1274 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch, 27
daurbhagyenatmano loke
visruta durbhageti sa
ya tusta rajarsaye tu
urtadat pirave varam

daurbhagyena—on account of misfortune; atmanah—of herself; loke—in
the world; vigruta—celebrated; durbhaga— most unfortunate; iti—thus; sa—
she; ya—who; tusta—being satisfied; raja-rsaye—unto the great king; tu—
but; urtd—being accepted; adat—delivered; piirave—unto King Piru;
varam—benediction.

TRANSLATION

The daughter of Time [jara] was very unfortunate. Consequently she
was known as durbhaga [ill-fated]. However, she was once pleased with a
great king, and because the king accepted her, she granted him a great
benediction.

PURPORT

As Bhaktivinoda Thakura sings: saba sukha bhagala. All kinds of
happiness disappear in old age. Consequently no one likes old age, or jara.
Thus jara, as the daughter of Time, is known as a most unfortunate daughter.
She was, however, at one time accepted by a great king, Yayati. Yayati
was cursed by his father-in-law Sukracarya to accept her. When Sukracarya’s
daughter was married to King Yayati, one of her friends named Sarmistha
went with her. Later King Yayati became very much attached to Sarmistha,
and Sukracarya’s daughter complained to her father. Consequently
Sukracarya cursed King Yayati to become prematurely old. King Yayati
had five youthful sons, and he begged all his sons to exchange their youth
for his old age. No one agreed except the youngest son, whose name was
Piru. Upon accepting Yayati’s old age, Piru was given the kingdom. It
is said that two of Yayati’s other sons, being disobedient to their father,
were given kingdoms outside of India, most probably Turkey and Greece.
The purport is that one can accumulate wealth and all kinds of material
opulences, but during old age one cannot enjoy them. Although Piru
attained his father’s kingdom, he could not enjoy all the opulence because
he had sacrificed his youth. One should not wait for old age in order to
become Krsna conscious. Due to the invalidity of old age, one cannot make
progress in Krsna consciousness, however opulent he may be materially.
