Opening Remarks
Savitri arrives to her place of destiny to live with Satyavan along with his parents. It is a big unprecedented and unexpected change in her life, a strange turn of fate.
Rough-hewn homestead
Arrived in that rough-hewn homestead they gave,
Questioning no more the strangeness of her fate,
Their pride and loved one to the great blind king,
A regal pillar of fallen mightiness
And the stately care-worn woman once a queen
Who now hoped nothing for herself from life,
But all things only hoped for her one child,
Calling on that single head from partial Fate
All joy of earth, all heaven’s beatitude.
Savitri led by strange fate has arrived in the thatched house to live with her husband and his parents. She is given by her parents to Satyavan whose father, once a king is now blind and the queen, mother of Satyavan, a steady care-worn woman who now hoped nothing for herself and from life but only hoped for her single child, Satyavan, all joy of earth and all beatitude of heaven.
Knew not of the danger drawing near
Adoring wisdom and beauty like a young god’s,
She saw him loved by heaven as by herself,
She rejoiced in his brightness and believed in his fate
And knew not of the evil drawing near.
Satyavan’s mother adored his wisdom and beauty as a young god and felt he is loved as much by heavens and by herself. She rejoiced to see his brilliance and had trust in his fate knowing not of the approaching feet of doom.
The parting
Lingering some days upon the forest verge
Like men who lengthen out departure’s pain,
Unwilling to separate sorrowful clinging hands,
Unwilling to see for the last time a face,
Heavy with the sorrow of a coming day
And wondering at the carelessness of Fate
Who breaks with idle hands her supreme works,
They parted from her with pain-fraught burdened hearts
As forced by inescapable fate we part
From one whom we shall never see again;
Driven by the singularity of her fate,
Helpless against the choice of Savitri’s heart
They left her to her rapture and her doom
In the tremendous forest’s savage charge.
The cherished one of Savitri stayed a few days in the forest prolonging the pain they would feel at leaving Savitri behind. Unwilling to separate from her, unwilling to see her face one last time, burdened with the approaching sorrow written by the strange ways of fate who carelessly breaks his own beautiful creations, they parted from Savitri with painful hearts. Thus do we part forced by inescapable fate. Driven by the singularity of Savitri’s fate and the steadfastness of her choice they left helpless, leaving Savitri to her joy and her doom in the charge of that tremendous forest.
All put behind
All put behind her that was once her life,
All welcomed that henceforth was his and hers,
She abode with Satyavan in the wild woods:
Priceless she deemed her joy so close to death;
Apart with love she lived for love alone.
Savitri put behind all that was once her life while welcoming all that was his and hers together. She started living with Satyavan in the forest holding her joy of togetherness as priceless in such proximity to death. Living apart with love she lived for love alone.
Self-poised
As if self-poised above the march of days,
Her immobile spirit watched the haste of Time,
A statue of passion and invincible force,
An absolutism of sweet imperious will,
A tranquillity and a violence of the gods
Indomitable and immutable.
Through all this she remained self-poised as one who stands apart watching the march of Time from her immobile spirit. She seemed a statue of passion and invincible force, an absolutism of sweet imperious will, a tranquil and violent passion of the gods, indomitable and immutable.
Closing Remarks
Such is Savitri’s state described when she starts living with Satyavan, her joy who yet is doomed by Death.
