Yayati: A Classic Tale of Lust (26 page)

Here is that dark but lovely maiden. If you just touched her lips with yours, a thrill of ecstasy ran though your body. What utter delight her mouth was! Here is that vivacious maiden. She could teach a thing or two in the art of making love, even to the god of love.

Innumerable such figures passed before my eyes, I gathered a rich harvest of happiness in alluring glances, tender embraces and silken heads of hair. But even so, a golden-haired girl ...

‘Is Your Majesty not feeling well tonight?’ Mukulika standing by the bed, bent over to ask me.

I opened my eyes. I said angrily, ‘Where were you so long?’

‘I had gone to the palace very early.’

‘What did you find out?’

‘The Prince is free. There is great rejoicing at the palace.’

I asked in surprise, ‘The Prince is free? How?’

‘Some brave youth freed him at risk to his own life. The Prince is on his way here with his friend.’

My heart should have leapt at Yadu’s being released from captivity, but what I said was, ‘Yadu has been freed? Good.’ Was Yayati living a fuller life day after day in the last eighteen years or was he dying by inches? How much of Yayati was dead? Who, who was that whispering, ‘Yayati is alive only physically!’

Mukulika hurriedly told me, ‘Now that his penance is over the father of Her Majesty is soon coming here.’

Maharishi Shukra coming here? In which case should I go out of Hastinapur? Mukulika went on, ‘Kacha has also been invited by Her Majesty!’

She was by now very near me and whispered, ‘The Queen has decided to crown the Prince. In order to get the blessings of both Maharishi Shukra and Kacha ...’

Whatever happened I would not relinquish the throne of Hastinapur. I said, ‘Kacha also is sitting in penance.’

‘Yes, but they say that also is over.’

I smiled and said, ‘It looks as if generally the time for penance is up. So be it. My penance can also end now.’

‘What does Your Majesty mean?’

‘Fill the cup and I will tell you.’

‘In the morning ...?’

‘A maid has no business to ask questions. Your duty ends with giving me even a cup of poison, if asked for it.’

I put the cup to my mouth and said, ‘Wake me up when the golden-haired girl arrives. Till then let me sleep ... sleep.’

During those fifteen days of waiting for the full moon and the golden-haired girl another realisation kept recurring. It said, ‘Yayati, you fool, where are you going? This is the way to hell.’ I would sip a little wine and say, ‘Is it not true that Heaven and Hell are near each other?’ It would say, ‘Yes ... they border one another.’ I would reply with a smile, ‘Then why are you so afraid for me? Tomorrow, in a moment I shall quit the way to Hell and go on the way to Heaven.’

It would say: ‘You
fool, there is a barricade every inch of the border between Heaven and Hell. In man’s childhood, it is all taken down. But as he grows up man himself raises them one by one. And once closed, none of the doors can ever again be opened. Unfortunate one! Now there is only one door open to you. Don’t close it with your own hands. Listen to
me, heed me!’ This pricking consciousness I would drown in the cup.

But the nightmare I had could not be drowned:

I would first see an enormous chariot. It had six horses tethered to
it. All of them appeared to be spirited animals. The charioteer of my dream was staking his life to
rein in the steeds. But they were beyond his control. They were running at will, careering madly over pits and potholes, shattering loose the chariot in their mad rush.

Every night I dreamt thus. But on the fourteenth night:

The chariot went down a difficult bypass. On one side were towering hills. On the other a deep chasm. The finest and most spirited of the six horses took the bit between his teeth and ran amuck. He headed for the chasm. The reins broke, the whip lashed the back of the air and in no time the chariot crashed. From the abyss came a deafening roar as if the heavens had fallen.

I got up screaming ‘Shama, Shama.’ Why did I call to Sharmishtha in my dream? I felt the dream was an evil omen. Perhaps Sharmishtha was taking leave of this cruel world somewhere. I could not sleep. All night I lay in bed dead drunk, like a corpse.

The sun was setting. The full moon was coming up. The sky appeared to be thrilled with happiness, drinking from the cup of the moon. The cup in its hand tilted a little and the wine overflowed as moonlight on the earth.

Soon, Mukulika gave me the good news. With great difficulty, Mandar had found a girl with golden hair for me. Shall I find the joy of taking Alaka when I crush her golden hair in my hands?

I told Mukulika, ‘I shall not be deceived. If her hair is not golden, then you two will be beheaded. And where did you find this golden doll?’

‘Here itself.’

‘If she was found here, why was she not brought to me before? That Mandar is a fraud. You are cunning.’

‘Forgive me Your Majesty, but she is not from Hastinapur. She only came to the town today looking for her lover.’

She continued, ‘Her lover is a youth who has gone to war. Someone told her that he was coming to town today with Prince Yadu. She left her escort, an elderly lady, and came to town this morning, only to learn that the Prince was returning tonight. She was disappointed. She is very naughty. She started screaming, so we had to give her a little dope. She should come round by about midnight.’

‘Must I wait so long? Why did you give her so much dope?’

‘She was very violent, Your Majesty. There are many visitors today in the hermitage. What if some of these strangers got wise to what is happening? Also, the
courier has brought word that Maharishi Shukra will arrive at the palace at about nine. The Prince is also arriving about that time. So the preceptor thought that your Majesty will be otherwise engaged till almost midnight ...’

‘You are a fool and your preceptor is worse. I am not concerned with the Prince returning to town. Make arrangements to bring the golden-haired girl in a palanquin straightaway, without rousing suspicion.’

Looking at the girl lying unconscious on the bed, I could not make up my mind whether I was dreaming or it was in fact my Alaka that I was seeing again. She certainly had golden hair. The intervening twenty years had rolled away. I had regained my Alaka!

I was getting impatient for her. I was angry with Mandar and Mukulika. Who had asked them to give her so much dope? How can one make love to a corpse?

I did not know how late it was. I had now no desire to sip wine. I wanted just to forget everything. God knows what tomorrow will bring? Maharishi Shukra, Devayani ...

Today — here — now was the moment, the golden moment!

I could not wait. I went and stood near the girl. I bent down to kiss her golden hair. I was back again in my youth. Alaka was going to be my love tonight. That golden dream hidden in my heart for years was going to come true today.

But before I could put my lips to the golden mop of hair, Mukulika screeched from behind the door, ‘Your Majesty, please come out ... come out quickly!’

I resented the interruption but raised my head and asked, ‘Why?’

‘The Queen and Maharishi Shukra are coming. Maharishi Shukra is in a rage and is asking everybody where Your Majesty is!’

My legs gave way. The tongue went dry. Like one lying ill for a long time, I stumbled into the outer room dragging my feet.

Seeing me come in, Devayani, who was sitting on a couch, turned her head in disgust. Maharishi Shukra was pacing the floor in a rage. The room was going round and round. I leaned against the wall mirror and held myself up with difficulty.

Maharishi Shukra suddenly stopped, fixed me with his eyes for a few seconds and then in great anger said, ‘Yayati, I have not come to you in the role of a sage. Do you recognise me?’

I nodded with trepidation.

Jeering at me, he said, ‘You are under the influence of drink and not in your right senses. I am Shukra, the invincible Preceptor of the Demons, who having acquired Sanjeevani brought even the gods to their knees. I have again acquired a power as potent as Sanjeevani. I have come to inquire about my daughter’s well being and have had the misfortune to see my daughter steeped to the neck in misery. You irresponsible creature, I gave to you for safe keeping a matchless jewel, invaluable as the earth, and you threw it away as a piece of flint.’

I was scared by the wrath of Maharishi Shukra. No words would come out. In the end, I gathered all my courage to say, ‘Sire, I am guilty; I have offended against you in a hundred ways. But Devayani is equally to blame for what has unfortunately come to pass.’

On hearing this, Devayani turned round and seething with rage, said, ‘Father, did you bring me here to see for yourself how at every step insults are hurled at me? You are tired. Let us go back to the palace. Persons steeped in vice are worse than the devil.’

My anger knew no bounds and I blurted out, ‘And what about persons steeped in selfish egoism?’

Devayani got angrier. She put her hand on Maharishi Shukra’s shoulder and said, ‘Father, Yadu must by now be entering the town in state while you are with a libertine, drowned in wine and women.’

Maharishi Shukra brushed her hand away and said in anger, ‘Devayani, you are my
all. But you are a fool. You do not know the right time to do a thing. Once before you lost me the power of Sanjeevani by insisting on my bringing Kacha back to life. I shall not spare Yayati as a son-in-law. I must punish him with something which he will remember all his life ...’

Devayani said to him sweetly, ‘Setting Yadu on the throne will open his eyes. I have now no mind for any other happiness in life.’

I was burning inside at her melodrama. But Devayani intended to insult me which hurt me. I said harshly, ‘I am the King. How can Yadu be crowned without my consent?’

Maharishi Shukra intervened calmly, ‘King, I grant you your rights as the King. Has Devayani no rights as the Queen? When you accepted her hand in marriage did you not swear on oath that you will not violate the sanctity of marriage?’

‘I was unable to keep it. My youth was to blame. I fell a prey to temptation.’

‘If you were young, was Devayani old?’

‘I beg to be forgiven, Sire. I am guilty in a hundred ways.’

‘Forgiveness is only for the first offence. A confirmed criminal will not mend his ways with light punishment.’

He fell silent and was absorbed in thought. I was like one chained to a huge rock, at the mouth of a rumbling volcano!

With a disparaging look, Maharishi Shukra said, ‘Your Majesty, is it not true that you spurned Devayani and took to yourself Sharmishtha?’

‘I did not love Devayani,’ I wanted to say.

Sage Shukra raised his voice. His words sounded like the thunder of black clouds. He said angrily, ‘Had I not warned you to be careful of Sharmishtha? You broke my command ... the command of Devayani’s father ... the command of Maharishi Shukra. You must take the consequences of disobeying my command.’

‘But, Sire, youth is blind.’

‘I only wish to cure you of your blind spot. Youth is blind. It was youth that tempted you. Was it not? Then I am only going to ordain that you shall from now on lose your youth. I pray that the sinner before me, sinful Yayati, immediately turn into a decrepit old man.’

The curse left me staggered, as if I had been struck by lightning. The world swam before my eyes. My mind became a blank. When I looked into the mirror with trepidation, my face was wrinkled. My head was all covered with white hair. Standing before the mirror was a decrepit old man.

I was reminded of the golden-haired girl in the bedroom. It must already be past midnight. The girl must have come to by now. A little while ago, I had not even kissed her golden hair. Now, now — I can never kiss it again. That glamorous girl with Alaka’s face ...

I was agonised by my thoughts. Devayani was sitting at the feet of Maharishi Shukra and moaning, ‘What have you done Father?’

A ray of hope arose in my heart. I folded my hands and pleaded, ‘Sire, have mercy on me. My mind is still young. I very much want to live happily with Devayani. But what pleasure can she get in living with a decrepit old husband like me?’

Devayani intervened with a pitying look, ‘Father, I cannot bear to look at him. Make him young again.’ Maharishi Shukra said, ‘Your Majesty, the arrow of a warrior and the curse of an ascetic never go in vain. You must suffer my curse. You wish, even if belatedly, to live happily with Devayani again. I shall, therefore, pronounce a counter curse. If some young man of your own flesh and blood comes forward to exchange his youth for your old age, at your wish your old age will pass to him. His youth will come to you. But remember one thing. This borrowed youth of yours will only return to him at your death. And in no other way. You must think of me and repeat three times, “I am returning your youth” when you fall dead ...’

Devayani screamed, ‘Father what kind of a counter curse is this? This is even more terrible than the curse itself.’

Maharishi Shukra was overcome with anger and shot up from the couch. He looked angrily at Devayani and said, ‘My girl, I rushed here immediately on arrival to resolve your domestic affairs. That was a mistake. I have fondled and spoilt you a great deal since childhood. What did I gain? Insults! Nothing but insults! So far I have done what I could for you. Now I have nothing to do with you and your husband.’ Maharishi Shukra left the apartment with those words.

The two of us remained behind, a senile decrepit and a beautiful lady. Devayani was afraid to look at me. I was ashamed to show my face to her. What a queer and unseemly plight. We were in one room. But we lived in different worlds.

I heard vague sounds from the bedroom. The beautiful girl must be coming to. That golden hair of hers ...

I heard a maid saying from the doorway, ‘Your Majesty, the Prince is coming to see you.’

I saw two youths walking in. I quickly turned away. If Yadu were to see my old haggard self ...

But Yadu was my son, Yadu was of my family. He was my flesh and blood. He could take on my old age and give me his youth.

Yadu was talking to Devayani. Hearing that she had suddenly gone to Ashokavan, he had rushed here. With him was the brave youth who had freed him from captivity.

Every atom of my body was contemplating the beautiful girl in my bed. At that moment, I wanted youth. I wanted the pleasure I could get in her company only with youth. Suddenly like lightning, a thought struck me.

The two youths were taken aback on seeing me. I calmly called Yadu to me and said, ‘Yadu, do you recognise me? I am your father Yayati. Do you love your father enough to make a sacrifice?’

Devayani suddenly screamed, ‘Yadu, Yadu!’

Devayani had avenged herself on me for eighteen years. Now was my golden opportunity to wreak vengeance in return. I wished to take over Yadu’s youth and go into the inner room and come out arm in arm with that beautiful girl.

I said to Yadu, ‘I have no more wish to continue as King. You could be crowned but not only because you are my son. You see this old age on me? I came by it as the result of a curse. I am looking for a youth of my flesh and blood who is prepared to take it on himself in exchange for a kingdom. On the day of my death, he will regain his youth. Maharishi Shukra has granted me a counter curse to that effect. If you want, ask your mother if it is not true.’

Yadu was startled at my words. He drew back a little and hastened to Devayani. She took him in her arms and said, ‘Yadu, your father is off his head. Come, let us return to the palace. Leave him alone here, to admire his white hair in the mirror.’