Jaratkaru Marries Vasuki's Sister Under a Condition
The snake king Vasuki offers his sister, who shares the sage Jaratkaru's name, to be his wife. Jaratkaru accepts, but sets one unbreakable rule: she must never displease him in word or deed, or he will leave her immediately.
Vasuki, the king of the snakes, had a sister named Jaratkaru. When the great sage Jaratkaru — a man of immense austerities — came seeking a wife who shared his name, Vasuki saw a solution to his family’s curse. He offered her. “This maiden has the same name as yours,” he told the sage. “She is my sister and is an ascetic. I shall support her. I shall protect her with all my might.”
With that promise of maintenance from her brother, the sage went to the snake’s house. There, the aged rishi of great vows, learned in mantras and devoted to dharma, accepted her hand in marriage according to the prescribed rites. After being honoured by the maharshis (great sages), he took his wife to a beautiful house built by the snake king, furnished with a fine bed covered in unmatched spreads.
That night, before they slept together, Jaratkaru made an agreement with his new wife. His words were not a request but a condition for her continued presence in his life. “Never do anything or say anything that causes me displeasure,” he told her. “If you ever cause me displeasure, I shall leave you and no longer live in this house. Please remember these words I have spoken.”
The sister of the snake king agreed — in great anxiety and great sorrow. From that moment, wishing only to bring pleasure to her husband, she served her melancholy sage with the unwavering dedication of a white crow, a creature proverbial for its singular focus.