Mudgalapurana 3.31: yayāticaritaṃ nāmaikatriṃśattamo'dhyāyaḥ

Homage to the glorious Gaṇeśa.

Mudgala said: / "Nahuṣa had five sons equal to gods in intellect: / Yabhyāti, Yayāti, Saṃyāti, Āyati,

and the fifth named Aśvaka. Yayāti became the king; / I shall tell you his principal glory, O Prajāpati."

That best of kings obtained Uśanas's daughter Devayānī as his wife, / and also Śarmiṣṭhā, daughter of Vṛṣaparvan.

Devayānī gave birth to Yadu and Turvasu; / likewise, Śarmiṣṭhā, daughter of Vṛṣaparvan, [gave birth] to Druhyu, Anu, and Pūru.

Passing over the elder sons, the wise king thus anointed Pūru, / the youngest, who was devoted to his father's words.

Dakṣa said: / "Why was the reverse done by that king, O Lord? / Tell all that, O lord of yogins; I listen with respect."

Mudgala said: / "Vṛṣaparvan, O lord of people, is recorded as the ruler of the Daityas; / his highly fortunate daughter Śarmiṣṭhā was held in great esteem.

There, Śukra's daughter, renowned as Devayānī, / was likewise established and exceedingly pampered by her father out of affection.

Once the young princess Śarmiṣṭhā, accompanied by her female friends, / went to a garden full of joy.

Devayānī also came there for amusement; / there, O Lord, the maidens engaged in various kinds of play.

Then, overcome with fatigue, they eagerly went to bathe; / throwing their garments on the bank, they played in the middle of the water.

Then Śarmiṣṭhā, accompanied by her friends, came out first; / in confusion, the garment of Devayānī was indeed put on by her.

Coming out and seeing that repulsive act, Devayānī / then spoke to the princess, rebuking her, O lord of creatures:

'I am the daughter of a brāhmaṇa, O most wicked one! Why were my garments / put on, like a female dog touching food that is being cooked, O vile woman?'

'A kṣatriya is, by hair [of lineage] according to scripture, especially a gatekeeper of brāhmaṇas; / you are his daughter, you are never my equal!'

When Devayānī rebuked her with various such words, O Lord, / she, enraged, spoke words to her in return.

Śarmiṣṭhā said: / 'Why, O wicked woman, do you praise yourself in my presence? / Brāhmaṇas are respected only through contact with the king's favor!'

'Having respectfully enjoyed clothing, food, and the like by our favor, / you touch me, O wicked woman, like a female crow eating an oblation!'

Having rebuked her with various such words, O lord of creatures, / that asura woman threw Devayānī into a well along with her friends.

Then she, enraged and greatly agitated, went to her own home; / Devayānī remained inside the well that was devoid of water.

By the power of fate, Yayāti came there; / devoted to hunting, alone, he saw her standing in the well.

Then, filled with great compassion, extending his right hand, / he held Devayānī, and his hand was grasped by her in return.

Having pulled her out, the king prepared to depart; / then Devayānī, filled with joy, said to him:

Devayānī said: / 'My hand has been grasped by you, O gentle one of great intellect; / who are you? Tell me all your story as it truly is.'

The king said to her: 'Listen, O woman of fair complexion, / know me as Yayāti, son of Nahuṣa, born of a kṣatriya lineage.

Being devoted to hunting, this great sight of you was gained; / go to your own home, maiden, and I shall go to my abode.'

Greatly delighted, Devayānī said to that lord of people: / 'Know me as Kāvya's daughter; become my husband, O Lord!

Indeed, your hand was taken by me in a special manner; / I choose no one else besides you, therefore become my husband!'

Hearing that speech of hers, Yayāti said to her: / 'How, O lady, can I, born of a kṣatriya lineage, choose Kāvya's daughter?'

Then Devayānī said to him: 'Listen to my momentous word: / by the curse of Kaca, no brāhmaṇa will be my husband.

Therefore, being free from fear, choose me, O best of kings; / having persuaded Kāvya, I shall become your wife.'

Saying "So be it," that best of kings spoke to her and departed; / the illustrious one went to the city, and she remained there.

To a certain man who came there, she said: 'Tell the lord / Kāvya, O high-minded one: "Your daughter Devayānī is staying here."'

Then that lord of sages was informed by him: 'Listen to my word: / in the forest, your daughter Devayānī remains, O affectionate one.'

Śukra went quickly to her; very distraught / and weeping, that Devayānī told him the whole story straightforwardly.

Hearing that, Kāvya became angry; abandoning the Daitya, he went forth / to dwell in the forest, joyfully resolving upon a harsh course of life.

Then the ruler of the Daityas, hearing the account, was greatly agitated; / running, he went to that great sage and bowed down.

The leader of the Daityas spoke words accompanied by devotion: / 'This kingdom has its support in you, and so does this body of mine, O sage.

O best of sages, having abandoned me, where do you wish to go? / Leaving aside the kingdom and all else, I shall go into your presence.'

Hearing that speech of his, Kāvya said to his daughter: / 'Come, and forgive the fault of the king's daughter.'

Devayānī said to the sage there, filled with anger: / 'I will not go to the city, O father; I shall indeed give up my body.'

Then Kāvya himself, overwhelmed with sorrow, said to his daughter: / 'What do you wish? Tell me, and I will carry out that means.'

Then Devayānī, filled with anger, said to him: / 'If Śarmiṣṭhā, together with her female friends, becomes my maidservant,

and wherever you give me [in marriage], father, she goes along there, / then, delighted, I will go to the city of the Daitya king.'

Then Kāvya, affectionate toward his daughter, said that to the Daitya lord; / saying "So be it," the Daitya king brought Kāvya to his home.

By Kāvya, his daughter was given to Nahuṣa's son according to rule; / there Śarmiṣṭhā went along as a maidservant by nature, O Vidhi.

Once, Śarmiṣṭhā happened to enter her fertile period; / filled with humility, she said to the king in the garden:

'When you were chosen by my friend Devayānī as husband, O protector of the earth, / then, O lord, you alone were chosen by me in my mind.'

"My lord, approach a woman in her fertile season who is devoted [to you]." / Saying "So be it," she was embraced secretly by that son of Nahuṣa.

Devayānī did not know her conduct, O Prajāpati.

[Section 3, Chapter 31, page 69] Knowing that she was pregnant, the sage's daughter asked her:

"Whose seed was received by you, lady? Tell me now. / Has a stain fallen upon the Daitya king by the turn of fate?"

Śarmiṣṭhā then said to her, "I have caused no stain. / The mighty seed of a brāhmaṇa was received in secret, my friend."

Three sons, resembling gods, were born to her; / they were honored continually by the king, especially in the garden.

Once Devayānī went to that garden; / there the sons respectfully called Yayāti their father.

Hearing that, Devayānī, greatly agitated, went to her father's house. / Yayāti, full of humility, tried to pacify her.

Overcome with fear, that royal sage was unable to bring her back / to his own house; and she, weeping bitterly, spoke to Kāvya.

Cursed by Śukra, the king became afflicted with old age. / Going there to Uśanas, overcome with grief, he said:

"O father-in-law, I am not yet satisfied with sensual pleasures. / Tell me a remedy that destroys old age; I will practice it diligently.

I will never touch another woman except Devayānī." / Then Uśanas, pleased, spoke beneficial words to him:

"O noble one, your sons who are established in youth— / transferring your old age to one [of them], O king, take his youth.

At your command, whichever son takes your old age, make him / the supreme king; in that, no fault will attach to you."

Saying "So be it," he took Devayānī and went to his city. / Then that royal sage begged youth from his eldest sons.

Out of foolishness, none of them took his old age. / Then that royal sage begged Pūru, and he indeed gave it.

By the boon granted by Śukra, there was no fault for Pūru, nor for him. / Having enjoyed manifold pleasures, Yayāti became satisfied.

Having performed sacrifices with all their limbs in an excellent manner, the noble one / visited various holy places with devotion.

All the wealth in his treasury, ornaments, and the like, he respectfully / gave to brāhmaṇas, and thus became devoted to charity.

As he moved about in household affairs using clay vessels, / the sage Gālava came to him and, full of distress, begged the king:

"For my teacher's fee, give me black-eared horses / amounting to a thousand, O best of all kings."

Then the king gave his daughter Mādhavī to him; / through her, all the business of that sage was accomplished, O Prajāpati.

Then that tiger among kings, taking back his old age, / at once gave youth back to Pūru and made him king.

He assigned his son Turvasu to the south-eastern direction; / he placed his eldest son Yadu in the south-western.

In the west and in the north he placed Druhyu and Anu; / by them this entire earth was protected according to dharma.

And Pūru shone there everywhere as universal monarch, / devoted to dharma, self-controlled, true to his promise, and majestic.

Then the king went to the forest and performed supreme austerities; / in the end he went to heaven, which grants various supreme enjoyments.

Surpassing everyone there, he enjoyed supreme bliss: / "There is none equal to me in heaven who enjoys the fruits of merit!"

[Section 3, Chapter 31, page 70] To him who was thus filled with pride, Indra said: / "O king, tell me: what kind of great merit has been performed by you?"

Then that tiger among men, overcome with delusion, said to him: / "There is no counting of my merit, O god, O lord of gods!

These gods dwelling in heaven who have performed meritorious deeds— / they do not equal even a fraction of my merit, O leader of the gods."

Hearing those words of his, Indra replied to him: / "O great king, you do not understand the power of their merit.

Having despised all of them, filled with utter delusion, / you boast of yourself and speak to me today of boundless merit.

Therefore, that terrible merit of yours is all destroyed, O king of men! / Fall to the surface of the earth; perform merit again!"

Then Yayāti fell to the surface of the earth, filled with sorrow. / And as he fell, his grandsons headed by Śibi saw him.

Recognizing their maternal grandfather, they gave their own merit again; / by that, the king, established in heaven, rejoiced like a god himself.

Then the yogin Nārada, filled with compassion, said to him: / "O great king, an obstacle that destroys merit has befallen you.

Worship Vighneśa, O king; then in the end you will go to Svānanda, / without a doubt; otherwise you will fall to earth."

Then he gave the ten-syllable mantra of Gaṇeśa; / and Yayāti repeated it, intent on meditation upon Gaṇeśa.

When his merit was exhausted, that king of kings, by the white path, O Prajāpati, / went with devotion to Gaṇeśa, a Gāṇapatya of great renown.

The sacred deed of Yayāti has been described in brief; / it will completely grant desires to the listener, without a doubt.

Om tat sat. Thus ends the thirty-first chapter, named 'The Deed of Yayāti', in the narrative of Mahodara, in the third section of the glorious and supreme Maudgala Mahāpurāṇa, an Upaniṣad of the purāṇas.