I have not yet
however, been satiated with my youth. O Puru, take thou this my weakness
and decrepitude! With thy youth I shall enjoy for some years the pleasures
of life. And when a thousand years have passed away, I shall give back to
thee thy youth and take back my own decrepitude.'
"Vaisampayana said, 'Thus addressed by the king, Puru answered with
humility, 'I shall do, O monarch, as thou bidest me. I shall take, O king,
thy weakness and decrepitude. Take thou my youth and enjoy as thou listest
the pleasures of life. Covered with thy decrepitude and becoming old, I
shall, as thou commandest, continue to live, giving thee my youth.' Yayati
then said, 'O Puru, I have been gratified with thee. And being gratified,
I tell thee that the people in thy kingdom shall have all their desires
fulfilled.'
"And having said this, the great ascetic Yayati, then thinking of Kavya,
transferred his decrepitude unto the body of the high-souled Puru.'"
SECTION LXXXV
(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'The excellent monarch Yayati, the son of Nahusha,
having received Puru's youth, became exceedingly gratified. And with it he
once more began to indulge in his favourite pursuits to the full extent of
his desires and to the limit of his powers, according to seasons, so as to
derive the greatest pleasure therefrom. And, O king, in nothing that he
did, he acted against the precepts of his religion as behoved him well. He
gratified the gods by his sacrifices; the pitris, by Sraddhas; the poor,
by his charities; all excellent Brahmanas, by fulfilling their desires;
all persons entitled to the rites of hospitality, with food and drink; the
Vaisyas, by protection; and the Sudras, by kindness.
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