Parva 1 Chapter 30: yayāti caritra - Legend of yayāti

Lady ūrvaśi and king purūrava of lunar dynasty begot prince āyu... this āyu begot five sons through lady prabha, the daughter of the eclipsing planet rāhu, the astromorphic ascending node... their first son is king nahuṣa, while the other sons are vṛddha-śarma, rambhu, raji, and anena... we have already covered, in passing, about the other four sons of ūrvaśi-purūrava... now let us take up something about nahuṣa and his lineage... King nahuṣa begot six sons through a damsel of fatherly gods, known as lady viraja, or lady su-swadha, to wit... these six indra-like sons are: yati, ya-yāti, saṁ-yāti ā-yati, bhava, and su-yāti... Though yati is the eldest prince, yayāti became the king as he is next one in the line, because prince yati though married a damsel named gau, or go, from kakustha lineage, turned towards mysticism, salvation and became one with the Absolute, true to his name yati – the renouncer... teṣāṁ yayātiḥ paṣcānāṁ vijitya vasudhām imām | devayānīm uśanasaḥ sutāṁ bhāryām avāpa saḥ | śarmiṣṭhām āsurīṁ caiva tanayāṁ vṛṣaparvaṇaḥ || 1-30-4 yaduṁ ca turvasuṁ caiva devayānī vyajāyata | druhyuṁ ca anuṁ ca pūruṁ ca śarmiṣṭhā vārṣaparvaṇī || 1-30-5 Among those five remaining brothers, yayāti has become the ruler after vanquishing whole world... and yayāti married two damsels... one is lady deva-yāni, the daughter of ushana, aka śukra-ācārya, while the other is lady śarmiṣṭha, the daughter of an asura, rather a demon, called vṛṣaparva... through lady deva-yāni he begot two sons called yadu and turvasu... and through lady śarmiṣṭha he begot three sons called druhyu, anu, and pūru... tasmai shakro dadau prīto rathaṁ parama-bhāsvaram | asaṅgaṁ kāṣchanaṁ divyaṁ divyaiḥ parama-vājibhiḥ || 1-30-6 yuktaṁ mano-javaiḥ śubhraiḥ yena bhāryām uvāha saḥ | sa tena ratha-mukhyena ṣaṭ rātrena ajayat mahīm | yayātiḥ yudhi durdharṣaḥ tathā devān sa vāsavān || 1-30-7 Pleased with nahuṣa’s comportment indra gave him a highly splendorous golden chariot yoked with superb horses whose hieing is on a par with the pace of thought... with this sort of tackle the entry of that divine chariot is unimpeded anywhere and anytime - asaṅgaṁ... in such a sprucely chariot nahuṣa used to have pleasure-trips along with his wives... later, becoming invincible on battlefields that nahuṣa conquered whole earth... why earth alone, he even conquered all gods inclusive of their lord indra... all this he achieved in just six days, owing to the efficacy of that divine chariot... sa rathaḥ pauravāṇāṁ tu sarveṣām abhavat tadā | yāvat tu vasu nāmno vai kauravāt janamejayaḥ || 1-30-8 kuroḥ putrasya rājendra rājṣaḥ pārīkṣitasya ha | jagāma sa ratho nāśaṁ śāpāt gārgyasya dhīmataḥ || 1-30-9 That chariot later became the prized possession of all the paurava-s lineally unto the time of king vasu of kaurava dynasty... it was there on earth till the time of the son of parīkśat, namely janamejaya, the offspring of kaurava-s, but evanished owing to the curse of sage garga... An entry in Wikipedia: janamejaya-s in unknown races mentioned by different people: A king named Janamejaya is mentioned in the 12th volume (ṣanti Parva) of Mahabharata, by Bhishma in his narration to Yudhisthira. Bhishma describes the conversation between this Janamejaya and a sage named īndrota the son of ṣunaka on the subject of expiation from sins. īndrota also assisted a horse sacrifice performed by this king. This narration extends into three chapters (Mbh 12.149, 12.150, 12.151. C.f. Mbh, KMG, from section CL: ...Bhishma continued, 'īndrota, the son of ṣunaka, having said these words unto king Janamejaya, assisted him, by his ministrations, in the performance of the horse-sacrifice. The king, cleansed of his sins and regaining blessedness... etc etc gargyasya hi sutaṁ bālaṁ sa rājā janamejayaḥ | vāk-śūraṁ hiṁsayāmāsa brahma-hatyām avāpa saḥ || 1-30-10 sa lohagandhī rājarṣiḥ paridhāvan itaḥ tataḥ | paura jānapadaiḥ tyakto na lebhe sharma karhichit || 1-30-11 When king janamejaya tortured the outspoken young son of sage gargya, then he is smitten with the sin of slaying a brāhmaṇa... then that sagely king became a runagate since he has become an outcast – loha-gandhi; wherever he has gone he is on tenterhooks because citizens, or even villagers, have shunned him... tataḥ sa duḥkha saṁtapto na alabhat saṁvidaṁ kvachit | indrotaḥ śaunakaṁ rājā śaraṇaṁ pratyapadyata || 1-30-12 yājayāmāsa ca indrotaḥ shaunako janamejayam | ashvamedhena rājānaṁ pāvana-arthaṁ dvijottamaḥ || 1-30-13 sa lohagandho vyanashat tasya avabhṛtham etya ha | Not finding quietude anywhere that woebegone king sought the shelter of sage indrota, the son of śaunaka, who enabled the king to perform horse-ritual in order to cleanse that king of his sins... thus he got rid of his loha-gandham and he could perform the final anointment bath of ashva-medha, too... loha-gandhi = bāhya sadṛsha = an outcast; from the word joṅgakaḥ= jugi= tyāge= jṣāti bāhya= outcast by his relatives. sa ca divyo ratho rājan vasoḥ chedi pateḥ tadā | dattaḥ śakreṇa tuṣṭena lebhe tasmāt bṛhadrathaḥ || 1-30-14 bṛhadrathāt krameṇa eva gato bārhadratham nṛpam | tato hatvā jarāsaṁdhaṁ bhīmaḥ taṁ ratham uttamam || 1-30-15 pradadau vāsudevāya prītyā kauravanandanaḥ | At that time indra gave that divine chariot to king vasu of chedi dynasty of magadha kingdom, who passed it on to his successor king bṛhadratha, who sequentially handed it over to king jarāsandha; later bhīmasena obtained it when he eliminated jarāsandha in a duel and presented that divine chariot to śrīkṛśna with devotion... King vasu of chedi dynasty is taken as uparichara-vasu. This episode of divine chariot indicates that indra has taken sides with kaurava-s at one time and later changed to chedi kings, still later switched to pāṇḍavas. In effect, wherever he is there is victory. sapta-dvīpāṁ yayātiḥ tu jitvā pṛthvīṁ sa-sāgarām || 1-30-16 vyabhajat paṣchadhā rājan putrāṇāṁ nāhuṣaḥ tadā | dishi dakṣiṇa-pūrvasyāṁ turvasuṁ matimān nṛpaḥ || 1-30-17 pratīchyām uttarasyāṁ ca druhyuṁ ca anuṁ ca nāhuṣaḥ | dishi pūrva-uttarasyāṁ vai yaduṁ jyeṣṭhaṁ nyayojayat || 1-30-18 madhye pūruṁ ca rājānam abhyaṣiṣchata nāhuṣaḥ | On conquering the earth spanning on seven continents engirdled with her oceans, king nahuṣa bracketed it in five zones for five of his sons... he made prince turvasu to rule over southeast –āgneya - province; prince druhyu to north; prince anu to west; the eldest prince yadu to northeast – īśānyam; and enthroned prince puru for the central province, i.e. for kuru-pāncāla province... taiḥ iyaṁ pṛthivī sarvā sapta-dvīpā sa-pattanā || 1-30-19 yathā pradesham adya api dharmeṇa pratipālyate | prajāḥ teṣāṁ purastāt tu vakṣyāmi nṛpasattama || 1-30-20 As to how the provinces are righteously ruled even today, like that those five provincial ruled whole of the earth spanning on seven continents together with her cities, towns and villages etc... let us talk about their progeny, family ties etc after a while, because certain points in the legend of yayāti are to be made known now... dhanuḥ nyasya pṛṣatkāṁścha paṣchabhiḥ puruṣarṣabhaiḥ | jarāvān abhavat rājā bhāram āveśya bandhuṣu | niḥkṣipta śastraḥ pṛthivīṁ nirīkṣya pṛthivīpatiḥ || 1-30-21 prītimān abhavat rājā yayātiḥ aparājitaḥ | Seeing his sons are ruling properly, and seeing that his wielding the bow any further is unneeded, king yayāti offloaded his burdens on his sons and lived luxuriously... even then, he who has not tasted defeat in his lifetime, he who has already renounced weapons, again sat up on seeing whole earth in the mind’s eye, as he blithely wanted to reapply himself to the feats once he did... but, he is past his prime by then... evaṁ vibhajya pṛthivīṁ yayātiḥ yadum abravīt || 1-30-22 Wishing to exert himself to the concerns of earth once again, yayāti mooted this subject with his son yadu, and said... jarāṁ me pratigṛhṇīṣva putra kṛtya antareṇa vai | taruṇaḥ tava rūpeṇa chareyaṁ pṛthivīm imām | jarāṁ tvayi samādhāya taṁ yaduḥ pratyuvāca ha || 1-30-23 “Oh, son, I would like to exchange my elderliness with your manfulness for certain reasons... I would like to mill around the world in your youthful form, and when done with my escapades I promise to take back my old age from you...” then yadu, the son of yayāti replied his father: anirdiṣṭā mayā bhikṣā brāhmaṇasya pratiśrutā | anapākṛtya tāṁ rājan na gṛhīṣyāmi te jarām || 1-30-24 jarāyāṁ bahavo doṣāḥ pāna-bhojana-kāritāḥ | tasmāt jarāṁ na te rājan grahītum aham utsahe || 1-30-25 santi te bahavaḥ putrāḥ mattaḥ priyatarā nṛpa | pratigrahītuṁ dharmajṣa putram anyaṁ vṛṇīṣva vai || 1-30-26 “Without indicating which sort of help is needed, a brāhmaṇa sought help from me and I promised to help him... my helping him perhaps involves my bravery or grit of heydays, who knows... so, I am unready to part with my manfulness, or to take old age upon myself as of now, because agedness itself is problematic even for a stomachful meal, or for a throatful drink... why me... you have other sons who are dearer to you than me... why not ask them... someone will be willing for such an exchange...” So said yadu to his father yayāti... sa evam ukto yadunā rājā kopa samanvitaḥ | uvāca vadatāṁ śreṣṭho yayātiḥ garhayan sutam || 1-30-27 ka āśrayaḥ tava anyaḥ asti kaḥ vā dharmo vidhīyate | mām anādṛtya durbuddhe yat ahaṁ tava deśikaḥ || 1-30-28 When his son yadu accosted thus, the king yayāti is filled with anger and chastised him saying, “O you of vicious intellect, who else can provide fastness to you other than me..., who can rescript dharma to me... I am a preceptor of yours – deshika – guru; not you mine... yet, you disregard me...” evam uktvā yaduṁ tāta śaśāpa enaṁ sa manyumān | a-rājyā te prajā mūḍha bhavitri iti narādhama || 1-30-29 Saying so king yayāti also cursed yadu in anger, “let none in your progeny, O, foolish wight, become eligible for kingship on any kingdom from this point forward...” sa turvasuṁ ca druhyuṁ ca api anuṁ ca bharatarṣabha | evam eva abravīt rājā prati-ākhyātaḥ ca taiḥ api || 1-30-30 śaśāpa tān ati-kruddho yayātiḥ aparājitaḥ | yathā te kathitaṁ pūrvaṁ mayā rājarṣisattama || 1-30-31 King yayāti then asked his other sons, namely turvasu, druhyu, and anu in the same way but they all have turned his request down, and as a sequence he cursed them too in a similar method... i.e., as I had described to you before in the case of yadu... evaṁ śaptvā sutān sarvān caturaḥ pūru-pūrvajān | tat eva vacanaṁ rājā pūrum api āha bhārata || 1-30-32 taruṇaḥ tava rūpeṇa chareyaṁ pṛthivīm imām | jarāṁ tvayi samādhāya tvaṁ pūro yadi manyase || 1-30-33 Cursing the four elder brothers of prince puru, then yayāti repeated his request with his fifth son prince puru also saying, “Oh, son puru, if it is agreeable to you, I would like to exchange my elderliness with your manfulness for certain reasons... I would like to mill around the world in your youthful form, and when done with my escapades I promise to take back my old age from you...” sa jarāṁ pratijagrāha pituḥ pūruḥ pratāpavān | yayātiḥ api rūpeṇa pūroḥ paryacaran mahīm || 1-30-34 sa mārgamāṇaḥ kāmānām antaṁ bharatasattama | viśvācyā sahito reme vane chaitrarathe prabhuḥ || 1-30-35 yada a-vi-tṛṣṇaḥ kāmānāṁ bhogeṣu sa narādhipaḥ | tadā pūroḥ sakāśāt vai svāṁ jarāṁ pratyapadyata || 1-30-36 Then prince puru being self-confident accepted the old-age of his father giving his manfulness to him... with the manfulness of his son, king yayāti started searching for the farther end of mundane pleasures – tṛṣṇa avasānam; he even took delight in the gardens of kubera, namely chaitra-ratha, partnering with an apsara called viśvāci... incidentally, this apsara viśvāci is the one who transmuted as the damsel in kakutstha lineage, called gau, or go owing to the curse of indra upon her... As and when disenchantment popped up towards his urges and luxuries, he returned to prince puru and took back his antiquated form... C.f. for this apsara viśvāci, mentioned as another wife of yayāti - 1-30-3. tatra gāthā mahārāja śṛṇu gītā yayātinā | Summing up his experiences king yayāti enunciate some moralistic sayings while taking back his old age... oh, king janamejaya, listen to them.... yayāti prokta subhāṣitāni – yayāti’s moralistic sayings: yābhiḥ pratyāharet kāmān sarvataḥ aṅgāni kūrma-vat || 1-30-37 na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām upa-bhogena śāmyati | haviṣā kṛṣṇa vartm eva bhūya eva abhi-vardhate || 1-30-38 As with a tortoise that reins in its limbs, one should not give free rein to his passions; it is pipedream to think that ‘enjoying pleasures extinguish desires...’ but, extended desires and enjoyment of pleasures breed extensile pleasures and cyclical desires, as with extensive fire when the fuel is added... yat pṛthivyāṁ vrīhi yavaṁ hiraṇyaṁ paśavaḥ striyaḥ | na alam ekasya tat sarvam iti pashyan na muhyati || 1-30-39 Even if all the rice, barley, gold, cattle and women available on earth are at hand, an ingenuous fellow will still be discontented... yadā bhāvaṁ na kurute sarva-bhūteṣu pāpakam | karmaṇā manasā vācā brahma saṁpadyate tadā || 1-30-40 yada anyebhyo na bibhyeta yadā ca asmāt na bibhyati | yadā na icchati na dveṣṭi brahma saṁpadyate tadā || 1-30-41 If one does not bear ill will towards all other beings in his mind-action-speech, then deem him transcended to the level of brahmahood... because of his non-detestation he does not have fear from anyone, nor others have fear from him... unachieved cherish breeds contempt... rising above cherishes and disdains makes one transcended to the level of brahmahood yā dustyajā durmatibhiḥ yā na jīryati jīryataḥ | yo'sau prāṇa antiko rogastāṁ tṛṣṇāṁ tyajataḥ sukham || 1-30-42 Witherless are these pleasure-thoughts even if one is withered away... he alone gets happiness that can disgorge the life-ending disease called hankerings... jīryanti jīryataḥ keśā dantā jīryanti jīryataḥ | jīvita āśā dhana āśā ca jīryataḥ api na jīryati || 1-30-43 ūnslakable is the hope for a livelong life and filthy lucre, even if teeth slackened, hair silvered, and body shrivelled... yat ca kāma-sukhaṁ loke yat ca divyaṁ mahat-sukham | tṛṣṇā kṣaya sukhasya ete na arhataḥ ṣoḍaśīṁ kalām || 1-30-44 Whether it is enjoyment of mundane pleasures, or extramundane comforts, all of them will not vie with the sixteenth part of the pleasure derived from the divesture of desire... evam uktvā sa rājarṣiḥ sa-dāraḥ prāviśat vanam | kālena mahatā vāpi cacāra vipulaṁ tapaḥ || 1-30-45 bhṝgu-tuṅge tapaḥ taptvā tapaso'nte mahātapāḥ | anashnat deham utsṛjya sa-dāraḥ svargam āptavān || 1-30-46 On philosophising his experiences in this way, that kingly sage repaired to woods along with his wife where he undertook rigorous ascesis... later he undertook ascesis on the peak of Mt. bhṝgu-tuṅga forgoing aliment, and then discarding his mortal body he rose to heaven along with his wife... tasya vaṁśe mahārāja paṣcha rājarṣi sattamāḥ | yaiḥ vyāptā pṛthivī sarvā sūryasya iva gabhastibhiḥ || 1-30-47 yadoḥ tu śṛṇu rājarṣeḥ vaṁśaṁ rājarṣi satkṛtam | yatra nārāyaṇo jajṣe hariḥ vṛṣṇi-kula-udvahaḥ || 1-30-48 In the dynasty of this king yayāti there are five kingly sages who pervaded whole earth as with the sunrays pervading whole of the earth... let us take up the dynasty of kingly sage yadu who is much revered by the other kingly sages, and in whose lineage lord nārāyaṇa himself took birth as the perpetuator of vṛṣṇi dynasty... dhanyaḥ prajāvān āyuṣmān kīrtimān ca bhavet naraḥ | yayāteḥ caritaṁ puṇyaṁ paṭhaṣ śṛṇvan narādhipa || 1-30-49 One who hears, or reads, this merited legend of yayāti, will be blest with offspring, longevity and prosperity... iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi yayāticarite triṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the thirtieth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the legend of king yayāti. --o)0(o--