King Yayati was the son of Nahush and a descendant of Soma–dynasty. He was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and had contributed a lot in the propagation of Vaishnava–dharma. Yayati had sent many emissaries in all directions to propagate Vaishnava–dharma. During Yayati’s reign his subject were prosperous and were free from any kind of sorrow. Peace prevailed everywhere and people did not experience any natural calamity like draught or famine.
King Yayati enjoyed an unbelievably long life of one lakh years. He was blessed with eternal youth and his appearance was enough to give an inferiority complex to a young man. All this, he had attained by the virtue of his supreme devotion towards Lord Vishnu. Indra was very scared of Yayati’s increasing popularity and feared that if his virtuosity remained intact, he would very soon become the ruler of heaven. Indra instructed Kamadeva and Rati to find some means so that king Yayati could be enticed by human weaknesses like lust and infatuation.
Kamadeva, accompanied by other Gandharvas went to Yayati’s palace and sought his permission to stage a play. Yayati gave his permission and the play commenced. Rati appeared on the stage as a beautiful woman and was successful in corrupting the thoughts of Yayati. Yayati became so enchanted by Rati’s beauty that he lost his senses and fell down unconscious. Finding the time opportune ‘Vriddhavastha’ (deity of old age) and ‘Kamadeva’ entered Yayati’s body. This way the deities were successful in their designs and now the signs of old-age started to become evident in Yayati.