Puru Gives His Youth

When four sons refused to give their father their youth — and the fifth said, take mine

Puru Gives His Youth is chapter 5 of Matsya Purana. Source: Matsya Purana, chapters 32–34. It is told in 4 scenes — Five Sons; Sudden Old Age; Puru; After a Thousand Years — followed by 10 quiz questions.

Five Sons

Two sons were born to King Yayati and Devayani, Yadu and Turvasu. The Purana says they shone with the radiance of Indra and Vishnu. Sharmishtha, too, had three sons, Druhyu, Anu and Puru. So Yayati had five sons in all.

One day Devayani went to the forest with the king. There she saw three beautiful boys at play, radiant as gods, and strikingly like the king. She asked him, "Whose children are these?" Then she asked the boys themselves, "Who are your parents?"

The boys pointed at Yayati and said he was their father, and that their mother was Sharmishtha.

Devayani at once took the children and went back to the king. Afraid of Devayani's reaction, Yayati could no longer show the boys the affection he once had, and they went weeping to Sharmishtha.

Devayani went to Sharmishtha and said, "You are a liar. You are my maid, yet you make me angry. Are you not afraid? Are you still following your Asura ways?"

"No," said Sharmishtha, "I am living by dharma, so why should I be afraid? The moment you made this king your husband, he became my lord too, as the husband of my companion. You are a Brahmin lady and older than I, so I honour you. Your husband, for that reason, deserves even more respect from me."

Devayani told the king, "I will not stay with you any longer. You have done something deeply hateful to me." And with her eyes full of tears she went to her father Shukra. The king followed and tried hard to win her back. But Devayani's eyes were red with anger, and she paid him no heed.

Sudden Old Age

On Devayani's complaint, Shukra cursed Yayati with untimely old age. The king's body grew wrinkled and thin. He could no longer enjoy life's pleasures, yet his desire for them remained as strong as ever. "I have performed so many sacrifices," he said, "and still my craving is not quenched."

He called his sons. First he said to Yadu, "Take my old age and give me your youth. After a thousand years I will give your youth back to you."

"You have other sons, dearer to you than I am," said Yadu. "Ask them."

Then Yayati asked Turvasu. Turvasu refused too. "Old age robs a man of strength, pleasure, beauty, intellect and honour," he said. "I will not take it."

Yayati put the same request to Druhyu. "In old age I could not enjoy a kingdom, or drive a chariot, or ride a horse," said Druhyu. "I will not take it."

Anu gave the same answer. "An old man eats like a child," he said, "is unclean, and cannot perform a sacrifice when he likes."

All four sons had refused. The king was very angry, and in his anger he said that no king would come from their line.

Puru

Then the king called Puru, the youngest, and made the same request. "This untimely old age has fallen on me," he said, "and my desires are not fulfilled. Take my old age and you will become the dearest of all my sons. After a thousand years I will give your youth back to you."

"Father, I will do whatever you wish," said Puru. "Fulfil all your desires. I will gladly take your old age, and do what seems best to me."

Hearing Puru, King Yayati called Shukra to mind and gave his old age to his son. Then, glad, he enjoyed himself in a young body.

But the Purana says the king did not forget his duties. In due season he gave water to the gods and ancestors, performed the *shraddha* and sacrifices, fulfilled the wishes of Brahmins, honoured his guests and protected his people. He supplied his subjects' needs like Indra. He was brave as a lion and never strayed from the path of dharma.

Meanwhile Puru ruled the kingdom in that same old body.

After a Thousand Years

When a thousand years had passed, Yayati remembered his past days. He saw that the span he had wished for was complete. "Son," he said to Puru, "a man is never satisfied with enjoyments. The more he enjoys, the more his craving grows."

He gave Puru his youth back. He took back his own old age and crowned Puru.

In the Purana Yayati told Puru, "The country between the Ganga and the Yamuna is yours. Your brothers will rule neighbouring countries under you." From Yadu came the Yadavas, and the lines of Turvasu, Druhyu and Anu also went on. And from Puru's name came the Paurava line, which later was called the Kuru line. In the Purana's words, that line's rule was to last a thousand years.

Note: This chapter follows chapters 32 to 34 of the Matsya Purana. The names of Sharmishtha's three sons are given, but the story of their birth and the harsh curses Yayati spoke on the lines of his elder sons are kept short or left out here. The translator says chapter 33 is not translated literally.

Source: The Matsya Purana — the English translation by a Taluqdar of Oudh, Sacred Books of the Hindus, vol. 17 (1916–17), Puru Gives His Youth