The Ministers Narrate King Parikshit's Death to Janamejaya

The ministers stood before King Janamejaya and began to speak. They told him how his father, King Parikshit, had been hunting, weak with hunger, when he came upon the sage Shamika. The sage was deep in meditation, under a vow of silence, and did not answer the king’s request for water. In a moment of anger, Parikshit took a dead snake and hung it around the sage’s shoulders, then returned to his city. Shamika had a son, Shringi, born from a cow. He was immensely powerful, full of energy, and prone to extreme anger. He had been away, worshipping the god Brahma. As he returned, a friend told him what Parikshit had done—how the king had insulted his innocent father, who still bore the dead snake. Hearing this, Shringi blazed with fury. He was still a child, but he had the radiance of age and the power of his austerities. Instantly, he touched water and pronounced a curse. “Look at the power of my austerities,” he said. “An evil one has left a dead snake around my innocent father’s shoulders. Within seven nights from now, the angry and radiant snake Takshaka will burn him down with the energy of his poison.” Shringi went to his father and told him what he had done. Shamika, though he had not sought revenge, sent a messenger to Parikshit. “O lord of the earth,” the message said. “You have been cursed by my son that Takshaka will burn you down with his poison. O king! Be prepared.” Parikshit was alarmed. He took every possible precaution against the snake. On the seventh day, a great sage named Kashyapa was hurrying toward the king’s palace. He knew of the curse and intended to cure Parikshit the moment Takshaka struck. On the road, Takshaka, chief among the snakes, intercepted him. “Where are you going so swiftly?” Takshaka asked. “What is it that you want to do?” Kashyapa replied, “I am going to where King Parikshit, the best of the Kurus, is. Today, he will be killed by the snake Takshaka. I am hurrying there so that I can cure him from his fever. If I protect him, no snake can oppress him.” Takshaka said, “O Brahmana! Why do you wish to revive the king after I have bitten him? Don’t hesitate to tell me what your desire is and I will give it to you. Return home.” Kashyapa said he was going with the desire of acquiring riches. Takshaka smiled and spoke in pleasant words. “O, unblemished one! Take from me more riches than you hope to obtain from the king and return.” Kashyapa accepted the bribe. He took the wealth from Takshaka and turned back. With the healer gone, Takshaka disguised himself. He went to Parikshit’s palace, where the king was fully prepared and guarded. Yet Takshaka found a way. He burned the king down with the fire of his poison. The ministers concluded their account. “O tiger among men! It was after this that you victoriously ascended the throne. O best among kings! Though the account is extremely terrible, we have told you everything in entirety, the way it was seen and heard. O supreme among kings! You have now heard how that great king was destroyed and how the rishi Shamika was insulted. Now do what needs to be done.” Janamejaya had one question. How did they know the details of the secret meeting between Takshaka and Kashyapa in the deserted forest? The ministers explained. A man had climbed a tall tree in that forest, looking for dry twigs for a sacrificial fire. Perched on the tree, he was unseen by the snake or the sage. When Takshaka later tested his poison on the tree, the man was reduced to ashes along with it. But Kashyapa, with his powers, revived both the man and the tree when he passed by again. The man returned to the city and told the story. What the ministers had recounted was exactly as it happened and exactly as it was witnessed. “O king!” they said. “O tiger among kings! Now that you have heard it, decide what must be done.”