Shloka 71
नान्निर्दहति काष्ठानि सावित्री यत्र पठ्यते । न तत्र बालो प्रियते न च तिष्ठन्ति पन्नगा:
nānnirdahati kāṣṭhāni sāvitryā yatra paṭhyate | na tatra bālo priyate na ca tiṣṭhanti pannagāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: In a place where the Sāvitrī (Gāyatrī) is recited, fire does not consume the wooden structures; there the death of a child does not occur, and serpents do not remain. The verse extols the protective and purifying power attributed to disciplined sacred recitation, presenting it as a dharmic safeguard for household and community well-being.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Regular recitation of the Sāvitrī/Gāyatrī is praised as a dharmic practice that purifies the home and is believed to confer protection—symbolically and ritually—against calamities such as fire, untimely death of children, and harmful creatures.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on duties and meritorious practices. Here he highlights the potency of the Sāvitrī recitation, describing auspicious results that follow where it is regularly performed.