Devyani's marriage

One Devyani with Sharmistha, went to a forest and played around. Yayati was passing by. Seeing Devyani, the king asked her who she was. She said was Devyani and introducing Sharmistha, she said this was her hand maiden. She then wanted to know who he was.

When she learnt that this was the same king who had rescued her from the well, she said as he had held her by her right hand, he needed to marry her.

The king said he knew that she was the daughter of Shukra, a great brahmin priest and he did not dare to marry her. Devyani said the marriage would take place with her father's blessings.

Shukra came and met Yayati. He gave away his daughter to the king. Sharmistha, as the hand maiden went along with Yayati to Hastinapur, wshere Yayati lived.

After some time Devyani gave birth to son who was named Yadu. One day Yayati happened to pass by the place where Sharmishtha lived. Seeing him, Sharmishtha confessed that she too was in love with the king and wanted him to marry her. She told him that she belonged to a royal family, and Yayati could marry her. Yayati agreed and they wed in secret.

Soon after Sharmistha gave birth to a son. When Devyani heard this, she wanted to know with whom Sharmistha had slept and how she had a child. Sharmistha said she had been given a boon by a sage to have a child, thus she had given birth.

In time, Devyani gave birth to another son - Tuvravasu. Sharmistha had three sons totally - Druhyu, Anu and Puru.

Devyani believed that these were the sons of Sharmistha and a sage.

The boys began growing up.

Devyani and Sharmistha

Janmajeya wanted to know about Devyani and what happened to her.
The sage continuing said :
One Devyani along with her friends and the pricess Sharmistha went for a bath in the river nearby. Taking their clothes off and keeping it on the banks, the women entered the waters and stared playing in the water. A wind blew suddenly, and all clothes on the bank were blown off. The girls realizing got off and wore what they could recognize as theirs. Sharmista and Devyani's clothes got mixed and they ended up wearing each other's clothes.
Devyani seeing Sharmista wearing her clothes got angry and said as a daughter of a lower caste (Devyani was the daughter of a priest, so considered herself higher than all) how dare she touched the clothes.
A quarrel ensued. Sharmistha said it was because of her father that Devyani and her father were alive. The quarrel took the form a fist between the two. Sharmisthain anger, pushed Devyani  into a ditch and went away, not bothering to see whether Devyani  was dead or alive.

Yayati, son of Nahusha, was around that area for hunting. Feeling thirsty, he and his courtiers started searching for water and found a lady fallen in a ditch.The courtiers reported back to the king that they had seen a deep ditch and had seen a beautiful woman stuck there.

The king coming there asked her, who she was. She said she was Devyani, daughter of Shukra and requested the king to get her out of the ditch. Taking the girl's right hand, the king pulled her out and went off to his land.

Coming out, Devyani told a friend that she was ashamed of being in the same land as Sharmitha, and did not want to go to her home. She asked the friend to inform her father.

Shukra hearing this came and saw his daughter, eyes full of tears, sitting in the forest. Shukra, when he heard all that had happened, told her to let go of her anger. Anger would destroy all, it would not give rise to any good.

Shukra went to Vrishaparva, the asura king, whose daughter, Sharmistha had pushed his daughter. Shukra said, because of the behavious of Sharmistha, he would leave the land and leave forever. Vrishaparva wasted no time and went to Devayani taking his daughter Sharmistha along. He begged forgiveness for his daughter. Devayani agreed to return on one condition that Sharmistha be her handmaiden for the rest of her life. Sharmistha agreed for the sake of her father.