Story of Savitri and Satyavanसावित्री और सत्यवान की कथा

King Ashwapati and the birth of Savitri

Long ago the kingdom of Madra was ruled by a king named Ashwapati. He was righteous, generous and devoted to truth, he honoured the learned and cared for his people, and they loved him in return. Yet one sorrow weighed on his heart: he had no child. Hoping for offspring, the king took up strict vows. For many years he lived with great self-control, ate sparingly and offered oblations into the sacred fire while chanting hymns to the goddess Savitri.

At last the goddess was pleased. She rose from the sacred fire in a radiant form and said, "O king, I am pleased with your devotion, your purity and your self-discipline. Ask for whatever you wish." Ashwapati bowed and asked for children, so that his family line would continue. The goddess replied that, by the will of Brahma, a splendid daughter would soon be born to him. Then she vanished.

In time the queen gave birth to a beautiful girl. Because she was the gift of the goddess Savitri, the king and the priests named her Savitri. She grew up like a flame, bright and pure, gentle in speech and firm in mind. When she came of age her beauty and brilliance were so great that the princes who saw her were overawed, and not one of them dared to ask for her hand.

Savitri chooses Satyavan

Seeing his daughter grown and still unmarried, Ashwapati became anxious. He called her and said, "My daughter, the time has come for your marriage, yet no one comes to ask for you. Go out yourself and choose a husband who is worthy of you. Tell me whom you have chosen, and I will give you to him." Savitri bowed to her father and set out in a golden chariot with the elderly ministers of the court. She travelled through royal cities and peaceful hermitages in the forests, honouring the sages and giving gifts wherever she went.

When she returned, the sage Narada was sitting with her father. Ashwapati asked her whom she had chosen. Savitri said, "In the land of Shalva there was a righteous king named Dyumatsena. In time he became blind, and an old enemy seized his kingdom. With his wife and his young son he went to live in the forest as a hermit. That son, Satyavan, has grown up in the forest. He is the one I have chosen in my heart."

Narada was troubled. "Alas, O king," he said, "without knowing it, Savitri has made a grave choice." Ashwapati asked whether Satyavan lacked any virtue. Narada answered that Satyavan was truthful, generous, learned, patient, handsome and devoted to his parents. "But he has one fault, and it outweighs all his virtues. Exactly one year from today his life will come to an end."

The king turned to his daughter. "Savitri, go and choose another husband." But Savitri answered calmly, "A daughter is given in marriage only once, and a choice once made is made. Whether his life is long or short, whether he has virtues or none, I have chosen my husband once and I will not choose a second time. My mind has decided, and I will act as I have decided." Hearing these firm words, Narada said to the king, "Your daughter's mind is steady and cannot be moved from dharma. Give her to Satyavan." Blessing them both, he departed.

Life in the forest and the three-day vow

Ashwapati went to the forest with Savitri and the priests and approached the blind King Dyumatsena, who was sitting on a mat of kusha grass beneath a tree. He asked him to accept Savitri as his daughter-in-law. Dyumatsena hesitated. "We have lost our kingdom and live as hermits in the forest. How will your daughter bear such a hard life?" Ashwapati replied that his daughter knew that joy and sorrow both come and go, and that she had chosen with open eyes. So Savitri and Satyavan were married in the hermitage, and Ashwapati returned home content.

Once her father had gone, Savitri put away her jewels and fine clothes and dressed simply, as the people of the forest did. She served her blind father-in-law and her mother-in-law with care, spoke sweetly to her husband and kept to all her duties. Everyone in the hermitage was happy with her. Yet day and night the words of Narada stayed in her mind, and in secret she counted the days.

When she saw that Satyavan would die on the fourth day from then, she took a hard vow. For three days and three nights she fasted and stood in prayer. Dyumatsena was worried and tried to persuade her to rest, but she replied gently that she had made a vow and would complete it, and he gave her his blessing. On the last night she did not sleep at all. On the morning of the fated day she finished her worship, bowed to the elders and to the sages of the hermitage, and quietly accepted their blessing that she would never be a widow.

The fated day in the forest

That morning Satyavan took his axe and set out to bring fruit and firewood. Savitri asked to go with him. "You have never come into the deep forest," he said. "The path is hard, and you are weak from fasting." But she insisted, and he told her to ask his parents. Savitri, who in a whole year had never asked them for anything, now begged for their permission, and they gladly gave it. Smiling outwardly while sorrow burned inside her, she walked beside her husband through the beautiful forest, watching him at every step.

Satyavan gathered fruit and began to split wood. As he worked he began to sweat, and a sharp pain struck his head. "Savitri," he said, "my head aches, my limbs are burning and I feel weak. I cannot stand. I want to lie down." Savitri sat on the ground and laid his head in her lap. According to tradition this happened in the shade of a banyan tree, and this is why the banyan is worshipped on Vat Savitri.

Then she saw a figure standing before her: tall and dark, dressed in red, with a crown on his head and eyes that shone like the sun, holding a noose in his hand. He stood beside Satyavan and looked at him. Savitri gently set her husband's head down, rose and, with folded hands, asked who he was. "I am Yama, the lord of death," he answered. "Your husband's life is over, and I have come to take him. Because he is righteous and full of virtue, I have come myself instead of sending my messengers." With his noose Yama drew out of Satyavan's body a soul the size of a thumb and set off towards the south. Satyavan's body lay still and lifeless.

Savitri follows Yamraj

Savitri followed him. Yama turned and said, "Go back, Savitri, and perform his last rites. You have come as far as anyone may follow." Savitri replied, "Wherever my husband is taken, or goes of his own accord, there I must go too. That is the eternal dharma. By my vows, my service to my elders, my love for my husband and by your grace, my path cannot be blocked." Then she spoke of dharma: the wise say that friendship is formed by walking seven steps together, and having walked with him she called him her friend.

Yama was pleased by her words. "Ask for a boon," he said, "anything except his life." Savitri asked that her father-in-law, who was blind and had lost his kingdom, should regain his sight, his strength and his kingdom. "So be it," said Yama. "Now go back; you are tired." But Savitri said, "How can I be tired when I am near my husband? Where he goes, I go. Listen a little more: even a single meeting with the good is precious, and friendship with them never goes to waste."

Yama, pleased again, offered a second boon, once more excluding Satyavan's life. Savitri asked that her father, King Ashwapati, who had no son, should have a hundred sons to continue his line. Yama granted this as well and again told her to return. Still she walked on, speaking of the conduct of the good: kindness towards all beings in thought, word and deed, generosity, and keeping one's word. She praised Yama himself as Dharmaraja, the king of justice, who treats all beings equally.

Moved by her wisdom, Yama said, "The more you speak, the more my respect for you grows. Ask for a third boon." Savitri said, "Then grant that I may have a hundred sons born of Satyavan, strong and brave, to carry on our family." Pleased, Yama said, "So be it." Then Savitri folded her hands. "Lord, you have granted me sons by Satyavan, but without Satyavan this boon cannot come true, and your word is never false. Give my husband back his life." Yama smiled, untied the noose and released Satyavan's soul. "Your husband is free," he said. "He will live a long life with you, and your family will be honoured." Blessing her, Yama went on his way.

Satyavan returns and the family is restored

Savitri hurried back to the place where Satyavan's body lay. She sat down and once more took his head in her lap. Slowly he opened his eyes, as if waking from a long sleep. "I have slept a long time," he said. "Why did you not wake me? And where is the dark figure who was taking me away?" Savitri replied, "You slept long, and the lord of death has gone. Night has fallen, and I will tell you everything tomorrow. Let us go home; your parents will be worried."

It was dark, and Satyavan was still weak, so Savitri lifted the axe onto one shoulder, put his arm over the other and led him home through the forest. Meanwhile in the hermitage Dyumatsena had suddenly regained his sight. He and his wife were anxious and searched everywhere for their son. The sages comforted them, saying that by Savitri's virtue and her vows Satyavan must surely be alive. Soon the couple arrived. Savitri told everyone what had happened in the forest, and all of them praised her.

The next morning messengers came from Shalva. The usurper had been killed by his own minister, and the people wanted their rightful king back. Dyumatsena, his sight restored, returned to his kingdom with his family, and Satyavan was made crown prince. In time King Ashwapati was blessed with a hundred sons, and Savitri and Satyavan too had a hundred sons. So every one of Yama's boons came true.

Thus Savitri, by her devotion, her wisdom and her courage, brought her husband back from death and brought happiness to both families. According to tradition, a woman who keeps the Vat Savitri Vrat with faith and listens to this story remembers Savitri's example and prays for her family's well-being. As Savitri's home was filled with joy, may the homes of all who read or hear this story be filled with joy. Bolo Savitri Mata ki jai.

How to read the katha during the puja

On Vat Savitri the katha is usually read or heard at the banyan tree, after the tree and the images of Savitri and Satyavan have been worshipped and the raw thread has been tied around the trunk during the parikrama. The full sequence of the puja is explained on the Vat Savitri puja vidhi page; the points below cover the katha itself. Customs vary from region to region and family to family, so follow your own tradition where it differs.

1. Sit facing the banyan tree, or the banyan branch or picture kept at home, with the puja thali in front of you and the diya lit.
2. Many women hold a few grains of akshat (unbroken rice) and a flower or some soaked gram in their hands while listening, and offer them at the roots of the tree when the story ends.
3. In many places the women of the neighbourhood sit together while an elder woman or a priest reads the katha aloud. If you are alone, read it slowly and clearly yourself.
4. Read in the language you understand best. The same story is available as the Vat Savitri Vrat Katha in Hindi.
5. After the katha, bow to the tree, sing the Vat Savitri aarti and touch the feet of your mother-in-law and other elders to receive their blessings.
6. Many women keep a nirjala (waterless) fast until the puja is over. Pregnant or nursing women, anyone who is unwell, the elderly and anyone on medication should consult a doctor and may keep a phalahar or lighter fast instead. This is not a substitute for medical advice. In the summer heat, drink enough water before and after the fast and avoid sitting in the midday sun.

The story above follows the folk telling, in which Yama grants three boons. In the Mahabharata the conversation is longer and Yama grants more boons; the article on Savitri and Yamraj explains the dialogue and both versions.

Closing prayer

After the aarti many women end the puja with a short prayer in their own words, thanking Savitri Mata and asking forgiveness for any mistake made during the worship. A simple prayer in Hindi could be:

Meaning: O Savitri Mata, I have worshipped the banyan tree and you as far as my faith and means allow. Please forgive any mistake made in this puja, knowingly or unknowingly. As you protected your family with patience, wisdom and love, give me the same patience and good judgement. Keep my husband and my whole family healthy, happy and close to one another. Jai Savitri Mata.

You may say it in English or in any language you are comfortable with; the feeling behind the words matters more than the exact wording.