॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
॥ सप्तदशोऽध्यायः - १८ ॥
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Discourse XVIII
The story of Yayāti (Preamble)
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श्रीशुक उवाच ।
यतिर्ययातिः संयातिरायतिर्वियतिः कृतिः ।
षडिमे नहुषस्यासन्निन्द्रियाणीव देहिनः ॥ १॥
राज्यं नैच्छद्यतिः पित्रा दत्तं तत्परिणामवित् ।
यत्र प्रविष्टः पुरुष आत्मानं नावबुध्यते ॥ २॥
पितरि भ्रंशिते स्थानादिन्द्राण्या धर्षणाद्द्विजैः ।
प्रापितेऽजगरत्वं वै ययातिरभवन्नृपः ॥ ३॥
चतसृष्वादिशद्दिक्षु भ्रातॄन् भ्राता यवीयसः ।
कृतदारो जुगोपोर्वीं काव्यस्य वृषपर्वणः ॥ ४॥
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Śrī Śuka resumed : Like the six senses (including the mind) of an embodied soul, the following six were the sons of Nahuṣa—Yati, Yayāti, Saṃyāti, Āyati, Viyati and Kṛti. (1)
Yati (the eldest) did not desire the sovereignty, offered by his father, since he knew the end of sovereignty, having entered which one is no longer able to realize the Self. (2)
On his father (Nahuṣa) having been hurled from heaven and transformed into a python by the (curse of) the Brāhmaṇas (the sage Agastya and others) due to the former's impudence towards Indra's wife, therefore, (it was) Yayāti (who) became the king. (3)
Yayāti (the elder brother) appointed (his four) younger brothers (Saṃyāti and others) as governors in the four quarters (each in one quarter) and, having taken to wife the daughters of Śukrācārya and Vṛṣaparvā, ruled over the globe (as its suzerain lord). (4) (1-4)
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राजोवाच ।
ब्रह्मर्षिर्भगवान् काव्यः क्षत्रबन्धुश्च नाहुषः ।
राजन्यविप्रयोः कस्माद्विवाहः प्रतिलोमकः ॥ ५॥
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The king (Parīkṣit) submitted : The glorious Śukrācārya was a Brāhmaṇa sage and Yayāti (the son of Nahuṣa), a mere Kṣatriya. How did the irregular marriage of a Kṣatriya king with a Brāhmaṇa girl take place ? (5) (5)
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श्रीशुक उवाच ।
एकदा दानवेन्द्रस्य शर्मिष्ठा नाम कन्यका ।
सखीसहस्रसंयुक्ता गुरुपुत्र्या च भामिनी ॥ ६॥
देवयान्या पुरोद्याने पुष्पितद्रुमसङ्कुले ।
व्यचरत्कलगीतालिनलिनीपुलिनेऽबला ॥ ७॥
ता जलाशयमासाद्य कन्याः कमललोचनाः ।
तीरे न्यस्य दुकूलानि विजह्रुः सिञ्चतीर्मिथः ॥ ८॥
वीक्ष्य व्रजन्तं गिरिशं सह देव्या वृषस्थितम् ।
सहसोत्तीर्य वासांसि पर्यधुर्व्रीडिताः स्त्रियः ॥ ९॥
शर्मिष्ठाजानती वासो गुरुपुत्र्याः समव्ययत् ।
स्वीयं मत्वा प्रकुपिता देवयानीदमब्रवीत् ॥ १०॥
अहो निरीक्ष्यतामस्या दास्याः कर्म ह्यसाम्प्रतम् ।
अस्मद्धार्यं धृतवती शुनीव हविरध्वरे ॥ ११॥
यैरिदं तपसा सृष्टं मुखं पुंसः परस्य ये ।
धार्यते यैरिह ज्योतिः शिवः पन्थाश्च दर्शितः ॥ १२॥
यान् वन्दन्त्युपतिष्ठन्ते लोकनाथाः सुरेश्वराः ।
भगवानपि विश्वात्मा पावनः श्रीनिकेतनः ॥ १३॥
वयं तत्रापि भृगवः शिष्योऽस्या नः पितासुरः ।
अस्मद्धार्यं धृतवती शूद्रो वेदमिवासती ॥ १४॥
एवं शपन्तीं शर्मिष्ठा गुरुपुत्रीमभाषत ।
रुषा श्वसन्त्युरङ्गीव धर्षिता दष्टदच्छदा ॥ १५॥
आत्मवृत्तमविज्ञाय कत्थसे बहु भिक्षुकि ।
किं न प्रतीक्षसेऽस्माकं गृहान् बलिभुजो यथा ॥ १६॥
एवंविधैः सुपरुषैः क्षिप्त्वाचार्यसुतां सतीम् ।
शर्मिष्ठा प्राक्षिपत्कूपे वास आदाय मन्युना ॥ १७॥
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Śrī Śuka replied : Accompanied by a thousand girl companions as well as by Devayānī, the daughter of Śukrācārya (the preceptor of the Dānavas), Śarmiṣṭhā, the virgin daughter of Vṛṣaparvā (the celebrated Dānava chief)—who, though belonging to the weaker sex, was (yet) very proud—was strolling, on one occasion, in the city garden, full of flowering trees and adorned with the sandy strands of a lotus pond swarming with sweetly humming bees.(6-7)
Arriving at the pond and leaving their clothes on the margin, those maidens with eyes beautiful as a pair of lotuses sported in it, sprinkling one another with water. (8)
Observing Lord Śaṅkara, mounted on a bull alongwith His divine Consort (Goddess Pārvatī) passing (that way), the damsels felt abashed and put on their clothes, coming out of the pond at once.(9)
Śarmiṣṭhā unwittingly put on the raiment of the preceptor's daughter, regarding it as her own. Getting enraged (at this), Devayānī spoke thus:—(10)
"Oh I just look at the indecorum of this servant-maid in that like a bitch snatching away the oblation in a sacrifice she has put on the clothing which was meant to be put on by us. (11)
Even among the Brāhmaṇas—by whom this world has been created by dint of (their) asceticism, who represent the mouth of the supreme Person (in the sense that they emanated from the mouth of the Cosmic Person and also because it is by feeding them that the Lord is easily propitiated) and by whom is cherished (as the object of their worship) the (transcendent) Brahma (that is all effulgence), by whom has been revealed the way to blessedness (in the shape of the Vedic religion), whom hail and extol the guardians of the spheres and the rulers of the gods, (nay,) even the almighty Lord, the Soul of the universe, the Purifier (of all) and the abode of Śrī (the goddess of beauty and prosperity)—we are the descendants of Bhr̥gu! Her (Śarmiṣṭhā's) father, a demon chief, is a disciple of ours. (Yet) like a Śūdra who has learnt by heart the Veda, this wench has put on the garment which was to be worn by us!" (12—14)
Hissing like a female serpent and biting her lips in anger, the ill-treated Śarmiṣṭhā spoke (as follows) to the preceptor's daughter, who was thus abusing her:—(15)
"Not knowing your own status, O beggar-maid, you brag much! Do you not (all) wait at our door like a swarm of crows (the eaters of crumbs offered to them as representatives of the feathered kingdom)?" (16)
Reproaching in such exceedingly harsh words the preceptor's daughter, who was worthy of respect, Śarmiṣṭhā violently dashed her into a well after snatching her clothes through anger. (17) (6-17)
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तस्यां गतायां स्वगृहं ययातिर्मृगयां चरन् ।
प्राप्तो यदृच्छया कूपे जलार्थी तां ददर्श ह ॥ १८॥
दत्त्वा स्वमुत्तरं वासस्तस्यै राजा विवाससे ।
गृहीत्वा पाणिना पाणिमुज्जहार दयापरः ॥ १९॥
तं वीरमाहौशनसी प्रेमनिर्भरया गिरा ।
राजंस्त्वया गृहीतो मे पाणिः परपुरञ्जय ॥ २०॥
हस्तग्राहोऽपरो माभूद्गृहीतायास्त्वया हि मे ।
एष ईशकृतो वीर सम्बन्धो नौ न पौरुषः ।
यदिदं कूपलग्नाया भवतो दर्शनं मम ॥ २१॥
न ब्राह्मणो मे भविता हस्तग्राहो महाभुज ।
कचस्य बार्हस्पत्यस्य शापाद्यमशपं पुरा ॥ २२॥
ययातिरनभिप्रेतं दैवोपहृतमात्मनः ।
मनस्तु तद्गतं बुद्ध्वा प्रतिजग्राह तद्वचः ॥ २३॥
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When Śarmiṣṭhā had left for her home, Yayāti, who had been wandering in search of game, arrived there by chance. Being desirous of water, he looked into the well and described her (Devayāṇī)—so the tradition goes. (18)
Giving to the naked girl the piece of cloth covering the upper part of his body, the kind-hearted king lifted her out, grasping (her) hand by his own. (19)
Devayāṇī, (the daughter of the sage Uśanā) spoke to the hero in a language full of love (as follows):—"O king, the conqueror of (your) enemy's cities! my hand has been accepted by you. (20)
Indeed, let none else take my hand, now that I have been accepted by you. This union of ours, O valiant king, has been brought about by Providence and is not man-made inasmuch as this sight of yours has been vouchsafed to me while I was clinging to a well. (21)
A Brāhmaṇa is not destined to be my husband, thanks to the imprecation of Kaca (the son of the sage Bṛhaspati)—Kaca, whom I had cursed* on a former occasion, O long-armed one!" (22)
Recognizing the connection as having been pre-ordained by fate, even though it was not (at all) acceptable to him (inasmuch as it was against the recognized code of ethics), and perceiving his mind too (which could not lean towards unrighteousness) drawn towards her, Yayāti agreed to her proposal. (23) (18-23)
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गते राजनि सा वीरे तत्र स्म रुदती पितुः ।
न्यवेदयत्ततः सर्वमुक्तं शर्मिष्ठया कृतम् ॥ २४॥
दुर्मना भगवान् काव्यः पौरोहित्यं विगर्हयन् ।
स्तुवन् वृत्तिं च कापोतीं दुहित्रा स ययौ पुरात् ॥ २५॥
वृषपर्वा तमाज्ञाय प्रत्यनीकविवक्षितम् ।
गुरुं प्रसादयन् मूर्ध्ना पादयोः पतितः पथि ॥ २६॥
क्षणार्धमन्युर्भगवान् शिष्यं व्याचष्ट भार्गवः ।
कामोऽस्याः क्रियतां राजन् नैनां त्यक्तुमिहोत्सहे ॥ २७॥
तथेत्यवस्थिते प्राह देवयानी मनोगतम् ।
पित्रा दत्ता यतो यास्ये सानुगा यातु मामनु ॥ २८॥
(पित्रा दत्ता देवयान्यै शर्मिष्ठा सानुगा तदा ।)
स्वानां तत्सङ्कटं वीक्ष्य तदर्थस्य च गौरवम् ।
देवयानीं पर्यचरत्स्त्रीसहस्रेण दासवत् ॥ २९॥
नाहुषाय सुतां दत्त्वा सह शर्मिष्ठयोशना ।
तमाह राजन् शर्मिष्ठामाधास्तल्पे न कर्हिचित् ॥ ३०॥
विलोक्यौशनसीं राजञ्छर्मिष्ठा सप्रजां क्वचित् ।
तमेव वव्रे रहसि सख्याः पतिमृतौ सती ॥ ३१॥
राजपुत्र्यार्थितोऽपत्ये धर्मं चावेक्ष्य धर्मवित् ।
स्मरञ्छुक्रवचः काले दिष्टमेवाभ्यपद्यत ॥ ३२॥
यदुं च तुर्वसुं चैव देवयानी व्यजायत ।
द्रुह्युं चानुं च पूरुं च शर्मिष्ठा वार्षपर्वणी ॥ ३३॥
गर्भसम्भवमासुर्या भर्तुर्विज्ञाय मानिनी ।
देवयानी पितुर्गेहं ययौ क्रोधविमूर्छिता ॥ ३४॥
प्रियामनुगतः कामी वचोभिरुपमन्त्रयन् ।
न प्रसादयितुं शेके पादसंवाहनादिभिः ॥ ३५॥
शुक्रस्तमाह कुपितः स्त्रीकामानृतपूरुष ।
त्वां जरा विशतां मन्द विरूपकरणी नृणाम् ॥ ३६॥
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On the valiant king having departed, Devayānī (too) repaired from the garden to her father, weeping (all the way), and forthwith related to him all that had been said and done by Śarmiṣṭhā. (24)
Condemning the vocation of a priest and praising the way of life of a pigeon (that gleans grains of corn lying scattered in a field where the harvest has been reaped and lives on such gleanings alone), that glorious sage, Kāvya (Śukrācārya), went out of the city (the capital of Vṛṣaparvā), sad at heart, alongwith his daughter (Devayānī). (25)
Concluding him to have hostile intentions (of bringing victory to the gods), and anxious to placate the preceptor, Vṛṣaparvā fell (prostrate) at his feet on the road. (26)
The worshipful Śukrācārya (a scion of Bhrgu), whose anger lasts but half a moment, gently said to his disciple, "Let Devayānī's wish (condition) be fulfilled, O king! I am unable to ignore her". (27)
When Vṛṣaparvā remained standing, (even) after uttering the words, "So be it!", Devayānī declared what was in her mind, saying, "Given away by my father, whithersoever I go, let Śarmiṣṭhā follow me with (all) her companions." (28)
Perceiving the danger to her own people from the exit of Śukrācārya and the magnitude of good expected from his staying over, Śarmiṣṭhā waited upon Devayānī like a menial alongwith her thousand female companions. (29)
Giving away to Yayāti (son of Nahuṣa) his daughter alongwith Śarmiṣṭhā, the sage Uśanā (Śukrācārya) said to him, "O king! let not Śarmiṣṭhā ever share your bed." (30)
Perceiving on a certain occasion Devayānī (Uśanā's daughter) blessed with a son. Śarmiṣṭhā (too) who was leading a chaste life, sought during the period favourable for conception the bed in seclusion of the very husband of her friend (Devayānī), (with a longing to be similarly blessed with progeny). (31)
Solicited by the princess for progeny and considering it a sacred duty (to grant her prayer), Emperor Yayāti (who knew what was right) sought her embrace as something ordained by destiny itself (and not through concupiscence), even though recollecting in time the warning of Śukrācārya. (32)
Devayānī duly gave birth to Yadu and Turvasu as well, while Śarmiṣṭhā, the daughter of Vṛṣaparvā, bore Druhyu and Anu and Pūru. (33)
Overwhelmed with rage on concluding that Śarmiṣṭhā (the daughter of the Asura king) too had conceived through her (own) husband, the haughty Devayānī went away to her father's house. (34)
Having followed his darling, the uxorious Yayāti tried to reconcile her with blandishments, as well as by kneading her feet and other such devices, but could not please her. (35)
The angry Śukrācārya said to the king, "O fool! O liar, hankering after women!! Let old age, which disfigures a man, overtake you." (36)
- Kaca was receiving instruction in the science of reviving the dead from Śukrācānya at the latter's house. While he was returning home after finishing his course of instruction, Devayāṇī wooed him, but was refused by Kaca on the ground of her being like a sister to him. Devayāṇī thereupon pronounced an imprecation on him that the instruction received by him would bear no fruit. Kaca too uttered a counter-curse on Devayāṇī, saying that no Brāhmaṇa would take her to wife.
(24-36)
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ययातिरुवाच ।
अतृप्तोस्म्यद्य कामानां ब्रह्मन् दुहितरि स्म ते ।
व्यत्यस्यतां यथाकामं वयसा योऽभिधास्यति ॥ ३७॥
इति लब्धव्यवस्थानः पुत्रं ज्येष्ठमवोचत ।
यदो तात प्रतीच्छेमां जरां देहि निजं वयः ॥ ३८॥
मातामहकृतां वत्स न तृप्तो विषयेष्वहम् ।
वयसा भवदीयेन रंस्ये कतिपयाः समाः ॥ ३९॥
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Yayāti submitted : I am unsated till today with sensuous enjoyments in the company of your daughter, O holy Brāhmaṇa! (Śukrācārya replied ) "Old age may be exchanged (by you) at will with the youth of any other who may voluntarily accept it." (37)
Having obtained a solution (of his problem) in this form, Yayāti (returned to his capital and) said to his eldest son, "Yadu dear, take this old age (of mine), brought about by (the curse of) your grandfather (mother's father, Śukrācārya) and part with your own youth, my darling ! (for) I am not yet satiated with the pleasures of sense and intend to revel some (more) years with (the help of) your youth. (38-39) (37-39)
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यदुरुवाच ।
नोत्सहे जरसा स्थातुमन्तरा प्राप्तया तव ।
अविदित्वा सुखं ग्राम्यं वैतृष्ण्यं नैति पूरुषः ॥ ४०॥
तुर्वसुश्चोदितः पित्रा द्रुह्युश्चानुश्च भारत ।
प्रत्याचख्युरधर्मज्ञा ह्यनित्ये नित्यबुद्धयः ॥ ४१॥
अपृच्छत्तनयं पूरुं वयसोनं गुणाधिकम् ।
न त्वमग्रजवद्वत्स मां प्रत्याख्यातुमर्हसि ॥ ४२॥
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Yadu replied : I have no courage to (accept and) live with your old age, got (by you) in the middle of your life. (For,) having not (actually) tasted the vulgar pleasures a man does not attain to desirelessness. (40)
Though urged by their father, Turvasu and Druhyu and Anu too declined, O scion of Bharata, since they did not know what was right and looked upon the transient (body etc.) as eternal. (41)
(Now) Yayāti asked his son, Pūru—who, though youngest in age, was superior in point of virtues—and added, "Dear one ! like your elder brothers you should not refuse me." (42) (40-42)
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पूरुरुवाच ।
को नु लोके मनुष्येन्द्र पितुरात्मकृतः पुमान् ।
प्रतिकर्तुं क्षमो यस्य प्रसादाद्विन्दते परम् ॥ ४३॥
उत्तमश्चिन्तितं कुर्यात्प्रोक्तकारी तु मध्यमः ।
अधमोऽश्रद्धया कुर्यादकर्तोच्चरितं पितुः ॥ ४४॥
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Pūru replied : As a matter of fact, what man in this world, O ruler of men ! can requite his father, the procreator of his body, by whose grace he can attain the highest (object of his life)? (43)
The best son is he who accomplishes (in anticipation) whatever is expected by his father (without waiting to be told what is wanted by him). A mediocre son is he who does (only) that which he is (expressly) told to. The lowest is he who does his father's bidding with irreverence; while he who refuses to do his bidding is (no more than) the refuse of his father. (44) (43-44)
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इति प्रमुदितः पूरुः प्रत्यगृह्णाज्जरां पितुः ।
सोऽपि तद्वयसा कामान् यथावज्जुजुषे नृप ॥ ४५॥
सप्तद्वीपपतिः संयक् पितृवत्पालयन् प्रजाः ।
यथोपजोषं विषयाञ्जुजुषेऽव्याहतेन्द्रियः ॥ ४६॥
देवयान्यप्यनुदिनं मनोवाग्देहवस्तुभिः ।
प्रेयसः परमां प्रीतिमुवाह प्रेयसी रहः ॥ ४७॥
अयजद्यज्ञपुरुषं क्रतुभिर्भूरिदक्षिणैः ।
सर्वदेवमयं देवं सर्ववेदमयं हरिम् ॥ ४८॥
यस्मिन्निदं विरचितं व्योम्नीव जलदावलिः ।
नानेव भाति नाभाति स्वप्नमायामनोरथः ॥ ४९॥
तमेव हृदि विन्यस्य वासुदेवं गुहाशयम् ।
नारायणमणीयांसं निराशीरयजत्प्रभुम् ॥ ५०॥
एवं वर्षसहस्राणि मनःषष्ठैर्मनःसुखम् ।
विदधानोऽपि नातृप्यत्सार्वभौमः कदिन्द्रियैः ॥ ५१॥
इति श्रीमद्भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां
संहितायां नवमस्कन्धे अष्टादशोऽध्यायः ॥ १८॥
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Saying so, Pūru most gladly accepted his father's old age. The latter too, O protector of men, enjoyed the pleasures of sense with (the help of) his (Pūru's) youth, as enjoined by the scriptures. (45)
Duly protecting his subjects like a father, Yayāti (the ruler of all the seven divisions of the globe) enjoyed the sense-objects according to his pleasure, his senses remaining unimpaired. (46)
Devayānī too, the beloved of her husband, afforded supreme delight in private to her beloved husband from day to day with mind, speech, body and (various) articles (of enjoyment). (47)
Yayāti (also) propitiated through sacrifices with liberal gifts of money Lord Śrī Viṣṇu (the Destroyer of sins), the Deity presiding over sacrifices, the embodiment of all the Vedas, who represents all the gods in His Person. (48)
Like a mass of clouds in the sky, this world—which is (no better than) a dream, a hoax and a fancy—is superimposed on God; it now appears as different (in the shape of numberless names and forms) and now disappears (during deep sleep as well as at the time of final dissolution). (49)
Installing in his heart the selfsame Lord Vāsudeva, the Indweller of all hearts, who has His abode in water and is subtler than the subtle, Yayāti, who had no desire (left) in him, worshipped Him there. (50)
Though enjoying the pleasures of sense—which are only conceptual—with his (five) wicked senses as well as with the mind, which is the sixth, for thousands of years, Yayāti (the ruler of the entire globe) did not feel sated. (51)
Thus ends the eighteenth discourse in Book Nine of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Sarhhitā. (45-51)
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