Yayati Retires to Forest and Lineages are Named
With the succession settled, Yayati hands the kingdom to Puru and prepares to leave the world of men. As he departs for the forest with ascetics, the future takes shape: the lineages of his five sons are named, defining peoples and kingdoms for generations to come.
His work in the capital was done. Yayati gave the kingdom to Puru, accepted the vows for departing to the forest, and left his city. He was not alone. A company of Brahmanas and ascetics accompanied him as he turned his back on kingship and walked toward the life of a forest-dweller.
His departure marked not an end, but a branching. The sons he left behind would father great lineages, each known by a new name. Yadu's sons became the Yadavas. Turvasu's sons became the Yavanas. Druhyu's sons became the Bhojas, and Anu's sons the mlecchas. From Puru, the obedient son now holding the throne, would spring the Pourava lineage—the direct royal line of the Kurus.
The storyteller Vaishampayana, recounting this to King Janamejaya, made the connection explicit. "O king," he said, linking the ancient past to the listening monarch, "you yourself have been born from that Pourava lineage to rule this kingdom for a thousand years." The circle closed: Yayati's retirement set in motion the line that would eventually lead to the throne on which Janamejaya now sat.