2) Also, of Sat-Chit-Anand, Brahma is the Sat aspect, Vishnu the Chit part of the Chit aspect, Mahesh the Shakti part of the Chit aspect, Krishna the Anand aspect. i.e. can we say Brahma = Maheshwari = Sat; Vishnu= Maha Saraswati= Chit; Krishna= Mahalaxmi= Love Anand Beauty; Shiv= Mahakali=Shakti part of Chit;
Sri Aurobindo does speak about the original four powers and aspects, which are clearly the four aspects of the One Sacchidananda. These are namely Brahma as infinite Existence, Vishnu as infinite Consciousness, Shiva as infinite Force, Krishna as infinite Ananda. But these four great powers act from different layers of creation. It is difficult, therefore, to have an exact correspondence. Krishna’s consort, for example, is Radha and Sri Aurobindo clearly mentions her as the mysterious power towards the end of the four powers.
‘There are other great Personalities of the Divine Mother, but they were more difficult to bring down and have not stood out in front with so much prominence in the evolution of the earth-spirit. There are among them Presences indispensable for the supramental realisation,—most of all one who is her Personality of that mysterious and powerful ecstasy and Ananda which flows from a supreme divine Love, the Ananda that alone can heal the gulf between the highest heights of the supramental spirit and the lowest abysses of Matter, the Ananda that holds the key of a wonderful divinest Life and even now supports from its secrecies the work of all the other Powers of the universe.’
(Ref. https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/32/the-radha-power)
Similarly, the consort of Brahma in tradition is Saraswati. Maheshwari here is the goddess of supreme Wisdom. If one would like to think of the consort of Shiva, it would rather be Mahakali.
The closest these four great goddesses come to the traditional literature it is as they are described in Chandi Path by the Rishi Markandeya, though they are described there as aspects of Durga, who herself is portrayed as the Divine Mother as the guardian of earth. Given that Sri Aurobindo did write the Durga Stotra as well as a little poem on Rishi Markandeya, took up Savitri as his main work, which is again narrated by the same Rishi, one would be tempted to collate it with the Chandi Saptashati. Maheshwari is not explicitly mentioned there but is very much present.
A closer look would reveal and going by the description of the Triple Soul Forces in Savitri, they would very much be seen as the four original powers that stand at the apex of the trigunatmik Prakriti, opening the gates of the Paraprakriti. Maheshwari would then be the power behind Sattwaguna, acting upon the mind, bringing there the Light of the Divine. Mahakali and Mahalakshmi would be both the powers behind Rajoguna, acting upon the vital, bringing there the force, strength, as well as harmony and beauty. Mahasaraswati would be the power operating in the physical consciousness where tamoguna dominates. She brings there the detailed perfection and peace that is the characteristic element of the earth and material nature in its purity.
Another yet closer correspondence would be to correlate with the fourfold description of Om in the Mandukya Upanishad. Here, Pragya, the original supreme intelligence, would be Maheshwari. The Force releasing creation out of this concentrated supreme intelligence would be that of Mahakali ordering the play of Time. The right and harmonious relation of the different elements released for creation in the womb of Hiranyagarbha would be Mahalakshmi, while the most outward arrangement of the material universe, Virat, would be the province of Mahasaraswati.
Nevertheless, an exact correspondence is difficult to derive, especially because Sri Aurobindo went past the Overmind experience of things from where traditions emerge (at their highest) to the Supramental view, which is more complete and comprehensive.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
