Shloka 51
सावित्री-यमसंवादः
Sāvitrī’s Dialogue with Yama and the Restoration of Satyavān
अप्येवाहं निराहारा जीवितप्रियवर्जिता । शोषयिष्यामि गात्राणि व्याली तालगता यथा
apy evāhaṃ nirāhārā jīvitapriyavarjitā | śoṣayiṣyāmi gātrāṇi vyālī tālagatā yathā ||
“Even so, I too—without food, and having renounced all attachment to life—will wither my limbs away, like a female serpent that has entered the hollow of a palmyra tree.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights extreme resolve grounded in detachment: when one abandons clinging to life and accepts hardship, one can endure austerity (fasting) to the point of bodily emaciation. Ethically, it underscores steadfastness and the power—yet also the severity—of ascetic determination.
Markandeya describes a vow-like stance: he (or the voice within the story he recounts) will remain without food and allow the body to waste away. The simile of a female serpent lodged in a palmyra’s hollow evokes a creature hidden away, sustained by minimal means, gradually drying up—intensifying the image of self-imposed austerity.