However, in the Kuru line, the eldest son rule was not applied every time. It was the most qualified, most competent son who had ruled many times even earlier. Two of the most famous examples are Shantanu, Bhishma’s father, and Yayati himself.
Yayati wanted to relive his youthful days and he approached his sons to exchange their youth for his old age. His oldest son was Yadu, who refused to do so. It was finally his youngest son, Puru, who agreed. Pleased with the son’s obedience Yayati made Puru the ruler of his lands. Even after Yayati’s lifetime, it was Puru, the youngest, who ruled the kingdom, thus breaking the ‘eldest son rules’ norm.
A second famous king was Shantanu, Bhishma’s father. He made Bhishma, his son from Ganga and his eldest son, his heir. But Bhishma’s vow made him only a protector and never a king. Here too, the oldest son of the king did not rule.
However, even Shantanu himself was not the eldest son of the king. His older brother was Devapi. According to some texts, Devapi went away to the forest and Shantanu took over. According to others, Devapi had some handicap that made him ineligible for the throne and hence Shantanu took over. Whichever version we take, the story goes that Shantanu later approaches Devapi, asking him to come back and become king. Devapi refuses and that’s when Shantanu decides to stay on as king.
The Kuru family did not strictly follow the ‘eldest son rules’ norm and so Duryodhan’s argument was baseless. There are many more reasons why Yudishtir had a right to rule Hastinapur but we’ll see those in another blogpost.
