Shloka 34
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 85: Āṣṭaka–Yayāti संवादः
Merit-Exhaustion, Rebirth, and the Critique of Pride
एवमुक्त्वा ययातिस्तु स्मृत्वा काव्यं महातपा: । संक्रामयामास जरां तदा पूरो महात्मनि,ऐसा कहकर महातपस्वी ययातिने शुक्राचार्यका स्मरण किया और अपनी वृद्धावस्था महात्मा पूरुको देकर उनकी युवावस्था ले ली
evam uktvā yayātis tu smṛtvā kāvyaṁ mahātapāḥ | saṅkrāmayām āsa jarāṁ tadā pūro mahātmani ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Après avoir parlé ainsi, le grand ascète Yayāti se souvint de Kāvya (Śukrācārya). Alors il transféra sa propre vieillesse au noble Pūru et, en échange, prit la jeunesse de Pūru.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between personal desire and dharma: even a powerful king and ascetic can seek to evade the consequences of aging, but doing so shifts the burden onto another—making consent, duty, and the moral cost of indulgence central concerns.
After speaking, Yayāti invokes/recalls Kāvya (Śukrācārya) and performs a supernatural transference: he gives his own old age to his son Pūru and takes Pūru’s youth for himself.