Truce with Death.
- drsarojsalelkar
- Aug 11, 2024
- 2 min read
“Oh devi, stop following me,” said the lord of death, Yama.
“But as a faithfull wife I need to follow my husband”, said Savitri.
Yama was taking her husband to the realm of the dead. He was impressed by Savitri’s commitment. “OK, ask for a boon other than Satyavan’s life,” he said.
“I wish that my father in law has his vision restored,” said she.
“OK done,” said Yama as he quickened his pace. But he realised Savitri was still behind him. ” OK, I will grant you another boon, but you should stop following me”, Yama exclaimed.
“I wish for my father’s kingdom to be returned,” she said
“Ok. Granted” said Yama, dragging Satyavan behind him.
Yet she still persevered. Exasperated Yama said, “Ok, I will give you a last boon, but this time ask something for yourself.”
“I wish to have children and see their children grow.”
“OK” said Yama quickening his steps, but he again saw Savitri following him.
“Devi, why are you still following me. I told you, I cannot return Satyawan.”
“Dear Lord, ” Savitri said, ” you are god of Dharma and death as well. Knowing the law of the land you know I cannot remarry, and you are taking away my husband. Father of my children to be.”
Yama was both stunned and appreciative of Savitri’s intelligence. Realising that he had been tricked he said,” you have tricked me. Your love for your husband has defeated me. Take him back”, he said smiling. “It will be a long time before we meet again.”
This is an incident from Mahabharata era, and such are the stories based on which we Indians grew up. These stories inspire people to deal with difficulties and struggles during their life and create a strong bond within members of the family.
But in today’s world every individual is become selfish and self centred leading to turbulence. To have successful relationships we need to adjust our needs with our partner and workout a mid way convenient for both parties.
If a woman like Savitri can challenge death, we can atleast try to build relationships on mutual love and understanding, thus provide a smooth sailing for the ship of our relationships, on the turbulent and unpredictable sea of life.
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