Mahabharata – 128

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                   Aadivamsavatarana Parva

Ashtaka said -- Oh king of kings! Tell me, in detail, about all those regions that you visited and enjoyed. Your speech is like that of one who knows the mystery of the self.

 Yayati continued -- Once upon a time I was a king. I conquered the whole earth. Thereafter I lived  upon earth for thousand years. After my demise I went to other planes of existence. I visited  Amaravati of  extraordinary beauty. It has thousand gates. Its area consists of hundreds of yojana. There I lived for one thousand years. Then I moved to some other plane.Then I visited the realm of Lord Brahma. It is very difficult to reach the realm of Brahma. There old age & senility cannot enter. In other words no one is old there.

Then I went to another region. I also went to the Kailashdham the abode of Lord Shiva.There my prowess & influence was like that of the Rudras.

There I moved about as per my will. And also I went to the abode of Vishnu the Vaikunta loka where too I lived in happiness. I was greeted by all the celestials. Capable of assuming any form at will. I lived for a million years in the Nandana gardens sporting with the Apsaras and beholding numberless beautiful trees decked in flowery ornaments and sending forth delicious perfume all about.

And after many, many years, while still residing there in great pleasure, one day a celestial messenger of ferocious face, came & in a loud and deep voice, thrice shouted at me—Be fallen! Be fallen! Be fallen! Oh great  king Ashtaka, this much do I remember about the heaven. I was then fallen from the Nandana gardens. My religious merits were spent up. I heard in the skies, the voices of the celestials utter in grief,--Alas! What a misfortune! Yayati, of sacred deeds, is falling! As his religious merits are destroyed.

Yayati continued, I asked them loudly as to how I  could fall among the sages & honest people.Then they told me about the place sacred due to the observation of fire sacrifice. Me too could smell the fragrance of clarified butter that indicated a place where fire sacrifice was being observed. I could espy the end of smoke excelsioring from earth. I inferred thence that this was the site where fire sacrifices are observed.  And hence I have come rushing down to this spot.