THE CURSE OF PARIKSHIT

Janamejaya was a pious and dharmic prince of Hastinapura who ascended to the throne upon the death of his father Parikshit. He was the grandson of Abhimanyu and the great-grandson of Arjuna, the valiant warrior hero of the Mahabharata. Though he was successful as a young king and the people of his kingdom loved him, he felt a void in his life every time he thought about his father and why his father had been taken away from at such a young age. He decided to investigate further into this and called upon the Raja Guru to tell him tales about King Parikshit to soothe his mind and attain peace. Little did he know he was unravelling the mystic stories of his ancestors.

King Parikshit was the lone descendant of the Pandavas after the Kurukshetra war and was still a fetus in the womb of Uttarakumari-wife of the deceased warrior Abhimanyu when the cruel hearted Ashwathama (son of Dronacharya) used the Brahma-Astra weapon on Uttarakumari to destroy the entire lineage of the Pandavas to finish what his father and the Kauravas started before the 18 day Kurukshetra war. Sensing this deadly weapon coming her way Uttarakumari was startled and frantically started thinking who is the only one who could save her from the impending disaster. The next moment Lord Krishna was at her doorstep. She fell to the Lord's feet begging him to protect the baby inside her even if he couldn’t save her. But we all know all Lord, who saved both the mother and the child from harm’s way. Ever wondered why Krishna himself came willingly to save Uttarakumari and the baby boy without even being called upon?? Well, Krishna explains, that the day Draupadi called upon him when Dushasana was rogue with her as “Govinda” even though her 5 husbands, father in law, mother in law and Pitamah Bheesma were all in the same room, he was indebted not only to her but to protect her entire family was his duty. 

While Parikshit was suffering from the scorching heat of Ashwathama’s brahmastra within his mother’s womb, he could see the Supreme Lord coming to his rescue. The Lord appeared in a four-armed form that was the size of a thumb. His beautiful body was very blackish and His dress was a dazzling yellow. Adorned with a golden helmet and earrings, the Lord was continually wielding His club in a circular motion, to dispel the radiation of Ashwathama’s brahmastra, just as the sun dissipates the morning dew. Actually, the embryo within Uttara’s womb had been burnt by the brahmastra, but being the supreme magician, the Lord instantly provided Parikshit with a second body. Then, as the wonder-struck child looked on, the Lord suddenly disappeared. Since the child had been protected by Vishnu in his form as Krishna, the brahmanas proposed that he should be named Vishnurata, protected by Vishnu. Whenever the child met someone, he tested to see if the person he had just met was indeed the person whom he had seen inside the womb. The word for test is pariksha, thus Vishnurata came to be popularly known as Parikshit. 

Parikshit was a great and just king who looked after his subjects well. He was considered to be the personification of goodness and nobody could match him in valor. He had no enemies and neither did he feel enmity towards anyone for he was a pure unalloyed devotee of the supreme personality. But they say Kali (the form of Kali Yug) ruins the mind of even the best of our men .Once he was on a hunting trip when he aimed at a deer but the deer, although hit managed to escape. Parikshit followed it deep into the forest but was unable to locate it. He was sixty years old and the deer chase had made him hungry and tired. As he was wandering in the woods alone looking for food he came across a Rishi in deep meditation and who had taken the vow of silence. Parikshit, who did not know this, asked him where he could find food and shelter. The ascetic did not answer the king. The king was tired and very hungry and ascetic was being rude. To insult the ascetic he picked up a dead snake by the tip of his bow and laid the dead snake on the shoulders of the silent Rishi. The ascetic did not speak even after that and the king, who was by now very tired left for his kingdom. The ascetic was called Rishi Shameek and he had a son named Shringi. Shringi was a great ascetic and had great powers. When he heard that King Parikshit had insulted his father while he was under a vow of silence, he was very angry. He took some holy water in his hand and cursed King Parikshit. He said that the poisonous snake Takshakanan would bite the man who insulted my innocent father and put a dead snake on his shoulders, within seven days. Thus cursing, Shringi went to his father and narrated the whole incident to him. Rishi Shameek was not pleased to hear what his son had done. He knew the deep meaning of what Parikshit had done. So he sent his most intelligent pupil, Gaurmukh to Parikshit to warn him of the impending danger and to protect himself in any way that he can. King Parikshit listened and accepted his fate without an argument. The King the next seven days on the banks of river Ganga, surrounded by Brahmanas learned in the Vedas. Six days passed in this manner, with the King listening to the recitations of the Vedas and Puranas and prayed to attain moksha (salvation).

On the seventh day as the serpent Takshakan was coming to bite Parikshit, he met a Brahman called Kashyap on his way. Takshakan asked the Brahman where he was going in such a hurry. The Brahman replied that he was going to the court of Parikshit because he could save him from the poison of Takshakan. Takshakan was surprised at the confidence of this Brahman and told him that he was Takshakan and there was no one in the world who could save the man whom he had bitten. The Brahman smiled and said that he could prove that he had an antidote for the poison of Takshakan. So Takshakan tried to test him. He bit a green tree and within seconds the tree was turned into ashes as the poison of Takshakan was so strong. The Brahman chanted a few mantras and the tree was back to life as lush green as before! Takshakan was amazed to see the power of the Brahman. He asked the Brahman whether he was going to Parikshit's court hoping for rewards. The Brahman said that he hoped to get a lot of wealth from Parikshit if he could bring him back to life. Takshakan said that he would give the Brahman even more than he expected to get from Parikshit and that he should go back. The Brahman took the wealth from Takshakan and went back happily from where he had come. Now the coast was clear for Takshakan. Takshakan assumed his form as a great serpent. He then entwined himself around the hapless king, and sunk his great fangs in Parikshit's neck. As was to be expected, the King fell down dead; charred by the potency of the snake's venom. Later Janmejaya was crowned the king.

The ministers having told the story to Janmejaya asked him to do whatever he deemed fit. Janmejaya asked the ministers how they were so sure of the story of the Brahman Kashyap and of how he revived the tree. The ministers told him that unknown to both Takshakan and the Brahman, there was a man sitting in the branches of the tree that Takshakan had killed with his poison. The man had also died when the tree was burnt to ashes due to the poison and revived when the Brahman read his mantras. He had heard the whole conversation of Takshakan and the Brahman and he had later related the whole story to the ministers. Janmejaya was incensed and filled with a desire to avenge his father's death. He decided to do something to punish the snakes for having killed his father by performing the “Sarpa Yagya”.

Next Up: Janamejaya Yagya