Laurel · Vyasa · The Mahabharata (condensed)

The Fated Bridegroom

Vyasa (about 400 BC), translated by Romesh Chunder Dutt · 1899

trochaic octameter · rhyming couplets · 72 lines · from The Mahabharata (condensed)

"Whence comes she," so Narad questioned, "whither was Savitri led,Wherefore to a happy husband hath Savitri not been wed?"

"Nay! to choose her lord and husband," so the virtuous monarch said,"Fair Savitri long hath wandered and in holy tirthas stayed,

Maiden! speak unto the rishi, and thy choice and secret tell!"Then a blush suffused her forehead, soft and slow her accents fell!

"Listen, father! Salwa's monarch was of old a king of might,Righteous-hearted Dyumat-sena, feeble now and void of sight,

Foemen robbed him of his kingdom when in age he lost his sight,And from town and spacious empire was the monarch forced to flight,

With his queen and with his infant did the feeble monarch stray,And the jungle was his palace, darksome was his weary way.

Holy vows assumed the monarch and in penance passed his life,In the wild woods nursed his infant and with wild fruits fed his wife,

Years have gone in rigid penance, and that child is now a youth,Him I choose my lord and husband, Satyavan, Soul of Truth!"

Thoughtful was the rishi Narad, doleful were the words he said:"Sad disaster waits Savitri if this royal youth she wed!

Truth-beloving is his father, truthful is the royal dame,Truth and virtue rule his actions, Satyavan is his name,

Steeds he loved in days of boyhood and to paint them was his joy,Hence they called him young Chitraswa, art-beloving gallant boy!

But O pious-hearted monarch! fair Savitri hath in soothCourted Fate and sad disaster in that noble gallant youth!"

"Tell me," questioned Aswapati, "for I may not guess thy thought,Wherefore is my daughter's action with a sad disaster fraught?

Is the youth of noble lustre, gifted in the gifts of art,Blest with wisdom, prowess, patience daring, dauntless in his heart?"

"SURYA'S lustre in him shineth," so the rishi Narad said,"BRIHASPATI'S wisdom dwelleth in the young Satyavan's head,

Like MAHENDRA in his prowess, and in patience like the Earth,Yet O king! a sad disaster marks the gentle youth from birth!"

"Tell me, rishi, then thy reason," so the anxious monarch cried,"Why to youth so great and gifted may this maid be not allied?

Is Satyavan free in bounty, gentle-hearted, full of grace,Duly versed in sacred knowledge, fair in mind and fair in face?"

"Free in gifts like Rantideva," so the holy rishi said,"Versed in lore like monarch Sivi, who all ancient monarchs led,

Like Yayati open-hearted and like CHANDRA in his grace,Like the handsome heavenly ASVINS fair and radiant in his face,

Meek and graced with patient virtue he controls his noble mind,Modest in his kindly actions, true to friends and ever kind,

And the hermits of the forest praise him for his righteous truth,Nathless, king, thy daughter may not wed this noble-hearted youth!"

"Tell me, rishi," said the monarch, "for thy sense from me is hid,Has this prince some fatal blemish, wherefore is this match forbid?"

"Fatal fault!" exclaimed the rishi, "fault that wipeth all his grace,Fault, that human power nor effort, rite nor penance can efface!

Fatal fault or destined sorrow! for it is decreed on high,On this day, a twelve-month later, this ill-fated prince will die!"

Shook the startled king in terror, and in fear and trembling cried:"Unto short-lived, fated bridegroom ne'er my child shall be allied!

Come, Savitri, dear-loved maiden! choose another happier lord,Rishi Narad speaketh wisdom, list unto his holy word!

Every grace and every virtue is effaced by cruel Fate,On this day, a twelve-month later, leaves the prince his mortal state!"

"Father!" answered thus the maiden, soft and sad her accents fell,"I have heard thy honoured mandate, holy Narad counsels well,

Pardon witless maiden's feelings! but beneath the eye of Heaven,Only once a maiden chooseth, twice her troth may not be given!

Long his life or be it narrow, and his virtues great or none,Brave Satyavan is my husband, he my heart and troth hath won!

What a maiden's heart hath chosen that a maiden's lips confess,True to him, thy poor Savitri goes into the wilderness!"

"Monarch!" uttered then the rishi, "fixed is she in mind and heart,From her troth the true Savitri never, never will depart!

More than mortal's share of virtue unto Satyavan is given,Let the true maid wed her chosen, leave the rest to gracious Heaven!"

"Rishi and preceptor holy!" so the weeping monarch prayed,"Heaven avert all future evils, and thy mandate is obeyed!"

Narad wished him joy and gladness, blessed the loving youth and maid,Forest hermits on their wedding every fervent blessing laid.

Words in this poem 25

whither adv.: To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
wherefore adv.: For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
virtuous a.: Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
stayed a.: Staid; fixed; settled; sober; -- now written staid. See Staid.
jungle n.: A dense growth of brushwood, grasses, reeds, vines, etc.; an almost impenetrable thicket of trees, canes, and reedy vegetation, as in India, Africa, Australia, and Brazil. [Hind. jangal desert, forest, jungle; Skr. ja desert.]
darksome a.: Dark; gloomy; obscure; shaded; cheerless.
disaster n.: An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body; hence, an ill portent. [F. désastre; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + astre star, fr. L. astrum; a word of astrological origin. See Aster, Astral, Star.]
dame n.: A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
boyhood n.: The state of being a boy; the time during which one is a boy. [Boy + -hood.]
sooth a.: True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
fraught n.: A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
lustre n.: A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
prowess n.: Distinguished bravery; valor; especially, military bravery and skill; gallantry; intrepidity; fearlessness. Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney. [OF. proece, proesce, F. prouesse. See Prow, a.]
dauntless a.: Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
bounty n.: Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
graced a.: Endowed with grace; beautiful; full of graces; honorable.
nathless adv.: Nevertheless. Chaucer. Milton. E. Arnold. [OE. natheles, na the les, not the less, AS. na never. See Na, The, conj., and cf. Nevertheless.]
shook v. t.: To pack, as staves, in a shook.
bridegroom n.: A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
shall v. i.: To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
witless a.: Destitute of wit or understanding; wanting thought; hence, indiscreet; not under the guidance of judgment.
troth n.: Belief; faith; fidelity. [A variant of truth. See Truth.]
depart v. i.: To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
preceptor n.: One who gives commands, or makes rules; specifically, the master or principal of a school; a teacher; an instructor. [L. praeceptor, fr. praecipere to teach: cf. F. précepteur. See Precept.]
fervent a.: Hot; glowing; boiling; burning; as, a fervent summer. [F. fervent, L. fervens, -entis. p.pr. of fervere o the boiling hot, to boil, glow.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Fated Bridegroom is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Mahabharata (condensed), Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, the Romesh Chunder Dutt translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Vyasa, The Fated Bridegroom, in The Mahabharata (condensed) (1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mahabharata/the-fated-bridegroom.html, id L15786.

Form and metre

The Fated Bridegroom is 72 lines in 36 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 89% of the lines. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.0 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.

See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic octameter.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

1 AA led^A · wed^A
3 AA tell^A · fell^A
4 AA might^A · sight^A
5 AA sight^A · flight^A
6 AA stray^A · way^A
7 AA life^A · wife^A
8 AA youth^A · truth^A
9 AA said^A · wed^A
10 AA dame^A · name^A
11 AA joy^A · boy^A
12 AA sooth^A · youth^A
13 AA thought^A · fraught^A
14 AA art^A · heart^A
15 AA said^A · head^A
16 AA earth^A · birth^A
17 AA cried^A · allied^A
18 AA grace^A · face^A
19 AA said^A · led^A
20 AA grace^A · face^A
21 AA mind^A · kind^A
22 AA truth^A · youth^A
23 AA hid^A · forbid^A
24 AA grace^A · efface^A
25 AA high^A · die^A
26 AA cried^A · allied^A
28 AA fate^A · state^A
29 AA fell^A · well^A
31 AA none^A · won^A
32 AA confess^A · wilderness^A
33 AA heart^A · depart^A
35 AA prayed^A · obeyed^A
36 AA maid^A · laid^A

Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic octameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
"Whence comes she," so Narad questioned, "whither was Savitri led,	15	······/˘/˘·····
Wherefore to a happy husband hath Savitri not been wed?"	15	/˘··/˘/˘·······
"Nay! to choose her lord and husband," so the virtuous monarch said,	15	······/˘··/˘/··
"Fair Savitri long hath wandered and in holy tirthas stayed,	15	······/˘··/˘···
Maiden! speak unto the rishi, and thy choice and secret tell!"	15	/˘··········/˘·
Then a blush suffused her forehead, soft and slow her accents fell!	15	···˘/·/˘····/˘·
"Listen, father! Salwa's monarch was of old a king of might,	15	/˘/˘··/········
Righteous-hearted Dyumat-sena, feeble now and void of sight,	15	/˘/˘··/˘/˘·····
Foemen robbed him of his kingdom when in age he lost his sight,	15	······/˘·······
And from town and spacious empire was the monarch forced to flight,	15	····/˘/˘··/····
With his queen and with his infant did the feeble monarch stray,	15	······/˘··/˘/··
And the jungle was his palace, darksome was his weary way.	15	··/˘··/˘/˘··/˘·
Holy vows assumed the monarch and in penance passed his life,	15	/˘·˘/·/···/˘···
In the wild woods nursed his infant and with wild fruits fed his wife,	15	······/˘·······
Years have gone in rigid penance, and that child is now a youth,	15	····/˘/˘·······
Him I choose my lord and husband, Satyavan, Soul of Truth!"	14	······/˘······
Thoughtful was the rishi Narad, doleful were the words he said:	15	/˘······/˘·····
"Sad disaster waits Savitri if this royal youth she wed!	15	·˘/˘······/˘···
Truth-beloving is his father, truthful is the royal dame,	15	·/˘˘··/˘/˘··/˘·
Truth and virtue rule his actions, Satyavan is his name,	14	··/˘··/˘······
Steeds he loved in days of boyhood and to paint them was his joy,	15	······/········
Hence they called him young Chitraswa, art-beloving gallant boy!	15	·········/˘˘/˘·
But O pious-hearted monarch! fair Savitri hath in sooth	15	··/˘/˘/········
Courted Fate and sad disaster in that noble gallant youth!"	15	/˘···˘/˘··/˘/˘·
"Tell me," questioned Aswapati, "for I may not guess thy thought,	15	··/˘···········
Wherefore is my daughter's action with a sad disaster fraught?	15	/˘··/˘/˘···˘/˘·
Is the youth of noble lustre, gifted in the gifts of art,	15	····/˘/˘/˘·····
Blest with wisdom, prowess, patience daring, dauntless in his heart?"	15	··/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘···
"SURYA'S lustre in him shineth," so the rishi Narad said,	15	··/˘··/˘·······
"BRIHASPATI'S wisdom dwelleth in the young Satyavan's head,	15	····/˘/˘·······
Like MAHENDRA in his prowess, and in patience like the Earth,	15	······/˘··/˘···
Yet O king! a sad disaster marks the gentle youth from birth!"	15	·····˘/˘··/˘···
"Tell me, rishi, then thy reason," so the anxious monarch cried,	15	······/˘··/˘/··
"Why to youth so great and gifted may this maid be not allied?	15	······/˘·····˘/
Is Satyavan free in bounty, gentle-hearted, full of grace,	15	······/˘/˘/˘···
Duly versed in sacred knowledge, fair in mind and fair in face?"	15	/˘··/˘/˘·······
"Free in gifts like Rantideva," so the holy rishi said,	15	··········/˘···
"Versed in lore like monarch Sivi, who all ancient monarchs led,	15	····/·····/˘/··
Like Yayati open-hearted and like CHANDRA in his grace,	14	···/˘/˘··/˘···
Like the handsome heavenly ASVINS fair and radiant in his face,	15	··/˘/˘····/˘···
Meek and graced with patient virtue he controls his noble mind,	15	····/˘/˘·˘/·/˘·
Modest in his kindly actions, true to friends and ever kind,	15	/˘··/˘/˘····/˘·
And the hermits of the forest praise him for his righteous truth,	15	··/˘··/˘····/˘·
Nathless, king, thy daughter may not wed this noble-hearted youth!"	15	/˘··/˘····/˘/˘·
"Tell me, rishi," said the monarch, "for thy sense from me is hid,	15	······/········
Has this prince some fatal blemish, wherefore is this match forbid?"	15	····/˘/˘/˘···˘/
"Fatal fault!" exclaimed the rishi, "fault that wipeth all his grace,	15	/˘·˘/··········
Fault, that human power nor effort, rite nor penance can efface!	15	··/˘/·/˘··/˘·˘/
Fatal fault or destined sorrow! for it is decreed on high,	15	/˘··/˘/˘···˘/··
On this day, a twelve-month later, this ill-fated prince will die!"	15	······/˘··/˘···
Shook the startled king in terror, and in fear and trembling cried:	15	··/˘··/˘····/˘·
"Unto short-lived, fated bridegroom ne'er my child shall be allied!	15	····/˘/······˘/
Come, Savitri, dear-loved maiden! choose another happier lord,	15	······/˘·˘/˘/˘·
Rishi Narad speaketh wisdom, list unto his holy word!	15	····/˘/˘····/˘·
Every grace and every virtue is effaced by cruel Fate,	15	/˘··/˘/˘·˘/·/˘·
On this day, a twelve-month later, leaves the prince his mortal state!"	15	······/˘····/˘·
"Father!" answered thus the maiden, soft and sad her accents fell,	15	/˘/˘··/˘····/˘·
"I have heard thy honoured mandate, holy Narad counsels well,	15	····/˘/·/˘··/˘·
Pardon witless maiden's feelings! but beneath the eye of Heaven,	16	/˘/˘/˘/˘······/˘
Only once a maiden chooseth, twice her troth may not be given!	16	/˘··/˘/˘······/˘
Long his life or be it narrow, and his virtues great or none,	15	······/˘··/˘···
Brave Satyavan is my husband, he my heart and troth hath won!	15	······/˘·······
What a maiden's heart hath chosen that a maiden's lips confess,	15	··/˘··/˘··/˘·˘/
True to him, thy poor Savitri goes into the wilderness!"	15	············/˘˘
"Monarch!" uttered then the rishi, "fixed is she in mind and heart,	15	/·/˘···········
From her troth the true Savitri never, never will depart!	15	········/˘/˘·˘/
More than mortal's share of virtue unto Satyavan is given,	16	··/˘··/˘······/˘
Let the true maid wed her chosen, leave the rest to gracious Heaven!"	16	······/˘····/˘/˘
"Rishi and preceptor holy!" so the weeping monarch prayed,	15	···˘/˘/˘··/˘/··
"Heaven avert all future evils, and thy mandate is obeyed!"	15	/˘/·/˘/˘··/··˘/
Narad wished him joy and gladness, blessed the loving youth and maid,	15	······/˘··/˘···
Forest hermits on their wedding every fervent blessing laid.	15	/˘/˘··/˘/˘/˘/˘·

The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.

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The Mahabharata (condensed)