Shloka 28

Sāvitrī’s Trirātra-Vrata and Departure with Satyavān (सावित्रीव्रतनिश्चयः सहगमनं च)

Devanagari script

शब्दं च घोर सत्त्वानां दावाग्नेरिव वर्धत: । अपश्येतां मुहूर्ताच्च कबन्ध॑ घोरदर्शनम्‌,वन-जन्तुओंका भयंकर शब्द ऐसा जान पड़ता था मानो वहाँ सब ओर दावानल फैल रहा हो और उससे भयभीत हुए प्राणी आर्तनाद कर रहे हों। दो ही घड़ीमें उन दोनों भाइयोंने देखा, सामने एक “कबन्ध' (धड़) प्रकट हुआ है, जो देखनेमें अत्यन्त भयंकर है

Transliteration

śabdaṃ ca ghora-sattvānāṃ dāvāgner iva vardhataḥ | apaśyetāṃ muhūrtāc ca kabandhaṃ ghora-darśanam ||

Translation

கொடூர வனவிலங்குகளின் பயங்கர ஒலி, பரவும் காட்டுத்தீயின் முழக்கம்போல் பெருகியது. சிறிது நேரத்திலேயே அந்த இருவரும் முன் மிகக் கொடிய தோற்றமுடைய ‘கபந்தன்’ ஒன்றைக் கண்டனர்.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'śabdaḥ', 'definition': 'sound, cry, roar (here: fearful uproar)'}, {'term': 'ghora', 'definition': 'terrible, dreadful, fearsome'}, {'term': 'sattva', 'definition': 'living being, creature'}, {'term': 'dāvāgniḥ', 'definition': 'forest-fire, wildfire'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'like, as if'}, {'term': 'vardhataḥ', 'definition': 'increasing, growing, swelling'}, {'term': 'muhūrta', 'definition': 'a short time

• a muhūrta (traditional unit of time)'}, {'term': 'apaśyetām', 'definition': 'the two saw (dual perfect/imperfect usage in narrative)'}, {'term': 'kabandhaḥ', 'definition': 'Kabandha, a monstrous trunk-like being (a headless/limbless apparition in epic lore)'}, {'term': 'ghora-darśana', 'definition': 'terrible to behold

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya (speaker)
• Kabandha (monstrous being)
• forest-fire (dāvāgni) (simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how sudden fear and ominous signs in the wilderness can precede a moral or spiritual test; the heroes are confronted with terror not to panic, but to meet the unknown with steadiness and discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Markandeya describes an escalating, wildfire-like uproar of frightened creatures; shortly thereafter, the two protagonists (implied by the dual verb) see a dreadful Kabandha appear before them.