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Matsyapurana 30

English (machine translation) 30

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30.1

Śaunaka said:
Then, after a long time, Devayānī, O best of kings, / that fair-complexioned lady, went out into the forest just then for amusement.

30.2

Together with that thousand maidservants and Śarmiṣṭhā then, / having reached that very place, she roamed about as she pleased,

30.3

accompanied by all those female friends, greatly delighted, / all sporting, rejoicing, and drinking spring wine,

30.4

eating various delicacies and various kinds of fruits. / And then the king descended from Nahuṣa, seeking game by chance,

30.5

reached that very place, seeking water, extremely thirsty, / and beheld Devayānī, Śarmiṣṭhā, and those women.

30.6

Those lovely women, drinking, were adorned with celestial ornaments; / and he saw Devayānī seated, bright-smiling,

30.7

an excellent woman of peerless beauty in the midst of those women, / being attended to by Śarmiṣṭhā with massaging of feet and the like.

30.8

Yayāti said:
Two maidens are surrounded by two thousand maidens; / therefore I ask the lineage and names of the two.

30.9

Devayānī said:
I shall tell; listen to my word, O ruler of men: / Śukra is the guru of the Asuras; know me as his daughter.

30.10

And this is my companion and maidservant, who goes wherever I go: / Śarmiṣṭhā, the daughter of the Dānava lord Vṛṣaparvan.

30.11

Yayāti said:
How is this fair-complexioned maiden, this beautiful lady, / the daughter of the Asura lord, your friend and maidservant? Great is my curiosity!

30.12

Devayānī said:
Everything, O tiger among men, follows destiny; / knowing it is ordained by fate, do not think it strange in your mind.

30.13

Your appearance and dress are like a king's, and you speak the speech of a brāhmaṇa; / what is your name, where are you from, and whose son are you? Tell me!

30.14

Yayāti said:
Through student-chastity the entire Veda has reached the range of my hearing. / I am a king and a prince, renowned as Yayāti.

30.15

Devayānī said:
And for what purpose, O king, have you come to this place? / Wishing to take some water, or in pursuit of game?

30.16

Yayāti said:
In pursuit of game, fair lady, I came here for water. / I have been questioned at length; you ought to grant me leave [to depart].

30.17

Devayānī said:
Along with the two thousand maidens and the maidservant Śarmiṣṭhā, / I am under your authority; may good betide you, friend, and be my husband!

30.18

Yayāti said:
Know, O daughter of Uśanas, may good betide you, I am not worthy of you, passionate lady; / we kings are not to be married [to the daughters] of your father.

30.19

Devayānī said:
Kṣatra is united with brahma; kṣatra is dependent on brahma. / You are a seer and the son of a seer, O descendant of Nahuṣa; accept me today!

30.20

Yayāti said:
Even though born of one body, all four social classes, O lady of fair face, / have different duties and different purifications; among them, indeed, the brāhmaṇa is best.

30.21

Devayānī said:
This taking of the hand, O descendant of Nahuṣa, was not performed by other men previously. / You took my hand first; therefore I choose you.

30.22

How could another man touch the hand of me, a high-minded woman, / [a hand] once grasped by a seer's son or by you, who are yourself a seer?

30.23

Yayāti said:
More intractable than a venomous serpent when angered, / or a fire blazing in all directions, is a vipra to a discerning man.

30.24

Devayānī said:
Why do you say, O bull among men, that a vipra / is more intractable than a venomous serpent or a fire blazing in all directions?

30.25

Yayāti said:
A venomous serpent would bite only one, and by a weapon only one is slain; / but an angered vipra destroys whole kingdoms and cities as well.

30.26

Therefore, timid lady, a vipra is considered by me to be more intractable; / hence, fair lady, since you have not been given by your father, I will not marry you.

30.27

Devayānī said: / "Marry me when given by my father, for you, O king, were chosen by me. / There is no fear for one who does not solicit, and who accepts what is given."

30.28

Śaunaka said: / Then, swiftly sent by Devayānī to her father, / the nurse reported everything to him just as it was.

30.29

Upon hearing it, the Bhārgava appeared before the king. / Seeing the brāhmaṇa who had thus arrived, Yayāti, the ruler of the earth,

30.30

Saluted the brāhmaṇa Kāvya, standing with palms joined in reverence. / And Kāvya addressed him with most charming conciliatory words.

30.31

Devayānī said: / "O father, this king, Nahuṣa's son, took my hand in a difficult spot. / Homage to you; give me to him! I choose no other husband in the world."

30.32

Śukra said: / "You have been chosen as husband, O hero, by this beloved daughter of mine. / Accept her as your queen, given by me, O son of Nahuṣa!"

30.33

Yayāti said: / "Unrighteousness would touch me thus, and sin would touch her, O Bhārgava, / on account of the intermixture of social classes, O brāhmaṇa. For this reason I ask you."

30.34

Śukra said: / "I release you from unrighteousness, and choose a desired boon! / In this marriage you are worthy of praise; I dispel your secret sin.

30.35

Marry as your wife according to dharma the pure-smiling Devayānī; / attain incomparable delight with her.

30.36

And this maiden, Śarmiṣṭhā, daughter of Vṛṣaparvan, / must ever be honored by you, O king, but do not summon her to your bed!"

30.37

Śaunaka said: / Thus addressed, Yayāti circumambulated Śukra / and, permitted by that great-souled one, went rejoicing to his own city.

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