Shamika's disciple warns King Parikshit of the curse

After instructing his son, the sage Shamika was moved by compassion. He could not revoke the curse, but he would not let the king die unknowing. He sent a disciple, Gouramukha — a man austere in his penances and well-behaved — to the king’s court with a message. Gouramukha entered the palace, was received with honor, and after resting, delivered Shamika’s terrible words exactly as instructed, in the presence of the king’s advisers. “O lord of kings,” he said. “A rishi named Shamika lives in your kingdom. He is extremely virtuous, tranquil, a great ascetic, and in control of his senses. O tiger among men, he was observing a vow of silence when you placed that dead snake around his shoulders. He himself forgave the act. But his son did not.” Gouramukha laid out the consequence: without his father’s knowledge, the king had been cursed by Shringi. In seven nights, Takshaka would be the reason for his death. Shamika had repeatedly asked his son to save the king, but no one could falsify the curse. Since he could not pacify his angry son, Shamika had sent this warning for the king’s own welfare. Having heard these words, King Parikshit, a descendant of the Kuru lineage and an ascetic in his own right, remembered his evil act. He was struck with remorse. The knowledge that the great hermit in the forest had been under a vow of silence made his regret burn hotter. He learned of Shamika’s great compassion for him and recollected his own sinful act toward the hermit, and he grew even more miserable. The king did not grieve about his impending death. But like a god, he grieved over the act he had perpetrated. He then sent Gouramukha back to Shamika with a single request: that the illustrious sage should show him mercy.