Shloka 4
ययातेर्वानप्रस्थतपःस्वर्गारोहणम् | Yayāti’s Vānaprastha Austerities and Ascent to Heaven
खादन्त्यो विविधान् भक्ष्यान् विदशन्त्य: फलानि च । पुनश्च नाहुषो राजा मृगलिप्सुर्यदृच्छया,उस समय उसके साथ एक हजार दासियोंसहित शर्मिष्ठा भी सेवामें उपस्थित थी। वनके उसी प्रदेशमें जाकर वह उन समस्त सखियोंके साथ अत्यन्त प्रसन्नतापूर्वक इच्छानुसार विचरने लगी। वे सभी किशोरियाँ वहाँ भाँति-भाँतिके खेल खेलती हुई आनन्दमें मग्न हो गयीं। वे कभी वासन्तिक पुष्पोंके मकरन्दका पान करतीं, कभी नाना प्रकारके भोज्य पदार्थोंका स्वाद लेतीं और कभी फल खाती थीं। इसी समय नहुषपुत्र राजा ययाति पुनः शिकार खेलनेके लिये दैवेच्छासे उसी स्थानपर आ गये। वे परिश्रम करनेके कारण अधिक थक गये थे और जल पीना चाहते थे। उन्होंने देवयानी, शर्मिष्ठा तथा अन्य युवतियोंकों भी देखा
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
khādantyo vividhān bhakṣyān vidaśantyaḥ phalāni ca |
punaś ca nāhuṣo rājā mṛgalipsur yadṛcchayā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The maidens, eating various delicacies and biting into fruits as well, were delighting in their play. Just then, by chance, the king—Nahusha’s descendant—came again to that very place, eager for the hunt. (In the surrounding narrative, this is King Yayāti arriving upon Devayānī, Śarmiṣṭhā, and their companions, setting in motion an encounter with moral consequences for desire, duty, and restraint.)
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how ordinary pleasure and leisure can be interrupted by chance events that trigger major ethical tests. In the Yayāti narrative, the king’s arrival becomes the hinge for questions of restraint (indriya-nigraha), responsibility of a ruler, and the consequences of desire when it overrides dharma.
A group of young women are enjoying food and fruit in a forest setting. At that moment, the king from Nahusha’s lineage arrives there by chance, intent on hunting—contextually, this is Yayāti coming upon Devayānī, Śarmiṣṭhā, and their companions, leading to the next developments in the story.