Indra, the mighty wielder of a hundred sacrifices, retained his position as king of the gods. However, after the noble Raji ascended to heaven, his sons, prompted by the sage Narada and following tradition, approached Indra, their father’s friend and spiritual son, and requested that he grant them the kingdom. Indra did not yield to their request. But Raji’s sons, being stronger, defeated Indra and themselves assumed his position as lord of the three worlds. A long time passed with Indra thus deprived of his share in the sacrifices of the three worlds. Seeing Indra alone and bereft, Brihaspati, the wise priest of the gods, spoke to him. Indra pleaded, “At the very least, give me a piece of the sacrificial cake, even if it is only the size of a jujube fruit, for my nourishment.” Brihaspati replied, “Had you asked me earlier, what would I not have done for your sake?” Then Brihaspati assured him, “In just a few days, I will restore you to your own position.” With this resolve, Brihaspati performed a sacred ritual to bewilder the minds of Raji’s sons and to increase Indra’s strength. Ensnared by delusion, Raji’s sons abandoned righteousness and turned away from the Vedas. Thus weakened, they were destroyed by Indra, who, with his power restored by his priest, reclaimed his place in heaven. It is said that one who hears of Indra’s fall and restoration will not suffer misfortune or wickedness. Meanwhile, Rambha remained childless. Kshatravriddha’s line continued: his son was Pratikshatra, whose son was Sanjaya, then came Vijaya, followed by Yajnakrit, Harshavardhana, Sahadeva, Adina, Jayasena, Samhuti, and finally Kshatradharma—these are the descendants of Kshatravriddha. Now, let us turn to the lineage of Nahusha. Nahusha had six mighty and valiant sons: Yati, Yayati, Samyati, Ayati, Viyati, and Kriti. Yati did not desire the kingdom, so Yayati became king. Yayati took as his wives Devayani, the daughter of Ushanas, and Sharmishtha, the daughter of Vrishaparvan. Because of a curse from Kavi, Yayati was afflicted with old age before his time. By the favor of Shukra’s words, Yayati was permitted to transfer his old age. He approached his eldest son, Yadu, and said, “Because of your mother’s great curse, old age has come upon me prematurely. By her grace, I may transfer it to you for a thousand years, so that, satisfied with pleasures, I may enjoy your youth.” When told, “You must not refuse this,” Yadu did not wish to accept old age. Angered, Yayati cursed him: “Because of you, your descendants will not inherit the kingdom.” Yayati then turned to his other sons—Druhyu, Turvasa, and Anu—offering to give them his old age in exchange for their youth, but each refused and was in turn cursed. Finally, he spoke to Puru, the youngest son of Sharmishtha. Puru, devoted to his father, bowed respectfully and said, “This is a great favor to us,” and nobly accepted old age, giving his own youth to his father. With youth restored, Yayati enjoyed pleasures as he wished, in accordance with righteousness, time, and his own strength, and governed his subjects well. He delighted in the company of Vishvaci, and each day his mind became more absorbed in desires, thinking, “I will reach the end of my cravings.” Yet, day by day, he found pleasures ever more delightful. He realized, “Desire is never satisfied by enjoyment; like fire fed with ghee, it only grows. Even all the rice, barley, gold, cattle, and women on earth are not enough for a single man. Therefore, one should abandon excessive craving. When a person harbors no ill will toward any being and sees all with equal vision, all directions become pleasant for him. That craving, which does not age even as the body ages, is hard to give up for those of misguided mind. The wise, by abandoning it, are easily fulfilled. As a person ages, his hair and teeth grow old, but the desire for wealth and life never ages. Even after a full thousand years, with my mind attached to pleasures, my craving only increases. Therefore, abandoning this craving, fixing my mind on the divine, and becoming free from attachment and possessiveness, I will wander with the deer in the forest.” Having thus resolved, Yayati took old age from Puru and returned youth to him. He anointed Puru as king and departed for the forest to practice penance. He assigned Turvasa to the southeastern region, Druhyu to the west, Yadu to the south, and Anu to the north, making them rulers of their respective regions. After anointing Puru as lord of all the earth, Yayati went to the forest. Now, hear of the descendants of Yadu. Kroshṭu, the son of Yadu, had a son named Dhvajinīvan. From Dhvajinīvan came Svāti; from Svāti, Ruśaṅku; from Ruśaṅku, Citraratha. Citraratha’s son was Śaśibindu, who became a universal monarch and lord of fourteen great treasures. Śaśibindu had a hundred thousand wives and as many sons. Among them, the six principal sons were Pṛthuśravāḥ, Pṛthukarmā, Pṛthukīrtiḥ, Pṛthuyaśāḥ, Pṛthujayaḥ, and Pṛthudānaḥ. Pṛthutamaḥ was the son of Pṛthuśravāḥ. From him came Uśanā, who performed a hundred horse sacrifices. Uśanā’s son was Śitapūrṇa; his son was Rukmakavaca, and then Paravṛt. Paravṛt had five sons: Rukmeṣu, Pṛthujyāma, Aghavālita, and Harita. Even today, the verse about Jyāmagha is sung: of all those who have wives, whether living or deceased, Jyāmagha was the best. He was the king and husband of Śaivyā. His wife Śaivyā was childless, and though he longed for offspring, out of respect and fear he did not take another wife. Once, in a fierce and tumultuous battle filled with chariots, horses, and elephants, Jyāmagha fought and conquered all his enemies. The defeated foes, abandoning their sons, wives, relatives, troops, and wealth, fled their lands in all directions. As they fled, the king saw a royal maiden, her wide eyes trembling with fear, crying out in distress, “Save me, save me, father, mother, brother!” Seeing her, the king’s heart was filled with affection. He thought, “For me, who am childless and whose wife is barren, fate has now brought this jewel of a maiden as the cause of offspring.