Mahabharata 3.299.52 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 299, Shloka 52
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
सावित्रयुवाच न ते5पवर्ग: सुकृताद् विनाकृत- स्तथा यथान्येषु वरेषु मानद । वरं वृणे जीवतु सत्यवानयं यथा मृता होवमहं पतिं विना
Sāvitrī uvāca: na te ’pavargaḥ sukṛtād vinākṛtaḥ, tathā yathāny eṣu vareṣu mānada. varaṃ vṛṇe jīvatu Satyavān ayaṃ, yathā mṛtā ’ham iva ahaṃ patiṃ vinā.
సావిత్రి పలికింది—ఓ మానదా! మీరు ప్రసాదించిన పుత్రప్రాప్తి వరం పుణ్యమైన దాంపత్యసంబంధం లేక ఫలించదు. ఈ చివరి వరం ఇతర వరాలవలె కాదు. అందుచేత నేను మళ్లీ ఇదే వరం కోరుతున్నాను—సత్యవాన్ జీవించుగాక; భర్తలేక నేను మృతసమానమే.
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights pativratā-dharma and moral reasoning: a boon (like offspring) is ethically and practically meaningless if the righteous marital bond is destroyed. Sāvitrī argues that true fulfillment depends on dharma—life with one’s rightful spouse—so she prioritizes her husband’s life over secondary gains.
After Yama has granted earlier boons, Sāvitrī points out that the boon of sons cannot be realized if Satyavān remains dead. She therefore requests, as her chosen boon, that Satyavān be restored to life, declaring that without her husband she is effectively dead.
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