Shloka 9
यक्षोपाख्यान-प्रवेशः
Entry into the Yakṣa-Lake Episode
जिद ,.+-+ स बालवत्सया सार्ध भार्यया प्रस्थितो वनम् । महारण्यं गतश्नापि तपस्तेपे महाव्रत:,तब अपनी छोटी अवस्थाके पुत्रवाली पत्नीके साथ वे वनमें चले आये और विशाल वनके भीतर रहकर बड़े-बड़े व्रतोंका पालन करते हुए तपस्या करने लगे। उनके एक पुत्र हैं सत्यवान जो पैदा तो नगरमें हुए हैं, परंतु उनका पालन-पोषण एवं संवर्धन तपोवनमें हुआ है। वे ही मेरे योग्य पति हैं। उन्हींका मैंने मन-ही-मन वरण किया है
sa bālavatsayā sārdhaṁ bhāryayā prasthito vanam | mahāraṇyaṁ gataś cāpi tapas tepe mahāvrataḥ ||
Markandeya said: “Accompanied by his wife, who had a young child, he set out for the forest. Having entered the great wilderness, that man of mighty vows undertook austerities, observing rigorous disciplines. (Thus, though their son Satyavān was born in the city, he was raised and nurtured in the hermitage-forest; therefore he is the husband worthy of me—him I have chosen in my heart.)”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of disciplined vows and austerity: a life grounded in restraint and tapas can redefine status and worth beyond birthplace or royal setting, making character and conduct the true measure of suitability.
Mārkaṇḍeya describes a man leaving for the forest with his wife (who has a young child) and practicing severe austerities in the great wilderness; in the broader Sāvitrī–Satyavān narrative, this supports the point that Satyavān, though city-born, was raised in the forest-āśrama and is therefore deemed a worthy husband.