Story of Yayati
The king of Danavas, Vrshparvan
had a daughter named Sarmistha. Sarmistha was extremely proud of her
aristocracy. Since Sukracharya was the guru of the
Asuras and stayed in the court of Vrshaparvan, Devyani was a
companion of Sarmistha. One day, Sarmistha and her other
companions had gone for taking a bath in a lake. After completing their
ablutions, when they were wearing their garments, Sarmistha found that
Devyani had worn her garment. At this, she became extremely angry and
called Sukracharya an alm seeking beggar employed by his father. In
this way she hurled many insults at Devyani and they quarelled in this
manner. Later, out of anger, Sarmistha pushed her into a well and left
the place. Devyani cried piteously for help. At this moment king
Yayati, a very powerful monarch, who held sway over a vast earthly
realm and was regarded as the Indra among men, and who was the son of
another very powerful monarch Nahusha, was present there in the forest
on a hunting expedition. He had come near the well to get some water, being
thirsty. When he heard the cry, he instantly provided his help and took
Devyani out of the well. The lady then went outside the forest but did
not enter the city of the Danavas. Instead she called her maid and told
her to tell her father that unless her plight is avenged she won't enter the
city of the king. Sukracharya, on hearing his beloved daughter's pains,
instantly came to the place where she was. She then told her father how
Sarmistha insulted both Sukracharya and her and how she
slighted Sukracharya as a mere beggar living on alms given by her
father. She also told how Sarmistha had pushed her into a well and left
her to die. Sukracharya told her to control her wrath because anger is
no good for a Brahmin, who would always forgive and never cherish any
misgivings even when wronged by somebody. However Devyani was adamant
she would not enter the city of Vrshaparvan again. Therefore
Sukracharya went and told Vrshaparvan about his daughter's
resolve. Vrshaparvan was a wise king and he was very sorry to lose a
guru like Sukracharya. He therefore went to Devyani to pacify
her. Devyani told him that she wished Sarmistha to become her maid. Vrshaparvan
was sorry to hear this as he also loved his daughter. Therefore he was
thoughtful and worried. When Sarmistha saw her father in that
condition, she asked her the reason behind his worry. Vrshaparvan told
her of Devyani's resolve. Sarmistha assured him saying that it
would a great calamity to lose a teacher like Sukracharya. She then
went to Devyani and promised to remain as her maid for the sake of the
Asura clan. Devyani taunted her saying that how come she had
now become the maid of the daughter of an alms seeking beggar. To this the proud
Sarmistha replied that she was willing to do even this for the sake of
her father and her clan.
In this way Sarmistha with one thousand
maidens became the hand maid of Devyani. Days passed by. One day, while
wandering in the same wood where she fell down in a well, Devyani came
across Yayati who had come again on a hunting expedition.
Devyani, on seeing Yayati, remembered her rescue episode and
requested him to marry her. Yayati at first did not agree as he was a
Kshatriya king while Devyani was a Brahmin lady. Then
Devyani requested Sukra to bestow her upon Yayati and
when Sukra himself requested Yayati to accept Devyani
as his wife, the latter relented. Sukracharya however warned
Yayati against displeasing Devyani in any way. After the
wedding Yayati took Devyani to his kingdom and
Sarmistha with the thousand maids accompanied them. Yayati and
Devyani passed their time happily and they had two beautiful children
called Yadu and Turvasu.
Yayati, however, on being requested by
Sarmistha, also married her secretly so that Devyani should
not get displeased and they had three sons - Drahyu, Anu and Puru.
Yayati had kept Sarmistha in a cottage hidden in a special
garden adjacent to the palace. One day however, when they were roaming, they
came across three handsome boys, who were in reality Sarmistha's
children. When Devyani asked them their father's name, they pointed to
Yayati, who was abashed. When the children came to him for affection,
he from fear of Devyani pretended as if he did not know them. The
children were really hurt and started crying. Devyani however saw
through the hypocrisy of the king and went with the children to their cottage to
find Sarmistha as their mother. We can only imagine how much angry and
hurt she was at this deception. She left the king's palace in disgust and went
to her father. Yayati, out of fear, accompanied her, trying to pacify
her. When Sukracharya, who loved his daughter dearly and could not bear
to see her dejected, heard her account, he was extremely wrathful and cursed
Yayati to possess decrepitude and become aged, so that he would not be
able to enjoy sense pleasures anymore. Yayati then pleaded with him and
Sukra told him that if any of his sons were willing to exchange his
youth with his his father's decrepitude, Yayati would become young and
would be able to enjoy for another thousand years. That son who would oblige
him, would become the king in his place after thousand years.
Yayati, now burdened with age by the
curse of the great Rishi, came back to his kingdom and summoned his
eldest son Yadu and offered him his old age in exchange for his youth.
Yadu refused and Yayati banished him from his kingdom. In
similar way Turvasu, Drahyu and Anu, one after another, were summoned
but refused to accept the decrepitude and hence were banished. At last,
Puru, the youngest son, happily gave his youth away to his father in
exchange for the old age. Yayati was very pleased with Puru
and with that youth he reigned in a just manner for another thousand years,
performing sacrifices, giving many things in charity, protecting his people and
thus doing all the duties of a virtuous and just monarch. At the end of thousand
years, he installed Puru as his successor and went to the forest for
meditation. Puru's successors were called Pauravas, to whom
belonged the Pandavas and Kauravas. Yadu's successors
were Yadavas, to whom belonged Lord Krishna and
Balarama. Turvasu's descendants were called Yavanas,
Drahyu's were called Bhojas and Anu's were called
Mlechhas. The Yavanas and Mlechhas were non Aryan
tribes and they were called so because they did not follow the
Vedas.
After his death Yayati went to heaven,
but there in the course of his conversation with Indra, the celestial
king, he boasted that none were his equal in terms of ascetic practices.
Indra told him that since he had expressed vanity and pride by not
considering the practices of others and had made a false proclamation thereby,
his virtues had diminished and therefore he would have to fall from heaven.
However since he was virtuous, he would fall among noble and virtuous souls.
Yayati, while falling from heaven encountered four very noble sages who
asked him the reason for his downfall and many other questions pertaining to
what happened to men after death. Yayati, being very wise, explained to
them the way rebirth happened for souls who did not achieve emancipation. He
explained to them how vanity destroyed every merit, the duties of the four
different modes of life (Brahmacharya or student life of purity and
chastity under a preceptor, life of a householder, life of a
Vanaprasthi or a forest recluse and that of a Sannyasi or one
who had renounced all worldliness). He said that admittance to heaven is ensured
by the seven fold practice of ascetism, charity, tranquillity or calmness,
modesty, simplicity, kindness to all and control of sense organs. He explained
that only when one did not desire the fruits of actions, one is able to achieve
salvation and knowledge of the all pervading unity also leads to salvation or
freedom from repeated births and deaths, including the heaven, which is also
temporary. The four noble souls, being satisified by the wisdom of
Yayati, offered him all their merits so that he could once again attain
the heaven. Yayati , being a Kshatriya, refused to take that
favour, but being of noble disposition they all soon could ascend to heaven and
Yayati could regain his position because of his brief association with
these noble souls. Thus even a momentary association with the holy and wise can
cleanse one of the gravest sins and transgression.
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