Yayati 1- Life After Death Poem by Unnikrishnan Sivasankara Menon
Yayati 1- Life After Death
(1)
Caught red-handed!
After Sharmishta told Shukra
That I fathered her child
I had nothing more to say.
I had cheated his daughter
My wife, Devayani!
No father would tolerate.
I stood before him
My head bowed
Not out of any feeling of guilt.
(2)
Sharmishta had attracted me
On the day I saw her first
As personal maid to Devayani.
Much more attractive-
After all she was the princess
And Devayani, daughter of Aacharya.
(3)
Shukraacharya raged and ranted
'In lust, you went astray
To father a child with the maid.
No, I would not allow you die-
Now you would turn a thousand years old
And live another thousand years.'
He, the Aacharya. His curse could burn
All the fourteen worlds into ashes
In a split second. What of me!
Instantly, turned gray even my eye- brows
Barely able to stand erect
Let alone walk.Skin turned scaly.
(4)
Who would sleep with me
Though I am King emperor?
And I wanted to enjoy life.
I fell at Aacharya's feet
Weeping like a baby who lost
his favourite toy; Begging pardon.
Shukra kicked at my crowned head
'Get Lost', he shouted.
I, the King Emperor lay on the floor
Before him, for eons. Wept.
Finally, when he got up to leave
muttered something, inaudible.
I look at my elderly minister
'Sire, you can exchange your old-age
With a youth who would accept it.
That is what the Aacharya said'.
Characters:
Yayati: King of Pratishthana (modern Allahabad, India): Son of King Emperor Nahusha. Chandra dynasty.
Shukra or Shukracharya: The ascetic guru (teacher, philosopher) of the Asuras.
Vrishparva: King of Asuras.
Sharmishtha: Asura Princess. Daughter of Vrishaparva
Devayani: Daughter of Shukracharya.
The Story:
Yayati was king of Pratishthana and the son of King Nahusha. He was one of the ancestors of Pandavas. Yayati had conquered the whole world and was the Chakravartin Samrat (Emperor) . He marries Devayani and takes Sharmishtha, daughter of king Vrishparva and maid of Devayani as his mistress on her request. Devayani was the daughter of Shukracharya, the priest of the Asuras. After hearing of his relationship with Sharmishtha, Devayani complains to her father Shukracharya, who in turn curses Yayati to old age in the prime of life, but later allows him to exchange it with a young man.
Now please read on.
Comment 1 - Enjoyed immensely reading the poem (story) about Devayani, Sharmistha, King Yayati and Shukracharya. R. Tagore composed a wonderful poem called " Biday-Abhishap" (The Curse At Farewell) , which narrates a story about Devayani before she got married. It is a heart-touching account of love and loss for the precious daughter of Shukracharya. I am not sure if there is any translation of that poem.
I find that the poem Bidar-Abhishap was translated into English by Edward Thompson in 1924. But could not find the poem on the ‘net, nor the book, even on Amazon.
Thank r Malabika, for your time and valuable observations on the series. I hadn’t seen Tagore’s poem on Devayani in my collection in English or Malayalam. Would definitely love to read it. May be there is a Hindi version. I will try to find out. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the information. For the encouraging remarks. Obliged
Sir, If time permits, please the remaining parts of the series. Would definitely interest you. And thank you for visiting my page, this series, and favouring me with your kind words..
Great start of an episodic series in poem form. The story seems to be very enriching with valuable lessons to be learned. I shall continue to read on. Thank you!
Hi Jeanette, Thank you for visiting my pages. The story of Yayati is very intriguing. Wish you interesting reading.
Very nice.its fst time i am reading the yayati series.and it was a great experience for me.... Because the narration is simply awesome
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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Comment 2 - Mahabharata is an epic, with innumerable characters and episodes. You have attempted to depict parts of that epic in your poem with your vast knowledge and poetic expressions - Congratulations! Your poem is exceptional!
🙏 Thank you.