Srimad Bhagavatam – day 532
Sridharāya namah
Having obtained from Guru Śukracharya the option of exchanging his old-age with someone willing to take it on, Emperor Yayāti returned to his kingdom.
One morning he called his eldest son Yadu and asked, “My son, please accept this old-age which I have got due to your grandfather Śukracharya’s curse. In exchange please give me your youth. My desire to experience and enjoy these sensual pleasures is not yet satiated. Taking on your youthfulness, I wish to enjoy these pleasures for some more years”.
Prince Yadu replied, “My dear father, in this middle-age, you are afflicted with old-age. I cannot accept your old age. I am not inclined towards accepting old-age which is full of suffering. No person can obtain dispassion unless he has totally enjoyed sensual pleasures”.
Yayāti thereafter called his other sons Turvasu, Druhyu and Anu. He asked each of them to give to him his youthfulness in exchange for his old-age. None of them agreed. Being ignorant of dharma, they disregarded their father’s request. They mistakenly considered this fleeting youthfulness to be of permanent existence.
Pūru, the youngest son of Emperor Yayāti, was more virtuous than his other elder brothers. Yayāti said to his youngest son, “My dear son! Do not disregard my words as your brothers have done. It is incorrect”.
Pūru replied,
“ko nu loke manuṣyendra pitur ātma-kṛtaḥ pumān
pratikartuṁ kṣamo yasya prasādād vindate param
O Emperor! Is there any son in this world who can complete his indebtedness towards his father who was responsible for his birth? Only with the father’s grace the son is bestowed with prosperity.
Uttamaś cintitaṁ kuryāt prokta-kārī tu madhyamaḥ
Adhamo ’śraddhayā kuryād akartoccaritaṁ pituḥ
A supreme son is one, who understanding the needs of his father, completes the work to the father’s satisfaction even before receiving instructions from him. The son who completes the work upon receiving instructions from the father is mediocre. The worst son is one who does not satisfactorily complete the work even after receiving instructions from his father. The son who refuses to complete the work even after receiving instructions from his father, is like his father’s stool”.
Having said this, Pūru willingly accepted his father’s old-age. Yayāti regained his youthfulness. He enjoyed sensory worldly comforts for a very long time.
Yayāti was the emperor for seven of the nine islands belonging to the Bharata-varsa. He ruled efficiently treating his citizens as his own children. Through the medium of his senses he enjoyed worldly pleasures to his heart’s satisfaction. Devayāni loved her husband very dearly. Speaking lovingly and softly to him, she served him always. She offered to him the best possible objects and kept him happy.
All the Devatas are embodiment of the Supreme Lord, who is the form of Yagna. All the Vedas are his forms. Emperor Yayāti worshipped this Supreme Lord Srihari through the medium of Yagnas. He offered plentiful dakshina to the priests.
This creation is nothing but a illusory creation of the mind. It is comparable to the illusion created by the magician. It is nothing but a dream. Just as we dream at night, this world being seen by us is also a dream creation. Although the Lord pervades through this creation, it is illusory. The Self who is seated within the individual entity witnesses this dream. Nevertheless, the individual soul has to make efforts to merge into the Supreme soul. Just as the clouds manifest in the sky, this world manifests in the Supreme Lord Srihari, who exists as the Self. This world exists within Srihari. This world is Srihari.
Lord Narayana, who exists through the creation and who is a form of Pure Consciousness, resides secretively within the heart of every living being. His existence is subtle and invisible. Emperor Yayāti retained this Supreme Lord Narayana exclusively in his heart. He worshipped him through Yagnas without any selfish expectations (niṣkāma).
Even after enjoying freely sensual worldly pleasures for thousands of years, Emperor Yayāti’s mind and senses did not derive contentment.
With this the eighteenth chapter of the ninth canto comes to an end.
Ninth Canto Chapter Nineteen
This chapter has obtained renown as Yayāti geeta. In this, Yayāti deciding to leave his household has been narrated.
Maharishi Śuka continued, “Emperor Yayāti was extremely attached to lustful desires and he began to enjoy them excessively. After spending many years in this manner, one day realization dawned upon him. He understood that these material enjoyments had distanced him from the true form of the Self. He developed detachment towards these material pleasures.
He explained his story to his dearest wife Devayāni, “O descendant of the Brighu lineage! Listen to this story which I narrate. This pertains to the practical experience of a worldly person who, like me, has become a victim of lustful needs and is trying to satiate them. The residents of the forests, who are totally established in the Self, pity city-dwellers like me who have succumbed to the charms of a woman.
Once a male-goat was wandering alone in the forests searching for an object it cherished the most. Exactly at that time a female-goat had fallen in a well as a result of its past fruitive activities. The male-goat saw this female-goat and was attracted towards it. It hence thought of ways by which it could rescue the female-goat which was trapped in the well.
Using its horns it pushed the mud that was near the edge of the well. By filling the well with mud, it created a path for the female-goat. The charming female-goat was pleased with this action. It came out of the well and fell in love with the male-goat that had helped it.
The male-goat which was filled with youthfulness and health showered love upon this female-goat. Seeing his handsomeness and love, the female-goat was even more attracted towards its partner. As if this was inadequate, many other female-goats began to admire this male-goat and sought him. This male-goat was able to satiate the needs of many female-goats.
The demon called lust had obtained total control over this male-goat. For this reason, this male-goat forgot its true identity. Forgetting the female-goat whom it had rescued from the well, it now began to enjoy with another female-goat. The female-goat whom it had rescued from the well could not tolerate this infidelity.
Understanding that its partner is a lusty, a cheat and an imposter in a friend’s disguise, the female-goat lamented profusely. Abandoning its male partner which craved only for sensual, lusty needs, the female-goat returned to its father’s home”.
Narayana.