the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters of the ninth canto of the Bhagavata Purana. Yayāti's father, Nahusha, is transformed into a python by a curse uttered by the sages, as punishment for his arrogance. Yayāti's elder brother, Yati, is initially given the kingdom, but turns it down, and instead becomes an ascetic. Yayāti then becomes king in his place and rules the earth. He appoints his four younger brothers to rule the world's cardinal directions. Marriage One day, Sharmishtha, daughter of the daitya king Vrishaparvan, and Devayani, daughter of Shukracharya, go with Sharmishtha's retinue to bathe in a forest pool not far from their home. While they bathe, Indra transforms himself into a strong wind, collecting their clothes upon the stream's banks, and depositing them in a heap. In the ensuing confusion, the two women accidentally don each other's clothes. In the quarrel that ensued, Sharmishtha throws the naked Devayani into a well, and leaves the forest with her retinue. Later, Yayāti, son of Nahusha, chanced upon the pool after hunting, and helps Devayani to climb out of it, before returning to his kingdom. Devayani sent her maid, Ghurnika, to her father, and informed him about the quarrel. Shukra is enraged, and to placate him, Vrishaparvan agrees to offer a thousand maids, along with his daughter Sharmishtha, to serve Devayani. Some time afterwards, Yayati meets Devayani again, and the two fall in love. After Shukra offers his consent, the two marry. When Devayani moves to Yayati's palace after her marriage, Sharmishtha, now her maidservant, also goes along. Shukracharya, however, sternly warns Yayati never to have sex with Sharmishtha. Curse After a long while, Sharmishtha comes to Yayāti, and requests him to give her a child. He refuses, stating that if he were to do so, he would face the wrath of Shukracharya. Nevertheless, Sharmishtha manages to convince him, saying that it would be against dharma if he were to refuse her request; he being the king, it was his responsibility to ensure the needs of the citizens, and she is desperate to have a child. He reluctantly agrees, and they begin an affair, in the hopes that she would conceive. In due course, Devayani gives birth to two sons: Yadu and Turvasu, while Sharmishtha begets three sons: Druhyu, Anudruhyu, and Puru. Eventually, Devayani learns of her husband's affair with Sharmishtha, and complains to her father. Enraged at his son-in-law's disobedience, Shukracharya