Tormented by suffering and finding no comfort anywhere, King Janamejaya sought refuge with the wise and venerable sage Shaunaka, the foremost among Brahmins. Shaunaka, understanding the king’s plight, guided him to perform the great Ashvamedha sacrifice for his purification. As the ritual concluded and the king took his ceremonial bath, the ominous iron smell that had troubled him vanished. Then, the king’s divine chariot—once a prized possession—came under the control of the lord of Chedi. This chariot had a storied history: Indra, pleased with Brihadratha, had gifted it to him, and from Brihadratha, it passed to King Barhadratha. Later, Bhima, the delight of the Kauravas, slew Jarasandha and, out of affection, presented the excellent chariot to Vasudeva. In ancient times, King Yayati, after conquering the earth with its seven continents and oceans, divided his vast kingdom among his five sons, O descendant of Nahusha. Yayati set his eldest son Yadu in the eastern direction, and established Puru as king in the center. To the southeast, he placed Turvasu. By these sons, the entire earth with its continents and cities was governed. Even today, the people of those regions are protected according to their allotted territories, upheld by righteousness. Now, O best of sages, listen as their descendants are recounted. Burdened by old age, Yayati laid down his bow and arrows and, accompanied by five heroic men, entrusted his responsibilities to his kinsmen. Having set aside his weapons, the lord of the earth wandered the land; the undefeated king Yayati became content. Having divided the earth, Yayati approached Yadu and said, “Take my old age upon yourself, my son, in exchange for another deed. With your youthful form, I would roam this earth, having placed my old age upon you.” Yadu replied, “A request has already been promised by me to a Brahmin; without fulfilling that, O king, I will not accept your old age. There are many faults in old age, caused by eating and drinking; therefore, O king, I am not able to accept your old age. You have many sons, O king, dearer to you than I; choose another son, O knower of dharma, to accept it.” Yayati, filled with anger at Yadu’s refusal, reproached his son: “What other ashram do you have, or what other dharma is prescribed, that you disregard me, O foolish one, when I am your teacher?” Then, in his anger, Yayati cursed Yadu: “You shall be without sovereignty over your people, O fool; there is no doubt.” In the same manner, Yayati spoke to Druhyu, Turvasu, and Anu, but they too rejected his request. Enraged, the undefeated Yayati cursed all four of his elder sons, as has been fully related. Finally, Yayati spoke the same words to Puru: “If you approve, I would travel this earth in your youthful form, having placed old age upon you.” The mighty Puru accepted his father’s old age, and Yayati, taking Puru’s youth, roamed the earth. That best of kings, seeking the end of desire, enjoyed himself with Vishvachi in the Chaitraratha forest. When he was satisfied with pleasures and enjoyments, Yayati returned his old age to Puru. There, O best of sages, Yayati sang verses teaching the withdrawal of desires, as a tortoise draws in its limbs: “Desire is never quenched by enjoyment of objects; like fire fed with ghee, it only grows stronger. All the rice, barley, gold, cattle, and women on earth are not enough for one man who has not mastered himself. When one does no evil in thought, word, or deed toward any being, then one attains Brahman. When one neither fears others nor causes fear, and neither desires nor hates, then one attains Brahman. That thirst which is hard to abandon by the foolish, which does not age with the aging, which is a disease ending life—happiness comes to one who abandons it. Hair ages with the aging, teeth age with the aging, the desire for wealth and life ages not, even as one ages. All the pleasures of the world and even the great divine joys are not worth a sixteenth part of the happiness from the cessation of thirst.” Having spoken thus, the royal sage Yayati entered the forest with his wife, and for a long time performed great austerities. At the end of his austerities, the illustrious one reached the summit of Bhrigutunga, abandoned his body without eating, and attained heaven with his wife. In his lineage were five eminent royal sages, O best of sages, by whom the whole earth was pervaded like the rays of the sun. Now I will recount the lineage of Yadu, honored by kings, in which Narayana, Hari, the glory of the Vrishni clan, was born. One who always listens to this account of Yayati, O best of twice-born, becomes healthy, prosperous, long-lived, and renowned. And now, O Suta, we wish to hear in truth the lineage of Puru, as well as that of Druhyu, Anu, Yadu, and Turvasu, each separately.