History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.342

v6.c81.342

On the Full moon day of Jyestha women whose husbands are living perform even now in many parts of India the Sāvitrī-vrata or Vatasāvitrīvrata The story of Sāvitrī whose memory has been cherished for ages by all Indian women as an ideal of a *pativratā*, of wifely devotion to the husband unto death (and even thereafter) is very popular and is described at great length in the Mahābhārata (Vanaparva chap. 293–299) and in the Purānas (such as in Matsya, chap 208–214, Skandapurāna, Prabhāsakhanda chap 166, Visnudharmottara, II chap 36–41). It is narrated²³⁰ that she married Satyavat whose death at the end of one year was predicted by the sage Nārada and that three days before the time indicated by Nārada she undertook a fast, accompanied her husband into the forest where he had gone to collect firewood, flowers and fruits as his blind father had lost his kingdom and that she had an argument with Yama the God of Death, who became so pleased with her that he gave her several boons and ultimately her husband that had died as predicted was restored to life The Bhaviṣyapurāṇa account of the story of Sāvitrī is cited at great length in Kṛtyaratnākara (pp. 264-278). Hemādri (on vrata II pp 258-272) sets out a vrata called Brahma-Sāvitrīvrata from Bhaviṣyottara which contains the story of Sāvitrī as in the Mahābhārata and Matsya and also (vol. II pp 272-279) a Vatasāvitrīvrata from Skanda. But the first was performed for three days from the 13th tithi to Full Moon in Bhādrapada month and not in Jyeṣṭha, while the 2nd was to be performed on Jyeṣṭha Full Moon by a woman whose husband was living or even by a sonless widow. This last is called Mahāsāvitrīvrata by the Vratakālaviveka (p 20 of I H Q vol 17 No. 4 supplement).