नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम्
देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयम् उदीरयेत्
महाभरत
Mahābharata
As retold by
Michael Dolan, B.V. Mahāyogi
Suta said, "That enlightened son of Vyas, Sukadev himself, in turn spent a week instructing the
king on the meaning of life and narrated the entire story of the Bhagavat
before the king and assembled sages and nobles of the court.
"It is told that the king took precautions against snakes, even going so far as to install himself in a tower, well-guarded by day and night against snakes. And within the tower there dwelled brahmans skilled in the use of medicine and herbs, who had all the known andidotes against snakebite. And in that tower, expert mystics intoned poison-neutralising mantras to protect the king.
"It is told that the king took precautions against snakes, even going so far as to install himself in a tower, well-guarded by day and night against snakes. And within the tower there dwelled brahmans skilled in the use of medicine and herbs, who had all the known andidotes against snakebite. And in that tower, expert mystics intoned poison-neutralising mantras to protect the king.
DEATH OF PARIKSIT: TAKSAKA
Suta said, "And one day an apple was delivered to him by a
Naga disguised as a brahman."
"When the king bit into the fruit a tiny worm appeared from the apple. Some say the king laughed and said, 'Here is the serpent who will kill me,' while holding the tiny little worm up for inspection. In an instant the worm grew to his full size, a terrifying serpent. It was none other than Takshaka himself, powerful lord of the Nagas."
"When the king bit into the fruit a tiny worm appeared from the apple. Some say the king laughed and said, 'Here is the serpent who will kill me,' while holding the tiny little worm up for inspection. In an instant the worm grew to his full size, a terrifying serpent. It was none other than Takshaka himself, powerful lord of the Nagas."
Suta said, "Having transformed himself into a gigantic cobra, Takshaka sank his fangs into the king, injecting him with hot venom. As the venom coursed through his veins, the great King Pariksit, remembering Krishna, knew his time had come and left his mortal frame for the upper world. The body of that once invincible king fell stone dead.
The brahmanas there were baffled with fright, and so the wily Taksaka quickly made good his escape through a window, slithering down the creeper vines that grew on the palace walls. And, shrinking in size, the snake-bird Takshaka quickly flew from there. He moved quickly, and concealing himself in the tall grass disappeared into the dark forest.
The brahmanas there were baffled with fright, and so the wily Taksaka quickly made good his escape through a window, slithering down the creeper vines that grew on the palace walls. And, shrinking in size, the snake-bird Takshaka quickly flew from there. He moved quickly, and concealing himself in the tall grass disappeared into the dark forest.
Suta said, "With this, the reign of Pariksit, grandson of the great warrior Arjuna, came to an end. Only a child at the time, Janamejaya was installed upon the throne. He was schooled in the arts of war, married, and ruled in peace.
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| Janamejaya Maharaja |
"As time passed and the king it so happened that one day a
sage came to the court of King Janamejaya and narrated the tragic story of
Pariksit’s cruel death at the hands of Takshaka.
"And hearing this story the monarch was moved and began to squeeze his hands in anger. His breath was hot and he wept tears of rage to hear the tale. And finally, he said: “'Hear this. It is my fixed resolve to avenge the cruel murder of my father by this wretch, the snake-bird Takshaka. Not only shall I finish with Takshaka, but all his ancestors and descendants. I shall have vengeance for his ruthless murder of my father, the great Pariksit.'”
Suta said, "And so it was that after a time, Pariksit’s son, the noble Janamejaya was determined to avenge his father’s murder.
"And hearing this story the monarch was moved and began to squeeze his hands in anger. His breath was hot and he wept tears of rage to hear the tale. And finally, he said: “'Hear this. It is my fixed resolve to avenge the cruel murder of my father by this wretch, the snake-bird Takshaka. Not only shall I finish with Takshaka, but all his ancestors and descendants. I shall have vengeance for his ruthless murder of my father, the great Pariksit.'”
Suta said, "And so it was that after a time, Pariksit’s son, the noble Janamejaya was determined to avenge his father’s murder.
"Now, the wicked
Takshaka was the vilest of the serpent race, and had murdered a great king for a
petty fault, intoxicated with his own venom. After consultation with his chief ministers and learned brahmanas, Janamejaya, son
of Pariksit and ruler of all the Indias gave orders for a great sacrifice, one
that would eliminate all snakes and serpents from the surface of the
earth."
Suta said, "And so that tiger of the Bharat race, the son of Pariksit, Janamejaya called his priest and ritviks together and explained to them his desire, saying, 'I must avenge myself on the wretch Takshaka who killed my father. Tell me what I must do. Do you know any act by which I may cast into the blazing fire the snake Takshaka with his relatives? I desire to burn that wretch just as he burned my father by the fire of his poison.'"
And the chief priest among them answered, “There is a great sacrifice, O King, devised by the gods themselves. It is called the Snake Sacrifice or sap-yajna. This is written in the scriptures. As you are a great king, only you may achieve it. It has been prophesied in the Puranas.”
The king was pleased and said, “Tell me what you need and I shall do it.” And so the priests and ritual mantra-tellers well-versed in the Vedas and knowledgable about the rites of sacrifice went about making the preparations. They constructed a great sacrificial platform and prepared for the ceremony.
Suta said, "King Janamejaya summoned the best of dutiful
brahmanas to conduct the sacrifice. They proposed to utter the most powerful of
mystic mantras and by so performing the rites and rituals of the Vedas and
pouring clarified butter into the fire to initiate the destruction of all forms
of vipers, cobras, snakes and poisionous worms by calling them into the fire."
SNAKE SACRIFICE OF JANAMEJAYA
And when
the time came, they build a great fire. They poured the butter into the fire
with mantras and the flames leaped higher. “Svaha!” said the priests and
intoned the mantras for snake-killing. The sacrificial priests were dressed in
black and their eyes were red from smoke as they poured more butter into the
fire and chanted the mantras, calling each species of snake by name.
And as the priests uttered the names of the snakes, the snakes themselves appeared in the sky as if by magic and began to fall into the fire. A rain of black snakes fell into the blazing fire, screaming and hissing. They came in large numbers, snakes as white as ice, emerald snakes, ferocious serpents as black as ebony, blue snakes gleaming like diamonds. The worst of the venomous snakes came first, their fangs dripping poison as they rained into the fire: asps, and vipers, centipedes and viral worms.
Thousands upon thousands of snakes fell violently into the boiling flames of the sacrificial fire. Tens of thousands of snakes deprived of all control over their limbs perished. Giant anacondas, tropical pythons, monitor lizards, dinosaurs, monsters and dragons. Snakes and serpents of huge bodies and strength like maddened elephants of various colors, shapes and sizes, with virulent poison, terrible and malformed. Snakes with spikes and multicolored scales. Serpents with long black tongues and fierce teeth. All these terrible vipers fell into the flames, their species extinct forever by the power of Janamejaya’s sacrifice.
And as the priests uttered the names of the snakes, the snakes themselves appeared in the sky as if by magic and began to fall into the fire. A rain of black snakes fell into the blazing fire, screaming and hissing. They came in large numbers, snakes as white as ice, emerald snakes, ferocious serpents as black as ebony, blue snakes gleaming like diamonds. The worst of the venomous snakes came first, their fangs dripping poison as they rained into the fire: asps, and vipers, centipedes and viral worms.
Thousands upon thousands of snakes fell violently into the boiling flames of the sacrificial fire. Tens of thousands of snakes deprived of all control over their limbs perished. Giant anacondas, tropical pythons, monitor lizards, dinosaurs, monsters and dragons. Snakes and serpents of huge bodies and strength like maddened elephants of various colors, shapes and sizes, with virulent poison, terrible and malformed. Snakes with spikes and multicolored scales. Serpents with long black tongues and fierce teeth. All these terrible vipers fell into the flames, their species extinct forever by the power of Janamejaya’s sacrifice.
As terrible snakes, striking fear into the
hearts of all creatures, continued falling into the flames, the slimy fat
and marrow of burned snakes mixed with
cinders, hot ashes and melted butter flowed in gruesome green rivers from the
sacred fire. The air was filled with an awful
stench from the burning flesh and scales of charred and stinking reptiles.
fear for his very life. He went to Indra, the
aking of the gods, and sought his protection in terror.
