Shloka 68
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
मार्कण्डेय उदाच उपलभ्य तत: संज्ञां सुखसुप्त इवोत्थित: । दिश: सर्वा वनान्तांश्व निरीक्ष्योवाच सत्यवान्,मार्कण्डेयजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! तब होशमें आकर सत्यवान् सुखपूर्वक सोये हुए पुरुषकी भाँति उठकर सम्पूर्ण दिशाओं तथा वनप्रान््तकी ओर दृष्टि डालकर बोले --'सुमध्यमे! मैं फल लानेके लिये तुम्हारे साथ घरसे निकला था, फिर लकड़ी चीरते समय मेरे सिरमें जोर-जोरसे दर्द होने लगा था
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca—upalabhya tataḥ saṃjñāṃ sukha-supta ivotthitaḥ | diśaḥ sarvā vanāntāṃś ca nirīkṣyovāca satyavān—
Mārkaṇḍeya disse: “Então, recobrando a consciência, Satyavān ergueu-se como se tivesse dormido em paz. Olhando ao redor—para todas as direções e para as bordas da floresta—ele falou…”
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the precariousness of life and the ethical frame of the Savitrī–Satyavān narrative: truthfulness and steadfast dharma are tested precisely at moments when life seems to slip away, setting the stage for dharmic resolve against death’s inevitability.
After a collapse, Satyavān regains consciousness, rises as if from restful sleep, and looks around the forest in all directions before speaking—an interlude that marks a temporary return to awareness just before the decisive encounter with death in the larger episode.