King Yayati Achieves Liberation

Verse 1 (bhagavata.9.19.1)

श्रीशुक उवाच स इत्थमाचरन् कामान् स्त्रैणोऽपह्नवमात्मनः । बुद्ध्वा प्रियायै निर्विण्णो गाथामेतामगायत ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca sa ittham ācaran kāmān straiṇo ’pahnavam ātmanaḥ buddhvā priyāyai nirviṇṇo gāthām etām agāyata

Sri Shukadeva said: He who had thus indulged his desires, given over to woman, having come to understand his own self-deception, grew disillusioned and sang this song to his beloved wife.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.9.19.2)

शृणु भार्गव्यमूं गाथां मद्विधाचरितां भुवि । धीरा यस्यानुशोचन्ति वने ग्रामनिवासिनः ॥ २ ॥

śṛṇu bhārgavy amūṁ gāthāṁ mad-vidhācaritāṁ bhuvi dhīrā yasyānuśocanti vane grāma-nivāsinaḥ

Listen, O daughter of Bhrigu, to this song of one who lived as I have lived in this world — a life over which the wise lament, whether they dwell in the forest or in the village.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.9.19.3)

बस्त एको वने कश्चिद् विचिन्वन् प्रियमात्मनः । ददर्श कूपे पतितां स्वकर्मवशगामजाम् ॥ ३ ॥

basta eko vane kaścid vicinvan priyam ātmanaḥ dadarśa kūpe patitāṁ sva-karma-vaśagām ajām

Once, a certain he-goat, wandering the forest in search of what pleased him, saw a she-goat fallen into a well through the working of her own past deeds.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.9.19.4)

तस्या उद्धरणोपायं बस्तः कामी विचिन्तयन् । व्यधत्त तीर्थमुद्धृत्य विषाणाग्रेण रोधसी ॥ ४ ॥

tasyā uddharaṇopāyaṁ bastaḥ kāmī vicintayan vyadhatta tīrtham uddhṛtya viṣāṇāgreṇa rodhasī

That lustful he-goat, thinking how to draw her out, dug away the bank of the well with the tip of his horns, thus making a way for her ascent.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.9.19.5)

सोत्तीर्य कूपात् सुश्रोणी तमेव चकमे किल । तया वृतं समुद्वीक्ष्य बह्व्योऽजाः कान्तकामिनीः ॥ ५ ॥

sottīrya kūpāt suśroṇī tam eva cakame kila tayā vṛtaṁ samudvīkṣya bahvyo ’jāḥ kānta-kāminīḥ

That well-formed she-goat, having climbed out of the well, desired that very goat as her mate; and seeing him chosen by her, many other she-goats too, each longing for a handsome mate, desired him.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.9.19.6)

पीवानं श्मश्रुलं प्रेष्ठं मीढ्वांसं याभकोविदम् । स एकोऽजवृषस्तासां बह्वीनां रतिवर्धनः । रेमे कामग्रहग्रस्त आत्मानं नावबुध्यत ॥ ६ ॥

pīvānaṁ śmaśrulaṁ preṣṭhaṁ mīḍhvāṁsaṁ yābha-kovidam sa eko ’javṛṣas tāsāṁ bahvīnāṁ rati-vardhanaḥ reme kāma-graha-grasta ātmānaṁ nāvabudhyata

That one he-goat — sturdy, bearded, greatly beloved, virile, and skilled in mating — became the delight of all those many females; seized as if by the grip of lust, he sported on, unaware of his own true self.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.9.19.7)

तमेव प्रेष्ठतमया रममाणमजान्यया । विलोक्य कूपसंविग्ना नामृष्यद् बस्तकर्म तत् ॥ ७ ॥

tam eva preṣṭhatamayā ramamāṇam ajānyayā vilokya kūpa-saṁvignā nāmṛṣyad basta-karma tat

Seeing that very goat sporting with another, dearly loved she-goat, the one who had suffered in the well could not bear this conduct of her mate.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.9.19.8)

तं दुर्हृदं सुहृद्रूपं कामिनं क्षणसौहृदम् । इन्द्रियाराममुत्सृज्य स्वामिनं दुःखिता ययौ ॥ ८ ॥

taṁ durhṛdaṁ suhṛd-rūpaṁ kāminaṁ kṣaṇa-sauhṛdam indriyārāmam utsṛjya svāminaṁ duḥkhitā yayau

Grieved, she abandoned that master — one who wore a friend's face though false-hearted, lustful, a friend only for a moment, given wholly to the pleasure of his senses — and went away.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.9.19.9)

सोऽपि चानुगतः स्त्रैणः कृपणस्तां प्रसादितुम् । कुर्वन्निडविडाकारं नाशक्नोत् पथि सन्धितुम् ॥ ९ ॥

so ’pi cānugataḥ straiṇaḥ kṛpaṇas tāṁ prasāditum kurvann iḍaviḍā-kāraṁ nāśaknot pathi sandhitum

He too, wretched and subservient to woman, followed after her to appease her, making all manner of pleading sounds along the way, but he could not win her back.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.9.19.10)

तस्यतत्र द्विजः कश्चिदजास्वाम्यच्छिनद् रुषा । लम्बन्तं वृषणं भूयः सन्दधेऽर्थाय योगवित् ॥ १० ॥

tasya tatra dvijaḥ kaścid ajā-svāmy acchinad ruṣā lambantaṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ bhūyaḥ sandadhe ’rthāya yogavit

There, a certain brahmana, master of another she-goat, angrily cut off his dangling testicles — but that brahmana, versed in yogic power, later rejoined them again for a purpose.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.9.19.11)

सम्बद्धवृषणः सोऽपि ह्यजया कूपलब्धया । कालं बहुतिथं भद्रे कामैर्नाद्यापि तुष्यति ॥ ११ ॥

sambaddha-vṛṣaṇaḥ so ’pi hy ajayā kūpa-labdhayā kālaṁ bahu-tithaṁ bhadre kāmair nādyāpi tuṣyati

His organs restored, he too, with the she-goat won from the well, has passed a very long time — yet even now, O gentle one, he is not satisfied by his desires.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.9.19.12)

तथाहं कृपणः सुभ्रु भवत्याः प्रेमयन्त्रितः । आत्मानं नाभिजानामि मोहितस्तव मायया ॥ १२ ॥

tathāhaṁ kṛpaṇaḥ subhru bhavatyāḥ prema-yantritaḥ ātmānaṁ nābhijānāmi mohitas tava māyayā

Just so, O fair-browed one, I too am wretched — bound fast by love for you, and, bewildered by your enchantment, I do not know my own self.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.9.19.13)

यत् पृथिव्यां व्रीहियवं हिरण्यं पशवः स्त्रियः । न दुह्यन्ति मनःप्रीतिं पुंसः कामहतस्य ते ॥ १३ ॥

yat pṛthivyāṁ vrīhi-yavaṁ hiraṇyaṁ paśavaḥ striyaḥ na duhyanti manaḥ-prītiṁ puṁsaḥ kāma-hatasya te

All the rice and barley on this earth, all the gold, the cattle, the women — none of these can yield contentment of mind to a man struck down by desire.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.9.19.14)

न जातु कामः कामानामुपभोगेन शाम्यति । हविषा कृष्णवर्त्मेव भूय एवाभिवर्धते ॥ १४ ॥

na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām upabhogena śāṁyati haviṣā kṛṣṇa-vartmeva bhūya evābhivardhate

Desire is never quenched by the enjoyment of what is desired — like fire fed with clarified butter, it only blazes up all the more.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.9.19.15)

यदा न कुरुते भावं सर्वभूतेष्वमङ्गलम् । समदृष्टेस्तदा पुंसः सर्वाः सुखमया दिशः ॥ १५ ॥

yadā na kurute bhāvaṁ sarva-bhūteṣv amaṅgalam sama-dṛṣṭes tadā puṁsaḥ sarvāḥ sukhamayā diśaḥ

When a man harbors no ill will toward any being and sees all things with an equal eye, then, for such a man, every direction becomes a source of happiness.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.9.19.16)

या दुस्त्यजा दुर्मतिभिर्जीर्यतो या न जीर्यते । तां तृष्णां दुःखनिवहां शर्मकामो द्रुतं त्यजेत् ॥ १६ ॥

yā dustyajā durmatibhir jīryato yā na jīryate tāṁ tṛṣṇāṁ duḥkha-nivahāṁ śarma-kāmo drutaṁ tyajet

That craving which the foolish find so hard to abandon, which does not age even as the body itself ages — one who truly desires peace should swiftly cast off that mass of misery.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.9.19.17)

मात्रा स्वस्रा दुहित्रा वा नाविविक्तासनो भवेत् । बलवानिन्द्रियग्रामो विद्वांसमपि कर्षति ॥ १७ ॥

mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā nāviviktāsano bhavet balavān indriya-grāmo vidvāṁsam api karṣati

One should never sit alone even with one's own mother, sister or daughter — so strong is the multitude of the senses that it drags away even the learned.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.9.19.18)

पूर्णं वर्षसहस्रं मे विषयान् सेवतोऽसकृत् । तथापि चानुसवनं तृष्णा तेषूपजायते ॥ १८ ॥

pūrṇaṁ varṣa-sahasraṁ me viṣayān sevato ’sakṛt tathāpi cānusavanaṁ tṛṣṇā teṣūpajāyate

For a full thousand years I have enjoyed the objects of the senses again and again, and yet, moment after moment, my thirst for them only grows anew.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.9.19.19)

तस्मादेतामहं त्यक्त्वा ब्रह्मण्यध्याय मानसम् । निर्द्वन्द्वो निरहङ्कारश्चरिष्यामि मृगैः सह ॥ १९ ॥

tasmād etām ahaṁ tyaktvā brahmaṇy adhyāya mānasam nirdvandvo nirahaṅkāraś cariṣyāmi mṛgaiḥ saha

Therefore, giving up this craving and fixing my mind upon Brahman, free from the pairs of opposites and from false ego, I shall now wander among the deer of the forest.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.9.19.20)

दृष्टं श्रुतमसद्बुद्ध्वा नानुध्यायेन्न सन्दिशेत् । संसृतिं चात्मनाशं च तत्र विद्वान् स आत्मदृक् ॥ २० ॥

dṛṣṭaṁ śrutam asad buddhvā nānudhyāyen na sandiśet saṁsṛtiṁ cātma-nāśaṁ ca tatra vidvān sa ātma-dṛk

Knowing all that is seen and heard to be unreal, one should neither dwell upon it nor direct another toward it — he who thus understands this to be the path of transmigration and self-forgetting is truly the seer of the self.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.9.19.21)

इत्युक्त्वा नाहुषो जायां तदीयं पूरवे वयः । दत्त्वा स्वजरसं तस्मादाददे विगतस्पृहः ॥ २१ ॥

ity uktvā nāhuṣo jāyāṁ tadīyaṁ pūrave vayaḥ dattvā sva-jarasaṁ tasmād ādade vigata-spṛhaḥ

Having spoken thus to his wife, the son of Nahusha, now free of all longing, returned Puru's own youth to him and took back from him his own old age.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.9.19.22)

दिशि दक्षिणपूर्वस्यां द्रुह्युं दक्षिणतो यदुम् । प्रतीच्यां तुर्वसुं चक्र उदीच्यामनुमीश्वरम् ॥ २२ ॥

diśi dakṣiṇa-pūrvasyāṁ druhyuṁ dakṣiṇato yadum pratīcyāṁ turvasuṁ cakra udīcyām anum īśvaram

He made Druhyu lord of the southeast, Yadu of the south, Turvasu of the west, and Anu the ruler of the north.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.9.19.23)

भूमण्डलस्य सर्वस्य पूरुमर्हत्तमं विशाम् । अभिषिच्याग्रजांस्तस्य वशे स्थाप्य वनं ययौ ॥ २३ ॥

bhū-maṇḍalasya sarvasya pūrum arhattamaṁ viśām abhiṣicyāgrajāṁs tasya vaśe sthāpya vanaṁ yayau

Having anointed Puru, most worthy of his subjects, as sovereign of the whole circle of the earth, and having placed his elder brothers under Puru's command, Yayati departed for the forest.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.9.19.24)

आसेवितं वर्षपूगान् षड्वर्गं विषयेषु सः । क्षणेन मुमुचे नीडं जातपक्ष इव द्विजः ॥ २४ ॥

āsevitaṁ varṣa-pūgān ṣaḍ-vargaṁ viṣayeṣu saḥ kṣaṇena mumuce nīḍaṁ jāta-pakṣa iva dvijaḥ

That sixfold group of the senses, indulged in the objects of enjoyment for years upon years, he abandoned in an instant — just as a bird leaves its nest the moment its wings have grown.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.9.19.25)

स तत्र निर्मुक्तसमस्तसङ्ग आत्मानुभूत्या विधुतत्रिलिङ्गः । परेऽमले ब्रह्मणि वासुदेवे लेभे गतिं भागवतीं प्रतीतः ॥ २५ ॥

sa tatra nirmukta-samasta-saṅga ātmānubhūtyā vidhuta-triliṅgaḥ pare ’male brahmaṇi vāsudeve lebhe gatiṁ bhāgavatīṁ pratītaḥ

There, freed from every attachment, his subtle covering of the three modes shaken off through self-realization, he attained, in that supreme and stainless Brahman, Bhagavan Vasudeva, the devotional destination, fully assured.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.9.19.26)

श्रुत्वा गाथां देवयानी मेने प्रस्तोभमात्मनः । स्त्रीपुंसोः स्नेहवैक्लव्यात् परिहासमिवेरितम् ॥ २६ ॥

śrutvā gāthāṁ devayānī mene prastobham ātmanaḥ strī-puṁsoḥ sneha-vaiklavyāt parihāsam iveritam

Hearing this song, Devayani took it merely as a private jest of her husband's, spoken out of the tenderness between wife and husband, meant only to distract her own mind.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.9.19.27)

सा सन्निवासं सुहृदां प्रपायामिव गच्छताम् । विज्ञायेश्वरतन्त्राणां मायाविरचितं प्रभोः ॥ २७ ॥

sā sannivāsaṁ suhṛdāṁ prapāyām iva gacchatām vijñāyeśvara-tantrāṇāṁ māyā-viracitaṁ prabhoḥ

But then she came to understand that the gathering of loved ones is like travelers meeting for a moment at a wayside inn, and that this bond, governed by the Lord's own ordinance, is fashioned by His Maya.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.9.19.28)

सर्वत्र सङ्गमुत्सृज्य स्वप्नौपम्येन भार्गवी । कृष्णे मनः समावेश्य व्यधुनोल्लिङ्गमात्मनः ॥ २८ ॥

sarvatra saṅgam utsṛjya svapnaupamyena bhārgavī kṛṣṇe manaḥ samāveśya vyadhunol liṅgam ātmanaḥ

So the daughter of Bhrigu, casting off all attachment as one casts off the likeness of a dream, fixed her mind wholly upon Bhagavan Krishna, and shook off the subtle covering of the self.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.9.19.29)

नमस्तुभ्यं भगवते वासुदेवाय वेधसे । सर्वभूताधिवासाय शान्ताय बृहते नमः ॥ २९ ॥

namas tubhyaṁ bhagavate vāsudevāya vedhase sarva-bhūtādhivāsāya śāntāya bṛhate namaḥ

Obeisance unto You, Bhagavan Vasudeva, the ordainer of all; obeisance unto You who dwell within every being, the peaceful, the vast.