Shloka 4
ययाति–शक्रसंवादः
Speech-Ethics and Forbearance in the Celestial Court
(अशोकवनिकाम ध्ये देवयानी समागता । शर्मिष्ठया सा क्रीडित्वा रमणीये मनोरमे ।। तत्रैव तां तु निर्दिश्य राज्ञा सह ययौ गृहम् । एवमेव सह प्रीत्या मुमुदे बहुकालतः ।।) देवयानी ययातिके साथ परम रमणीय एवं मनोरम अशोकवाटिकामें आती और शर्मिष्ठाके साथ वन-विहार करके उसे वहीं छोड़कर स्वयं राजाके साथ महलमें चली जाती थी। इस तरह वह बहुत समयतक प्रसन्नतापूर्वक आनन्द भोगती रही। देवयान्या तु सहित: स नृपो नहुषात्मज: । विजहार बहूनब्दान् देववन्मुदित: सुखी,नहुषकुमार राजा ययातिने देवयानीके साथ बहुत वर्षोंतक देवताओंकी भाँति विहार किया। वे उसके साथ बहुत प्रसन्न और सुखी थे
aśokavanikāmadhye devayānī samāgatā | śarmiṣṭhayā sā krīḍitvā ramaṇīye manora me || tatraiva tāṃ tu nirdiśya rājñā saha yayau gṛham | evameva saha prītyā mumude bahukālataḥ || devayānyā tu sahitaḥ sa nṛpo nahuṣātmajaḥ | vijahāra bahūn abdān devavan muditaḥ sukhī ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Devayānī would come into the delightful, enchanting Aśoka-grove, and after sporting there with Śarmiṣṭhā, she would leave her behind in that very place and return with the king to the palace. In this manner, she lived for a long time in contented joy. King Yayāti, the son of Nahuṣa, accompanied by Devayānī, enjoyed himself for many years—happy and pleased, as if among the gods.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents prolonged enjoyment as ‘godlike’ in appearance, while implicitly setting up the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical question: whether pleasure and power, when pursued as an end in themselves, remain stable or eventually demand moral reckoning.
Devayānī regularly visits a beautiful Aśoka-grove, plays there with Śarmiṣṭhā, leaves her behind, and returns with King Yayāti to the palace. Yayāti, son of Nahuṣa, lives happily with Devayānī for many years, enjoying royal life as if among the gods.