Сути (Уграшравас)
वैशंपायन उवाच
एवं स नाहुषो राजा ययातिः पुत्रम् ईप्सितम् ॥
राज्ये ऽभिषिच्य मुदितो वानप्रस्थो ऽभवन् मुनिः ॥
उषित्वा च वने वासं ब्राह्मणैः सह संश्रितः ॥
फलमूलाशनो दान्तो यथा स्वर्गम् इतो गतः ॥
स गतः सुरवासं तं निवसन् मुदितः सुखम् ॥
कालस्य नातिमहतः पुनः शक्रेण पातितः ॥
निपतन् प्रच्युतः स्वर्गाद् अप्राप्तो मेदिनीतलम् ॥
स्थित आसीद् अन्तरिक्षे स तदेति श्रुतं मया ॥
तत एव पुनश् चापि गतः स्वर्गम् इति श्रुतिः ॥
राज्ञा वसुमता सार्धम् अष्टकेन च वीर्यवान् ॥
प्रतर्दनेन शिबिना समेत्य किल संसदि ॥
जनमेजय उवाच
कर्मणा केन स दिवं पुनः प्राप्तो महीपतिः ॥
सर्वम् एतद् अशेषेण श्रोतुम् इच्छामि तत्त्वतः ॥
कथ्यमानं त्वया विप्र विप्रर्षिगणसंनिधौ ॥
देवराजसमो ह्य् आसीद् ययातिः पृथिवीपतिः ॥
वर्धनः कुरुवंशस्य विभावसुसमद्युतिः ॥
तस्य विस्तीर्णयशसः सत्यकीर्तेर् महात्मनः ॥
चरितं श्रोतुम् इच्छामि दिवि चेह च सर्वशः ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
evaṃ sa nāhuṣo rājā yayātiḥ putram īpsitam ||
rājye 'bhiṣicya mudito vānaprastho 'bhavan muniḥ ||
uṣitvā ca vane vāsaṃ brāhmaṇaiḥ saha saṃśritaḥ ||
phalamūlāśano dānto yathā svargam ito gataḥ ||
sa gataḥ suravāsaṃ taṃ nivasan muditaḥ sukham ||
kālasya nātimahataḥ punaḥ śakreṇa pātitaḥ ||
nipatan pracyutaḥ svargād aprāpto medinītalam ||
sthita āsīd antarikṣe sa tadeti śrutaṃ mayā ||
tata eva punaś cāpi gataḥ svargam iti śrutiḥ ||
rājñā vasumatā sārdham aṣṭakena ca vīryavān ||
pratardanena śibinā sametya kila saṃsadi ||
janamejaya uvāca
karmaṇā kena sa divaṃ punaḥ prāpto mahīpatiḥ ||
sarvam etad aśeṣeṇa śrotum icchāmi tattvataḥ ||
kathyamānaṃ tvayā vipra viprarṣigaṇasaṃnidhau ||
devarājasamo hy āsīd yayātiḥ pṛthivīpatiḥ ||
vardhanaḥ kuruvaṃśasya vibhāvasusamadyutiḥ ||
tasya vistīrṇayaśasaḥ satyakīrter mahātmanaḥ ||
caritaṃ śrotum icchāmi divi ceha ca sarvaśaḥ ||
Vaishampayana said: 'Thus King Yayati, son of Nahusha, having anointed his beloved son to the throne, joyfully became a forest-dwelling ascetic. Living in the forest among brahmins, subsisting on fruits and roots, self-restrained, from there he ascended to heaven. Having reached that abode of the gods and dwelling there in joy and happiness, after no small span of time he was again cast down by Shakra (Indra). Thrown down from heaven, falling yet not reaching the surface of the earth, he came to rest suspended in mid-air — so I have heard. And from that very place the mighty Yayati, meeting once more in assembly with the kings Vasumat, Ashtaka, Pratardana, and Shibi, ascended again to heaven; so the tradition tells.' Janamejaya said: 'By what deed did that king regain heaven once more? All of this in full, in very truth, I wish to hear, O brahmin — what you tell in the presence of the assembly of brahmarishis; for King Yayati was equal to the king of the gods, the increaser of the Kuru line, radiant as fire. Of him, so widely renowned, truly glorious, great of soul — his deeds in heaven and here on earth, in their entirety, I wish to hear.'
c72fd59e1b8b · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:06:49 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here a new turn in Yayati's fate is announced: having ascended to heaven through austerity, he is cast down again. The mystery of this fall is significant (and will be disclosed further on): Yayati fell from heaven for pride — for exalting himself over his own merits. Here is a stern lesson about the fruits of good deeds: even heaven, attained through austerity, is not eternal; once the merit (punya) is exhausted, the soul is cast down ('those whose merit is spent fall,' cf. Gita 9.21). Thus heavenly bliss is not the final goal: it is as fleeting as any fruit of karma. It is also significant that Yayati 'came to rest in mid-air,' without reaching the earth: an image of a soul fallen from the heights yet not wholly lost — as the sequel will show, he is saved by his grandsons (the kings Ashtaka and others) through their own merit. Here too is a consolation: the merits of descendants (and of good friends) can raise up the fallen. Thus the tale of Yayati continues — no longer about passion, as before, but about pride and its fruits; and it prepares, in the chapters that follow, a great teaching on the vanity of pride in one's merits and on the transience of heavenly joys.