Janamejaya and Takshaka

Utanka, a Brahmin seething with a personal grudge against the serpent-king Takshaka, arrives at the court of the victorious young King Janamejaya. He rebukes the king for his idle pleasures and demands he perform his most urgent duty: avenging his father's murder by burning Takshaka alive in a snake sacrifice.

King Janamejaya, protected by powerful anti-venom mantras, knows the snake-king Takshaka is coming for him. When a tiny worm appears in a gift of fruit, Janamejaya recognizes it for what it is — and places it on his own neck, choosing to fulfill the curse rather than live in fear.

After hearing the meticulous account of his father's murder, King Janamejaya is consumed by grief and rage. He declares his firm decision: no time will be lost in taking action against the snake Takshaka.

King Janamejaya's ministers recount the full, terrible story of his father's death: a king's insult, a sage's curse, a snake's bribery, and a final, fatal bite. They urge the young king to decide what must be done.

The priests' mantras succeed too well: they draw not only the snake Takshaka from hiding, but the god Indra himself, who arrives with the snake concealed in his robes. A furious Janamejaya orders both god and snake hurled into the fire.

At the climax of the snake sacrifice, Takshaka hangs suspended in the air, refusing to fall into the flames. King Janamejaya is confounded, but the young Brahmin Astika knows exactly what is happening — and what he must ask for.