Shloka 3
Sāvitrī’s Trirātra-Vrata and Departure with Satyavān (सावित्रीव्रतनिश्चयः सहगमनं च)
अथैनमब्रवीद् गृध्रो मुड्च मुज्चेति मैथिलीम् । प्रियमाणे मयि कथं हरिष्यसि निशाचर,इस प्रकार और वे बोले--“निशाचर! मिथिलेश-कुमारीको छोड़ दे, छोड़ दे। मेरे जीते- जी तू इन्हें कैसे हर ले जायगा?”
athainam abravīd gṛdhro muñca muñceti maithilīm | priyamāṇe mayi kathaṃ hariṣyasi niśācara ||
Then the vulture said to him: “Release her—release the princess of Mithilā! While I still live, how will you, O night-roaming rākṣasa, carry her away?” In this moment the poem foregrounds righteous resistance: even a weaker guardian confronts abduction as an adharma, placing protection of the vulnerable above fear for one’s own life.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic guardianship: resisting injustice—especially the abduction of a protected woman—is a moral duty, even at personal risk. Courage is framed as ethical steadfastness rather than mere strength.
In Markandeya’s retelling of the Rāmāyaṇa episode, the vulture Jaṭāyu confronts the rākṣasa who is carrying off Sītā, commanding him to release her and challenging the possibility of abduction while Jaṭāyu still lives.