Shloka 38

Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment

Devanagari script

सावित्रयुवाच ममानपत्य: पृथिवीपति: पिता भवेत्‌ पितु: पुत्रशतं तथौरसम्‌ | कुलस्य सन्‍्तानकरं च यद्‌ भवेत्‌ तृतीयमेतद्‌ वरयामि ते वरम्‌,सावित्रीने कहा--भगवन्‌! मेरे पिता महाराज अभश्वपति पुत्रहीन हैं; उन्हें सौ ऐसे औरस पुत्र प्राप्त हों, जो उनके कुलकी संतानपरम्पराको चलानेवाले हों। मैं आपसे यही तीसरा वर माँगती हूँ

Transliteration

Sāvitrī uvāca: mamānapatyaḥ pṛthivīpatiḥ pitā bhavet pituḥ putraśataṃ tathaurasam | kulasya santānakaraṃ ca yad bhavet tṛtīyam etad varayāmi te varam ||

Translation

Savitri said: “Bless my father, the king of the earth, who is without a child, to obtain a hundred sons—true-born heirs—so that our lineage may be continued. This is the third boon I choose from you.”

Word by Word

• {'Sāvitrī uvāca': 'Savitri said', 'mama': 'my', 'anapatyaḥ': 'without offspring, childless', 'pṛthivīpatiḥ': 'lord of the earth

• king', 'pitā': 'father', 'bhavet': 'may he become / may he have (a state come to be)', 'pituḥ': 'for the father / of my father', 'putraśatam': 'a hundred sons', 'tathā': 'thus, indeed', 'aurasam': 'true-born

• legitimate', 'kulasya': 'of the family/lineage', 'santānakaram': 'producing continuity of descendants

• ensuring succession', 'ca': 'and', 'yat': 'which', 'tṛtīyam': 'third', 'etat': 'this', 'varayāmi': 'I choose, I request', 'te': 'from you / your', 'varam': 'boon'}

Speaker

यम उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sāvitrī
• Yama
• Aśvapati (Savitri’s father)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharma as responsibility toward family continuity and social order: Savitri uses her boon not for personal gain but to secure legitimate heirs for her father, preserving lineage (kula-santāna) and rightful succession.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the boon-granting dialogue with Yama, Savitri asks as her third boon that her childless father, King Aśvapati, receive a hundred true-born sons who will continue the family line.