Shloka 34
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
सावित्रयुवाच प्रजास्त्वयैता नियमेन संयता नियम्य चैता नयसे निकामया । ततो यमत्वं तव देव विश्रुतं निबोध चेमां गिरमीरितां मया,सावित्री बोली--देव! इस सारी प्रजाको आप नियमसे संयममें रखते हैं और उसका नियमन करके आप अपनी इच्छाके अनुसार उसे विभिन्न लोकोंमें ले जाते हैं। इसीलिये आपका “यम” नाम सर्वत्र विख्यात है। मैं जो बात कहती हूँ, उसे सुनिये
sāvitrī uvāca—prajās tvayaitā niyamena saṁyatā niyamya caitā nayase nikāmayā | tato yamatvaṁ tava deva viśrutaṁ nibodha cemāṁ giram īritāṁ mayā ||
Savitri said: “O god, you keep these beings restrained by law and discipline; having regulated them, you lead them onward according to your will to their respective realms. Therefore your state as ‘Yama’—the Regulator—has become renowned everywhere. Now listen to these words that I speak.”
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yama is portrayed not merely as the god of death but as the cosmic regulator who restrains beings through niyama (law/discipline) and guides them to appropriate destinies; Savitri frames her appeal by acknowledging this moral order.
In the Savitri–Satyavan episode, Savitri addresses Yama directly. She respectfully praises his function as the controller of beings and asks him to listen, preparing the ground for her subsequent requests and arguments.