Savitri and Orpheus: A Comparative Study

Among the paragons of womanhood presented to an Indian wife Savitri enjoys a prominent place. She has been long celebrated as an ideal wife for such traits of her character as love of husband, respectful service of the parents-in-law, eloquence of speech, mental accomplishments, cheerful optimism and a healthy outlook on life.

The story of Savitri occurs in the Mahabharata and is briefly narrated below.

Savitri felt an irresistible attraction for Satyavan and fell in such deep love with him that even Narada’s prophecy that he would die after one year of his marriage did not shake her faith. Her father, King Ashwapati, also tried to prevail on her to choose another match but she was firm and adamant and married Satyavan.

Satyavan’s father had lost his kingdom and lived as an exile in the forest. Savitri soon forgot the comforts and conveniences of the palace and lived happily in a thatched cottage with her husband. She devotedly served his parents and earned the love of all around her.

The day dawned, the sun rose and set and thus one by one passed the numbered days of Satyavan’s life bringing his death nearer. The apprehension of the coming doom ate into her vitals but with a resolute faith in God and her love she unflinchingly performed her duties.

Finally came the fateful day and Satyavan fell unconscious while felling a tree in the forest. Lord Yama came himself to carry away his soul. Savitri followed him and went a long way with him and after a prolonged discussion returned home not only with the soul of her husband but also the long-cherished boons for her father and father-in-law. In this way the story presents an idealistic picture of a woman endowed with indomitable courage, love of her husband, selfless service and ardent devotion.

The Greeks also have a similar mythological tale–the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus lived with his wife Eurydice in a verdurous valley near Thessaly, where nature was bountiful. Orpheus was a master musician and sang beautiful and sweet songs. Apollo, the god of music, had presented him a golden harp with which he made soft and sweet music and was engrossed in it. His song had such a charm that the birds and beasts, trees and hills, streams and clouds, all stopped to listen to him. They were carried away by the divine music and swayed their heads with pleasure. Eurydice loved her minstrel husband dearly and followed him wherever he went. Her love inspired his songs, added to their sweetness and made them more delightful and enchanting. They led a very happy life.

But their happiness was short-lived. Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died. Her death shook the whole personality of Orpheus, broke his heart and stifled his music. A dark gloomy cloud of sadness and disappointment enveloped his life and made it wretched. He searched for Eurydice in every nook and corner of the forest but met nothing except dejection. The broken-hearted artiste was helpless before the will of Almighty.

One day he felt so wretched that he took his harp and strode towards Hades to look for her. He succeeded in having an audience with the king of the nether world who was pleased with his sweet music and returned him his mistress but on one condition that he should not look behind until she had reached the earth.

This filled him with great joy and happiness and smiling proudly on his achievement and planning for a happy future, he started for the earth. Eurydice followed him. The long separated lover forgot the condition and turned his head to have a glance of Eurydice before she had reached the earth. And according to the condition she melted away into thin air. The poor artiste, deprived of the pleasure of union with his beloved, could not move forward. He fell down there and striking his head against the hard ground killed himself. May be he was united to her after his death!

Both these stories depict the ideal of conjugal love, but the Indian tale has a happy end, whereas the Greek tale, a tragic one. The reason is simple. Indian literature has its own tradition of poetic experience. We have always lived a happy and peaceful life and accordingly our literature abounds in tales with a happy ending. In the vast treasurehouse of Sanskrit literature tragic tales are but an exception. The life of the Greeks, on the other hand, was a hard struggle; they tasted of death at every moment. So their literature is replete with tragedies, nay, they consider tragedy as the highest form of dramatic writing. Savitri’s love vanquishes death and returns to life and blossoms forth in happiness, prosperity and eternal bliss. Although Orpheus’s love placates and pleases the god of death, it fails to bring joy in his life and he passes away lamenting his wretched life.

The Indian tale gives more importance to the courage and fortitude of a woman, and the Greek tale reveals the intensity of a man’s love. The woman is tender, dependent, loving and compassionate, she knows how to sacrifice herself for others but when the life of her husband is at stake she becomes ferocious like a tigress, furious like Durga and tough like a thunderbolt. The story of Savitri reveals this aspect of love and sets an ideal for womanhood. In the Greek story the love of man predominates, he longs for the company, the physical contiguity of his beloved. No doubt his love radiates with intensity and prompts him to go to Hades, it lacks piety and sacredness of Savitri’s love for Satyavan.

The story of Orpheus is one-sided. It describes the high watermark and sincerity of one emotion–the emotion of love – only. The story of Savitri takes all aspects of life in its sweep. No one can gainsay that love enjoys the highest place in life, but it is not all in all; life has other aspects too, which are equally or rather more important. The story of Savitri touches all spheres of life and sets norms of conduct in them.

Then again Savitri’s love is in no way less intense than Orpheus’s, although it does not have that impetuosity which made him lose his life-partner for ever. Her love brims over with the feelings of public weak. Music enables Orpheus to reach the king of death but Savitri’s love is so sublime and potent that it forces the god of death to come down himself to fetch the soul of Satyavan. He cannot contemplate of sending a messenger to do so.

Savitri’s story not only sets the norms of conduct in the empirical world but is also valuable from the metaphysical point of view. It expounds many philosophical truths. But the story of Orpheus is a thing of this world only, it has no spiritual content. The ideals set in Savitri’s story still command respect and have been a constant guide for the conduct of a Hindu wife. She is a faithful and virtuous wife animated with intense love for her husband. Her life shines forth as an example of love and service, devotion and sacrifice and provides an eternal source of inspiration to all womankind.

Thus the two stories have many points in common because they both describe the height of the generous instinct of love and its efficacy, but because of their origin in different climates, conditions and traditions they have many dissimilarities also. The story of Orpheus lays more stress on the excellence of his music rather than on his love, but Savitri’s love emanates from life and does not depend on external elements. It represents the union of two souls, the union of Prakriti (Nature) and Purusha (God) and is, therefore, eternal, sacred and transcendental.