Takshaka Bribes Kashyapa to Prevent the King's Cure

The seventh day had arrived. In a deserted stretch of forest, the brahmarshi (Brahmin sage) Kashyapa was walking swiftly. He was a healer of immense power, and he knew what was about to happen. He was going to where King Parikshit, the best of the Kurus, waited in his fortified palace. “Today, he will be killed by the snake Takshaka,” Kashyapa thought. “I am hurrying there so that I can cure him from his fever. If I protect him, no snake can oppress him.” Takshaka, chief among the snakes, saw the sage hurrying. He approached and asked, “Where are you going so swiftly? What is it that you want to do?” Kashyapa did not dissemble. “O Brahmana!” he said, addressing the snake in the form of a Brahmin. “I am going to where King Parikshit is. Today, he will be killed by the snake Takshaka. I am hurrying there so that I can cure him. If I protect him, no snake can oppress him.” Takshaka’s response was direct. “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 stated his desire plainly: he was going to the king in hope of acquiring riches. There was no pretense of pure charity. 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.” The offer was clear, the math simple. The wealth Takshaka offered was greater than the expected reward from a saved king. Kashyapa, best among men, considered it. He obtained the riches from Takshaka. Then he turned around and went home. The road to the king was now empty. The one man who could have nullified the snake’s poison, who could have broken the chain of the curse, had been removed not by force, but by a transaction. The last obstacle to the king’s death was gone.