Shloka 22
Sāvitrī’s Report and Nārada’s Prognosis (सावित्र्याख्यान—सत्यवान्-गुणवर्णनं तथा अल्पायुषः पूर्वसूचना)
राजोवाच वरं ददानि ते हन्त तद् गृहाण यदिच्छसि । अवध्यो वध्यतां कोडउ्द्य वध्य: कोउ्द्य विमुच्यताम्
rājovāca varaṃ dadāni te hanta tad gṛhāṇa yad icchasi | avadhyo vadhyatāṃ ko 'dya vadhyaḥ ko 'dya vimucyatām |
The king said: “Come, I grant you a boon—take whatever you desire. Tell me: who today should be punished though normally not liable to punishment, and who, though liable, should be released? (Speak, and it shall be done.)” The utterance frames royal power as discretionary, yet it implicitly tests whether the request will align with dharma rather than mere impulse or favoritism.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s power to punish or release is immense and must be exercised through dharma. The verse highlights how a ‘boon’ can become an ethical test: the request should not subvert justice, and the king’s discretion must be restrained by righteous norms rather than personal preference.
A king offers a boon and invites the recipient to state any desire. He explicitly extends this to judicial acts—punishing someone normally exempt or freeing someone normally punishable—thereby signaling both his authority and the moral weight of what the recipient might ask.