यक्षो वाप्य् अथ वा देवो गन्धर्वो राक्षसो ऽपि वा ॥
न हि मानुषरूपो ऽसि को वार्थः काङ्क्षितस् त्वया ॥
ययातिर् उवाच
ययातिर् अस्मि राजर्षिः क्षीणपुण्यश् च्युतो दिवः ॥
पतेयं सत्स्व् इति ध्यायन् भवत्सु पतितस् ततः ॥
राजान ऊचुः
सत्यम् एतद् भवतु ते काङ्क्षितं पुरुषर्षभ ॥
सर्वेषां नः क्रतुफलं धर्मश् च प्रतिगृह्यताम् ॥
ययातिर् उवाच
नाहं प्रतिग्रहधनो ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियो ह्य् अहम् ॥
न च मे प्रवणा बुद्धिः परपुण्यविनाशने ॥
नारद उवाच
एतस्मिन्न् एव काले तु मृगचर्याक्रमागताम् ॥
माधवीं प्रेक्ष्य राजानस् ते ऽभिवाद्येदम् अब्रुवन् ॥
yakṣo vāpy atha vā devo gandharvo rākṣaso 'pi vā ||
na hi mānuṣarūpo 'si ko vārthaḥ kāṅkṣitas tvayā ||
yayātir uvāca
yayātir asmi rājarṣiḥ kṣīṇapuṇyaś cyuto divaḥ ||
pateyaṃ satsv iti dhyāyan bhavatsu patitas tataḥ ||
rājāna ūcuḥ
satyam etad bhavatu te kāṅkṣitaṃ puruṣarṣabha ||
sarveṣāṃ naḥ kratuphalaṃ dharmaś ca pratigṛhyatām ||
yayātir uvāca
nāhaṃ pratigrahadhano brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyo hy aham ||
na ca me pravaṇā buddhiḥ parapuṇyavināśane ||
nārada uvāca
etasminn eva kāle tu mṛgacaryākramāgatām ||
mādhavīṃ prekṣya rājānas te 'bhivādyedam abruvan ||
"'Are you a yaksha, a god, a gandharva, or even a rakshasa? For you do not have the form of a man. What is it you desire?' Yayati said: 'I am Yayati, a royal sage, whose merit has run out; I have fallen from heaven. Thinking, "May I fall among the worthy," I have fallen among you.' The kings said: 'Let this wish of yours be granted, O bull among men. Accept the fruit of our sacrifices and our dharma.' Yayati said: 'I am not a brahmin, whose wealth is what he receives as gifts; I am a kshatriya. Nor is my mind inclined toward destroying another's merit.' Narada said: 'At that very moment the kings saw Madhavi, who had come by the path of forest life; bowing to her, they spoke these words.'"
4b7073e47cd7 · published Jul 17, 2026, 5:35:25 AM UTC
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The kings are ready to give Yayati the fruit of their sacrifices, but he refuses to consume another's merit. Even in his fall he remembers the boundary of kshatriya dharma: salvation must not be built on appropriating the fruit of another's effort.