CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
King Yayati Regains His Youth
This chapter gives the history of King Yayati, the son of Nahusa.
Among Yayati’s five sons, the youngest son, Piru, accepted Yayati’s
invalidity.

When Nahusa, who had six sons, was cursed to become a python, his
eldest son, Yati, took sannydsa, and therefore the next son, Yayati, was
enthroned as king. By providence, Yayati married the daughter of
Sukracarya. Sukracarya was a braéhmana and Yayati a ksatriya, but
Yayati married her nonetheless. Sukracdrya’s daughter, named
Devayani, had a girl friend named Sarmistha, who was the daughter of
Vrsaparva. King Yayati married Sarmistha also. The history of this mar-
riage is as follows. Once Sarmistha was sporting in the water with thou-
sands of her girl friends, and Devayani was also there. When the young
girls saw Lord Siva, seated on his bull with Uma, they immediately
dressed themselves, but Sarmistha mistakenly put on Devayani’s clothes.
Devayani, being very angry, rebuked Sarmistha, who also became very
angry and responded by rebuking Devayani and throwing her into a
well. By chance, King Yayati came to that well to drink water, and he
found Devayani and rescued her. Thus Devayani accepted Maharaja
Yayati as her husband. Thereafter, Devayani, crying loudly, told her
father about Sarmistha’s behavior. Upon hearing of this incident,
Sukracarya was very angry and wanted to chastise Vrsaparva,
Sarmistha’s father. Vrsaparva, however, satisfied Sukracarya by offering
Sarmistha as Devayani’s maidservant. Thus Sarmistha, as the maidser-
vant of Devaydni, also went to the house of Devayani’s husband. When
Sarmistha found her friend Devayani with a son she also desired to have
a son. Therefore, at the proper time for conception, she also requested
Maharaja Yayati for sex. When Sarmistha became pregnant also,
Devayani was very envious. In great anger, she immediately left for her
father’s house and told her father everything. Sukracarya again became
angry and cursed Maharaja Yayati to become old, but when Yayati begged

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