What do do when death calls?

The King's Anger, A Brahmanas Curse,

 and the Appearance of Shukadeva

Suta explained, “Again the king asked him for water, but the sage sat there, inert. How was it possible that the sage ignored the King of Hastinapura, the grandson of Arjuna, the heir of Yudhisthira, Mahārāja Parīkṣit himself? No seat, no water, no words of welcome came from the forest sage who sat in meditation. This was an insult to the king’s pride! Overcome by thirst, and exhaustion, the king became enraged.

Suta said, “Mahārāja Parīkṣit found a dead snake near the tree, and picking it up with his bow, he placed it on the sage’s shoulder of the sage. Then he returned to his palace.”

Anger is not the true companion of an enlightened soul. Even great souls become indignant with injustice. Even a saint may express outrage at lies, cheating, and sin.

Jesus Christ was famously outraged at the money-lenders in the temple of Jerusalem. And yet, anger is not the normal course for a saint. With wisdom comes compassion, and compassion overcomes anger. In the Bhagavad-gita, when asked about the cause of sin, the Lord reminds Arjuna that sin is a product of attachment and desire: “It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world. (kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ....BG 3.37) Anger is the enemy of enlightenment. Krishna also says, “Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me-and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me. (BG 4.10 vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ)” Unfulfilled desires and attachment lead to lust and anger. To free oneself from anger, one should learn how to forgive. Mahārāja Parikṣita was certainly an advanced soul, but he was temporarily overcome with anger, when he was hungry, thirsty and insulted. For such a great king to become angry and envious, especially at a sage and brāhmaṇa, was highly unusual, since he knew that it was wrong to punish brāhmaṇas and sages. As a king, it was within his power to punish a subject for coldly receiving him or neglecting him, but because the culprit was a sage and a brāhmaṇa, his behavior was unprecedented. It may be considered that he was acting under the influence of the age of Kali, but from another point of view, his behavior was ordained by a higher power. The only justification for Mahārāja Parīkṣit's behavior is that it was ordained by the Lord in order that the Bhagavat would be revealed in his conversation with Śukadev. Not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Lord.

Even so, Mahārāja Parkīkṣita soon recovered his composure.

On his way home, he repented his foolish actions, done in pride. He realized that he had acted improperly and prayed to the Lord for forgiveness. But he knew that the reaction would come. Even a king should not offend an innocent brahmana, a sage meditating in the forest. His insult of the sage would bode no good.

Suta continued: “Now that forest sage had a son, Shringi, a teenage boy. By dint of his yoga practice, he had developed great mystic powers. When he returned to his father’s ashram, he found his father decorated with a dead snake, still deep in his trance of meditation.

“Brahmans are the leaders of society,” thought Śringi, “where kings are like our dogs. Having no intelligence of their own, they can only follow our orders. This King Parīkṣit is a dog and should be punished for what he has done. I must protect my father with my mystic power.” Knowledge is power. But a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, especially in the hands of an inexperienced boy.

Suta said, “And so it was that that immature son of a ṛṣi, his eyes red with anger, touched the water of the River Kauśika and cursed that noble King, saying ‘On the seventh day from today a snake-bird will bite that most wretched king Parīkṣit for this insult.’”

“Hearing this, the ṛṣi, awoke from his trance of meditation and saw the dead snake on his shoulder. Throwing the dead snake aside he saw his son and asked what was the matter, whereupon the boy explained how he had cursed the King.

“The ṛṣi shook his head. He began to repent, saying: ‘Oh no, my boy! You have misused your powers. You have given a terrible punishment for a petty offense. Your education is incomplete. You are young and green. You have no idea what you’ve done.’

“When this king dies, justice will be abolished. We shall enter into kali-yuga, the age of quarrel. After the death of this good king the whole world will be filled with thieves and murderers. There will be great social disruptions. War will become commonplace. There will be no respect for women. Animal slaughter will become commonplace. This is on your head. The golden age is finished. Society will fall from the path of a progressive civilization and varnashram dharma. Barbarism will be driven by money and sensual pleasure. In the end a bestial society on the level of dogs and monkeys will reproduce like animals.

“My son. You fool. Parīkṣit is a pious king, a saint amongst royalty, and he has performed many horse sacrifices. When such a king is tired and fatigued, being stricken with hunger and thirst, he does not at all deserve to be cursed. The ṛṣi prayed to the Godhead to pardon his boy, since great souls are so forbearing that even though they are defamed, cheated, cursed, disturbed, neglected or even killed, they are never inclined to avenge themselves.”

Suta said, “In this way, the sage lamented the offense made by his son. But it was too late. The king knew the power of a brahmana’s curse. And his death by snake-bite had already been foretold. He knew the curse had been an act of God, and took it as the Lord’s mercy.

Suta continued, “And so it was that the great Mahārāja Parīkṣita, son of Abhimanyu, decided to prepare himself for death, having been cursed by a brahman.”

Suta said, “In this way, Mahārāja Parīkṣit sat down firmly on the banks of the Ganges to concentrate his mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, rejecting all other practices of self-realization. The Ganges is mixed with the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna and tulasī leaves, blessing the three worlds.

“The king sat on the banks of the Ganges to fast until death, knowing that he would die from a snake-bite within the week. He accepted the vows of a sage, having given charge of his kingdom over to his son. In this way, renouncing his kingdom and all his wealth, he focused his mind on the Supreme in meditation.

“The news traveled. It was proclaimed far and wide through traveling brahmanas and celebrated in song that the king in his final hours was prepared for death. All great seers of truth, gurus, rishis, yogis and their followers, all saints and sages, all who bless the holy places by their presence, began to arrive.

“From different parts of the world great sages came to see the king and counsel and bless him before his death. There was Atri the Rishi. Cyavana Muni was there as was Śaradvān. The sages Ariṣṭanemi, and Bhṛgu. Even the great Vasiṣṭha, Parāśara, and Viśvāmitra were there along with Aṅgirā. The great and fearful Paraśurāma himself had come.”

Suta continued, “Among the saints and sages that had assembled were Utathya, Indrapramada, Idhmavāhu, Medhātithi, Devala, Ārṣṭiṣeṇa, Bhāradvāja, Gautama, Pippalāda, Maitreya, Aurva, Kavaṣa, Kumbhayoni.”

“The greatest of these was Krishna Dvaipāyana, Vyāsadeva himself and his spiritual preceptor Nārada, who had inspired him. 

They were both in attendance at what would be the first recital of Vyāsa’s new work. But Vyāsa himself would not read the work. The task would be left to his son, Śukadeva, who was not long in arriving.

“Besides these great souls were also many other divine and powerful beings, great kings and princes.

“When all these important persons gathered to meet the king, he received them with respect and bowed before them as they seated themselves.

“At that time the King, joining his hands in respectful prayer, told those great souls of his determination to fast until the end.

He said: We are blessed by all the great souls who have come here. I will soon meet my fate in the form of a brāhmaṇa’s curse. This is the Lord’s mercy so that I shall give up my attachments to this material world.

The king said, “O brāhmaṇas, please accept me as a completely surrendered soul, and let mother Ganges, the representative of the Lord, also accept me in that way, for I have already taken the lotus feet of the Lord into my heart. Let the snake-bird — or whatever magical thing the brāhmaṇa created — bite me at once. I only desire that you all continue singing the deeds of Lord Viṣṇu.”

The king said, “Again, offering obeisances unto all you brāhmaṇas, I pray that if I should again take my birth in the material world I will have complete attachment to the unlimited Lord Kṛṣṇa, association with His devotees and friendly relations with all living beings.”

Suta said, “At that time Mahārāja Parīkṣit, seated on a straw mat sat facing the north on the southern side of the Ganges. All the gods praised the King’s actions, beat the heavenly drums and showered flowers over the earth.

The sages there also praised the king, saying,

“O best of kings, It is not surprising that you renounce your throne,decorated with the helmets of kings, to achieve eternal association with the Godhead, Bhagavan Śṛī Kṛṣṇa. We shall all wait here until the foremost devotee of the Lord, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, returns to the supreme abode of Kṛṣṇa, which is completely free from all mundane contamination and lamentation.”

In this way, the sages spoke the truth in sweet words, full of meaning. And after this, the king wanted to hear of the activities of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Sweet Absolute, the Personality of Godhead.

He directed himself to the great spiritual teachers present there and said, “O trustworthy brāhmaṇas, I now ask you about my immediate duty. Please, after proper deliberation, tell me of the unalloyed duty of everyone in all circumstances, and specifically of those who are just about to die.”

At that moment there appeared the powerful son of Vyāsadeva, who traveled over the earth disinterested and satisfied with himself. He did not manifest any symptoms of belonging to any social order or status of life. He was surrounded with women and children, and he dressed as if others had neglected him.