Story of Yayati and Pooru

We left Sarmishtha, the princess of demons, at the service of the proud daughter of Sukra, their chief priest. This was done voluntarily by her to save the race of demons from the dire consequences of losing their high powered priest for ever.

A Strange Marriage

Sarmishtha was no more the highly spirited princess who once fought with Devayani. Days and weeks had passed after the incident which reduced her to the status of a mere servant. Once Devayani was in a nearby forest and was enjoying the attention she received from Sarmishtha and her other one thousand maids. It was then Yayati, the king of the lunar dynasty came that way. Devayani recognized the king who had pulled her out of the well. She addressed the king and requested him to marry her.

Yayati was surprised. It was an odd marriage proposal and, anyway, not customary for a king like him to marry the daughter of a Brahmin. Moreover, Sukra was famous for his special powers. No wonder that the king feared the wrath of the Brahmin for knowingly committing such an offence.

Devayani reminded him of their first encounter. The king had held her right hand at that time and had thereby performed the most important part of the marriage ritual. There was no need for worry on account of her father. Sukra would not stand in her way in this or in any other situation.

The king was not convinced. He promised to abide by her request provided he got her father’s permission. Accordingly, Yayati went to meet the Sukra. The Acharya did not object to the relationship, though against the tradition, but, on one condition. The king should never have an affair with any other woman. Yayati gave him the promise and married his daughter.

Sarmishtha's longing for motherhood

Yayati and Devayani started living together in the palace. Sarmishtha was all the time in the palace serving at her side. She started thinking of her own fate. She was the daughter of the powerful king of all demons. In the normal course she would have been in the place of Devayani, but, for her rash action at the spur of a moment. Instead, she was serving Devayani as her slave. Fate had been truly unkind to her.

Devayani delivered a son in due course who was named Yadu. The birth of a son to her made Sharmishtha’s longing for motherhood all the more intense. She found the king Yayati as the object of her love. Once, while alone in the company of the king, she approached him and pleaded with him to accept her as his, though second, wife. After all, marriage by mutual consent (Gandharva Vidhi) was not only accepted, but even highly respected, for the royals. There she was, qualified in all respects to be his wife, pleading openly for his favours. It was unchivalrous for a king like him to turn her down.

Yayati was in anguish. He conceded that Sharmishtha had a point. But, how would he face Devayani and the anger of her powerful father, if they found out. Sharmishtha promised their secret would be a closely guarded one. Accordingly, Yayati accepted Sharmishtha as his second wife secretly.

Birth of Pooru

Sharmishtha bore a son to the king in due course and was named Druhyu. When Devayani came to know of it she questioned Sharmishtha who the father of the boy was. There was a great sage who had been visiting her, Sharmishtha assured her mistress, during his wanderings. The boy was born out of that union. Devayani did not bother to question her any further on the matter.
Devayani delivered one more boy and Sharmishtha gave birth to two more in due course. They were named Turvasu, Anu and Pooru in that order. The five boys grew up together in the palace.

Their mutual resemblance did not escape the notice of Devayani for long. Further more, they all looked like the king. One day she was watching the five playing together. It was then that it occurred to her how closely they all resembled the king. This thought disturbed her and she asked the sons of Sharmishtha who their father was. They simply pointed to the king and continued with their games.

A curse on Yayati

Devayani was in tears. Her husband had been cheating her all the while. She announced to Yayati that she was going back to her father not to return. Yayati was scared. He followed her closely and was ready to fall at the feet of her father.

Sukra was naturally angered by the news from his daughter. The king had broken his promise. He cursed him immediately that he would lose his virility and youth forthwith.

Yayati was in a pitiable condition. He was still young, at least at heart, and had not enjoyed life to his fill. He pleaded with the Acharya. Was there any escape for him from the curse ? Sukra was sympathetic. He told the king that he could exchange his pre-mature old age with the youth of any as a voluntary exchange. Sukra would make that possible. He even blessed a long glorious innings as a monarch whoever might agree to such an exchange.

Desire that is never satiated

Yayati was hopeful. He approached his eldest son, Yadu. The king asked him whether he donate his youth to his father for a limited period ? He would gladly give it back after enjoying love life for a while longer. Yadu would not even think of turning grey at such a young age. He did not bother to become a king. He would rather remain young and enjoy life.

Three of his younger brothers took the same stand. They all loathed old age. But, Pooru, the last son, was sympathetic to his father. He said he would gladly donate his youth to his father and let him enjoy life as long as he wanted.

Yayati was delighted. He thought of Sukra in his prayer. Then, as if by a miracle, Yayati became young as before and his son, Pooru, appeared old with grey hair and shriveled skin.

Yayati enjoyed life with Sharmishtha for many years. He realized finally that desire was something that would never be satisfied by enjoyment. Its intensity only grew further. He then accepted his old age back and returned the youth to his son.

The reward to Pooru

He , then, announced that Pooru would inherit the kingdom from him as promised. But, the citizens of the kingdom objected. It was customary to make the eldest prince the heir apparent. How could he break that? Then, Yayati explained all that happened to them. He also reminded them of the words of the great Acharya. Finally, they agreed and Pooru was anointed as the Yuvaraja or heir apparent.

Yayati then retired to forest to spend the rest of his life in penance. Pooru ruled the country admirably and became one of the most famous in the lunar dynasty.

The Plight of Sarmishtha

We have seen how Kacha, the son of the priest of gods, learnt the secret of reviving the dead (Mrita Sanjeevani) from Sukra, the priest of demons. He left the daughter of Sukra, Devayani , who was in love with him, high and dry.

The king of demons was called Vrishaparva. He had a daughter by name Sarmishtha. One day she went to enjoy herself in a nearby forest. She was in the company of her maids. Devayani was also with them.

A Quarrel

The damsels had their upper garments kept aside while engaging in various games. In the middle of their fun making a strong wind blew and carried the garments to a distance. The ladies went after their own clothes. In the confusion it so happened that Sarmishtha picked the clothes of Devayani.

Devayani was angry at this slip and made fun of the princess. She was, after all, the daughter of the chief priest. Everyone else, including Sarmishtha, were below her in rank. Why did she ignore all that etiquette and wear her clothes?

Sarmishtha was the proud daughter of the king. She could not tolerate being ridiculed in front of others. So, she did not mince her words in putting down Devayanai. Who did she think she was? Sukra, after all, made a living by praising the king who was Sarmishtha’s father. In return, her father doled out a living to Sukra. Hence, her father and Devayani both lived like beggars in the palace of Vrishaparva.

Devayani in peril

Those words made Devayani angry. She tried to grab her clothes by force which the princess wore. Sarmishtha went mad with rage and pushed Devayani into a well. Thinking that she must have died in it the princess returned to her palace.

Yayati, one of the early kings of the lunar dynasty (Soma Vamsa) happened to come that way shortly after. He was a predecessor to Puru and Bharata . He was hunting and was in the lookout for water to quench his thirst. He located the well and was wondering how to get some water out of it. It was then that he heard wails coming out of its depths. Yayati quickly got some ropes into the well and helped Devayani climb up. When she reached the top the king extended his right hand to hers and pulled her out.

Devayani introduced herself to him and thanked him for his help. The king quenched his thirst and went his way.

Left to herself, Devayani became furious thinking of all the insults and injury caused by Sarmishtha. She remained where she was and sent word to her father, Sukra Acharya.

Devayani’s revenge

Sukra wasted no time to rush to his dear daughter. Then, Devayani told him about all that happened. She also repeated the humiliating words of Sarmishtha and said that she would not return to the palace to live as a beggar. Sukra tried to pacify her without success.

So, the priest of demons returned to the king and reported the matter. He wanted permission to leave his service and find refuge elsewhere.

Vrishaparva was in deep trouble. He knew that without his mentor, Sukra, the entire race of demons would soon perish. He wanted to know how he could make amends for the wrongs committed by his daughter. Sukra had one single aim, how to keep his daughter happy.
So, the king approached Devayani and profusely aplogised for all that happened. He wanted to know what would make her happy. The proud daughter of Sukra put one straight condition. Sarmishtha should serve her as her maid accompanied by one thousand servants from the king’s court.

Vrishaparva was in a fix. It was the worst that could happen to his daughter, for that matter, to any princess.

Sarmishtha heard about all the consequences of her thoughtless action. She went to Devayani and promised her that she would gladly do what was asked of her.

From that day onwards the princess of demons served the proud daughter of their high priest as maid , day and night, wherever she was.

Kacha and Devayani

Gods are considered to be immortal. That is because they got an elixir by churning the milky ocean. We now go into a story that happened much before that.

The gods and demons waged wars even in those days and killed each other in large numbers. The bone of contention was the supremacy over the three worlds. The demons had a Brahmin, by name Sukra, as their chief priest (Acharya). Sukra knew a secret Mantra called Mrita Sanjeevani. By invoking that Mantra a dead person would come alive as though from sleep. The Acharya used its potency to bring back all those demons who were killed by gods in battles.
The gods had no such means to revive their dead. Hence, their numbers started gradually dwindling. This made the gods a worried lot. They discussed the issue among themselves and came up with a plan.

To learn the secret

The Acharya of Gods was Brihaspati. He had a handsome son by name Kacha. They requested the youth to approach Sukra and somehow learn the Mrita Sanjeevani from him. They also gave him some tips on how to go about it.

Sukra had a daughter by name Devayani. Kacha should look for every opportunity to please her while he was engaged in serving her father. The secret was that Sukra was very much attached to his daughter. He would do anything to please her.

Kacha agreed and went to Sukra Acharya. He prostrated before the Acharya and introduced himself. Kacha’s father was a highly respected Brahmin. So, Sukra could not refuse to take him in as disciple.

Days and months passed. Kacha did everything he could to please his teacher and his daughter. Both were highly pleased with him. Devayani gradually fell in love with the handsome youth.

A fatal encounter

Kacha’s duty included taking his teacher’s cattle to nearby forests for grazing. The demons soon came to know of Kacha’s mission. One day they confronted the youth in the forest. Who was he and what was his mission ? When Kacha admitted that he was the son of god’s priest they cut him into pieces and fed him to wolves.

That evening the cattle returned without the herdsman. Devayani was worried that her darling Kacha would have faced some misfortune. She went to her father with a worried look. When asked for the cause she reported that Kacha had not returned home.

The Mantra at work

Sukra, through is divine vision, could see what happened. He invoked the magic Mantra and Kacha came back to life bursting open the stomach of every animal that ate him. He returned home later and reported all that happened to his teacher and his daughter.

The demons thought of a better way to dispose off their enemy next time. They burnt Kacha alive when he was on his mission and washed his ashes in the ocean. But, the Mantra of the great Acharya was powerful enough to give life to the dead even in that condition.

The ultimate trial

The demons thought for a better way. Days passed and Devayani found her lover missing one day. She was apprehensive and went to her father. It was then that Sukra realized that the demons had played smart that time. Kacha had been reduced to ashes and mixed with wine for him to drink. Sukra could, still, make Kacha alive. But, then he, himself, would die. He asked Devayani to make her choice. She would be left either with her father or her lover. Whom would she choose ?

But, Devayani loved both and was not ready for a deal. It did not matter to her how, but, she wanted both of them alive.

Sukra then thought of a plan. He chanted the Mantra aloud. Kacha became alive in his stomach. At the same time he also learnt the Mantra. Sukra died when Kacha tried to come out of his teacher’s belly. But, he chanted the newly learnt Mantra and made his teacher alive again. The Acharya decreed that day that Brahmins, thenceforth, are forbidden to drink wine or any other type of alcohol.

Kacha’s mission was accomplished. But, he stayed on with his teacher for a while longer. Then, he wanted to leave. Sukra blessed him and gave him permission. But, Devayani would not let him go without her. She wanted him to marry her.

Kacha had no such intention. He said that Sukra, being his teacher, was like a father to him. Moreover, he came out of his belly in his second life. In that sense Devayani was like his sister. He loved her, but would not even think of her as his fiancée.

Devayani was totally disappointed. Her repeated requests did not change Kacha’s resolve. Finally, she cursed Kacha that he would not succeed in using his newly learnt Mantra to bring any dead to life. Kacha wondered whether all his efforts went in vain. But, he thought of a way out. He would teach the Mantra to another and that way achieve the same results.He reached the abode of Gods and received a joyous welcome there. We shall learn more about Devayani later.

The birth of Bharata

There is reference in Mahabharata to three great ancestors of the Pandavas and Kauravas. The first mention is of Bharata. He was born as the son of Dushyanta to Sakuntala. Poet Kalidasa wrote his famous drama Abhijnaana Saakuntalam (“The story of Sakuntala revolving around a signet”- we use A.S for short)

Dushyanta was a great ruler. One day he went hunting with a huge army to assist. After days of hunting he wanted to rest and found a hermitage. He met the beautiful Sakuntala, alone, there. (Kalidasa gives a dramatic effect to their first meeting)

Dushyanta fell in love with Sakuntala on the very first sight. He introduced himself and told her about his love. When asked, Sakuntala told her story.

She was born to sage Viswamitra in the celestial damsel, Menaka. Indra got worried by the intense penance of Viswamitra fearing that the sage might amass enough credit to stake a claim for his throne. So, he sent Menaka to stop Viswamitra from further penance. Menaka succeeded to seduce the sage. A girl was born to them. The two left the scene afterwards leaving the helpless girl in the care of some birds (Sakunta; hence, Sakuntala). Sage Kanwa happened to find the girl and took her in his care.

Viswamitra was born in the warrior class. So, Dushyanta argued with Sakuntala that marriage by mutual consent was permitted for the two. Sakuntala found the king attractive enough. Besides, the king offered to return later to take her to the royal palace with full honour. He also promised to make the son born to Sakuntala the future king.
(In A.S the king gave her his signet ring to seal the marriage).

The two got married by the Gaandharva (mutual agreement) system and the king left her with a promise to come for her later.

When sage Kanwa returned he came to know what happened . He was happy that his daughter accepted a suitable king for husband.

Soon, Sakuntala became pregnant and in due course gave birth to a son. He was strong and showed signs of valour right from childhood. Hence, he was named Sarvadamana . (Became famous as Bharata later).

(A.S gives dramatic twists here. Sakuntala spends all her time thinking about her lover and fails to notice the short tempered sage, Durvasa arriving. The Maharshi curses her with the words that whoever that she is thinking about will fail to recognize her. Her friends, noticing the exit of the sage in a rage, goes after him and pacifies him. He modifies the curse that if the king finds any object to remind him of the past, he will recognize her)

When Bharata grew up to be a boy sage Kanwa asked his desciples to take her to king Dushyanta. The king recognized her (did not, in A.S), but, pretended not to. Sakuntala was hurt and tried to give details of their meeting. Still, the king did not budge. Absolutely dejected, Sakuntala was about to return. Then there was a voice from heaven (Asareeri – meaning, a voice without a source). The voice said that Sakuntala was truly the king’s wife and Bharata, his son. Dushyanata was satisfied. He later explained that, as the king, he had to convince the public that he was taking in a legal heir to the throne.

(In A.S Sakuntala thinks of her mother to give her refuge. Menaka comes and takes Sakuntala and her son to heaven. She is left in the care of sage Kasyapa. There is a lot of drama about her losing the signet in the river to be recovered later by a fisherman. Finally, the ring reaches the king. He then remembers her . He is repentant. Years later, on his trip to heaven he meets Sakuntala in the hermitage of sage Kasyapa. He receives Sakuntala and Bharata with profound apologies)

This Bharata became one of the most famous kings of his dynasty. The ancient name , Bhaarata, for India was also due to the same king.

The Serpent Sacrifice of Janamejaya

We have kept one important story aside for no particular reason. That has something to do with the context in which the story of Mahabharata was told.

We have heard how the lone surviving prince of the Bharata war was killed by the bite of serpent Takshaka. His son, Janamejaya, was only a child when that happened. He was installed as king of the vast Kaurava empire while he was still young. He ruled the land with the able guidance of his ministers.

It was from his ministers that he heard the story of his father’s untimely death. He developed a feeling of vengeance to all serpents, especially to Takshaka as a result. How his father would have escaped if only Takshaka did not prevent the Kasyapa Brahmin from giving the antidote to the snake’s deadly poison made the young prince even more revengeful.

Janamejaya consulted his ministers on how to avenge the killing of his father. They advised him to get able Brahmins to perform a serpent sacrifice. Such a sacrifice would draw all serpents by the power of the chanted mantra into the sacrificial fire. It was not possible to isolate Takshaka alone.

Janamejaya searched for Brahmins with the highest power from meditation and offered the best possible rewards. Many turned the request down for fear of the serpents. It was also known that Takshaka was a close friend of Indra, the king of gods whom they did not want to displease.

Finally, Janamejaya found a few qualified Brahmins to perform the sacrifice. A great platform was made for the purpose as prescribed by the traditional architectural. Several other Brahmins and kings came to attend the great ritual.

Soon the sacrificial fire was lit and offerings were made into the fire with the chanting of powerful Mantras. The power of Mantras was such that snakes from far and near were drawn to it as though pulled by some unknown power. They arrived in large numbers and fell into the flames with no hope for escape.

Stronger serpents resisted the pull for a while. But, soon they also were drawn into the fire to be consumed by the high flames.

King Janamejaya had only one aim, to get Takshaka into the fire. Meanwhile, the great serpent tried to hide here and there. But, the power that was pulling him was such that he found it hard to resist. Finally, he rushed to his friend and mentor, Indra. The king of gods offered him refuge in heaven. But, Takshaka felt the pull even from heaven drawing him gradually towards the sacrificial fire.

In the land of serpents, king Vasuki was in a similar situation. When it was too much for him to bear he rushed to his sister, Jaralkaru. She was married to a Brahmin by the same name. They had a son called Aastika. Young Aastika had spent years in deep meditation and had developed a glow of divinity around him. Jaralkaru, Vasuki’s sister asked her son to save his uncle. Accordingly, the young Aastika set out to the sacrificial ground of Janamejaya.

It was the custom for Brahmins to attend sacrificial rituals like the one performed by Janamejaya. It was also a tradition on the part of those who performed to receive such visiting Brahmins and offer them special seat as per their social standing. When Aastika reached the sacrificial ground all who were present were attracted by the divine glow of the Brahmin and automatically stood up in reverence. Janamejaya thought it be his privilege that such an eminent person sanctified the occasion with his presence. Soon, Aastika entered the sacrificial platform praising the manner in which the ritual was performed. He did not omit to give due credit to the Brahmins who performed it so correctly according to the Sastra (science of rituals) and to the king who arranged all that.
Janamejaya was greatly pleased. He asked the young Brahmin to ask for any gift. Janameja persisted with his request saying that he would consider it an honour to give whatever the Brahmin desired most that was within the king’s powers to offer.
Then, Astika spoke. The only gift that would make him happy was that the sacrifice must stop immediately. By then Takshaka had already appeared in the sky and was about to fall into the fire. Janamejaya was shocked . All his efforts would go waste. He tried to persuade the Brahmin to ask for anything else however valuable that might be. But, Aastika would not budge from his demand. Janamejaya had given his word and he was committed. He also feared the power of the Brahmin to curse him and cause great harm. So, the serpent sacrifice was stopped immediately just before Takshaka fell into the fire.
Vedavyasa had made an appearance at the sacrifice in the beginning. He requested his disciple, Vaisampaayana, to narrate the story of Mahabharata to all who had gathered there. Another disciple of Vyasa by name Soota was also present at the time.

Soota visited various places of pilgrimage from there and finally reached the forest called Naimisha. Many sages were performing a twelve year sacrifice called Satra there. Those assembled asked Soota about the places he had visited and all that he had heard. When Soota mentioned the serpent sacrifice of Janamejaya and the story of Mahabharata that was told there the assembled sages asked him to narrate the story in detail. That was how it was being handed over from one generation to another, as a narration by Soota of what he heard from Vaisampaayana.

The Story of Sunda and Upasunda

Narada narrated the story of two Asuras (demons) by name Sunda and Upasunda. They were born in the family of the demon king Hiranyakasipu who was killed by Vishnu having taken birth as man-lion.

Sunda and Upasunda loved and cared for each other so much that they were always in each other’s company. Together they fought the gods and won great victories. Their ultimate aim was to win over the three worlds. For that they went to the Vindhya mountain and started meditating keenly on Brahma. Their penance was so intense that all the worlds were getting heated up as a result. The gods tried various tricks to tempt them and to divert their minds to worldly pleasures, but, without success.

Finally, Brahma had to appear before them and find out what they wanted as blessing. They asked for nothing short of immortality. With that in their kit they could pursue their aim of winning the entire earth, Patala (the World below) and heaven with none to oppose. Brahma asked them to choose something else because immortality was something he could not afford to offer.

They thought for an instant for an alternative that was almost the same. So they said that the only way any one of them would die must be by the other. Brahma agreed and blessed them accordingly.

With the added confidence from the new boon the pair started turning the three worlds upside down. All the rituals would help their arch enemies, the gods. So, they would obstruct any type of rituals performed on earth or in heaven. The gods were in serious trouble as a result. But, they could do nothing against the two demons.

Finally, Brahma himself thought of a plan. He called Viswakarma, the specialist builder of heaven to create a damsel of such beauty that all beings would vie with each other and fall at her feet. That was how the celestial damsel, Tilottama, came to being. She was immediately given the task of enticing the two demons.

It is said that even Lord Siva, who spent all his time meditating, found her attraction irresistible. He wanted to look at Tilottama in whichever direction she went with the result that he developed three new faces, now one for each of the four directions. Indra was so interested that he developed a thousand eyes !

Tilottama wasted no time and went to meet Sunda and Upasunda. The demons spotted her, scantily dressed and plucking flowers in the most enchanting manner. The two were mesmerized by her so much that they forgot everything else. One immediately grabbed her left hand and the other , her right. She was being pulled in each direction and soon the Asuras started fighting against each other. The fight became so serious that they ended up being killed by one another.

Narada told the story to give the message that one woman in the company of many men could cause great trouble.

Yudhishthira points out the obscurity of Dharma

Yudhishthira was arguing with Drupada that the five Pandavas had to follow the wish of their mother and the five would marry Draupadi together. Drupada questioned him on the basis for making such a strange proposal. Then, the wise Pandava said :

“sookshmo dharmo mahaaraja naasya vijno vayam gatim
Poorveshaa maanupoorvyeNa yaatam vartma anuyaamahe”

Great king ! (The essence of) Dharma is obscure. We often do not find its path. What all we can do is to travel along the path followed by great men.

This is told famously in the Panchatantra (Five strategies) :

“tarko apratishtha: srutayo vibhinna:
naiko munir yasya matam pramaanam
dharmasya tatvam nihitam guhaayaam
mahaajano yena gata: sa panthaa: ”

The foundation for logical reasoning is weak; numerous and varied are the scriptures; so many are the sages and so whose words we can take for authority ? The essence of Dharma is hidden in caves. Hence, follow such a path that has been used by great people.