Satyavan

“ It is goodness of heart alone that inspireth the confidence of all creatures. And it is for this that people rely particularly on the righteous." And hearing these words, Yama said, "The words that thou utterest, O fair lady, I have not heard from any one save thee; I am highly pleased with this speech of thine. Except the life of Satyavan, solicit thou, therefore, a fourth boon, and then go thy way!" Savitri then said, "Both of me and Satyavan's loins, begotten by both of us, let there be a century of sons possessed of strength and prowess and capable of perpetuating our race! ”

“ O beautiful damsel, I swear by my own self that if I find any evil to have befallen my father and mother, I will not live. If thou hast any regard for virtue, if thou wishest me to live, if it is thy duty to do what is agreeable to me, proceed thou to the hermitage!’ The beautiful Savitri then rose and tying up her hair, raised her husband in her arms. And Satyavan having risen, rubbed his limbs with his hands. ”

“ I set free your husband. You will bear him a hundred sons, strong, brave and beautiful as he himself is. And I add to the boons which I have given you yet another. You shall both live for four hundred years."
With these words King Yama unbound Prince Satyavan and, leaving him lying on the ground, departed immediately to his kingdom far away in the South. But Savitri went up to her husband's body and sitting down beside him once more placed his head on her lap. ”

“ But the prince looked around him and saw that the night was dark and bade Savitri stay where they were until sunrise. "As you will, dear lord," said the princess. "There is a forest fire on the hills and by its light we can guide our steps. But if you wish to spend the night where we are, I shall kindle a fire here, and we can pass the hours happily until day dawns." Of a sudden Prince Satyavan thought of his parents. ”

“ Spake Yama, smiling: "Beautiful! thy words Delight me; they are excellent, and teach Wisdom unto the wise, singing soft truth. Look, now! Except the life of Satyavan, Ask yet another—any—boon from me." Sâvitrî said: "Let, then, the pious King, My husband's father, who hath lost his throne, Have back the Raj; and let him rule his realm In happy righteousness. This boon I ask." "He shall have back the throne," Yama replied, "And he shall reign in righteousness: these things Will surely fall. But thou, gaining thy wish, Return anon; so shalt thou 'scape sore ill." ”

“ Instantly Savitri rose also. "Wait my husband," she said, "let me go with you. To-day I cannot leave you." Satyavan sought to dissuade her. "You are weak with fasting," he said, "and the paths are steep and rugged." But Savitri's love for the prince overcame her weakness and she begged him earnestly not to forbid her. Satyavan at last consented but told her to bid the king and queen farewell. For he was afraid that she might die of fatigue in the forest. Savitri did so, and explained to them that she could not abandon Satyavan on his last day of life. ”

“ Rushing to the encounter he never cometh back. Indeed, he will slay hostile warriors in battle like the Wind-god himself. That router of hostile car-ranks, that car-warrior of wonderful feats in battle, commander of thy forces, Satyavan is, O king, a Maharatha. He never cherisheth grief at the prospect of battle. Confounding those warriors that stand in the way of his car, he falleth upon them. Always displaying his prowess against the enemy, that best of men will, for thy sake, in fierce press of battle, achieve all that a good Kshatriya should. ”

“ As God of Death, how could he give up the dead? But as God of Truth, could he urge Savitri to be untrue? A moment he hesitated. Then he stooped and undid the noose, while the whole forest rang with his laughter.
"Peerless amongst women," he said, "is that brave heart that follows the husband even into the grave, and recovers his life from Yama himself. Thus do the gods love to win defeat at the hands of mortals."
An hour later, under the same tree where he had swooned, Prince Satyavan awoke, with his head on Savitri's knee. ”

“ After securing this inestimable boon, Savitri hastened out of the cave and back into the woods, where she found the lifeless corpse of her husband just where she had left it, and proceeded to woo it back to life. Before long warmth and consciousness returned to Satyavan, who went home with Savitri, with whom he lived happy ever after, for all the boons Yama had promised were duly granted.
"Adieu, great God!" She took the soul,
No bigger than the human thumb,
And running swift, soon reached her goal,
Where lay the body stark and dumb. ”

“ Now I ask, as the only favour I have yet begged, that you should allow me also to go out into the jungle with your son, and spend the day." She was careful not to mention Satyavan's name to his parents, for that would have been forward and ill-bred. The old couple smiled gently. "The girl is a good girl," they said to one another, "and has yet asked for nothing. We certainly ought to allow her to go. Satyavan, take thou good care of our daughter." At these words Savitri touched their feet, and went out with her husband. ”

“ The dethroned monarch retired to the forest with his faithful wife and his only son, who in time grew up to be a comely youth.
When Savitri confessed her love to her sire, the great sage Narada, who sat beside him, spoke and said: “Alas! the princess hath done wrong in choosing for her husband this royal youth Satyavan. He is comely and courageous, he is truthful and magnanimous and forgiving, he is modest and patient and without malice; honour is seated upon his forehead; he is possessed of every virtue. But he hath one defect, and no other. ”

“ Desist from your choice, my child, you shall never be married to a short-lived and fated bridegroom.” “Never mind, father; do not ask me to marry another person and sacrifice the chastity of mind, for I love and have accepted in my mind that good and brave Satyavan only as my husband. A maiden chooses only once, and she never departs from her troth.” When the king found that Savitri was resolute in mind and heart, he complied. Then Savitri married prince Satyavan, and she quietly went from the palace of her father into the forest, to live with her chosen husband and help her husband’s parents. ”

“ If they approach on horseback, they descend and walk as they advance towards them. If they arrive in a chariot, chariot and armour must be left outside when they enter. No fighting man can enter unless he comes in the manner of a religious man, quiet and gentle.
So Savitri came to this hermitage and saw there Satyavan, the hermit’s son, and her heart was conquered. She had escaped all the princes of the palaces and the courts, but here in the forest-refuge of King Dyumatsena, his son, Satyavan, stole her heart. ”

“ Aswapati looked at him anxiously. "Why not?" he said. "My daughter has wealth enough for two."
"Oh, it is not that!" said Narada; "but if Savitri weds this youth she will certainly become a widow, for Satyavan is under a curse, and twelve months from this day he is doomed to die!"
The Princess had grown very pale. For every Hindu woman prays to die before her husband. But when Aswapati turned and said to her, "This is sad news, my daughter! you must choose again," she said, "No, my father. One gives one's faith but once. I cannot name a second as my husband. ”

“ O thou that art so devoted to thy lord, ask for some incomparable boon!’ Thus addressed, Savitri said, ‘O bestower of honours, the boon thou hast already given me is incapable of accomplishment without union with my husband. Therefore, among other boons, I ask for this, may this Satyavan be restored to life! Deprived of my husband, I am as one dead! Without my husband, I do not wish for happiness. Without my husband, I do not wish for heaven itself. Without my husband, I do not wish for prosperity. Without my husband, I cannot make up my mind to live! ”

“ Thereafter Aswapati, the royal sire of Savitri, went to visit Dyumatsena, the blind sire of Satyavan, in the forest, and his daughter went with him.
Said Dyumatsena: “Why hast thou come hither?”
Aswapati said: “O royal sage, this is my beautiful daughter Savitri. Take thou her for thy daughter-in-law.”
Said Dyumatsena: “I have lost my kingdom, and with my wife and my son dwell here in the woods. We live as ascetics and perform great penances. How will thy daughter endure the hardships of a forest life?” ”

“ What the pious mortal asketh gods in heaven may not deny!”
“Thou hast,” so Savitri answered, “granted father's realm and might,
To his vain and sightless eyeballs hast restored their blesséd sight,
Grant him that the line of monarchs may not all untimely end,
That his kingdom to Satyavan's and Savitri's sons descend!”
“Have thy object,” answered Yama, “and thy lord shall live again,
He shall live to be a father, and your children too shall reign,
For a woman's troth abideth longer than the fleeting breath,
And a woman's love abideth higher than the doom of Death!” ”

“ In time Satyavan and Savitri reached the hermitage, and their own hearts and the hearts of their parents were freed from sorrow.
Then Savitri related all that had taken place, and the sages said: “O chaste and illustrious lady, thou hast rescued the race of Dyumatsena, the foremost of kings, from the ocean of darkness and calamity.”
On the morning that followed messengers came to Dyumatsena and told that the monarch who had deprived him of his kingdom was dead, having fallen by the hand of his chief minister. All the people clamoured for their legitimate ruler. ”

“ What we all have said must come to pass: there can be no doubt of this. Henceforth thou shalt rapidly grow in prosperity." Then, O Pritha's son, the twice-born ones lighted a fire and sat themselves down before king Dyumatsena. And Saivya, and Satyavan, and Savitri who stood apart, their hearts free from grief, sat down with the permission of them all. Then, O Partha, seated with the monarch those dwellers of the woods, actuated by curiosity, asked the king's son, saying, "Why didst thou not, O illustrious one, come back earlier with thy wife? Why hast thou come so late in the night? ”

“ King Asvapati grieved that no suitor wooed his beautiful maid. At last he sent for Savitri. "My daughter," he said, "you are a grown woman and it is time for you to marry. But no suitor comes to win you. Go therefore through the land of the Aryas and seek some youth fit to be your husband." Savitri, blushing deeply, took leave of the king. In a short time the king's charioteer drove up a golden chariot to the door of her palace, and seated in it and accompanied by wise ministers and horse soldiers with glittering lances, she journeyed in turn to the various shrines and holy places of India. ”

“ See how the god Vishnu devoured (destroyed) , like a wild fire the demons of the triple world, likening the tender filaments of lotuses; and how the sage Sweta became victorious over death by means of his firm faith in Siva (as it is described in the Linga Purána) .
8. Remember, how the chaste Sávitrí, brought back her spouse Satyavána from the realm of death, by her prevailing on stern Yama with the suavity of her discourse.
[546]
9. There is no great exertion of any kind that goes unrewarded in this world ”

“ While engaged in this vocation, Satyavati was seen one day by the great Rishi Parasara, in course of his wanderings. As she was gifted with great
p. 127
beauty, an object of desire even with an anchorite, and of graceful smiles, the wise sage, as soon as he beheld her, desired to have her. And that bull amongst Munis addressed the daughter of Vasu of celestial beauty and tapering thighs, saying, 'Accept my embraces, O blessed one!' Satyavati replied, 'O holy one, behold the Rishis standing on either bank of the river. ”

“ In the story of Sāvitrī we have one of the finest of the many ideal female characters which the older epic poetry of India has created. Sāvitrī, daughter of Açvapati, king of Madra, chooses as her husband Satyavat, the handsome and noble son of a blind and exiled king, who dwells in a forest hermitage. Though warned by the sage Nārada that the prince is fated to live but a single year, she persists in her choice, and after the wedding departs with her husband to his father's forest retreat. Here she lives happily till she begins to be tortured with anxiety on the approach of the fatal day. ”

“ Satanava thereupon made a vow renouncing his claim to the throne, and said: “If thou wilt give thy daughter unto my sire to be his queen, I, who am his heir, will never accept the throne, nor marry a wife, or be the father of children. If, then, Satyavati will become the mother of a son, he will surely be chosen rajah.” When he had spoken thus, the gods and Apsaras, the mist fairies, caused flowers to fall out of heaven upon the prince's head, and a voice came down the wind, saying: “This one is Bhishma.” ”

“ Then Mohendra in the wretchedness of his grief said to the Brahmacharin Satyananda, "If only you had helped me a little, I would have slain these five miscreants."
"What strength is there" answered Satyananda, "in this aged body of mine,—except Him on whom I was calling, I have no other strength. Do not struggle against the inevitable. We shall not be able to overpower these five men. Come, let us see where they will take us. The Lord will be our protection in all things." ”

“ Vaisampayana said, ‘O monarch, after the nuptials were over, king Santanu established his beautiful bride in his household. Soon after was born of Satyavati an intelligent and heroic son of Santanu named Chitrangada. He was endued with great energy and became an eminent man. The lord Santanu of great prowess also begat upon Satyavati another son named Vichitravirya, who became a mighty bowman and who became king after his father. And before that bull among men, viz., Vichitravirya, attained to majority, the wise king Santanu realised the inevitable influence of Time. ”