JOIN USThe population of singletons is on a scale of alarming increase these days, especially in our country. Lots of people in their late twenties and thirties are shying away from marriage. Perhaps the population census board of a billion-plus-strong country will consider the trend as a welcome relief.
Sociologists attribute this tendency to the growing anathema of rational- minded individuals towards social evils like dowry, patriarchy, religious bias, progressive thinking and globalisation at large.
It does feel a little odd to note that perfectly normal people, who are good looking, educated accomplished and independent prefer not to tie the knot. Young people must realise that marriage is not about rites and rituals or a show of wealth or status. On the other hand, it is a hoary institution that has maintained social order and harmony in society despite all odds.
Savithri, the princess of Madura, was so beautiful, learned and wise. No one could fault her for her accomplishments.
It was for this very reason that many eligible bachelors found it difficult to consider her as marriage material. King Ashwapathi, her father, became extremely worried about passing
away without performing the kanyadaan of his only beloved daughter. When all his attempts at finding a fitting matrimonial match for his daughter failed, he summoned her and spelt out his misery to her.
Then he outlined his idea of sending her on a tour of his vast country with a view of finding a suitable husband for herself. Savithri hesitated. Soon, she was convinced by her parents about the necessity of finding an appropriate life partner for two good reasons.
The Sanatana Dharma coupled with her royal status necessitated her to get married and beget progeny in order to rule over his kingdom after his demise.
Besides, even if she was not very keen on the tenets of Sanatana Dharma or unduly bothered about being a princess, it made sense to generate her own family in order to support her physically and emotionally in her old age.
The fact that she fell in love with Satyavan the exiled prince of Shalva and married him with the blessings of her parents and the fact that he was destined to die within one year of their marriage and how she released him from the clutches of Death by engaging Yama in an erudite and logical conversation is another story.
All the same, it goes without saying that it was her marriage with Satyavan which gave her a purpose in life for the betterment of self and society.