Shloka 28
सावित्री-यमसंवादः
Sāvitrī’s Dialogue with Yama and the Restoration of Satyavān
“अरे! तू तो पहले अनेक बार युद्धमें मेरेद्वारा परास्त हो चुका है और जीवनका अधिक लोभ होनेके कारण भागकर जान बचाता फिरा है। मैंने भी अपना भाई समझकर तुझे जीवित छोड़ दिया है। फिर आज तुझे मरनेके लिये इतनी उतावली क्यों हो गयी है?” ।। इत्युक्त: प्राह सुग्रीवो भ्रातरं हेतुमद् वच: । प्राप्तकालममित्रघ्नो रामं सम्बोधयन्निव
are! tvaṁ tu pūrvaṁ aneka-vāraṁ yuddhe mayā parājitaḥ, jīvitasya adhika-lobhena ca palāyitvā prāṇān rakṣitavān. aham api tvāṁ bhrātṛ-bhāvena jīvitam atyākṣam. tarhi adya tava maraṇāya itarāṁ utkaṇṭhā kutaḥ jāyate? ity uktaḥ prāha sugrīvo bhrātaraṁ hetumad vacaḥ; prāpta-kālam amitra-ghno rāmaṁ sambodhayann iva.
“Hey! Many times before you have been defeated by me in battle, and out of excessive greed for life you fled about to save yourself. I too, taking you as a brother, spared your life. So why today have you become so eager to die?” Thus addressed, Sugrīva spoke to his brother with reasoned words—like one who, at the decisive moment, is rousing Rāma, the slayer of foes.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts two ethical impulses in conflict: the pride of victory that humiliates an opponent, and the claim of mercy grounded in kinship (“I spared you as a brother”). It highlights how attachment to life can drive retreat, while sudden eagerness for death is portrayed as reckless—implying that courage should be guided by reason and right timing, not by wounded pride or provocation.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates a confrontation in which one combatant taunts the other: “I have defeated you many times; you fled to save your life; I spared you.” After this provocation, Sugrīva responds to his brother with reasoned words, and the narration suggests a decisive moment where Rāma—described as the enemy-slayer—is being invoked or stirred into action.