Shloka 20
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
यम उवाच निवर्त गच्छ सावित्रि कुरुष्वास्यौर्ध्वदेहिकम् कृतं भर्तुस्त्वया5<नृण्यं यावद् गम्यं गतं त्वया,यमराज बोले--सावित्री! अब तू लौट जा, सत्यवानका अन्त्येष्टि-संस्कार कर। अब तू पतिके ऋणसे उऋण हो गयी। पतिके पीछे तुझे जहाँतक आना चाहिये था, तू वहाँतक आ चुकी
yama uvāca—nivarta gaccha sāvitrī kuruṣvāsya ūrdhva-dehikam; kṛtaṁ bhartus tvayā ṛṇyaṁ yāvad gamyaṁ gataṁ tvayā.
Yama sprach: „Kehre um, Sāvitrī. Vollziehe für ihn die nach dem Tod gebührenden Riten (antyeṣṭi). Du hast nun die Schuld deiner Pflicht gegenüber deinem Gatten beglichen; du hast ihn so weit begleitet, wie es einer Ehefrau obliegt.“
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as both devotion and disciplined duty: Sāvitrī’s fidelity is honored, yet Yama marks a rightful boundary—having fulfilled her marital obligation, she must return to complete the prescribed post-death rites, showing that love is expressed through ethical action and ritual responsibility.
As Sāvitrī follows Yama who has taken Satyavān’s life, Yama commands her to stop and go back. He acknowledges that she has accompanied her husband to the proper limit and instructs her to perform the funeral and post-funeral rites for Satyavān.