Savitri
There was a king among the Madras, who was virtuous and highly pious. He always ministered unto the Brahmanas, and was high-souled and firm in promise. He was of subdued senses and given to sacrifices. He was the foremost of givers, and was able, and beloved by both the citizens and the rural population. The name of that lord of Earth was Ashvapati. He was intent on the welfare of all beings. That forgiving monarch of truthful speech and subdued senses was without issue. When he got old, he was stricken with grief at this. With the object of raising offspring, he observed rigid vows and began to live upon frugal fare, having recourse to the Brahmacharya mode of life, and restraining his senses. That best of kings, daily offering ten thousand oblations to the fire, recited Mantras in honour of Savitri and ate temperately at the sixth hour. He passed eighteen years, practising such vows. Then when the eighteen years were full, Savitri was pleased with him. Issuing with great delight, in embodied form, from the Agnihotra fire, the goddess showed herself to that king. Intent on conferring boons, she spoke these words unto the monarch:
“I have been gratified, O king! with your Brahmacharya practices, your purity, self-restraint, observance of vows, all your endeavours and veneration! Ask for the boon that you desire! You ought, however, by no means show any disregard for virtue.”
Thereat Ashvapati said:
“It is with the desire of attaining virtue that I have been engaged in this task. O goddess! May many sons be born unto me worthy of my race! If you are pleased with me, I ask for this boon. The twice-born ones have assured me that great merit lies in having offspring!”
Savitri replied:
“O king! Having already learnt this your intention, I had spoken unto that lord, the Grandsire, about your sons. Through the favour granted by the Self-create, there shall speedily be born unto you on earth a daughter of great energy. It befits you not to make any reply. Well-pleased, I tell you this at the command of the Grandsire.”
Having accepted Savitri's words and saying, “So be it!” the king again gratified her and said, “May this happen soon!” On Savitri vanishing away, the monarch entered his own city. That hero began to live in his kingdom, ruling his subjects righteously. When some time had elapsed, that king, observant of vows, begat offspring on his eldest queen engaged in the practice of virtue. Then, the embryo in the womb of the princess of Malava increased like the lord of stars in the heavens during the lighted fortnight. When the time came, she brought forth a daughter furnished with lotus-like eyes. That best of monarchs, joyfully performed the usual ceremonies on her behalf. As she had been bestowed with delight by the goddess Savitri by virtue of the oblations offered in honour of that goddess, both her father, and the Brahmanas named her Savitri. The king's daughter grew like unto Shree herself in an embodied form. In due time, that damsel attained her puberty. Beholding that graceful maiden of slender waist and ample hips, and resembling a golden image, people thought, “We have received a goddess.” And overpowered by her energy, none could wed that girl of eyes like lotus-leaves, and possessed of a burning splendour.
And it came to pass that once on the occasion of a parva, having fasted and bathed her head, she presented herself before the family deity and caused the Brahmanas to offer oblations with due rites to the sacrificial fire. Taking the flowers that had been offered to the god, that lady, beautiful as Shree herself, went to her high-souled sire. Having reverenced the feet of her father and offering him the flowers she had brought, that maiden of exceeding grace, with joined hands, stood at the side of the king. Seeing his own daughter resembling a celestial damsel arrived at puberty, and unsought by people, the king became sad. The king said:
“Daughter! The time for bestowing you has come! Yet none asks you. Therefore you yourself seek for a husband equal to you in qualities! That person who may be desired by you should be notified to me. You choose for your husband as you list. I shall bestow you with deliberation. Listen to me as I tell you the words which I heard recited by the twice-born ones. The father that does not bestow his daughter comes by disgrace. The husband that knows not his wife in her season meets with disgrace. The son that does not protect his mother when her husband is dead, also suffers disgrace. Hearing these words of mine, engage yourself in search of a husband. Act in such a way that we may not be censured by the gods!”
Having said these words to his daughter and his old counsellors, he instructed the attendants to follow her. Thereat, bashfully bowing down unto her father's feet, the meek maid went out without hesitation, in compliance with the words of her sire. Ascending a golden car, she went to the delightful Ashrams of the royal sages, accompanied by her father's aged counsellors. There, worshipping the feet of the aged ones, she gradually began to roam over all the woods. Thus the king's daughter distributing wealth in all sacred regions, ranged the various places belonging to the foremost of the twice-born ones.
On one occasion, when that king, the lord of the Madras, was seated with Narada in the midst of his court, engaged in conversation, Savitri, accompanied by the king's counsellors, came to her father's abode after having visited various sacred regions and Ashramas. Beholding her father seated with Narada, she worshipped the feet of both by bending down her head. Narada then said:
“Where had this your daughter gone? O king! Where also does she come from? Why also do you not bestow her on a husband, now that she has arrived at the age of puberty?”
Ashvapati answered, saying,
“Surely it was on this very business that she had been sent, and she returns now from her search. O celestial sage! Listen from her as to the husband she has chosen herself!”
Then the blessed maid, commanded by her father spoke unto him thus:
“There was, amongst the Salwas, a virtuous Kshatriya king known by the name of Dyumatsena. It came to pass that in course of time he became blind. That blind king possessed of wisdom had an only son. It so happened that an old enemy dwelling in the vicinity, taking advantage of the king's mishap, deprived him of his kingdom. Thereupon the monarch, accompanied by his wife bearing a child on her breast, went into the woods. Having retired into the forests, he adopted great vows and began to practise ascetic austerities. His son, born in the city, began to grow in the hermitage. That youth, fit to be my husband, I have accepted in my heart for my lord!”
At these words of hers, Narada said:
“Alas! O king! Savitri has committed a great wrong, since, not knowing, she has accepted for her lord this Satyavan of excellent qualities! His father speaks the truth and his mother also is truthful in her speech. It is for this that the Brahmanas have named the son Satyavan. In his childhood he took great delight in horses, and used to make horses of clay. He used also to draw pictures of horses. For this that youth is sometimes called by the name of Chitrashva.”
The king then asked,
“And is prince Satyavan, who is devoted to his father, endued with energy, intelligence, forgiveness and courage?”
Narada replied, saying,
“In energy Satyavan is like unto the sun, and in wisdom like unto Brihaspati! He is brave like unto the lord of the celestials and forgiving like unto the Earth herself!”
Ashvapati then said,
“And is the prince Satyavan liberal in gifts and devoted to the Brahmanas? Is he handsome and magnanimous and lovely to behold?”
Narada said,
“In bestowal of gifts according to his power, the mighty son of Dyumatsena is like unto Sankriti's son Rantideva. In truthfulness of speech and devotion unto Brahmanas, he is like Sibi, the son of Ushinara. He is magnanimous like Yayati, and beautiful like the Moon. In beauty of person he is like either of the twin Ashvins. With senses under control, he is meek, brave, and truthful! With passion in subjection he is devoted to his friends, free from malice, modest and patient. Indeed, briefly speaking, they that are possessed of great ascetic merit and are of exalted character say that he is always correct in his conduct and that honour is firmly seated on his brow.”
Hearing this, Ashvapati said,
“O reverend sage! You tell me that he is possessed of every virtue! Now tell me his defects if, indeed, he has any!”
Narada then said,
“He has one only defect that has overwhelmed all his virtues. That defect is incapable of being conquered by even the greatest efforts. He has only one defect, and no other. Within a year from this day, Satyavan, endued with a short life will cast off his body!”
Hearing these words of the sage, the king said,
“O Savitri! Go and choose another for your lord! That one great defect in this youth covers all his merits. The illustrious Narada honoured by even the gods, says, that Satyavan will have to cast off his body within a year, his days being numbered!”
At these words of her father, Savitri said,
“The death can fall but once; a daughter can be given away but once; and once only can a person say, I give away! These three things can take place only once. Indeed, with a life short or long, possessed of virtues or bereft of them, I have, for once, selected my husband. Twice I shall not select. Having first settled a thing mentally, it is expressed in words, and then it is carried out into practice. Of this my mind is an example!”
Narada then said,
“O best of men! The heart of your daughter Savitri wavers not! It is not possible by any means to make her swerve from this path of virtue! In no other person are those virtues that dwell in Satyavan. The bestowal of your daughter, therefore, is approved by me!”
The king said,
“What you have said, O illustrious one! should never be disobeyed, for your words are true! I shall act as you have said, since you are my preceptor!”
Narada said,
“May the bestowal of your daughter Savitri be attended with peace! I shall now depart. Blessed be all of you!”
Having said this, Narada rose up into the sky and went to heaven. On the other hand, the king began to make preparations for his daughter's wedding.
Having pondered over these words of Narada about his daughter's marriage, the king began to make arrangements about the nuptials. Summoning all the old Brahmanas, and Ritvijas together with the priests, he set out with his daughter on an auspicious day. Arriving at the Ashram of Dyumatsena in the sacred forest, the king approached the royal sage on foot, accompanied by the twice-born ones. There he beheld the blind monarch of great wisdom seated on a cushion of Kusha grass spread under Sala tree. After duly reverencing the royal sage, the king in an humble speech introduced himself. Thereupon, offering him the Arghya, a seat, and a cow, the monarch asked his royal guest, "Wherefore is this visit?"
Thus addressed the king disclosed everything about his intentions and purpose with reference to Satyavan. Ashvapati said,
“O royal sage! This beautiful girl is my daughter named Savitri. Agreeably to the customs of our order, do take her from me as your daughter-in-law!”
Hearing these words, Dyumatsena said,
“Deprived of kingdom, and taking up our abode in the woods, we are engaged in the practice of virtue as ascetics with regulated lives. Unworthy of a forest life, how will your daughter, living in the sylvan Ashram, bear this hardship?”
Ashvapati said,
“When my daughter knows, as well as myself, that happiness and misery come and go, such words as these are not fit to be used towards one like me! O king! I have come here, having made up my mind! I have bowed to you from friendship; it behoves you not, therefore, to destroy my hope! It behoves you not, also, to disregard me who, moved by love, have come to you! You are my equal and fit for an alliance with me, as indeed, I am your equal and fit for alliance with you! Therefore, accept my daughter for your daughter-in-law and the wife of the good Satyavan!”
Hearing these words Dyumatsena said,
“Formerly I had desired an alliance with you. But I hesitated, being subsequently deprived of my kingdom. Let this wish, therefore, that I had formerly entertained, be accomplished this very day. You are, indeed, a welcome guest to me!”
Then summoning all the twice-born ones residing in the hermitages of that forest, the two kings caused the union to take place with due rites. Having bestowed his daughter with suitable robes and ornaments, Ashvapati went back to his abode in great joy. Satyavan, having obtained a wife possessed of every accomplishment, became highly glad, while she also rejoiced exceedingly upon having gained the husband after her own heart. When her father had departed, she put off all her ornaments, and clad herself in barks and cloths dyed in red. By her services and virtues, her tenderness and self-denial, and by her agreeable offices unto all, she pleased everybody. She gratified her mother-in-law by attending to her person and by covering her with robes and ornaments. She gratified her father-in-law by worshipping him as a god and controlling her speech. She pleased her husband by her honeyed speeches, her skill in every kind of work, the evenness of her temper, and by the indications of her love in private. Thus, living in the Ashram of those pious dwellers of the forest, they continued for some time to practise ascetic austerities. But the words spoken by Narada were present night and day in the mind of the sorrowful Savitri.
At length, after a long time had passed away, the hour that had been appointed for the death of Satyavan arrived. As the words that had been spoken by Narada were ever present in the mind of Savitri, she had counted the days as they passed. Having ascertained that her husband would die on the fourth day following, the damsel fasted day and night, observing the Triratra vow. Hearing of her vow, the king became exceedingly sorrow and rising up soothed Savitri and said these words,
“This vow that you have begun to observe, O daughter of a king! is exceedingly hard; for it is extremely difficult to fast for three nights together!”
And hearing these words, Savitri said,
“You need not be sorry, O father! This vow I shall be able to observe! I have for certain undertaken this task with perseverance; and perseverance is the cause of the successful observance of vows.”
Having listened to her, Dyumatsena said,
“I can by no means say unto you, to break your vow. One like me should, on the contrary, say, ‘Do you complete your vow!’”
Having said this to her, the high-minded Dyumatsena stopped. Savitri continuing to fast began to look like a wooden doll. Thinking that her husband would die on the morrow, the woe-stricken Savitri, observing a fast, spent that night in extreme anguish. When the Sun had risen Savitri thinking within herself, “To-day is that day”, finished her morning rites, and offered oblations to the flaming fire. Bowing down unto the aged Brahmanas, her father-in-law, and mother-in-law, she stood before them with joined hands, concentrating her senses. For the welfare of Savitri, all the ascetics dwelling in that hermitage, uttered the auspicious benediction that she should never suffer widowhood. Savitri immersed in contemplation accepted those words of the ascetics, mentally saying, “So be it!” And the king's daughter, reflecting on those words of Narada, remained, expecting the hour and the moment.
Then, well-pleased, her father-in-law and mother-in-law said these words unto the princess seated in a corner,
“You have completed the vow as prescribed. The time for your meal has now arrived; therefore, do what is proper!”
Thereat Savitri said,
“Now that I have completed the purposed vow, I will eat when the Sun goes down. Even this is my heart's resolve and this my vow!”
When Savitri had spoken thus about her meal, Satyavan, taking his axe upon his shoulders, set out for the woods. At this, Savitri said unto her husband,
“It befits you not to go alone! I will accompany you. I cannot bear to be separated from you!”
Hearing these words of hers, Satyavan said,
“You have never before repaired to the forest. The forest-paths are hard to pass! Besides you have been reduced by fast on account of your vow. How would you, therefore, be able to walk on foot?”
Thus addressed, Savitri said,
“I do not feel languor because of the fast, nor do I feel exhaustion. I have made up my mind to go. It behoves you not, therefore, to prevent me!”
At this, Satyavan said,
“If you desire to go, I will gratify that desire of yours. However, take the permission of my parents, so that I may be guilty of no fault!”
Thus addressed by her lord, Savitri of high vows saluted her father-in-law and mother-in-law and addressed them, saying,
“My husband goes to the forest for procuring fruits. Permitted by my revered lady-mother and father-in-law, I will accompany him. For to-day I cannot bear to be separated from him. Your son goes out for the sake of the sacrificial fire and for his reverend superiors. He ought not, therefore, to be dissuaded. Indeed, he could be dissuaded if he went into the forest on any other errand. Do you not prevent me! I will go into the forest with him. It is a little less than a year that I have not gone out of the Ashram. Indeed, I am extremely desirous of beholding the blossoming woods!”
Hearing these words Dyumatsena said,
“Since Savitri has been bestowed by her father as my daughter-in-law, I do not remember that she has ever spoken any words couching a request. Let my daughter-in-law, therefore, have her will in this matter. However, O daughter! act in such a way that Satyavan's work may not be neglected!”
Having received the permission of both, the illustrious Savitri, departed with her lord, in seeming smiles although her heart was racked with grief. That lady of large eyes went on, beholding picturesque and delightful woods inhabited by swarms of peacocks. Satyavan sweetly said unto Savitri,
“Behold these rivers of sacred currents and these excellent trees decked with flowers!”
But the faultless Savitri continued to watch her lord in all his moods, and recollecting the words of the celestial sage, she considered her husband as already dead. With heart cleft in twain, that damsel, replying to her lord, softly followed him expecting that hour.
The powerful Satyavan then, accompanied by his wife, plucked fruits and filled his wallet with them. He then began to fell branches of trees. As he was hewing them, he began to perspire. In consequence of that exercise his head began to ache. Afflicted with toil, he approached his beloved wife, and addressed her, saying,
“O Savitri! Owing to this hard exercise my head aches, and all my limbs and my heart also are afflicted sorely! I think myself unwell, I feel as if my head is being pierced with numerous darts. Therefore, I wish to sleep, for I have not the power to stand.”
Hearing these words, Savitri quickly advancing, approached her husband, and sat down upon the ground, placing his head upon her lap. That helpless lady, thinking of Narada's words, began to calculate the appointed division of the day, the hour, and the moment. The next moment she saw a person clad in red attire with his head decked with a diadem. His body was of large proportions and effulgent as the Sun. He was of a darkish hue, had red eyes, carried a noose in his hand, and was dreadful to behold. He was standing beside Satyavan and was steadfastly gazing at him. Seeing him, Savitri gently placed her husband's head on the ground, and rising suddenly, with a trembling heart, spoke these words in distressful accents,
“Seeing this your superhuman form, I take you to be a deity. If you will, tell me, O chief of the gods! who you are and what also you intend to do!”
Thereat, Yama replied,
“O Savitri! You are ever devoted to your husband, and you are also endued with ascetic merit. It is for this reason that I hold converse with you. Know me for Yama. This your lord Satyavan, the son of a king, has his days run out. I shall, therefore, take him away binding him in this noose. Know this to be my errand!”
At these words Savitri said,
“I had heard that your emissaries come to take away mortals, O worshipful one! Why then, O lord! have you come in person?”
Thus addressed by her, the illustrious lord of Pitris, with a view to oblige her, began to unfold to her truly all about his intentions. Yama said,
“This prince is endued with virtues and beauty of person, and is a sea of accomplishments. He deserves not to be borne away by my emissaries. Therefore is it that I have come personally.”
Saying this, Yama by main force pulled out of the body of Satyavan, a person of the measure of the thumb, bound in noose and completely under subjection. When Satyavan's life had thus been taken out, the body, deprived of breath, shorn of lustre, and destitute of motion, became unsightly to behold. Binding Satyavan's vital essence, Yama proceeded in a southerly direction. Thereupon, with heart overwhelmed in grief, the exalted Savitri, ever devoted to her lord and crowned with success in respect of her vows, began to follow Yama. At this, Yama said,
“Desist, O Savitri! Go back, and perform the funeral obsequies of your lord! You are freed from all your obligations to your lord. You have come as far as it is possible to come.”
Savitri replied,
“Wherever my husband is being carried, or where he goes of his own accord, I will follow him there. This is the eternal custom. By virtue of my asceticism, of my regard for my superiors, of my affection for my lord, of my observance of vows, as well as of your favour, my course is unimpeded. It has been declared by wise men endued with true knowledge that by walking only seven paces with another, one contracts a friendship with one's companion. Keeping that friendship which I have contracted with you in view, I shall speak to you something. Do listen to it. They that have not their souls under control, acquire not merit by leading the four successive modes of life, viz.,celibacy with study, domesticity, retirement into the woods, and renunciation of the world. That which is called religious merit is said to consist of true knowledge. The wise, therefore, have declared religious merit to be the foremost of all things and not the passage through the four successive modes. By practising the duties of even one of these four modes agreeable to the directions of the wise, we have attained to true merit, and, therefore, we do not desire the second or the third mode, viz., celibacy with study or renunciation. It is for this again that the wise have declared religious merit to be the foremost of all things!”
Hearing these words of hers, Yama said,
“Do desist! I have been pleased with these words of yours couched in proper letters and accents, and based on reason. Ask for a boon! Except the life of your husband, I will bestow on you any boon that you may solicit!”
Hearing these words, Savitri said,
“Deprived of his kingdom and bereft also of sight, my father-in-law leads a life of retirement in our sylvan Ashram. Let that king through your favour attain his eye-sight, and become strong like either fire or the Sun!”
Yama said,
“I grant you this boon! It will even be as you have said! It seems that you are fatigued with your journey. Do desist, therefore, and return! Suffer not yourself to be weary any longer!”
Savitri said,
“What weariness can I feel in the presence of my husband? The lot that is my husband's is certainly mine also. Wherever you carry my husband, there will I also repair! O chief of the celestials! do again listen to me! Even a single interview with the pious is highly desirable; friendship with them is still more so. Intercourse with the virtuous can never be fruitless. Therefore, one should live in the company of the righteous!”
Yama said,
“These words that you have spoken, so fraught with useful instruction, delight the heart and enhance the wisdom of even the learned. Therefore, O lady! solicit a second boon, except the life of Satyavan!”
Savitri said,
“Sometime before, my wise and intelligent father-in-law was deprived of his kingdom. May that monarch regain his kingdom. May that superior of mine never renounce his duties! Even this is the second boon that I solicit!”
Then Yama said,
“The king shall soon regain his kingdom. Nor shall he ever fall off from his duties. Thus, have I fulfilled your desire. Do now desist! Return! Do not take any future trouble!”
Savitri said,
“You have restrained all creatures by your decrees, and it is by your decrees that you take them away, not according to your will. Therefore it is that people call you Yama! Do listen to the words that I say! The eternal duty of the good towards all creatures is never to injure them in thought, word, and deed, but to bear them love and give them their due. As regards this world, everything here is like this husband of mine. Men are destitute of both devotion and skill. The good, however, show mercy to even their foes when these seek their protection.”
Yama said,
“As water to the thirsty soul, so are these words uttered by you to me! Therefore, if you will, once again ask for any boon except Salyavana's life!”
At these words Savitri replied,
“That lord of earth, my father, is without sons. That he may have a hundred sons begotten of his loins, so that his line may be perpetuated, is the third boon I would ask of you!”
Yama said,
“Your sire shall obtain a hundred illustrious sons, who will perpetuate and increase their father's race! Now, you have obtained your wish. Do desist! You have come far enough.”
Savitri said,
“Staying by the side of my husband, I am not conscious of the length of the way I have walked. Indeed, my mind rushes to yet a longer way of. Do again, as you go on, listen to the words that I will presently utter! You are the powerful son of Vivasvat. It is for this that you are called Vaivasvata by the wise. And, since you deal out equal law unto all created things, you have been designated the lord of justice! One reposes not, even in one's own self, the confidence that one does in the righteous. Therefore, every one wishes particularly for intimacy with the righteous. It is goodness of heart alone that inspires the confidence of all creatures. It is for this that people rely particularly on the righteous.”
And hearing these words, Yama said,
“The words that you uttered, I have not heard from any one save you; I am highly pleased with this speech of yours. Except the life of Satyavan, solicit you, therefore, a fourth boon, and then go your way!”
Savitri then said,
“Both of me and Satyavan's loins, begotten by both of us, let there be a century of sons possessed of strength and prowess and capable of perpetuating our race! This is the fourth boon that I would beg of you!”
Hearing these words of hers, Yama replied,
“You shall obtain a century of sons, possessed of strength and prowess, and causing you great delight, let no more weariness be yours! Do desist! You have already come too far!”
Thus addressed, Savitri said,
“They that are righteous always practise eternal morality! The communion of the pious with the pious is never fruitless! Nor is there any danger to the pious from those that are pious. Verily it is the righteous who by their truth make the Sun move in the heaven. It is the righteous that support the earth by their austerities! It is the righteous upon whom both the past and the future depend! Therefore, they that are righteous, are never cheerless in the company of the righteous. Knowing this to be the eternal practice of the good and righteous, they that are righteous continue to do good to others without expecting any benefit in return. A good office is never thrown away on the good and virtuous. Neither interest nor dignity suffers any injury by such an act. Since such conduct ever adheres to the righteous, the righteous often become the protectors of all.”
Hearing these words of hers, Yama replied,
“The more you utter such speeches that are pregnant with great import, full of honeyed phrases, instinct with morality, and agreeable to mind, the more is the respect that I feel for you! O you that are so devoted to your lord! Ask for some incomparable boon!”
Thus addressed, Savitri said,
“O bestower of honours! The boon you have already given me is incapable of accomplishment without union with my husband. Therefore, among other boons, I ask for this, may this Satyavan be restored to life! Deprived of my husband, I am as one dead! Without my husband, I do not wish for happiness. Without my husband, I do not wish for heaven itself. Without my husband, I do not wish for prosperity. Without my husband, I cannot make up my mind to live! You yourself have bestowed on me the boon, namely, of a century of sons; yet you take away my husband! I ask for this boon – May Satyavan be restored to life, for by that your words will be made true.’”
Thereupon saying, “So be it”, Vivasvat's son, Yama, the dispenser of justice, untied his noose, and with cheerful heart said these words to Savitri,
“Thus, O auspicious and chaste lady! is your husband freed by me! You will be able to take him back free from disease. He will attain to success! Along with you, he will attain a life of four hundred years. Celebrating sacrifices with due rites, he will achieve great fame in this world. Upon you Satyavan will also beget a century of sons. These Kshatriyas with their sons and grandsons will all be kings, and will always be famous in connection with your name. Your father also will beget a hundred sons on your mother Malavi. Under the name of the Malavas, your Kshatriya brothers, resembling the celestials, will be widely known along with their sons and daughters!”
Having bestowed these boons on Savitri and having thus made her desist, Yama departed for his abode. Savitri, after Yama had gone away, went back to the spot where her husband's ash-coloured corpse lay, and seeing her lord on the ground, she approached him, and taking hold of him, she placed his head on her lap and herself sat down on the ground. Then Satyavan regained his consciousness, and affectionately eyeing Savitri again and again, like one come home after a sojourn in a strange land, he addressed her thus,
“Alas! I have slept long! Why did you not awake me? Where is that same sable person that was dragging me away?”
At these words of his, Savitri said,
“You have slept long on my lap! That restrainer of creatures, the worshipful Yama, had gone away. You are refreshed and sleep has forsaken you! If you are able, rise you up! Behold, the night is deep!”
Having regained consciousness, Satyavan rose up like one who had enjoyed a sweet sleep, and seeing every side covered with woods, said,
“I came with you for procuring fruits. Then while I was cutting wood I felt a pain in my head. On account of that intense pain about my head I was unable to stand for any length of time, and, therefore, I lay on your lap and slept. All this I remember. Then, as you did embrace me, sleep stole away my senses. I then saw that it was dark all around. In the midst of it I saw a person of exceeding effulgence. If you know everything, then tell me whether what I saw was only a dream or a reality!”
Thereupon, Savitri addressed him, saying,
“The night deepens. I shall, O prince! relate everything unto you on the morrow. Arise, arise, may good betide you! Come and behold your parents! The sun has set a long while ago and the night deepens. Those rangers of the night, having frightful voices, are walking about in glee. Sounds are heard, proceeding from the denizens of the forest treading through the woods. These terrible shrieks of jackals that are issuing from the south and the east make my heart tremble in fear!”
Satyavan then said,
“Covered with deep darkness, the wilderness has worn a dreadful aspect. You will, therefore, not be able to discern the tract, and consequently will not be able to go!”
Then Savitri replied,
“In consequence of a conflagration having taken place in the forest today a withered tree stands aflame, and the flames being stirred by the wind are discerned now and then. I shall fetch some fire and light these faggots around. Dispel all anxiety. I will do all this if you dare not go, for I find you unwell. Nor will you be able to discover the way through this forest enveloped in darkness. Tomorrow when the woods become visible, we will go hence, if you please! If it is your wish, we shall pass this night even here!”
At these words of hers, Satyavan replied,
“The pain in my head is off; and I feel well in my limbs. With your favour I wish to behold my father and mother. Never before did I return to the hermitage after the proper time had passed away. Even before it is twilight my mother confines me within the Ashram. Even when I come out during the day, my parents become anxious on my account, and my father searches for me, together with all the inhabitants of the sylvan Ashramas. Before this, moved by deep grief, my father and mother had rebuked me many times and often, saying, "You come having tarried long!" I am thinking of the pass they have today come to on my account, for, surely, great grief will be theirs when they miss me. One night before this, the old couple, who love me dearly, wept from deep sorrow and said into me,
"Deprived of you, O son! we cannot live for even a moment. As long as you live, so long, surely, we also will live. You are the crutch of these blind ones; on you does perpetuity of our race depend. On you also depend our funeral cake, our fame and our descendants!"
My mother is old, and my father also is so. I am surely their crutch. If they see me not in the night, what will be their plight! I hate that slumber of mine for the sake of which my unoffending mother and my father have both been in trouble, and I myself also, am placed in such rending distress! Without my father and mother, I cannot bear to live. It is certain that by this time my blind father, his mind disconsolate with grief, is asking everyone of the inhabitants of the hermitage about me! I do not grieve so much for myself as I do for my sire, and for my weak mother ever obedient to her lord! Surely, they will be afflicted with extreme anguish on account of me. I hold my life so long as they live. I know that they should be maintained by me and that I should do only what is agreeable to them!”
Having said this, that virtuous youth who loved and revered his parents, afflicted with grief held up his arms and began to lament in accents of woe. Seeing her lord overwhelmed with sorrow the virtuous Savitri wiped away the tears from his eyes and said,
“If I have observed austerities, and have given away in charity, and have performed sacrifice, may this night be for the good of my father-in-law, mother-in-law and husband! I do not remember having told a single falsehood, even in jest. Let my father-in-law and mother-in-law hold their lives by virtue of the truth!”
Satyavan said,
“I long for the sight of my father and mother! Therefore, O Savitri! proceed without delay. I swear by my own self that if I find any evil to have befallen my father and mother, I will not live. If you have any regard for virtue, if you wish me to live, if it is your duty to do what is agreeable to me, proceed you to the hermitage!”
The beautiful Savitri then rose and tying up her hair, raised her husband in her arms. Satyavan having risen, rubbed his limbs with his hands. As he surveyed all around, his eyes fell upon his wallet. Then Savitri said unto him,
“Tomorrow you may gather fruits. I shall carry your axe for your ease.”
Then hanging up the wallet upon the bough of a tree, and taking up the axe, she re-approached her husband. That lady of beautiful thighs, placing her husband's left arm upon her left shoulder, and embracing him with her right arms, proceeded with elephantic gait. Then Satyavan said,
“By virtue of habit, the forest paths are known to me. Further, by the light of the moon between the trees, I can see them. We have now reached the same path that we took in the morning for gathering fruits. You proceed by the way that we had come: you need not any longer feel dubious about our path. Near that tract overgrown with Palasha tree, the way diverges into two. Proceed along the path that lies to the north of it. I am now well and have got back my strength. I long to see my father and mother!”
Saying this Satyavan hastily proceeded towards the hermitage.
Meanwhile the mighty Dyumatsena, having regained his sight, could see everything. When his vision grew clear he saw everything around him. Proceeding with his wife Saibya to all the neighbouring Ashramas in search of his son, he became extremely distressed on his account. That night the old couple went about searching in Ashramas, rivers, woods, and floods. Whenever they heard any sound, they stood rising their heads, anxiously thinking that their son was coming, and said,
“O there comes Satyavan with Savitri!”
And they rushed here and there like maniacs, their feet torn, cracked, wounded, and bleeding, pierced with thorns and Kusha blades. Then all the Brahmanas dwelling in that hermitage came unto them, and surrounding them on all sides, comforted them, and brought them back to their own Ashram. There Dyumatsena with his wife surrounded by aged ascetics, was entertained with stories of monarchs of former times. Although that old couple desirous of seeing their son, was comforted, yet recollecting the youthful days of their son, they became exceedingly sorry. Afflicted with grief, they began to lament in piteous accents, saying,
“Alas! O son! O chaste daughter-in-law! where are you?”
Then a truthful Brahmana of the name of Suvarchas spoke unto them, saying,
“Considering the austerities, self-restraint, and behaviour of his wife Savitri, there can be no doubt that Satyavan lives!”
Gautama said,
“I have studied all the Vedas with their branches, and I have acquired great ascetic merit. I have led a celibate existence, practising also the Brahmacharya mode of life. I have gratified Agni and my superiors. With rapt soul I have also observed all the vows: and I have according to the ordinance, frequently lived upon air alone. By virtue of this ascetic merit, I am cognisant of all the doings of others. Therefore, take it for certain that Satyavan lives.”
Thereupon his disciple said,
“The words that have fallen from the lips of my preceptor can never be false. Therefore, Satyavan surely lives.”
The Rishi said,
“Considering the auspicious marks that his wife Savitri bears and all of which indicate immunity from widowhood, there can be no doubt that Satyavan lives!”
Bharadwaja said,
“Having regard to the ascetic merit, self-restraint, and conduct of his wife Savitri, there can be no doubt that Satyavan lives.”
Dalbhya said,
“Since you have regained your sight, and since Savitri has gone away after completion of the vow, without taking any food, there can be no doubt that Satyavan lives.”
Apastamba said,
“From the manner in which the voices of birds and wild animals are being heard through the stillness of the atmosphere on all sides, and from the fact also of your having regained the use of your eyes, indicating your usefulness for earthly purposes once more, there can be no doubt that Satyavan lives.”
Dhaumya said,
“As your son is graced with every virtue, and as he is the beloved of all, and as he is possessed of marks betokening a long life, there can be no doubt that Satyavan lives.”
Thus cheered by those ascetics of truthful speech, Dyumatsena pondering over those points, attained a little ease. A little while after, Savitri with her husband Satyavan reached the hermitage during the night and entered it with a glad heart. The Brahmanas then said,
“Beholding this meeting with your son, and your restoration to eye-sight, we all wish you well. Your meeting with your son, the sight of your daughter-in-law, and your restoration to sight--constitute a threefold prosperity which you have gained. What we all have said must come to pass: there can be no doubt of this. Henceforth you shall rapidly grow in prosperity.”
Then, the twice-born ones lighted a fire and sat themselves down before king Dyumatsena. Saibya, Satyavan, and Savitri who stood apart, their hearts free from grief, sat down with the permission of them all. Then, seated with the monarch those dwellers of the woods, actuated by curiosity, asked the king's son, saying,
“Why did you not come back earlier with your wife? Why have you come so late in the night? What obstacle prevented you! We do not know why you have caused such alarm to us, and to your father and mother. It befits you to tell us all about this.”
Thereupon, Satyavan said,
“With the permission of my father, I went to the woods with Savitri. There, as I was hewing wood in the forest, I felt a pain in my head. In consequence of the pain, I fell into a deep sleep. This is all that I remember. I had never slept so long before I have come so late at night, in order that you might not grieve on my account. There is no other reason for this.”
Gautama then said,
“You know not then the cause of your father's sudden restoration to sight. It, therefore, behoves Savitri to relate it. I wish to hear it from you, for surely you are conversant with the mysteries of good and evil. O Savitri! I know you to be like the goddess Savitri herself in splendour. You must know the cause of this. Therefore, you relate it truly! If it should not be kept a secret, do unfold it unto us!”
At these words of Gautama, Savitri said,
“It is as you surmise. Your desire shall surely not be unfulfilled. I have no secret to keep. Listen to the truth then! The high-souled Narada had predicted the death of my husband. To-day was the appointed time. I could not, therefore, bear to be separated from my husband's company. After he had fallen asleep, Yama, accompanied by his messengers, presented himself before him, and tying him, began to take him away towards the region inhabited by the Pitris. Thereupon I began to praise that august god, with truthful words. He granted me five boons, of which do you hear from me! For my father-in-law I have obtained these two boons, viz., his restoration to sight as also to his kingdom. My father also has obtained a hundred sons. I myself have obtained a hundred sons. My husband Satyavan has obtained a life of four hundred years. It was for the sake of my husband's life that I had observed that vow. Thus have I narrated unto you in detail the cause by which this mighty misfortune of mine was afterwards turned into happiness.”
The Rishis said,
“O chaste lady of excellent disposition! Observant of vows and endued with virtue! By you has the race of this foremost of kings, which was overwhelmed with calamities, and was sinking in an ocean of darkness, been rescued.”
Then having applauded and reverenced that best of women, those Rishis there assembled bade farewell to that foremost of kings as well as to his son. Having saluted them thus, they speedily went, in peace with cheerful hearts, to their respective abodes.
When the night had passed away, and the solar orb had risen, those ascetics, having performed their morning rites, assembled together. Although those mighty sages again and again spoke unto Dyumatsena of the high fortune of Savitri, yet they were never satisfied. It so happened that there came to that hermitage a large body of people from Shalva. They brought tidings of the enemy of Dyumatsena having been slain by his own minister. They related unto him all that had happened, viz., how having heard that the usurper had been slain with all his friends and allies by his minister, his troops had all fled, and how all the subjects had become unanimous on behalf of their legitimate king, saying, "Whether possessed of sight or not, he shall be our king!” And they said,
“We have been sent to you in consequence of that resolve. This car of yours, and this army also consisting of four kinds of forces, have arrived for you! Good betide you, O King! Do come! You have been proclaimed in the city. Do for ever occupy the station belonging to your lather and grand-father!”
And beholding the king possessed of sight and able-bodied, they bowed down their heads, their eyes expanded with wonder. Then having worshipped those old and Brahmanas dwelling in the hermitage and honoured by them in return, the king set out for his city. Surrounded by the soldiers, Saibya also accompanied by Savitri, went in a vehicle furnished with shining sheets and borne on the shoulders of men. Then the priests with joyful hearts installed Dyumatsena on the throne with his high-souled son as prince-regent. After the lapse of a long time, Savitri gave birth to a century of sons, all warlike and un-retreating from battle, and enhancing the fame of Shalva's race. She also had a century of highly powerful uterine brothers born unto Ashvapati, the lord of the Madras, by Malavi. Thus did Savitri raise from pitiable plight to high fortune, herself, and her father and mother, her father-in-law and mother-in-law, as also the race of her husband.