Shloka 17
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
ततः सत्यवत: कायात् पाशबद्ध॑ वशं गतम् । अड्गुष्ठमात्रं पुरुषं निश्चकर्ष यमो बलात्,तदनन्तर यमराजने सत्यवानके शरीरसे पाशमें बँधे हुए अंगुष्ठमात्र परिमाणवाले विवश हुए जीवको बलपूर्वक खींचकर निकाला
tataḥ satyavataḥ kāyāt pāśabaddhaṁ vaśaṁ gatam | aṅguṣṭhamātraṁ puruṣaṁ niścakarṣa yamo balāt ||
そのときヤマは力ずくで、サティヤヴァーンの身体から、親指ほどの大きさの「人（プルシャ）」—縄で縛られ、投げ縄に囚われて無力となった生命の本原—を引きずり出した。この光景は、死が有身の命を支配する峻厳な力を示すと同時に、やがてそれに抗う道徳的対照—揺るがぬ正法と献身の決意—を予告する。
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the vulnerability of embodied life before Death’s authority, setting up the ethical contrast where steadfast dharma and devoted resolve (as in the Sāvitrī narrative) confront and morally negotiate what seems inevitable.
Yama binds Satyavān with his noose and forcibly draws out the thumb-sized ‘puruṣa’—the life-principle/jīva—from Satyavān’s body, marking the moment of death and the beginning of the ensuing moral encounter.