Shloka 45

Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment

Devanagari script

सावित्रयुवाच ममात्मजं सत्यवतस्तथौरसं भवेदुभाभ्यामिह यत्‌ कुलोद्वहम्‌ । शतं सुतानां बलवीर्यशालिना- मिदं चतुर्थ वरयामि ते वरम्‌,सावित्रीने कहा--मेरे और सत्यवान्‌--दोनोंके संयोगसे कुलकी वृद्धि करनेवाले, बल और पराक्रमसे सुशोभित सौ औरस पुत्र हों। यह मैं आपसे चौथा वर माँगती हूँ

Transliteration

yama uvāca — sāvitrī uvāca: mamātmajaṁ satyavatas tathaurasaṁ bhaved ubhābhyām iha yat kulodvaham | śataṁ sutānāṁ balavīryaśālinām idaṁ caturthaṁ varayāmi te varam ||

Translation

Sāvitrī said: “May I and Satyavān beget here a true-born son—indeed, a hundred sons—who will uphold and expand our lineage, endowed with strength and heroic vigor. This is the fourth boon that I choose from you.”

Word by Word

• {'sāvitrī uvāca': 'Sāvitrī said', 'mama': 'of me

• my', 'ātmajam': 'offspring

• son (lit. ‘born of oneself’)', 'satyavataḥ': 'of Satyavān', 'tathā': 'and also

• likewise', 'aurasam': 'legitimate, true-born (born from the body

• not adopted)', 'bhavet': 'may there be

• may he/they be', 'ubhābhyām': 'from both (of us two)', 'iha': 'here (in this world)', 'yat': 'who/which

• such that', 'kulodvaham': 'upholder/raiser of the family line

• one who carries the lineage forward', 'śatam': 'a hundred', 'sutānām': 'of sons

• sons (gen./pl.)', 'bala': 'strength', 'vīrya': 'valor

• heroic potency', 'śālinām': 'possessing

• endowed with', 'idam': 'this', 'caturtham': 'fourth', 'varayāmi': 'I choose

• I ask for (as a boon)', 'te': 'from you

• your', 'varam': 'boon'}

Speaker

यम उवाच

Characters & Entities

• यम (Yama)
• सावित्री (Sāvitrī)
• सत्यवान् (Satyavān)
• कुल (lineage/family line)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic continuity: Sāvitrī seeks legitimate progeny who will uphold the family line, showing that personal blessings are framed as responsibilities—strength and valor are requested not for domination but for sustaining lineage and social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

After engaging Yama in dialogue and receiving boons, Sāvitrī asks for a fourth boon: that she and Satyavān have a hundred true-born sons who will carry forward their lineage—an indirect yet decisive request that presupposes Satyavān’s restored life and their future together.