Mahabharata – 120

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                   Aadivamsavatarana Parva

The great king Yayati was cursed by the great brahamin Sukracharya.Consequently Yayati was over powered by senility & debility. But Sukracharya told Yayati that Yayati could transfer his debility to anyone who has youth for the latter’s youth, provided Yayati worshipped Sukracharya with all his heart. Overcome with old age & debility, Yayati returned to his capital.

Yayati summoned his eldest son, most accomplished Yadu, & told him Oh my child! Because of the curse of Sukracharya I am suffering from old age.  Debility & wrinkles and whiteness of hair have  overcome me. But I have not been yet satisfied with the pleasures of youth. Therefore Oh Yadu!, take this my old age, debility &  let me enjoy with your youth  the worldly joys. And when a  thousand years pass by I will  return  you your  youth &  I shall take back my weakness & old age.

"Yadu replied, 'There are innumerable inconveniences in, old age & debility in respect of eating & drinking.Therefore, Oh king, I shall not take your old age & debility. The hair on the beard & head would be white, & nerves would be relaxed, wrinkles would spread all over the body. Deformities, weakness of the limbs, wasting away, incapacity to work, defeat at the hands of friends and companions--these are the consequences of old age. Therefore,O king! I desire not to take your old age. Oh king! You have many other sons. Some of them are dearer to you. Ask them  to take your old age.

Yayati replied, 'You have sprung from my heart, Oh son!, but you are not willing to give me your youth. Therefore, your children shall never be kings.'

And he then continued, addressing another son of his, 'Oh Turvasu!Take  this weakness of mine along with my old age. With your youth, I like to enjoy the pleasures of life. After completion of  thousand years I shall give back to you your  youth, and take back from you my weakness  & old age.'

Turvasu replied, --- Oh Father! I do not like to take old age, as  it takes away all appetite and enjoyments, strength and beauty of  a person, intellect, and even life.

Yayati said to him, --- You have sprung from my heart, Oh Turvasu! But you are not willing to give me your youth. Therefore, your race would be extinct. Oh foolish one!,You will be the king of barbarians. Their customs will be arbitrary.They will eat raw meat.They will pay no heed to the caste system.In fact they will be out of the pale of the caste system.They might cohabit with the wives of their superior.They might have sex with animals.They will liken the beasts.In other words, you will be the king of the outcast.

Yayati, thus cursed his son Turvasu. Then, Yayati addressed Sarmistha's son Drahyu,O Drahyu,! Take  for  thousand years my old age and give me your youth. After thousand years, I shall return you your youth and take back my own weakness, & old age.

 To this Drahyu replied, 'Oh king!,Old persons can never enjoy elephants, chariots,horses & women. Even his voice becomes cracked.Therefore, I do not desire to take your old age.

 Yayati said to him, 'You are sprung from my heart, but you refuse to give me your youth. Therefore, your most cherished desires shall never be fulfilled. You shall be king only by name, in such a region where there are no roads for horses and cars and elephants, and good vehicles, and asses, and goats and bullocks and palanquins. And the region that you will rule is only accessible by swimming or by rafts or boats.

Yayati next addressed Anu and said --- Take my weakness & old age  & I shall with your youth enjoy the pleasures of life.'

To this Anu replied,that the old aged persons do eat like children & like the lowly  people.They cannot pour ghee into the sacrificial  fire in proper time. Therefore, I do not like to take your  old age.

Yayati said to him, 'You are sprung from my heart, but you are not willing to  give me your  youth. You find so many faults in old age. Therefore, old age shall overcome you! And your  progeny also shall die as soon as they will attain their youth. And you shall also not be able to perform fire sacrifice.'

"Yayati thus refused by the four sons cursed them all.At last he turned to his youngest child,Puru,thinking that Puru would never refuse him.And Yayati said to him, 'You are my dearest youngest son.But you will be the first of all. Old age wrinkles, and whiteness of hair have come over me in consequence of the curse of Sukracharya.However, I have not yet, been satisfied with my youth.Oh Puru! Take  my weakness & old age .And with your youth I shall enjoy for some years the pleasures of life. And on completion of thousand years, I shall give back to you your youth and take back my own old age & debility.'

'Thus addressed by the king, Puru answered immediately with obedience, 'I shall do, what you ask me to do. I shall take,your weakness & old age. Take  my youth &  enjoy the pleasures of life to your heart’s content. Accepting your old age  & becoming old, I shall, act as per your  commands, & continue to live.'

Yayati then said, 'Oh Puru! I have been much satisfied with you. And being delighted, I tell you that the people in your kingdom shall have all their desires fulfilled.'

And having said this, the great king Yayati, then meditating on  Sukracharya, transferred his old age  to the body of the high-souled Puru.

This conversation between Yayati & his sons is revealing on many counts. Firstly sex is not a taboo in the Mahabharata society. Secondly Youth or old age are not the essential qualities of the body.Just as now a days heart can be transplanted, similarly youth & old age can be transferred in the Mahabharata society. In other words youth & old age are like clothes.You can don them or doff them at your will.Thirdly king Yayati had five sons.Who would inherit his throne?Here the sons were tested.The boy who was ready to give away his youth to his father in exchange of father’s old age was no doubt  the most competent one to rule a kingdom of a civilised people.Because one who is ready to give away his every thing for the welfare of the people deserves the throne.The other children of Yayati would be kings no doubt.But they would rule countries where looting the banks or looting the employees are the rule.In other words a king rules a kingdom  or is awarded a kingdom in consonance with his mind set.Fourthly Yayati speaks of different countries & cultures.There might be a country where moral values are ignored. There might be a country where one could reach by boats.In modern times such countries could flourish like Singapore or Hongkong or Maldives.But islands did not have an edge over other countries during the times of the Mahabharata.Fifthly although apparently Sukracharya was  greatly fond of his daughter,in fact his decrees helped Sarmistha Her son would be the king. Sukracharya was omniscient. He knew that as you sow so do you reap.