Shloka 24
Araṇi Lost to the Deer: Pāṇḍavas Pursue to Preserve Agnihotra (अरणी-हरण प्रसङ्गः)
सावित्र्या प्रीतया दत्ता सावित्र्या हुतया हापि । सावित्रीत्येव नामास्याश्षक्रुर्विप्रास्तथा पिता,सावित्रीने प्रसन्न होकर उस कन्याको दिया था तथा गायत्री-मन्त्रद्वारा आहुति देनेसे ही सावित्रीदेवी प्रसन्न हुई थीं, अतः ब्राह्मणों तथा पिताने उस कन्याका नाम “सावित्री” ही रखा
sāvitrayā prītayā dattā sāvitrayā hutayā hāpi | sāvitrīty eva nāmāsyāḥ cakruḥ viprās tathā pitā ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Because the maiden was granted through the favor of Sāvitrī, and because Sāvitrī was also pleased by oblations offered with the Sāvitrī/Gāyatrī mantra, the Brahmins—together with her father—therefore gave her the name ‘Sāvitrī’.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that divine favor is approached through disciplined ritual and remembrance: the Sāvitrī/Gāyatrī mantra and offerings are portrayed as efficacious, and the resulting name ‘Sāvitrī’ becomes an ethical marker of gratitude and sacred memory.
Mārkaṇḍeya explains why the maiden is called Sāvitrī: she was ‘given’ through Sāvitrī’s pleasure, and Sāvitrī was pleased by oblations offered with the Sāvitrī (Gāyatrī) mantra; therefore Brahmins and her father formally named her Sāvitrī.