01.083
indra uvāca॥
Indra said.
sarvāṇi karmāṇi samāpya rājan; gṛhān parityajya vanaṃ gato 'si. tat tvāṃ pṛcchāmi nahuṣasya putra; kena asi tulyas tapasā yayāte ॥01-83-1॥
O king, having fulfilled all your duties and having renounced household life, you have gone to the forest. Therefore, O son of Nahusha, O Yayati, I ask you: by what penance are you your equal? (01-83-1)
yayātir uvāca॥
King Yayāti said;
nāhaṃ devamanuṣyeṣu na gandharvamaharṣiṣu। ātmanastapasā tulyaṃ kañcitpaśyāmi vāsava ॥01-83-2॥
O Indra, I do not see anyone among gods and men, nor among gandharvas and great sages, who is equal to myself in austerity. (01-83-2)
indra uvāca॥
Indra said.
yadāvamaṁsthāḥ sadṛśaḥ śreyasaśca; pāpīyasaścāviditaprabhāvaḥ. tasmāllokā antavantastaveme; kṣīṇe puṇye patitāsyadya rājan ॥01-83-3॥
When you disregarded your equals, superiors, and even those inferior whose greatness was unknown, therefore these your worlds, having an end, have fallen today as your merit is exhausted, O king. (01-83-3)
yayātir uvāca॥
King Yayāti said;
suraṛṣigandharvanarāvamānāḥ; takṣayaṃ gatā me yadi śakra lokāḥ। iccheyaṃ vai suralokād-vihīnaḥ; satāṃ madhye patituṃ devarāja॥01-83-4॥
O king of the gods, if, because I have insulted gods, seers, gandharvas, and men, the worlds of Śakra are lost to me, then deprived of the heavenly world, I would indeed wish to fall among the virtuous. (01-83-4)
indra uvāca॥
Indra said.
satāṃ sakāśe patitāsi rājan; chyutaḥ pratiṣṭhāṃ yatra labdhāsi bhūyaḥ. evaṃ viditvā tu punaryayāte; na te'vamānyāḥ sadṛśaḥ śreyasaś ca ॥01-83-5॥
O king, having fallen in the presence of the virtuous and lost your standing, where you have now again regained your position—knowing this, O Yayati, do not despise your equals and those who are noble. (01-83-5)
vaiṣampāyana uvāca॥
Vaiṣampāyana said.
tataḥ prahāyāmararājajuṣṭā; npuṇyāṃllokānpatamānaṃ yayātim. samprekṣya rājarṣivaro'ṣṭakast; muvāc saddharmavidhānagoptā ॥01-83-6॥
Then, as Yayati was falling after leaving the meritorious worlds enjoyed by the king of the immortals, the eminent royal sage Ashtaka, protector of true dharma, saw him and spoke.
kastvaṃ yuvā vāsavatulyarūpaḥ; svatejasā dīpyamāno yathāgniḥ. patasyudīrṇāmbudharāndhakārā; tkhāt khecarāṇāṃ pravaro yathārkaḥ ॥01-83-7॥
Who are you, young man, having a form equal to Indra? You shine with your own radiance like fire. As you move, dispersing the darkness of lofty clouds, you outshine all who move in the sky like the sun. (01-83-7)
dṛṣṭvā ca tvāṃ sūryapathāt patantaṃ; vaiśvānarārkadyutim aprameyam। kiṃ nu svid etat patatīti sarve; vitarkayantaḥ parimohitāḥ smaḥ ॥01-83-8॥
Having seen you falling down from the sun’s path, possessing an immeasurable brightness like that of fire and the sun, all of us, pondering what indeed this could be that is falling, were completely bewildered. (01-83-8)
dṛṣṭvā ca tvāṃ viṣṭhitaṃ devamārge; śakrārkaviṣṇupratimaprabhāvam। abhyudgatāstvāṃ vayam-adya sarve; tattvaṃ pāte tava jijñāsamānāḥ ॥01-83-9॥
Seeing you standing on the path of the gods, possessing majesty equal to Indra, the Sun, and Viṣṇu, we have all come here today to you, wishing to learn the truth about your downfall. (01-83-9)
na cāpi tvāṃ dhṛṣṇumaḥ praṣṭum agre; na ca tvam asmān pṛcchasi ye vayaṃ smaḥ. tat tvāṃ pṛcchāmaḥ spṛhaṇīyarūpaṃ; kasya tvaṃ vā kiṃnimittaṃ tvam āgāḥ ॥01-83-10॥
We did not have the courage to question you at first; nor do you ask us who we are. Therefore, you with your attractive form, we ask: whose are you, and for what purpose have you come? (01-83-10)
bhayaṃ tu te vyetu viṣāda-mohau; tyajāśu devendra-samāna-rūpa. tvāṃ vartamānaṃ hi satāṃ sakāśe; nālaṃ prasoḍhuṃ balahāpi śakraḥ ॥01-83-11॥
Let your fears and the confusion of dejection depart; quickly abandon them, you who are like Indra in form. Even Indra himself, the destroyer of force, would not be able to endure you when you are here among the virtuous. (01-83-11)
santaḥ pratiṣṭhā hi sukhacyutānāṃ; satāṃ sadaivāmararājakalpa. te saṅgatāḥ sthāvarajaṅgameśāḥ; pratiṣṭhitastvaṃ sadṛśeṣu satsu ॥01-83-12॥
Good people are truly the support of the unhappy; among the virtuous, they are ever like Indra himself. By their association, they become rulers over all things mobile and immobile; you are firmly established among your peers, among the good. (01-83-12)
prabhur agniḥ pratapane bhūmir āvapane prabhuḥ। prabhuḥ sūryaḥ prakāśitve satāṃ ca abhyāgataḥ prabhuḥ॥01-83-13॥
Fire is powerful in burning, the earth is powerful in containing, the sun is powerful in shining, and among the virtuous, he who approaches is powerful. (01-83-13)
