Mahabharata – 113

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                   Aadivamsavatarana Parva

Devyani meets king Yayati

Devyani’s joys now know no bounds. Because the daughter of the demon king Sarmistha will henceforth serve Devyani as her maid.So the gamesome Devayani of the fairest complexion went into the same woods where they had earlier played in the waters of the lake,Sarmishtha with her thousand maids accompanied Devyani.Devyani along with Sarmistha & the thousand maids  began to wander freely in the forest.

 All the maids waited upon  Devyani.So she was exceedingly happy. And while sporting  they began drinking the honey from the flowers.They ate  various kinds of fruits.They bit  some fruits & threw them away.They played with the butterflies. They responded to the bird’s song with their mellifluous voice. And just at that time, king Yayati while hunting, came there tired and thirsty. And the king saw Devayani and Sarmishtha, and those other maidens also all decked in celestial ornaments. And Devayani, of sweet smiles, was seated amidst them  as their chief. Her seat was  decked with jewels. And amongst them all, one lady was sitting at her ease a little below the seat of  Devyani the daughter of the Brahamana. The lady was gently massaging the feet of the daughter of the Brahamana.The rest of the ladies  were  in a sporting mood.Seeing the handsome Yayati all  of them were  greatly ashamed & shy.

And Yayati seeing all this, addressed both the ladies & said 'Oh amiable ones!, May I ask your names and parentage?. It seems that these two thousand maids attend  you two. Hearing the king, Devayani said, Listen to me, Know that I am the daughter of Sukracharya, the spiritual guide of the Asuras.And this is my companion  Sarmishtha.She is the daughter of the Asura king Vrishaparva, she is my maid & friend. She attends  me wherever I go.

Yayati then said I wonder why & how  this fair lady has been your attendent! She is  the daughter of the great king of demons. She is so beautiful to look at that she can be compared only with the  elfin girls such as a gandharva or a kinnara, or a yaksha dame.To speak the truth   I have never seen such a beautiful lady earlier. The eyes of the daughter of the king of Asura are beautiful like those of Laxmidevi. They are lotus eyes. She is decked with beautiful ornaments. There is a divine grace about her.

The compliments of Yayati to Sarmishata is significant.True that Sarmishta is a daughter of a demon.True that the demons are perpetually at war with the gods. Despite that Yayati does not hesitate to compare Sarmishta’s beauty with that of the goddess Lakshmi. And Yayati finds divine grace in Sarmishta. One wonders whether Yayati is in love with Sarmishta at first sight. 

Yayati continued pointing at Sarmishta  ---This lady must have been your maid due to her ill fate or due to some ascetic power of yours. Otherwise such a beautiful lady may never be a maid.And also your beauty is not comparable with hers as you are also so beautiful. Be that as it may,I am sure that due to some misfortune in her previous birth,she became your maid.

 Devayani replied, 'Oh king, everything is determined by fate.True that she is the gift of fate.So you need not wonder at it.By the by,your feature and strature  are both like those of a king.And it seems that you are well acquanted with the Vedas. Tell me who are you,where from you are coming & whose son you are.

The king replied,'During my vow of Brahmacharya, the whole Vedas entered my ears.I am known as Yayati,a king's son and myself a king.Devayani then enquired, 'Oh king!, what for have you come here ? Is it to gather lotuses or for a hunt?'

Devyani is ironical in her speech.Is Yayati out in the forest to hunt beautiful ladies or to pluck lotuses of beautiful maids. By the by, hunting is recurrent motif in the Mahabharata.

Yayati said, 'O amiable one!,Ahuntig I was thirsty.I have come here in search of water.Oh gracious lady! Thank you very much for your delightful conversation. May I now take your leave & budge?