"Yayaati said, 'I am Yayaati, the son of Nahusha and the father of Pooru. Thrown off from the region of Devas, of Siddhas and Rishis for having disregarded every creature, I am falling down, my Dharma having sustained a decline. In years I am older than you; therefore, I have not saluted you first. Indeed, the Brahmanas always respect him who is older in years or superior in learning or in merit of Tapas.'
"Ashtaka then replied, 'O monarch, you say that he who is older in years is worthy of regard. But it is said that he is truly worthy of worship who is superior in learning and merit of Tapas.'
"Yayaati replied to this, 'It is said that sin destroys the merits of four acts of Dharma. Ego contains the element of that which leads to hell. The people of Dharma should never follow in the footsteps of the immoral. They act in such a way that their merit of Dharma always increases. I myself had great merit of Dharma, but all that, however, is gone. I will scarcely be able to regain it even by my best efforts. Looking my fate, he that is bent upon (achieving) his own good, will certainly suppress ego. He who having acquired great wealth performs meritorious yagnas, who having acquired all kinds of learning remains humble, and who having studied the entire Vedas devotes himself to Tapas with a heart withdrawn from all worldly enjoyments, goes to heaven.
"None should be joyful in having acquired great wealth. None should be egoistic of having studied the entire Vedas. In the world, men are of different characters. Destiny is supreme. Both power and efforts are all fruitless. Knowing Destiny to be all-powerful, the wise, whatever their portions may be, should neither be joyful nor grieve. When creatures know that their happiness and sadness are dependent on Destiny and not on their own efforts or power, they should neither grieve nor be joyful, remembering that Destiny is all powerful.
"The wise should ever live contented, neither grieving at sadness nor be joyful at happiness. When Destiny is supreme, both grief and joy are unattractive. O Ashtaka, I never suffer myself to be overcome by fear, nor do I ever entertain grief, knowing for certain that I shall be in the world what the great disposer of all (God) has ordained. Insects and worms, all creatures born of eggs, all creatures existing through vegetables, all crawling animals, vermin, the fish in the water, stones, grass, wood -- in fact, all created things, when they are freed from the effects of their acts, are united with the Supreme Soul. Happiness and misery are both temporary. Therefore, O Ashtaka, why should I grieve? We can never know how we are to act in order to avoid misery. Therefore, none should grieve for misery.'
"Vaishampaayana said, "Possessed of every Dharma, king Yayaati who was the maternal grandfather of Ashtaka, while staying in the sky, at the conclusion of his speech, was again questioned by Ashtaka. The latter (Ashtaka) said, 'O king of kings (Yayaati), tell me, in detail, of all those regions that you have visited and enjoyed, as well as the period for which you have enjoyed each. You speak of the rules of Dharma like the clever masters familiar with the acts and sayings of great beings!'
"Yayaati replied, 'I was a great king on Earth, owning the whole world for my territory. Leaving it, I acquired by hard work of merit of Dharma many high regions. There I stayed for a full thousand years, and then I attained to a very high region - the Indraloka, of extraordinary beauty having a thousand gates, and extending over a hundred yojanas all round. There too, I stayed a full thousand years and then attained to a higher region still. That is the region of perfect beauty, where decay never exists, the region (Brahmaloka), viz., that of the Creator and the Lord of Earth (Lord Brahma), so difficult of attainment. There also I stayed for a full thousand years, and then attained to another very high region viz., that of the Devon ke Dev (Lord Vishnu) where, too, I had lived in happiness.
"Indeed, I stayed in various regions, adored by all Devas, and possessed of capability and splendour equal to those of Devas themselves. Capable of assuming any form at will, I lived for a million years in the gardens of Nandana (Nandana is the garden of Lord Indra) sporting with Apsaras and seeing numberless beautiful trees clad in flowery dress and sending forth delicious perfume all round. After many, many years had elapsed, while still residing there in enjoyment of perfect beauty, the divine messenger (Deva dhoota in Sanskrit) of grim face, one day, in a loud and deep voice, thrice shouted to me -- Ruined! Ruined! Ruined!
"O lion among kings (Ashtaka), this much do I remember. I was then fallen from Nandana, my merits of Dharma gone! O king (Ashtaka), I heard in the skies the voices of Devas exclaiming in grief -- Alas! What a misfortune! Yayaati, with his merits of Dharma destroyed, though Dharmic and of sacred acts, is falling! As I was falling, I asked them loudly, 'Where, O Devas, are those wise ones amongst whom I am to fall?' They pointed out to me this sacred region of yagna belonging to you. Looking the curls of smoke blackening the atmosphere and smelling the perfume of clarified butter poured constantly upon fire, and guided thereby, I am approaching this region of yours, glad at heart that I come amongst you.'"
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