feel kinship with him, yet to rise to superhuman
heights to protect the virtuous and destroy evil.
Quoting Lord KRISHNA’s words in the BHAGAVAD
GITA, Sai Baba says that whenever disharmony
overwhelms the world, the Lord will incarnate in
human form to establish peace and to reeducate
the human community.
Sai Baba’s influence is considerable; active
devotees and centers organized around his work
and message exist throughout the world. His per-
sonal conduct, however, has been the subject of
numerous charges, including sexual misconduct
and fraud. His international headquarters are in
Puttaparthi, Andra Pradesh, India.
Further reading: Roy Eugene Davis, The Teachings of Sri
Satya Sai Baba (Lakemont, Ga.: CSA Press, 1991); Satya
Pal Ruhela, In Search of Sai Divine: A Comprehensive
Research Review of Writings and Researches on Sri Sathya
Sai Baba Avatar (Delhi: Print House, n.d.); T. B. Singh,
Satya Sai Baba: Godman of India Today (Delhi: Hind
Pocket Books 1976); Brian Steel, The Satya Sai Baba
Compendium: A Guide to the First Seventy Years (New
York: Weiser, 1997).
Satyavan See SAVITRI.
Satya Yuga See KRITA YUGA.
Savitri mythic princess
The story of Savitri and Satyavan, told in the
Mahabharata, is one of the most poignant in
Indian literature. The beautiful maiden Savitri
falls in love with a hermit’s son, Satyavan, and
marries him. Savitri learns from his father that
unbeknown to Satyavan the boy has only one
year to live. Savitri forebears from telling Satya-
van, in order to preserve their precious days of
happiness.
The pair live in great delight as the bride tries
to forget the curse that threatens their love. As the
final day approaches Savitri furiously engages in
prayers and penances to stave off the inevitable.
On the final day she follows her husband closely
into the woods where he has gone to fetch wood.
Her husband soon collapses as the frightening
figure of YAMA, god of death, appears before them
with a noose in his hand.
Yama removes Satyavan’s soul and heads
toward his domain, with Savitri in desperate pur-
suit. Yama asks her to turn back, but she insists
that she will follow him even to the underworld.
Seeing her great devotion, Yama grants her any
boon but that of having her husband restored to
life. She takes this boon but insists on following
farther. She gains two more similar boons but will
not relent. Finally, Yama offers her a boon with-
out exception and she asks that her husband be
restored to life. The boon is granted and Satyavan
returns to life.
SRI AUROBINDO wrote an elegant and enchant-
ing epic poem celebrating this story, in which he
outlines his conception of Integral Yoga and the
power of the MOTHER to effect the complete supra-
mental transformation of the universe.Further reading: Sri Aurobindo, Savitri: A Legend and
a Symbol (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1951);
Aaron Shepard with Vera Rosenberry, Savitri: A Tale of
Ancient India (Morton Grove, Ill.: A. Whitman, 1992).Savitri Vedic divinity
Savitri is one name for the Vedic god of the Sun.
Several gods in the RIG VEDA seem to be associ-
ated with the Sun, probably indicating that the
Sun had different names at different times of
the day or seasons of the year, or for different
purposes. Savitri was often used in conjunction
with SURYA, and the two may have been inter-
changeable.
Savitri is used in the famous GAYATRI MANTRA,
recited every morning by BRAHMINS and others.
In the Rig Veda, Savitri is connected with several
important rites. It is said that those who desireK 390 Satyavan