On Savitri
THEME/S
The Dialogue between Savitri and Yama; with Savitri's Commendable Utterances Yama's Getting Pleased and his Granting her Several Boons; Satyavan's Coming back to Life and, after Some Talk Amongst them, their Setting forth towards the Ashram.
Markandeya said:
Then he, lustrous in strength, and helped by his wife, collected a basketful of fruits and began chopping the firewood.
But, while hewing the branches, he started sweating profusely and, as a result of that hard labour, suffering a severe headache.
Distressed as he was, he went closer to his loving wife and in that affliction told her —
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Satyavan said:
There is a cleaving headache that has come to me due to this hard work.
And, O Savitri, all my limbs are in agony and there is a burning sensation in my heart; I find myself gravely indisposed, O one of few words.
It appears to me as though sharp spikes are being driven through my head; I wish to lie down, O blessed and auspicious, as I have no strength to remain standing.
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Markandeya said
Savitri, finding him so, immediately went closer to her husband and sat on the ground and took his head in her lap.
Remembering what Narad had said, that devout woman, observer of the ascetic practices, began reckoning the day, the time, even the hour and the moment.
Within a short while she saw present there a bright person in red attire, with a tiara on his head; handsome and brilliant he looked, as though the Sun-God himself had appeared there.
His body, dark in hue, was lustrous, and his eyes were blood-red, and he had a noose in his hand which inspired great fright; standing close behind Satyavan he was steadfastly gazing at him.
She, noticing him there, laid aside her husband's head on the ground and stood up with folded hands and, trembling in her heart, spoke in an anxious longing voice to him.
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Savitri said:
I take you to be some noble god as you have a form other than the human; if it pleases you, pray tell me who you are and what you propose to do, O god!
Yama said:
O Savitri, as you are devoted to your husband, and as you practise askesis, I can converse with you; know me, O virtuous lady, to be Yama.
Your husband Satyavan, earth-born as he is, his life is over, and I have come to bind him forcibly and take him away with me; yes, this is what I propose to do.
O Lord, what I have heard is that you send your
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ministers when human beings are concerned; and how is it then that you have come here yourself in person, O Master?
When asked in this manner, the King-father Lord duly began narrating everything, all in a sequence, for her satisfaction and happiness.
As he is conjoined in the dharma and has beautiful features and is an ocean of noble qualities, it is not in propriety that he be taken by my ministers; for this reason I have come myself in person.
Then Yama pulled out with force Satyavan's soul, the
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being no bigger than the thumb, who is fettered by his body and subject to it.
With the departure of the life-breath his respiration ceased; his body, bereft of all lustre, remained immobile and was not pleasing to look at.
Yama then tied it up and started moving towards the South; and Savitri, afflicted with agony, went behind Yama, following in his steps. That great lady, devoted to her husband, could do this having obtained the siddhi, the fulfilment, of the vow.
Savitri, turn back and attend to the funeral rites of the dead; you have now paid the debt to your husband and are free of it; as far you could go with him, you have come.
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Wheresoever is taken my husband, or wheresoever he goes of his own, there must I follow him; that is the eternal dharma, the conduct of righteousness.
By austerity, devotion to the preceptors, love for the husband, observance of the holy vow, and by your noble grace, there is nothing that my going can arrest.
Knowers of the science of reality proclaim that, by taking seven steps with a person, a friendly relationship is established with him; honouring our friendship in that respect, I shall tell you something to which I request you to listen.
Those who are not self-possessed, even though they may stay in a forest, they cannot practise dharma, or go by the preceptors, or undertake difficult austerities.
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The wise, who know discrimination, hold happiness to lie in the dharma alone; therefore do the sages give to dharma such pre-eminence.
Following one's own dharma, approved by those who are established in the truth, one knows the path which takes one to the goal; therefore, one should not covet the second, or the third, or any other person's dharma: such is the dharma which the sages hold to be excellent.
O unblamable, return now; in true accent and knowing the letters well and making the right use of the words, and with the proper reasoning that you speak, I am pleased with you. Ask for a boon which I shall grant, but excluding life for the dead.
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My father-in-law has lost his kingdom and is an exile, abiding in the forest, and he is blind; I desire that the King may, by your grace, gain his sight and be mighty and glorious like the fire and the sun.
O unblamable, I grant you the boon you have asked for and it will be so; but I see that, by walking a great distance, you are exhausted. Return therefore that you may not be more tired by this exertion.
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How can I be weary or tired when close I am to my husband? Where dwells my husband, indeed, there I shall be. Wheresoever you will be taking my Lord, I too must go thither; O God sovereign, listen again to what I shall say.
Company with the virtuous, even though for a short while, is a highly cherished occasion; being in their friendship is said to be greater still; association with holy persons is never fruitless. Therefore, one should always be close to the truthful virtuous.
O fair young lady, what you have said is most salutary for all, and is very agreeable to my mind, and is to be hailed greatly in the increase of intelligence of the learned. Ask for yet another boon, but not that of the life of Satyavan.
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My wise father-in-law has lost his kingdom and may that come back to the King as before; he is like my preceptor and let him never abandon the dharma. This by the second boon I ask of you.
Soon, and without difficulty, shall the King regain his lost kingdom, and never will he depart from Righteousness: O princess, now what you desired I have granted to you,, return therefore that the journey may not weary you,
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O Ordainer, great in poise, the Law you uphold for the welfare of the creatures, and to different worlds you take them according to your wishes; and that is why everywhere you are well-known as Yama. But please listen to what I am going to address to you.
Not to have malice and not to hurt anyone with thought, or with word, or with act, but to give away in charity, and always show kindness, is indeed the dharma of the virtuous.
Creatures of this world generally live a short life and are prone to spend away their strength; but the noble and the saintly are friendly and kind, in your manner, even to the enemy when he approaches them.
O bright eminent lady, in the like way a thirsty person
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becomes happy on getting water, I am so much moved by your words; therefore, again, but not for the life of Satyavan, ask for another boon that you greatly desire.
Sonless is my father, the Lord of the Earth, and hence grant to him the fatherhood of a hundred sons of his own, that his line may continue to grow. From you this is the third boon I wish to get.
O noble lady, a hundred illustrious sons shall be born, this way for your father to perpetuate his race; but now, O princess, your wish granted, return, for quite
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far have you come on this path here,
Close to my husband as I am, this place is not far or remote to me, and my mind can run even faster than this; therefore, as you proceed, those words which I have already spoken, listen to them again from me.
You are the mighty son of Vivasvan, and that is why the learned call you Vaivasvat; to all the creatures you are fair, and you uphold the dharma. For that reason you are, O Lord, also known as Dharmaraj.
More than himself does a man put his trust in the
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sages and so everyone gives more of his love in particular to them.
Only with a good heart can the living beings find trust in one another, and hence the sages are particularly trusted by everybody.
Never have I heard such holy utterances, O .well-learned and bright lady, in anyone speaking to me; ask for yet another boon, the fourth, pleased that I am, but not the life for the deceased, and from hither return to your place.
By our union, mine with Satyavan, let there be a
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hundred sons, noble and heroic in deed, well-born, extending the glory of the house; this is the fourth boon that I desire.
You shall have, O woman, a Kindred sons, mighty and heroic, who shall gladden your heart; but; O princess, you have come walking a long distance and therefore now return, that you may not get tired on the way back.
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Holy people ever abide in the dharma, and do not the sages despair, nor are they afflicted any time. Such a company or fellowship of the pious with the saints is never without rewards or fruits. Never is for them any fear from the saints.
By the Truth the saints lead the sun; by askesis the saints uphold the earth; the past, present and future find their refuge in the saints, O King. Noble persons in the midst of the saints have never any grief.
Those endowed with nobility honour and serve the -dharmic practices of eternal value; in that they strive for the supreme good of one another, and at each other do not look otherwise.
Benedictions of the persons established in the Truth go never unfulfilled; neither in them is the ill of selfishness, nor is there the wounded sense of lost pride; and because such three qualities are ever present in the saints, they are hailed as the protectors of the world.
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O devoted and chaste lady, the more in well-adorned verses, full of great significance and agreeable to perception, you speak of the noble things conformable to the dharma, the more does my excellent devotion for you increase; therefore, choose yet another but an appropriate boon from me.
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O destroyer of pride, this boon which you have granted me is of a different kind than the earlier ones and it cannot get fulfilled without proper matrimony; that is why, again, I ask for the life of Satyavan, without whom as a husband I am as good as dead.
If I am to get such pleasure without my husband I shall abstain from it; even if heaven were offered to me I would not enter it without my husband; I am not anxious to possess wealth or fortune if it is without my husband; actually, 1 do not wish even to exist without my husband.
You have given me the boon of a hundred sons and you yourself are taking my husband away; for that reason I ask again the boon of life for Satyavan, by which your words shall come true.
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Saying 'Let it be so' Dharmaraj Yama, the son of Vivasvan, released the noose from around his soul and, delighted, spoke this way to Savitri:
O gracious lady, here I free your husband, O daughter doing honour to the House; by your words possessed with the merit of the dharma, O saintly woman, you have fully gladdened me. Take him now, of sound health and fit to return, to accomplish your desire which shall come true soon.
He shall have a life of four hundred years to live with you; also, by performing the holy Yajnas of fire
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sacrifice and by the conduct of the dharma, he shall be renowned in the world.
Satyavan will give you a hundred sons, and they will be all heroic kings, and will have themselves several sons and grandsons.
They will he all well-known forever by your name; then, your father too will beget a hundred sons from your mother.
Born as they will be by your mother Malawi, they will always be recognised as the Malawas; in turn, your brothers will also have kingly sons and grandsons who will be all bright like the gods.
Giving boons to Savitri in this manner, the mighty Upholder of the Law sent her back and he himself returned to his abode.
After the departure of Yama, Savitri, on getting her husband back, came to the old place where her husband's body was lying dead.
She went near her husband when she saw him thus on the ground; then she sat there and, lifting his head, put it in her lap.
On gaining anew his consciousness, he began talking to Savitri, like one who had just returned from a. journey abroad; he looked at her with affection, again and again.
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Oh! for such a long time I have been sleeping, and why is it that you did not wake me up? And where is that dark-hued Person who was dragging me with
him?
Yes, you have been sleeping in my lap for quite some time, my Lord; and that great God was Yama himself, the Ordainer of the Creatures, but he has now left.
O highly virtuous and fortunate, O prince, you have taken good rest and you are full-awake; look, a thick dark night is gathering around us and hence, it you feel active and energetic, do get up.
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Satyavan recovered his consciousness and got up, happy like a person after sound sleep; then, after casting on the forest a glance in all directions, he spoke:
To gather fruit and fuel I had come here, accompanied
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by you, O slender-waisted and graceful; but while chopping the wood, I started getting a head-piercing ache.
With that agonising pain in the head I was unable to stand any longer and, therefore laying myself in your lap, I had slept; all this, O sweet and winsome, I remember now.
In this way soothed by the touch of your body as I slept, I lost all my awareness; then I saw a frightful darkness and, soon, a Person possessed of great splendour appeared there.
About it, O fair and beautiful-bodied, if you know anything please tell me; tell whether it was a dream that I was seeing, or was it something real?
Then Savitri replied: O prince, as the night is advancing all around, I shall narrate in every respect the entire episode to you tomorrow.
Arise, O Suvrata, arise and let auspicious things happen to you; you must hasten to meet your parents, for the sun has already declined and the night is growing in darkness.
Those cruel-voiced prowlers of the night are moving freely now; and listen to the sound in the fallen leaves as the wild beasts go about in the forest.
This fearsome howling of the she-jackals in the south,
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and in the west, is causing my mind and my heart to tremble.
This forest filled with a thick darkness appears to be very frightful; nor therein will you be able to know the path, nor walk.
There was a wild fire today in the forest and a dry tree is still burning; fanned by the wind the flames from it are seen now and then.
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I shall go there and fetch some fire and, by burning the withered twigs, light the way all along; distress not yourself in the least.
But if you have no energy, or inclination to walk, or if you are not sure of the path in the forest filled with darkness,
Then, if you so desire, we shall return in the morning when we shall be able to see everything in the wood; if it is agreeable to you, O sinless and unblamable, we shall spend the night here.
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सत्यवानुवाच
Now the headache has gone away, and my body appears to be in a healthy state; I desire, with your kind graciousness, to return and meet my parents.
Never before at such an odd time did I reach the hermitage; and my mother always forbids my going out after the twilight hour.
Even during the day, whenever I go far away, the elders get worried, afflicted; and my father, along with the ashram-dwellers, moves out in search of me.
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Distressed in this manner, my parents have on several earlier occasions censured me by saying that I return late quite often.
In what plight must they be at present waiting for me? That thought itself causes me great concern; not seeing me back they will no doubt be plunged in deep grief.
On one earlier occasion, the old parents grieved very much throughout the night, with tears flowing constantly; they expressed their loving affection for me, again and again:
O dear son, not even for two hours can we remain alive without you; only that long is our life certain, O fond child, as you will hold yours.
Both of us are old and blind and you are our eyes' sight, and it is through you that our lineage shall grow; our death-rites, fame and fortune of the family, the progeny and continuity, all depend upon you.
My mother is aged as also my father, and I am like a staff in their hands. Seeing me not back in the night, into a sorrowing condition will they surely fall.
I curse this sleep of mine, because of which my father as well as my mother, who never does wrong to me, must be now full of apprehensions of danger for me.
I am myself filled with doubt and in this difficult
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predicament do not know what I should do; without my father and my mother I cannot even remain alive.
Alarmed and troubled my father, whose intelligence is but his sight, must certainly be going around, from one ashram-dweller to another, enquiring about me.
O splendid lady, not so much am I concerned about myself as I am for my father and more for my mother who, feeble and frail, is an excellent companion and follower of her husband.
I shall prove to be the cause of their great anguish today; it is in their living that I live and proper care of them I must take.
It is my duty, I know, I should do what indeed pleases them, and keeps them happy.
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Thus saying he, that righteous soul, devout to the venerable elders, and dear to them,
Started weeping aloud, filled with sorrow, and raising both his hands. Seeing her husband in grief, and broken down, he speaking this way,
Savitri, the follower of dharma, wiped the tears from her own eyes and said: If at all I have done any hard austerities, given away sacred alms, or ever made proper fire-offerings,
Then by that merit let this night prove to my in-laws auspicious. If ever I have spoken playfully, or unbecomingly, something that is not true, that I do not recollect.
By the strength of that truth, let my in-laws be safe and living.
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We shall now return, O Savitri, eager as I am, and impatient, to meet my parents. (Moreover, shall I not be seeing the revered ones, dear to me as they are?)
O fair and beautiful lady, should I see something disagreeable happen to my father or my mother, I say truly touching myself that I shall not be living any more.
If your understanding is fixed in the dharma, if you desire me to be living, or if you take it as your duty to accept what is pleasing to me, then let us both return to the ashram immediately.
That virtuous woman Savitri then, getting up, knotted
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her loose hair and clasped both the hands of her husband, helping him to stand.
Satyavan also stood up and with one hand dusted his body; while looking around in all the directions, he noticed the fruit-basket lying a little farther away.
But then Savitri told him that the fruit-basket could be collected the next morning; however, she wanted to carry his axe for safety and protection.
She tied the basket, filled with fruit, to the low branch of a nearby tree and, with the axe in her hand, went back where her husband was.
Taking her husband's left hand around her left shoulder, her own right hand encircling his waist, well-bosomed as she was and with the slow elegance of an elephant's gait, she started walking.
O timid woman, by frequenting this region I have
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become quite familiar with the several paths here; looking simply at the stars through the branches of the trees I can identify them easily.
Indeed, this is the same path by which we came and along which we gathered fruit; O pretty and bright, follow it and proceed without worrying about the path.
Near the group of palash-trees the path bifurcates and moves in two different directions; take the one which leads to the north, but now speed up.
I am in a good state of health and I have strength and I am anxiously desirous of seeing my parents.
He then, saying so, started walking in great haste towards the ashram.
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