Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c9.1743

c9.1743

1) Birth. In the country of Madra, famous in the Purāṇas, there was a king named Aśvapati. His wife was Mālatī. Though the couple grew old they were childless. At last they worshipped Devī Sāvitrī. After vows and prayers for eighteen years the Devī appeared before them, and giving them the boon that a daughter would be born to them, she disappeared. The couple returned to the palace and Mālatī conceived and delivered a daughter whom they named Sāvitrī. (Skandha 9, Devī Bhāgavata; Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 293).