Chapter 19: King Yayāti Achieves Liberation

 

9.19.1

śrī-śuka uvāca

sa ittham ācaran kāmān

straiṇo 'pahnavam ātmanaḥ

buddhvā priyāyai nirviṇṇo

gāthām etām agāyata

 

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; saḥ — Mahārāja Yayāti; ittham — in this way; ācaran — behaving; kāmān — in regard to lusty desires; straiṇaḥ — very much attached to woman; apahnavam — counteraction; ātmanaḥ — of his own welfare; buddhvā — understanding with intelligence; priyāyai — unto his beloved wife, Devayānī; nirviṇṇaḥ — disgusted; gāthām — story; etām — this (as follows); agāyata — narrated.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Yayāti was very much attached to woman. In due course of time, however, when disgusted with sexual enjoyment and its bad effects, he renounced this way of life and narrated the following story to his beloved wife.

 

9.19.2

śṛṇu bhārgavy amūḿ gāthāḿ

mad-vidhācaritāḿ bhuvi

dhīrā yasyānuśocanti

vane grāma-nivāsinaḥ

 

śṛṇu — please hear; bhārgavi — O daughter of Śukrācārya; amūm — this; gāthām — history; mat-vidhā — exactly resembling my behavior; ācaritām — behavior; bhuvi — within this world; dhīrāḥ — those who are sober and intelligent; yasya — of whom; anuśocanti — lament very much; vane — in the forest; grāma-nivāsinaḥ — very much attached to materialistic enjoyment.

 

TRANSLATION

 

My dearly beloved wife, daughter of Śukrācārya, in this world there was someone exactly like me. Please listen as I narrate the history of his life. By hearing about the life of such a householder, those who have retired from householder life always lament.

 

9.19.3

basta eko vane kaścid

vicinvan priyam ātmanaḥ

dadarśa kūpe patitāḿ

sva-karma-vaśagām ajām

 

bastaḥ — goat; ekaḥ — one; vane — in a forest; kaścit — some; vicinvan — searching for food; priyam — very dear; ātmanaḥ — for himself; dadarśa — saw by chance; kūpe — within a well; patitām — fallen; sva-karma-vaśa-gām — under the influence of the results of fruitive activities; ajām — a she-goat.

 

TRANSLATION

 

While wandering in the forest, eating to satisfy his senses, a he-goat by chance approached a well, in which he saw a she-goat standing helplessly, having fallen into it by the influence of the results of fruitive activities.

 

9.19.4

tasyā uddharaṇopāyaḿ

bastaḥ kāmī vicintayan

vyadhatta tīrtham uddhṛtya

viṣāṇāgreṇa rodhasī

 

tasyāḥ — of the she-goat; uddharaṇa-upāyam — the means of deliverance (from the well); bastaḥ — the he-goat; kāmī — having lusty desires; vicintayan — planning; vyadhatta — executed; tīrtham — a way to come out; uddhṛtya — digging the earth; viṣāṇa-agreṇa — by the point of the horns; rodhasī — at the edge of the well.

 

TRANSLATION

 

After planning how to get the she-goat out of the well, the lusty he-goat dug up the earth on the well's edge with the point of his horns in such a way that she was able to come out very easily.

 

9.19.5-6

sottīrya kūpāt suśroṇī

tam eva cakame kila

tayā vṛtaḿ samudvīkṣya

bahvyo 'jāḥ kānta-kāminīḥ

pīvānaḿ śmaśrulaḿ preṣṭhaḿ

 

mīḍhvāḿsaḿ yābha-kovidam

sa eko 'javṛṣas tāsāḿ

bahvīnāḿ rati-vardhanaḥ

reme kāma-graha-grasta

ātmānaḿ nāvabudhyata

 

sā — the she-goat; uttīrya — getting out; kūpāt — from the well; su-śroṇī — possessing very nice hips; tam — unto the he-goat; eva — indeed; cakame — desired to get as her husband; kila — indeed; tayā — by her; vṛtam — accepted; samudvīkṣya — seeing; bahvyaḥ — many others; ajāḥ — she-goats; kānta-kāminīḥ — desiring to get the he-goat as their husband; pīvānam — very stout and strong; śmaśrulam — having a very nice mustache and beard; preṣṭham — first-class;

 

mīḍhvāḿsam — expert in discharging semen; yābha-kovidam — expert in the art of sexual intercourse; saḥ — that he-goat; ekaḥ — alone; aja-vṛṣaḥ — the hero of the goats; tāsām — of all the she-goats; bahvīnām — a great number; rati-vardhanaḥ — could increase the lusty desire; reme — he enjoyed; kāma-graha-grastaḥ — being haunted by the ghost of lusty desire; ātmānam — his own self; na — not; avabudhyata — could understand.

 

TRANSLATION

 

When the she-goat, who had very nice hips, got out of the well and saw the very handsome he-goat, she desired to accept him as her husband. When she did so, many other she-goats also desired him as their husband because he had a very beautiful bodily structure and a nice mustache and beard and was expert in discharging semen and in the art of sexual intercourse. Therefore, just as a person haunted by a ghost exhibits madness, the best of the he-goats, attracted by the many she-goats, engaged in erotic activities and naturally forgot his real business of self-realization.

 

9.19.7

tam eva preṣṭhatamayā

ramamāṇam ajānyayā

vilokya kūpa-saḿvignā

nāmṛṣyad basta-karma tat

 

tam — the he-goat; eva — indeed; preṣṭhatamayā — beloved; ramamāṇam — engaged in sexual activities; ajā — the she-goat; anyayā — with another she-goat; vilokya — by seeing; kūpa-saḿvignā — the she-goat who had fallen into the well; na — not; amṛṣyat — tolerated; basta-karma — the business of the goat; tat — that (sex is accepted here as the business of the goat).

 

TRANSLATION

 

When the she-goat who had fallen into the well saw her beloved goat engaged in sexual affairs with another she-goat, she could not tolerate the goat's activities.

 

9.19.8

taḿ durhṛdaḿ suhṛd-rūpaḿ

kāminaḿ kṣaṇa-sauhṛdam

indriyārāmam utsṛjya

svāminaḿ duḥkhitā yayau

 

tam — him (the he-goat); durhṛdam — cruel hearted; suhṛt-rūpam — pretending to be a friend; kāminam — very lusty; kṣaṇa-sauhṛdam — having friendship for the time being; indriya-ārāmam — interested only in sense gratification or sensuality; utsṛjya — giving up; svāminam — to her present husband, or to the former maintainer; duḥkhitā — being very much aggrieved; yayau — she left.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Aggrieved by her husband's behavior with another, the she-goat thought that the he-goat was not actually her friend but was hardhearted and was her friend only for the time being. Therefore, because her husband was lusty, she left him and returned to her former maintainer.

 

9.19.9

so 'pi cānugataḥ straiṇaḥ

kṛpaṇas tāḿ prasāditum

kurvann iḍaviḍā-kāraḿ

nāśaknot pathi sandhitum

 

saḥ — that he-goat; api — also; ca — also; anugataḥ — following the she-goat; straiṇaḥ — hen pecked; kṛpaṇaḥ — very poor; tām — her; prasāditum — to satisfy; kurvan — making; iḍaviḍā-kāram — an utterance in the language of the goats; na — not; aśaknot — was able; pathi — on the road; sandhitum — to satisfy.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Being very sorry, the he-goat, who was subservient to his wife, followed the she-goat on the road and tried his best to flatter her, but he could not pacify her.

 

9.19.10

tasya tatra dvijaḥ kaścid

ajā-svāmy acchinad ruṣā

lambantaḿ vṛṣaṇaḿ bhūyaḥ

sandadhe 'rthāya yogavit

 

tasya — of the he-goat; tatra — thereupon; dvijaḥ — brāhmaṇa; kaścit — some; ajā-svāmī — the maintainer of another she-goat; acchinat — castrated, made effeminate; ruṣā — out of anger; lambantam — long; vṛṣaṇam — testicles; bhūyaḥ — again; sandadhe — joined; arthāya — for self-interest; yoga-vit — expert in the power of mystic yoga.

 

TRANSLATION

 

The she-goat went to the residence of a brāhmaṇa who was the maintainer of another she-goat, and that brāhmaṇa angrily cut off the he-goat's dangling testicles. But at the he-goat's request, the brāhmaṇa later rejoined them by the power of mystic yoga.

 

9.19.11

sambaddha-vṛṣaṇaḥ so 'pi

hy ajayā kūpa-labdhayā

kālaḿ bahu-tithaḿ bhadre

kāmair nādyāpi tuṣyati

 

sambaddha-vṛṣaṇaḥ — rejoined with his testicles; saḥ — he; api — also; hi — indeed; ajayā — with the she-goat; kūpa-labdhayā — whom he got from the well; kālam — for a time; bahu-titham — of a long, long duration; bhadre — O my dear wife; kāmaiḥ — with such lusty desires; na — not; adya api — even until now; tuṣyati — is satisfied.

 

TRANSLATION

 

My dear wife, when the he-goat had his testicles restored, he enjoyed the she-goat he had gotten from the well, but although he continued to enjoy for many, many years, even now he has not been fully satisfied.

 

9.19.12

tathāhaḿ kṛpaṇaḥ subhru

bhavatyāḥ prema-yantritaḥ

ātmānaḿ nābhijānāmi

mohitas tava māyayā

 

tathā — exactly like the he-goat; aham — I; kṛpaṇaḥ — a miser with no sense of the importance of life; su-bhru — O my wife, with beautiful eyebrows; bhavatyāḥ — in your company; prema-yantritaḥ — as if tied in love, although it is actually lust; ātmānam — self-realization (what I am and what my duty is); na abhijānāmi — I could not realize even until now; mohitaḥ — being bewildered; tava — your; māyayā — by the materially attractive feature.

 

TRANSLATION

 

O my dear wife with beautiful eyebrows, I am exactly like that he-goat, for I am so poor in intelligence that I am captivated by your beauty and have forgotten the real task of self-realization.

 

9.19.13

yat pṛthivyāḿ vrīhi-yavaḿ

hiraṇyaḿ paśavaḥ striyaḥ

na duhyanti manaḥ-prītiḿ

puḿsaḥ kāma-hatasya te

 

yat — what; pṛthivyām — within this world; vrīhi — food grains, rice; yavam — barley; hiraṇyam — gold; paśavaḥ — animals; striyaḥ — wives or other women; na duhyanti — do not give; manaḥ-prītim — satisfaction of the mind; puḿsaḥ — to a person; kāma-hatasya — because of being victimized by lusty desires; te — they.

 

TRANSLATION

 

A person who is lusty cannot satisfy his mind even if he has enough of everything in this world, including rice, barley and other food grains, gold, animals and women. Nothing can satisfy him.

 

9.19.14

na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām

upabhogena śāḿyati

haviṣā kṛṣṇa-vartmeva

bhūya evābhivardhate

 

na — not; jātu — at any time; kāmaḥ — lusty desires; kāmānām — of persons who are very lusty; upabhogena — by enjoyment of lusty desires; śāḿyati — can be pacified; haviṣā — by supplying butter; kṛṣṇa-vartmā — fire; iva — like; bhūyaḥ — again and again; eva — indeed; abhivardhate — increases more and more.

 

TRANSLATION

 

As supplying butter to a fire does not diminish the fire but instead increases it more and more, the endeavor to stop lusty desires by continual enjoyment can never be successful. [In fact, one must voluntarily cease from material desires.]

 

9.19.15

yadā na kurute bhāvaḿ

sarva-bhūteṣv amańgalam

sama-dṛṣṭes tadā puḿsaḥ

sarvāḥ sukhamayā diśaḥ

 

yadā — when; na — not; kurute — does; bhāvam — a different attitude of attachment or envy; sarva-bhūteṣu — to all living entities; amańgalam — inauspicious; sama-dṛṣṭeḥ — because of being equipoised; tadā — at that time; puḿsaḥ — of the person; sarvāḥ — all; sukha-mayāḥ — in a happy condition; diśaḥ — directions.

 

TRANSLATION

 

When a man is nonenvious and does not desire ill fortune for anyone, he is equipoised. For such a person, all directions appear happy.

 

9.19.16

yā dustyajā durmatibhir

jīryato yā na jīryate

tāḿ tṛṣṇāḿ duḥkha-nivahāḿ

śarma-kāmo drutaḿ tyajet

 

yā — that which; dustyajā — extremely difficult to give up; durmatibhiḥ — by persons too attached to material enjoyment; jīryataḥ — even by one who is an invalid because of old age; yā — that which; na — not; jīryate — is vanquished; tām — such; tṛṣṇām — desire; duḥkha-nivahām — which is the cause of all tribulations; śarma-kāmaḥ — a person desiring his own happiness; drutam — very soon; tyajet — should give up.

 

TRANSLATION

 

For those who are too attached to material enjoyment, sense gratification is very difficult to give up. Even when one is an invalid because of old age, one cannot give up such desires for sense gratification. Therefore, one who actually desires happiness must give up such unsatisfied desires, which are the cause of all tribulations.

 

9.19.17

mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā

nāviviktāsano bhavet

balavān indriya-grāmo

vidvāḿsam api karṣati

 

mātrā — with one's mother; svasrā — with one's sister; duhitrā — with ones own daughter; vā — either; na — not; avivikta-āsanaḥ — seated closely on one seat; bhavet — one should be; balavān — very strong; indriya-grāmaḥ — the group of senses; vidvāḿsam — the very learned and advanced person; api — even; karṣati — agitates.

 

TRANSLATION

 

One should not allow oneself to sit on the same seat even with one's own mother, sister or daughter, for the senses are so strong that even though one is very advanced in knowledge, he may be attracted by sex.

 

9.19.18

pūrṇaḿ varṣa-sahasraḿ me

viṣayān sevato 'sakṛt

tathāpi cānusavanaḿ

tṛṣṇā teṣūpajāyate

 

pūrṇam — completely; varṣa-sahasram — one thousand years; me — my; viṣayān — sense gratification; sevataḥ — enjoying; asakṛt — without cessation, continuously; tathā api — still; ca — indeed; anusavanam — more and more; tṛṣṇā — lusty desires; teṣu — in sense gratification; upajāyate — are increased.

 

TRANSLATION

 

I have spent a full one thousand years enjoying sense gratification, yet my desire to enjoy such pleasure increases daily.

 

9.19.19

tasmād etām ahaḿ tyaktvā

brahmaṇy adhyāya mānasam

nirdvandvo nirahańkāraś

cariṣyāmi mṛgaiḥ saha

 

tasmāt — therefore; etām — such strong desires for lusty affairs; aham — I; tyaktvā — giving up; brahmaṇi — upon the Supreme Absolute Truth; adhyāya — fixing; mānasam — the mind; nirdvandvaḥ — without duality; nirahańkāraḥ — without an identity of false prestige; cariṣyāmi — I shall loiter or wander in the forest; mṛgaiḥ saha — with the forest animals.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Therefore, I shall now give up all these desires and meditate upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Free from the dualities of mental concoction and free from false prestige, I shall wander in the forest with the animals.

 

9.19.20

dṛṣṭaḿ śrutam asad buddhvā

nānudhyāyen na sandiśet

saḿsṛtiḿ cātma-nāśaḿ ca

tatra vidvān sa ātma-dṛk

 

dṛṣṭam — the material enjoyment we experience in our present life; śrutam — material enjoyment as promised to the fruitive workers for future happiness (either in this life or in the next, in the heavenly planets and so on); asat — all temporary and bad; buddhvā — knowing; na — not; anudhyāyet — one should even think of; na — nor; sandiśet — should actually enjoy; saḿsṛtim — prolongation of material existence; ca — and; ātma-nāśam — forgetfulness of one's own constitutional position; ca — as well as; tatra — in such a subject matter; vidvān — one who is completely aware; saḥ — such a person; ātma-dṛk — a self-realized soul.

 

TRANSLATION

 

One who knows that material happiness, whether good or bad, in this life or in the next, on this planet or on the heavenly planets, is temporary and useless, and that an intelligent person should not try to enjoy or even think of such things, is the knower of the self. Such a self-realized person knows quite well that material happiness is the very cause of continued material existence and forgetfulness of one's own constitutional position.

 

9.19.21

ity uktvā nāhuṣo jāyāḿ

tadīyaḿ pūrave vayaḥ

dattvā sva-jarasaḿ tasmād

ādade vigata-spṛhaḥ

 

iti uktvā — saying this; nāhuṣaḥ — Mahārāja Yayāti, the son of King Nahuṣa; jāyām — unto his wife, Devayānī; tadīyam — his own; pūrave — unto his son Pūru; vayaḥ — youth; dattvā — delivering; sva-jarasam — his own invalidity and old age; tasmāt — from him; ādade — took back; vigata-spṛhaḥ — being freed from all material lusty desires.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After speaking in this way to his wife, Devayānī, King Yayāti, who was now free from all material desires, called his youngest son, Pūru, and returned Pūru's youth in exchange for his own old age.

 

9.19.22

diśi dakṣiṇa-pūrvasyāḿ

druhyuḿ dakṣiṇato yadum

pratīcyāḿ turvasuḿ cakra

udīcyām anum īśvaram

 

diśi — in the direction; dakṣiṇa-pūrvasyām — southeast; druhyum — his son named Druhyu; dakṣiṇataḥ — in the southern side of the world; yadum — Yadu; pratīcyām — in the western side of the world; turvasum — his son known as Turvasu; cakre — he made; udīcyām — in the northern side of the world; anum — his son named Anu; īśvaram — the King.

 

TRANSLATION

 

King Yayāti gave the southeast to his son Druhyu, the south to his son Yadu, the west to his son Turvasu, and the north to his son Anu. In this way he divided the kingdom.

 

9.19.23

bhū-maṇḍalasya sarvasya

pūrum arhattamaḿ viśām

abhiṣicyāgrajāḿs tasya

vaśe sthāpya vanaḿ yayau

 

bhū-maṇḍalasya — of the entire planet earth; sarvasya — of all wealth and riches; pūrum — his youngest son, Pūru; arhat-tamam — the most worshipable person, the king; viśām — of the citizens or the subjects of the world; abhiṣicya — crowning on the throne of the emperor; agrajān — all his elder brothers, beginning from Yadu; tasya — of Pūru; vaśe — under the control; sthāpya — establishing; vanam — in the forest; yayau — he went away.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Yayāti enthroned his youngest son, Pūru, as the emperor of the entire world and the proprietor of all its riches, and he placed all the other sons, who were older than Pūru, under Pūru's control.

 

9.19.24

āsevitaḿ varṣa-pūgān

ṣaḍ-vargaḿ viṣayeṣu saḥ

kṣaṇena mumuce nīḍaḿ

jāta-pakṣa iva dvijaḥ

 

āsevitam — being always engaged in; varṣa-pūgān — for many, many years; ṣaṭ-vargam — the six senses, including the mind; viṣayeṣu — in sense enjoyment; saḥ — King Yayāti; kṣaṇena — within a moment; mumuce — gave up; nīḍam — nest; jāta-pakṣaḥ — one that has grown its wings; iva — like; dvijaḥ — a bird.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Having enjoyed sense gratification for many, many years, O King Parīkṣit, Yayāti was accustomed to it, but he gave it up entirely in a moment, just as a bird flies away from the nest as soon as its wings have grown.

 

9.19.25

sa tatra nirmukta-samasta-sańga

ātmānubhūtyā vidhuta-trilińgaḥ

pare 'male brahmaṇi vāsudeve

lebhe gatiḿ bhāgavatīḿ pratītaḥ

 

saḥ — Mahārāja Yayāti; tatra — upon doing this; nirmukta — was immediately liberated from; samasta-sańgaḥ — all contamination; ātma-anubhūtyā — simply by understanding his constitutional position; vidhuta — was cleansed of; tri-lińgaḥ — the contamination caused by the three modes of material nature (sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa); pare — unto the Transcendence; amale — without material contact; brahmaṇi — the Supreme Lord; vāsudeve — Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth, Bhagavān; lebhe — achieved; gatim — the destination; bhāgavatīm — as an associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pratītaḥ — famous.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Because King Yayāti completely surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, he was freed from all contamination of the material modes of nature. Because of his self-realization, he was able to fix his mind upon the Transcendence [Parabrahman, Vāsudeva], and thus he ultimately achieved the position of an associate of the Lord.

 

9.19.26

śrutvā gāthāḿ devayānī

mene prastobham ātmanaḥ

strī-puḿsoḥ sneha-vaiklavyāt

parihāsam iveritam

 

śrutvā — hearing; gāthām — the narration; devayānī — Queen Devayānī, the wife of Mahārāja Yayāti; mene — understood; prastobham ātmanaḥ — when instructed for her self-realization; strī-puḿsoḥ — between the husband and wife; sneha-vaiklavyāt — from an exchange of love and affection; parihāsam — a funny joke or story; iva — like; īritam — spoken (by Mahārāja Yayāti).

 

TRANSLATION

 

When Devayānī heard Mahārāja Yayāti's story of the he-goat and she-goat, she understood that this story, which was presented as if a funny joke for entertainment between husband and wife, was intended to awaken her to her constitutional position.

 

9.19.27-28

sā sannivāsaḿ suhṛdāḿ

prapāyām iva gacchatām

vijñāyeśvara-tantrāṇāḿ

māyā-viracitaḿ prabhoḥ

 

sarvatra sańgam utsṛjya

svapnaupamyena bhārgavī

kṛṣṇe manaḥ samāveśya

vyadhunol lińgam ātmanaḥ

 

sā — Devayānī; sannivāsam — living in the association; suhṛdām — of friends and relatives; prapāyām — in a place where water is supplied; iva — like; gacchatām — of tourists on a program for going from one place to another; vijñāya — understanding; īśvara-tantrāṇām — under the influence of the rigid laws of nature; māyā-viracitam — the laws enforced by māyā, the illusory energy; prabhoḥ — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead;

 

sarvatra — everywhere in this material world; sańgam — association; utsṛjya — giving up; svapna-aupamyena — by the analogy of a dream; bhārgavī — Devayānī, the daughter of Śukrācārya; kṛṣṇe — unto Lord Kṛṣṇa; manaḥ — complete attention; samāveśya — fixing; vyadhunot — gave up; lińgam — the gross and subtle bodies; ātmanaḥ — of the soul.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Thereafter, Devayānī, the daughter of Śukrācārya, understood that the materialistic association of husband, friends and relatives is like the association in a hotel full of tourists. The relationships of society, friendship and love are created by the māyā of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, exactly as in a dream. By the grace of Kṛṣṇa, Devayānī gave up her imaginary position in the material world. Completely fixing her mind upon Kṛṣṇa, she achieved liberation from the gross and subtle bodies.

 

9.19.29

namas tubhyaḿ bhagavate

vāsudevāya vedhase

sarva-bhūtādhivāsāya

śāntāya bṛhate namaḥ

 

namaḥ — I offer my respectful obeisances; tubhyam — unto You; bhagavate — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vāsudevāya — Lord Vāsudeva; vedhase — the creator of everything; sarva-bhūta-adhivāsāya — present everywhere (within the heart of every living entity and within the atom also); śāntāya — peaceful, as if completely inactive; bṛhate — the greatest of all; namaḥ — I offer my respectful obeisances.

 

TRANSLATION

 

O Lord Vāsudeva, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are the creator of the entire cosmic manifestation. You live as the Supersoul in everyone's heart and are smaller than the smallest, yet You are greater than the greatest and are all-pervading. You appear completely silent, having nothing to do, but this is due to Your all-pervading nature and Your fullness in all opulences. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You.