Devayānī
Devayānī was the only daughter of Śukrācārya, the guru of the asuras (the rivals of the devas) and a Bhārgava, a descendant of Bhṛgu. She married Yayāti, a king of the Lunar dynasty. She is one of the main figures in the account of Yayāti. Her quarrel with Śarmishṭhā, her rescue from a well by Yayāti and her marriage to him lead up to Yayāti’s famous renunciation. After she heard her husband’s Yayāti Gīti, she herself attained moksha (liberation) through devotion to Śrī Kṛshṇa.
The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa names her as Yayāti’s wife and as the mother of Yadu and Turvaśu. Yadu began the Yādava line.
Background and the quarrel with Śarmishṭhā
Devayānī’s father, Śukrācārya, served as guru to Vṛshaparvan, the asura king. Though her father served at an asura‘s court, Devayānī knew well the high standing of a brāhmaṇa family. She held to that pride with both dignity and fire.
One day Devayānī went to play in a royal garden with Śarmishṭhā, the daughter of King Vṛshaparvan, and a thousand companions. They bathed in a lake and left their clothes on the bank. Bhagavān Śiva passed by with Pārvatī. The women ran to dress, and in the hurry Śarmishṭhā put on Devayānī’s garment by mistake.
Devayānī challenged her sharply and spoke of the greatness of the brāhmaṇa line. Śarmishṭhā answered with cruel words. She compared Devayānī to a beggar who eats the leftovers of her employer. In her anger Śarmishṭhā took Devayānī’s garment and threw her, with no clothes, into a dry well.
The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the 9th Skanda, Chapter 18.
Rescue and betrothal
By divine will, Yayāti came to the well while hunting. Thirst had drawn him there. He saw the beautiful woman in the well, gave her his own uttarīya (upper cloth) to wear, and drew her out by the hand.
Devayānī knew how much the touch of a hand means in the dharmic tradition. She told Yayāti: “The hand you have taken cannot be taken by anyone else. This bond between us is made by divine will, not by human arrangement. Only by divine will did you appear before me as I lay in the well.”
She also told him that she could not marry a brāhmaṇa. Kaca, the son of Bṛhaspati, had cursed her in anger, and she had cursed him in return. She had helped Kaca to gain the Mṛtasañjīvanī learning. (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 9th Skanda, Chapter 18)
Marriage and life
Devayānī told Śukrācārya how Śarmishṭhā had treated her. He took it as a deep insult and prepared to leave Vṛshaparvan’s service. Vṛshaparvan feared that his kingdom would lose its protection. He came and bowed down before Śukrācārya and agreed to any condition.
Devayānī’s condition was this: Śarmishṭhā, with a thousand companions, must go with her as her personal dāsī (maid) when she went to her husband’s home.
Śukrācārya gave Devayānī in marriage to Yayāti. He warned Yayāti sternly never to approach Śarmishṭhā. Devayānī bore Yayāti two sons, Yadu and Turvaśu. She was fully devoted to her husband. Every day she served him with love in word, deed and mind, and she always looked to his wishes.
Later she found out that Yayāti had secretly fathered three sons with Śarmishṭhā. Her grief and anger were deep. She went back to her father’s house. After this, Śukrācārya cursed Yayāti with early old age. (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 9th Skanda, Chapter 18)
The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa also names Devayānī as Śukrācārya’s daughter and Yayāti’s wife, and says that Yadu and Turvaśu were born to her. From Yadu’s line came the great Yādava dynasty, which led to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa. (Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 22)
Liberation
After a thousand years, Yayāti’s desire at last came to an end. He then gave Devayānī the Yayāti Gīti. It is a teaching about a goat caught in the net of kāma (desire), and it declares that no amount of worldly pleasure can satisfy a desiring mind.
At first Devayānī thought he was mocking her. She also thought he might be speaking in a parable to soften the pain of parting. As she thought it over, the teaching entered her deeply.
She saw that the bond with father, husband and children is like the meeting of travellers at a wayside shelter. It is short-lived, made by māyā, and not finally real. She gave up all attachment to her husband, her sons and the kingdom. She fixed her mind wholly on Śrī Kṛshṇa, who is caitanya-ghana (pure consciousness) and the support of all the worlds. She dissolved her liṅgaśarīra (subtle body) and attained moksha. (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 9th Skanda, Chapter 19)
Sources
- Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 9th Skanda, Chapters 18–19
- Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 22
- Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 26–27
- Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Sambhava Parva, Chapters 71–81