Jagannath (Prabartak, 1918) 171 
Three Stages of Human Society (Vividha Rachana, 1955) 176 Ahankara (Dharma, No. 5, September, 1909) 179 Integrality (Vividha Rachana, 1955) 182 Hymns and Prayers (Dharma, No. 24, February, 1910) 184 Our Religion (Dharma, No. 1, August, 1909) 189 Maya (Dharma, No. 3, August, 1909) 194 Nivritti (Dharma, No. 12, November, 1909) 201 Prakamya (Dharma, Nos. 17 and 18, 1909-1910) 205
VIII. Nationalism
The Old and The New (Vividha Rachana, 1955) 213 The Problem of the Past (Dharma, No. 6, September, 1909) 215 The Country and Nationalism (Dharma, No. 14, December, 1909) 224 The True Meaning of Freedom (Dharma, No. 8, October, 1909) 227 A Word About Society (Vividha Rachana, 1955) 230 Fraternity (Dharma, No. 23, February, 1910) 232 Indian Painting (Dharma, No. 25, February, 1910) 237 Hirobumi Ito (Dharma, No. 10, November, 1909) 239 Guru Govind Singh (Dharma, No. 8, October, 1909) 241 National Resurgence (Dharma, No. 5, September, 1909) 243 Our Hope (Dharma, No. 20, January, 1910) 249 East and West (Dharma, No. 22, January, 1910) 253
IX. Tales of Prison Life
Tales of Prison Life (Suprabhat, 1909-1910) 261 Prison and Freedom (Bharati) 320 The Aryan Ideal and the Three Gunas (Suprabhat, 1909-1910) 331 New Birth (Dharma, No, 2, August, 1909) 342
X. Letters
Letters to Mrinalini (1905-1907) 349 A Letter to Barin (1920) 359 Letters to N. and S. (Published, 1951 & 1959) 376 Obstacles and Difficulties 376 Parts of the being 390 Foundations of Yoga 397 Experience, Direct Perception and Realisation 402 Dependence on the Mother 412 Inner Vision — Symbols — Colours 419 Devotion — Faith — Reliance 424 The Psychic Being 427 Pride — Impurity — Grief — Despair 430 Planes of Consciousness 432
XI. Poetry
The Mother Awakes (Archives, April 1980) 435 Living Matter (Archives, December 1979) 438 The Music of Silence (Archives, April 1978) 442 Ravana Vanquished (Archives, April 1979) 443 A Colloquy (Archives, December 1980) 448 A Poetic Fragment (Archives, April 1981) 453
See also