After laying aside his weapons and relinquishing the burdens of kingship, the mighty Yayati, lord of the earth, wandered the land in contentment. The undefeated king, once so powerful, found peace in his new way of life. Having divided his kingdom among his sons, Yayati approached his eldest, Yadu, with a request: “My son, take my old age upon yourself in exchange for another deed. With your youthful form, I would roam this earth, having placed my old age upon you.” Yadu listened and replied, “Father, I have already promised a boon to a Brahmin. Until I fulfill that promise, I cannot accept your old age. Besides, old age brings many faults, brought on by eating and drinking. I am not able to accept it, O king. You have many sons, dearer to you than I; choose another son, O knower of dharma, to take this burden.” Hearing Yadu’s refusal, Yayati was filled with anger. The king, foremost among speakers, reproached his son: “What other ashram do you have, or what other dharma is prescribed for you, that you disregard me, your teacher, O foolish one?” Thus rebuking Yadu, the king, in his wrath, cursed him: “You shall have no sovereignty over your people, O fool; there is no doubt.” Yayati then turned to his other sons—Druhyu, Turvasu, and Anu—and made the same request. But each in turn refused him, and the king, rejected by them as well, cursed them just as he had cursed Yadu. Having thus cursed all four of his elder sons, Yayati approached his youngest, Puru, and spoke: “If you approve, my son, I would travel this earth in your youthful form, having placed my old age upon you.” Puru, of great strength, accepted his father’s old age without hesitation. Yayati, now restored to youth, roamed the earth as he wished. The best of kings, seeking to exhaust all desires, delighted himself with Vishvachi in the Chaitraratha forest. When, at last, he was satisfied with pleasures and enjoyments, Yayati returned his old age to Puru. There, O sages, Yayati sang verses of wisdom, teaching the path of withdrawal from desire, just as a tortoise draws in its limbs. He spoke: “Desire is never quenched by the 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 harms no being in thought, word, or deed, one attains Brahman. When one neither fears others nor causes fear, when one neither desires nor hates, then one attains Brahman. That thirst which the foolish cannot abandon, which does not age with the aging, which is a disease ending life—happiness comes to the one who abandons it. Hair ages, teeth age, but the desire for wealth and life does not age, even as the body grows old. All the pleasures of this world and even the great joys of the gods are not worth a sixteenth part of the happiness found in the cessation of thirst.” Having spoken thus, the royal sage entered the forest with his wife, and for a long time performed great austerities. At the end of his penances, the illustrious Yayati reached the summit of Bhrigutunga, abandoned his body without eating, and ascended to heaven with his wife. In his lineage arose five eminent royal sages, who spread across the earth like the rays of the sun. Now, let me recount the lineage of Yadu, honored by kings, in which Narayana, Hari, the glory of the Vrishni clan, was born. Whoever, O best of twice-born, listens to this account of Yayati becomes healthy, prosperous, long-lived, and renowned. Then, the sages asked Suta, “Tell us in truth the lineages of Puru, Druhyu, Anu, Yadu, and Turvasu, each separately.” Suta replied, “Hear, O best of sages, the lineage of Puru, the great soul, as I recount it from the beginning, in order. Puru’s son was the mighty king Suvira. Suvira’s son was Manasyu, and Manasyu’s son was the king named Abhayada. Abhayada’s son was Sudhanvan, a king; Sudhanvan’s son was Subahu, and Subahu’s son was Raudrāśva. Raudrāśva had ten sons: Daśārṇeya, Krkaṇeya, Kakṣeya, Sthaṇḍileya, Sannateya, Ṛceya, Jaleya, Sthaleya the mighty, Dhaneya, and Vaneya. He also had ten daughters: Bhadrā, Śūdrā, Madrā, Śaladā, Maladā, Khaladā, Viprā, Naladā, Surasā, and Gocapalā. These daughters, including Gocapalā and Strīratnakūṭā, were married to a sage born in the lineage of Atri, named Prabhākara. From Bhadrā, he begot a son, the illustrious Soma, during a time when the sun, struck down by Svarbhānu, was falling from the sky to the earth. When the world was overcome by darkness, it was this Soma who brought forth light; and the falling sun, saying, ‘May there be well-being for you,’ spoke thus. By the word of that sage among Brāhmaṇas, the sun did not fall from the sky to the earth. The great ascetic Atri thus established the foremost lineages.