Arun outwits the sadhu, reclaiming his stolen youth with modern ingenuity.

Arun, feeling decades older after his fateful encounter with the sadhu, couldn’t shake the story of the ancient King Yayati from his mind. According to the Mahabharata's *Adi Parva*, the *Bhagavata Purana*, and the *Matsya Purana*, Yayati had once been cursed with old age by Shukra, the powerful sage, after taking Sharmishtha as his mistress. Devayani, Shukra’s daughter, had been furious at Yayati’s betrayal, and her father’s curse made him old in the prime of his life. However, the story didn’t end there. Yayati, unwilling to accept his fate, was later allowed to exchange his old age with one of his sons, Puru, thus regaining his youth and vitality. 

Arun, well-versed in these ancient scriptures, found inspiration in Yayati’s story. If Yayati could find a way to reverse his ageing, why couldn't he? The hope of regaining his youth flickered in Arun’s heart as he decided to take action. It wasn’t just a myth—it was a strategy. Arun knew that the sadhu had stolen his youth in some modern, twisted way, but if he could uncover how, he could reverse it, just like Yayati had done ages ago.

With this ancient wisdom in mind, Arun sought out Samaranand for help. They both knew that in today's world, cunning and strategy were as essential as divine intervention had been for Yayati. And just like Yayati had relied on his son Puru, Arun would need allies—Samaranand’s street-smart Babulal and the tech-savvy Soumya—to get back what was stolen from him. 

Fueled by the conviction that his youth could be restored, Arun set out on a mission that was less about fate and more about modern-day smarts, all while carrying the legacy of Yayati’s redemption deep in his heart.

With the story of King Yayati echoing in his mind, Arun embarked on his mission to reclaim his stolen youth. He knew the road ahead was perilous, but the ancient tale had given him both hope and direction. If Yayati could overcome his curse, Arun could outsmart the devious sadhu who had drained him of his vitality. His first step was to reconnect with Samaranand, who wasted no time assembling his team—Babulal, the wily street operator who could navigate through the underworld of fake ashrams, and Soumya, the tech genius who could break into any system with just a few keystrokes.

Samaranand laid out the plan. The sadhu’s ashram in Rishikesh was flourishing—an empire built on the deception of young, desperate souls who unknowingly exchanged their youth for fleeting moments of luxury. The sadhu, disguised as a young man himself, was known to offer "miracle" treatments to the super-rich, extracting the life force from his unsuspecting victims to keep his high-paying clients youthful and radiant. Arun’s only chance to reverse his condition was to steal back what the sadhu had taken from him, and that required uncovering the secret behind the sadhu’s alchemical trickery.

Under Samaranand’s orders, Babulal went undercover as a potential customer, a man willing to pay any price for eternal youth. While he distracted the sadhu, Soumya infiltrated the ashram’s security systems and discovered that the sadhu wasn’t relying on spirituality alone. In a hidden laboratory, Soumya found files detailing a chemical formula that, when mixed with the victim’s blood, could reverse the aging process. This was the secret behind the sadhu’s youth—he had been using his victims as living reservoirs of vitality, draining their life force and bottling it for his wealthy clients.

Soumya hacked into the system, retrieving all the necessary data, including the chemical formula. It wasn’t easy—the lab was heavily guarded, and Soumya had to evade multiple layers of security, but he finally cracked it. The next step was equally crucial. They needed to reverse-engineer the formula so Arun could reclaim his youth. Samaranand coordinated with a trusted chemist who recreated the potion but altered it to work in Arun’s favor.

In a tense final move, Arun confronted the sadhu, injecting himself with the modified formula. For a moment, nothing happened, but then, just like in Yayati's story, the years began to melt away. His wrinkled skin smoothed, his muscles regained their strength, and the energy of his youth returned. The sadhu, realizing what had happened, tried to flee, but it was too late. Arun, now younger and stronger, had already called in the authorities, exposing the sadhu’s fraudulent empire.

The operation was a success. Arun, like King Yayati before him, had reclaimed his youth, not through magic, but through modern ingenuity and clever strategy. The sadhu’s empire was dismantled, and Arun stood as a living testament to the power of persistence, proving that even when all seems lost, there's always a way to fight back.

Arun looked in the mirror, the youthful reflection that greeted him a stark contrast to the weary man who had first approached Jogen with his problem. He had outwitted the charlatan and reclaimed his life, leaving behind not only the marks of aging but also the fear that had once consumed him. The lessons of King Yayati lived on, but this time, the victory was not just mythical—it was real.

As Arun gazed at his youthful reflection, a thought crossed his mind—the prediction that had once haunted him, that he wouldn’t live past 50. It seemed almost laughable now. He had spent years chasing miracles, believing his fate was sealed, only to discover that life had its own unpredictable twists. In that moment, Arun realized that no prophecy, no horoscope, could dictate a man’s destiny. It wasn’t some mystical force that shaped his future—it was his own choices, his will to fight back. The future wasn't written in the stars; it was forged by his own hands.