सत्यवानुवाच सुचिरं बत सुप्तो5स्मि किमर्थ नावबोधित: । क्व चासौ पुरुष: श्यामो यो5सौ मां संचकर्ष ह,सत्यवानने कहा--प्रिये! खेद है कि मैं बहुत देरतक सोता रह गया। तुमने मुझे जगा क्यों नहीं दिया? वे श्यामवर्णके पुरुष कहाँ हैं जिन्होंने मुझे खींचा था?
satyavān uvāca: suciraṁ bata supto ’smi; kimarthaṁ nāvabodhitaḥ? kva cāsau puruṣaḥ śyāmo yo ’sau māṁ saṁcakarṣa ha?
Satyavān said, “Alas, I have slept for a long time. Why was I not awakened? And where is that dark-hued man—the one who dragged me away?”
यम उवाच
The verse highlights human bewilderment at the boundary between life and death and sets up the ethical drama in which truth, steadfastness, and dharma confront mortality—prompting inquiry rather than resignation.
Satyavān regains awareness after being taken away and, noticing the absence of the dark figure who dragged him, questions why he was not awakened sooner and asks where that person has gone.