Shloka 42

सावित्री-यमसंवादः

Sāvitrī’s Dialogue with Yama and the Restoration of Satyavān

Devanagari script

अशोकवनिकाशभ्याशे तापसाश्रमसंनिभे | भर्त॒स्मरणतन्वड्री तापसीवेषधारिणी,इधर कामके वशीभूत हुए रावणने भी लंकापुरीमें पहुँचकर सीताको अशोकवाटिकाके निकट तपस्वी मुनियोंके आश्रमकी भाँति शान्तिपूर्ण तथा नन्‍्दनवनके समान रमणीय भवनमें ठहराया। पतिका निरन्तर चिन्तन करते-करते सीताका शरीर दुर्बल हो गया था। वे तपस्विनीवेषमें वहाँ रहती थीं

Transliteration

aśokavanikāśabhyāśe tāpasāśramasaṃnibhe | bhartṛsmaraṇatanvaṅgī tāpasīveṣadhāriṇī ||

Translation

マールカンデーヤは語った。アショーカの林の近く、修行者の庵にも似た静謐な場所で、彼女は—夫を思い続けて身をやつし—尼僧のような苦行者の姿でそこに留まっていた。

Word by Word

अशोकवनिकासभ्याशेin a place resembling an Aśoka-grove

तापसाश्रमसंनिभेin/at (a place) like a hermits’ āśrama

भर्तृस्मरणतन्वीshe whose body was made thin by remembering her husband

तापसीवेषधारिणीwearing the dress of an ascetic woman

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Sītā

Rāvaṇa

Laṅkā

Aśokavanikā / Aśokavāṭikā

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights steadfast dharma under suffering: Sītā’s fidelity and inner discipline remain firm despite captivity, contrasting moral restraint with the adharma of coercive desire.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes Sītā being kept near the Aśoka grove in a calm, hermitage-like setting; she has grown physically weak from constant remembrance of her husband and lives there in the appearance of an ascetic woman.