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Devayaanee was the daughter of Daitya Guru Shukraachaarya. Shukraachaarya had two daughters - Devayaanee and Arajaa.

Devayaanee and Kach
Kach was the son of Dev Guru Brihaspati. Whenever Devtaa and Daitya fought, Daitya's Guru Shukraachaarya used to revive the dead Daitya with his Mrit Sanjeevanee Vidyaa. This was a great loss to Devtaa, because then it used to be useless to kill Daitya. So they went to their Guru and stated their problem. After a long consultation it was decided that their Guru would send his son Kach to learn this Vidyaa from Shukraachaarya Jee. So on the request of Devtaa he sent his son Kach to learn Sanjeevanee Vidyaa (to bring the dead alive) from Shukraachaarya Jee. When Kach arrived in Shukraachaarya's Aashram, he expressed his wish to be his disciple. Shukraachaarya Jee asked him - "Who are you?" Kach replied - "I am Brihaspati's son and I have come here to be your disciple." Although Shukraachaarya Jee understood why he might have come there, but considering Brihaspati his brother, he accepted him as his disciple. And Kach started living there as his disciple. He used to tend his cows everyday.

Shukraachaarya Jee had a daughter named Devayaanee. Kach used to serve her too very well. As a result she fell in love with him. She used to care for him a lot. She saved his life three times from Daitya.

In fact Daitya did not like that Shukra should teach their enemy's son, but since Kach was his brother's son, he could not have refused him. When Kach approached him to be his disciple, he accepted him on the condition that he would test him for 1,000 years. Kach agreed and started living with him. Once Daitya killed him while he went to tend the cows in the forest and Shukra had to bring him alive. Next time they killed him in the same conditions but Shukra again brought him to life at the request of Devayaanee. The third time, they burnt him and offered his ash in liquor to Shukra to drink. Shukra drank it. When Kach did not come back from grazing the cattle, Devayaanee again asked her father to look for him.

Shukraachaarya went out and called him in a loud voice - "O Son Kach, Where are you?" Kach called back from his stomach - "Guru Jee, I am in your stomach." and told the whole story of his killing and Shukra Jee drinking his ash in liquor. Now Shukraachaarya Jee was in a flux, but Devayaanee suggested that as she also knew Sanjeevanee Vidyaa, let him come out of her father's stomach and when her father would die, she would bring him to life. Shukraachaarya Jee did the same. When Devayaanee was reviving her father, Kach also learnt it.

Note
At other place it is written that when Devayaanee requested her father to revive him, he said to her that he then had to teach him Sanjeevanee Vidyaa. Love sees no condition, and Devayaanee said - "Whatever it is, I want Kach back." Since Shukraachaarya Jee loved his daughter very much, he taught the Mrit Sanjeevanee Vidyaa to Kach. Kavch came out bursting the stomach of his Guru and then revived his Guru with that Vidyaa.

After Kach was brought to life, Devayaanee asked him to marry her. But Kach's objective was not to marry her. So when she proposed him for marriage, he refused her saying that he had never looked at her with this desire; and since he came out from Shukra's stomach, she was his sister and he could not have married her at any cost. This made Devayaanee angry and she cursed him that he would not be able to use his Vidyaa what he came to learn for for himself. Kach was not worried at this, he also cursed her that since she had cursed him without any good reason, she would not be able to marry any Braahman. He further said - "Even if I will not be able to use it myself but at least he I will be able to teach it to others so that they can use it.' and he went away. After returning from here, he taught that Vidyaa to his people so that they could bring Devtaa alive died in Dev-Asur war.

Devayaanee and Sharmishthaa
Shukraachaarya Jee was the Purohit of Daitya King Vrishparvaa. King Vrishparvaa had a daughter named Sharmishthaa whom he loved very much. Devayaanee and Sharmishthaa were very good friends too. Once both went out for fun with their other friends and maids. There they saw a beautiful pond, so they entered the pond and started playing in it. At the same time Naarad Jee came towards that side, so all girls came out from the pond and started wearing their clothes. In hurry, Sharmishthaa wore Devayaanee's clothes. As Devayaanee could not find her clothes, and saw Sharmishthaa wearing her clothes, she started abusing her that how did she dare to wear her clothes. Her status was higher than Sharmishthaa.

Sharmishthaa asked for her forgiveness, but Devayaanee's heart did not soften. Both started quarreling. Sharmishthaa thought that when she has already asked her forgiveness then why she should be so angry with her. She threw Devayaanee in a dry well and came back home. When Devayaanee had come out of the well, (read how Devayaanee came out of the well below "Devayaanee and Yayaati") she came home and told everything to her father. Her father also got very angry and he left the Purohitship of Vrishparvaa and house too.

At this King Vrishparvaa came to please him and asked for his forgiveness. Shukraachaarya said - "I will be happy only when my daughter is happy." On asking how she would be happy, Devayaanee said - "I want that when I am married, Sharmishthaa should go with me as my maid with her 100 maids." When Vrishparvaa told this to his daughter, although she was not ready to agree with this but, she agree upon it considering her bad time.

Devayaanee and Yayaati
When Sharmishthaa had threw Devayaanee in the dry well, she cried a lot and tried to find some way to come out of the well, but the well was deep, she could not have climbed up. Still she did not leave the hope and she shouted "Help, Help" from there intermittently. By chance Raajaa Yayaati was out in the forest for hunting on that day. He got thirsty, so he looked for a well. He found a well. That well was dry but he found a girl in that dry well. She was without clothes. So he threw his cloth to cover herself and took her out. She was Devayaanee - the daughter of Daitya Guru Shukraachaarya. Daitya Raaj Vrishparvaa's daughter Sharmishthaa had pushed her in this well out of a quarrel. After coming out of the well she said to the King - "Hey Raajan, I don't want that anybody else should see me in this condition in which you have seen me here, so I request you to marry me." Yayaati knew that this marriage was not according to Dharm but he took it as his destiny and he married her.

As Devayaanee married to Yayaati, according to the condition, Sharmishthaa also went with her along with her 100 maids. At the time of marriage, Shukraachaarya warned Yayaati not to take Sharmishthaa to his bed. As the time went by, Devayaanee had a son. When Sharmishthaa came to know about it, she also expressed her desire to have a child from Yayaati. Yayaati considered her request justified and gave her a child. After a while Devayaanee had three sons from Yayaati and Sharmishthaa had two sons from him.

When Devayaanee came to know about this she got angry and went to her father's house and told him everything. Shukraachaarya Jee said to Yayaati - "When i asked you not to take Sharmishthaa t bed then why did you take her there? Now I cannot do anything. For me my daughter is everything. I curse you that you should become old." Yayaati reminded him that it would affect his daughter also. At this Shukraachaarya's heart softened and he relaxed his curse to that "he could exchange his old age wih somebody's youth, if at all somebody is ready to give his youth to him."

Yayaati came back to his kingdom with a sad heart, called his eldest son Yadu and told him the whole account. He also told him that he would give his kingdom to that son who would exchange his youth with his old age. Yadu clearly refused to do it so Yayaati cursed him that he and his descendents will never rule the kingdom. His other three sons also refused to comply with his request. But his youngest son Puru (Sharmishthaa's son) said - "Father, Son is the reflection of his father. If the son did not help his father in his bad times, that son's life is useless. I am ready to exchange my youth with your old age." Hearing this Yayaati got very pleased with him, and exchanged his old age with his youth.

After this he enjoyed his life for long time. Later he got tired and realized that pleasure is not in enjoying them, but in abandoning them. So he returned his son's youth to him, took back his old age, appointed Puru the king of his kingdom and went to forest. His both wives also went with him.

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