Ashtaka

As the cursed king Yayati plummets from heaven, the righteous king Ashtaka sees a radiant form descending like a second sun. He intercepts the fall with questions, reassurance, and a promise: here, among the righteous, even a fallen god is safe.

Yayati, a king who once rivaled the gods, is plummeting from the celestial worlds. He lands at the sacrificial ground of King Ashtaka and explains that disrespect cost him his place in heaven. He then recounts the unimaginable pleasures he enjoyed and the terrible moment he heard the decree of his fall.

Ashtaka finds the great King Yayati, who fell from heaven after a million years, and asks him why he had to leave. This begins a profound dialogue where Yayati explains the mechanics of merit, the terrifying fall into hell, and how the dead are reborn into new bodies on earth.

Ashtaka asks the wise King Yayati how different kinds of people—householders, forest-dwellers, mendicants, and celibate students—should live to reach the gods, noting that many teachers disagree. Yayati provides a detailed map of each path, describing the specific conduct that leads to success in this world and the next.

King Yayati, cast out of heaven and falling to earth, is intercepted by King Ashtaka. He explains his fall and answers questions on dharma, but when Ashtaka offers him his own heavenly worlds to stop the descent, Yayati refuses. A second king, Pratardana, makes the same offer, and Yayati refuses again, upholding a king's code.

Yayati, having fallen from heaven for his pride, is found by his grandsons Ashtaka, Vasumana, and Shibi. Each offers him their own heavenly worlds as a gift or a sale, but Yayati refuses them all, insisting he cannot accept what he has not earned. His unwavering righteousness moves them to a different kind of rescue.