अथ तं देशम् अभ्यागाद् ययातिर् नहुषात्मजः ॥
श्रान्तयुग्यः श्रान्तहयो मृगलिप्सुः पिपासितः ॥
स नाहुषः प्रेक्षमाण उदपानं गतोदकम् ॥
ददर्श कन्यां तां तत्र दीप्ताम् अग्निशिखाम् इव ॥
ताम् अपृच्छत् स दृष्ट्वैव कन्याम् अमरवर्णिनीम् ॥
सान्त्वयित्वा नृपश्रेष्ठः साम्ना परमवल्गुना ॥
का त्वं ताम्रनखी श्यामा सुमृष्टमणिकुण्डला ॥
दीर्घं ध्यायसि चात्यर्थं कस्माच् छ्वसिषि चातुरा ॥
कथं च पतितास्य् अस्मिन् कूपे वीरुत्तृणावृते ॥
दुहिता चैव कस्य त्वं वद सर्वं सुमध्यमे ॥
देवयान्य् उवाच
यो ऽसौ देवैर् हतान् दैत्यान् उत्थापयति विद्यया ॥
तस्य शुक्रस्य कन्याहं स मां नूनं न बुध्यते ॥
एष मे दक्षिणो राजन् पाणिस् ताम्रनखाङ्गुलिः ॥
समुद्धर गृहीत्वा मां कुलीनस् त्वं हि मे मतः ॥
जानामि हि त्वां संशान्तं वीर्यवन्तं यशस्विनम् ॥
तस्मान् मां पतिताम् अस्मात् कूपाद् उद्धर्तुम् अर्हसि ॥
वैशंपायन उवाच
ताम् अथ ब्राह्मणीं स्त्रीं च विज्ञाय नहुषात्मजः ॥
गृहीत्वा दक्षिणे पाणाव् उज्जहार ततो ऽवटात् ॥
उद्धृत्य चैनां तरसा तस्मात् कूपान् नराधिपः ॥
आमन्त्रयित्वा सुश्रोणीं ययातिः स्वपुरं ययौ ॥
atha taṃ deśam abhyāgād yayātir nahuṣātmajaḥ ||
śrāntayugyaḥ śrāntahayo mṛgalipsuḥ pipāsitaḥ ||
sa nāhuṣaḥ prekṣamāṇa udapānaṃ gatodakam ||
dadarśa kanyāṃ tāṃ tatra dīptām agniśikhām iva ||
tām apṛcchat sa dṛṣṭvaiva kanyām amaravarṇinīm ||
sāntvayitvā nṛpaśreṣṭhaḥ sāmnā paramavalgunā ||
kā tvaṃ tāmranakhī śyāmā sumṛṣṭamaṇikuṇḍalā ||
dīrghaṃ dhyāyasi cātyarthaṃ kasmāc chvasiṣi cāturā ||
kathaṃ ca patitāsy asmin kūpe vīruttṛṇāvṛte ||
duhitā caiva kasya tvaṃ vada sarvaṃ sumadhyame ||
devayāny uvāca
yo 'sau devair hatān daityān utthāpayati vidyayā ||
tasya śukrasya kanyāhaṃ sa māṃ nūnaṃ na budhyate ||
eṣa me dakṣiṇo rājan pāṇis tāmranakhāṅguliḥ ||
samuddhara gṛhītvā māṃ kulīnas tvaṃ hi me mataḥ ||
jānāmi hi tvāṃ saṃśāntaṃ vīryavantaṃ yaśasvinam ||
tasmān māṃ patitām asmāt kūpād uddhartum arhasi ||
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
tām atha brāhmaṇīṃ strīṃ ca vijñāya nahuṣātmajaḥ ||
gṛhītvā dakṣiṇe pāṇāv ujjahāra tato 'vaṭāt ||
uddhṛtya caināṃ tarasā tasmāt kūpān narādhipaḥ ||
āmantrayitvā suśroṇīṃ yayātiḥ svapuraṃ yayau ||
And now the son of Nahusha, Yayati, with weary team and weary horses, seeking game, tormented by thirst, came to that region. That son of Nahusha, looking into a waterless well, saw there a maiden shining like a blazing flame of fire. The best of kings, having seen that maiden of godlike beauty, comforted her with the sweetest, gentlest speech and asked: 'With copper-colored nails, dark-complexioned, with bright jeweled earrings — who are you? Why are you so deeply lost in thought, why do you sigh in distress? How did you fall into this well, overgrown with grass and creepers? And whose daughter are you, O slender-waisted one? Tell me everything.' Devayani said: 'He who by his science raises up the daityas slain by the gods — of that Shukra I am the daughter; he surely does not know of me. O king, here is my right hand with copper-nailed fingers; take it and draw me out — you, I think, are noble. I know you to be tranquil, valorous, and glorious; therefore you must draw me, fallen as I am, out of this well.' Vaishampayana said: 'The son of Nahusha, having learned that she was a brahmin woman, took her by the right hand and drew her out of the pit. The lord of men, Yayati, having swiftly drawn that lovely-hipped maiden out of the well and taken his leave of her, went to his own city.'
9d50bd1bf608 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 3:49:50 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here the providential meeting of Devayani and Yayati shows itself — from which a branch of the lineage will grow. It is telling that the meeting takes place at the well into which the maiden was thrown by her rival: out of misfortune and humiliation, salvation and a new union are born; providence turns evil — Sharmishtha's wrongdoing — into good, the meeting with a future husband. Here fate is at work: Kacha's curse ('no son of a sage shall take your hand') is already being fulfilled — the one who saves Devayani and takes her by the hand is not a brahmin but the kshatriya Yayati. Also telling is the nobility of the king: he comforts the maiden with gentle speech, saves her, and, learning that she is a brahmin, departs with respect — though also with caution, for taking her by the hand (pani-graha) carries a marital meaning too, and the king does not hasten. Note also that Devayani herself extends her right hand and says, 'you are noble' — already here lies the seed of her decision to take Yayati as her husband. Thus the text weaves the thread of fate: out of pride, quarrel, and misfortune comes a providential meeting which — through the marriage of Yayati and Devayani — will continue the lineage of the Bharatas.