King Yayati

Quick Facts

About King Yayati

A great king of the lunar dynasty. He married Devayani and Sharmishtha and was cursed with premature old age.

In Their Words

I am not yet satiated with youth.

King Yayati

Traits

• Ambitious
• Pleasure-seeking
• Ancestor

Stories Featuring King Yayati

17 tales on this site name King Yayati, in canonical reading order.

• Ancient BeginningsThe Earth's Plea, the Descent of the Gods, and the Sages Who Began the TellingAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Ancestors of the EpicsYayati, Devayani, and SharmishthaAdi Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Four Ways to Spend a LifeYayati, falling out of heaven, answers Ashtaka on the asramas and the road to BrahmaAdi Parva ‧ 19 min
• What the Blind King Was ToldDuryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it startedSabha Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Measure of a King's GivingThree short tests of what a gift is worthVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Golden PloughThe sacrifice a king held because the one he wanted was forbidden himVana Parva ‧ 18 min
• Amaravati, City of IndraThe capital of heaven in the epicVana Parva
• Madhavi Chooses the ForestAt her own swayamvara she passes over every king and takes the woods for a husbandUdyoga Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Kings Who Were Passed OverDhritarashtra reads his son the family's own record of elder sons who never got the throneUdyoga Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Oath of a Bereaved FatherThe house of Bahlika ends in a single nightDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Boon Somadatta Asked ForA wrestling match at Devaki's self-choice, and the son born a generation later to answer itDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Kingdom Poured on the FireA sage is mocked with dead cattle and burns a realm with themShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• Three Doors and Fifty WomenThe son of Vyasa is made to walk, and then made to waitShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The King Who Was Left AloneVyasa tells Yudhishthira of Hayagriva, who fought robbers after his army was gone and won heaven at his postShanti Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Fourfold Religion of CompassionBhishma on abstaining from meat, and the kings who kept the vowAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Line of YaduHow the Harivamsa Traces Krishna's AncestryHarivamsa

Places in King Yayati's Story

Drawn from the stories King Yayati appears in.

• Vrishaparva's Capitalवृषपर्वपुरी
• Pratishthanaप्रतिष्ठान
• Brahmalokaब्रह्मलोक
• Naimisharanyaनैमिषारण्य
• Chediचेदि
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Mathuraमथुरा
• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Indraprasthaइंद्रप्रस्थ
• Kambojaकम्बोज
• Pragjyotishaप्राग्ज्योतिष

Related Characters

Others counted among the Kuru Dynasty.

• ✦Pritha (Kunti)
• ✦King Dushyanta
• ✦Shakuntala
• ✦Emperor Bharata (Sarvadamana)
• ⚔︎Bhishma
• ∵Drona