Puru - The Obedient Son Yayati, the son of Nahusha, was an ancestor of the Pandavas. He was married to Devayani, the daughter of Sukracharya, the preceptor of the asuras. However, Sarmishtha, the daughter of the asura king Vrishaparva, and a rival of Devayani, also fell in love with him, and they secretly got married. Yayati had two sons from Devayani – Yadu and Turvasu; and three sons from Sarmishtha – Druhyu, Anu and Puru.
One day, Devayani suddenly discovered her husband’s secret marriage with her arch rival, and was furious. She rushed to her father, complaining about her husband’s infidelity. Sukracharya was a powerful sage who loved his daughter very much. Saddened by her predicament and angry with his son-in-law, Sukracharya cursed Yayati that he would lose the youth and strength he was so proud of. Immediately, Yayati grew prematurely old.
Stricken with old age in the prime of youth, Yayati begged for forgiveness, reminding the sage that he had once rescued Devayani. The sage relented, and told him that while the curse could not be revoked, he could exchange his old age with anyone who would agree to give him his youth in return.
While Yayati had grown prematurely old, his desires had not abated, and he found himself with the cravings of his natural age in the body of an old man. Eager to revert to his normal appearance, he returned to his kingdom, trying to find someone to exchange his age with. However, he was unable to find anyone who would agree to such a deal, and he turned homewards, hoping that one of his five young sons would help him out.
He first went to his oldest son, Yadu, and asked him to exchange his youth with his old age, but Yadu flatly refused! “People will laugh if they see me so old! You have four more sons whom you love more dearly than me. Why don’t you go and ask them?” he said.
Next, Yayati went to Turvasu, who said, “Father, I do not want to grow old so soon. Please excuse me. Ask one of your other sons.” 61