Chapter 3 | Takshak’s Arrival
Soon, Takshak entered Hastinapura, as he was well aware of the security set up by the king he plotted a conspiracy to kill King Parikshit. He commanded his fellow snakes to disguise themselves as Brahmans and offer some fruits to King Parikshit.
King Parikshit welcomed the Brahmans and accepted the fruits but he was unaware that the Takshak was sitting inside the fruit as an insect. Suddenly he came out of the fruit and bitten the king. Because of the poison of Takshak, a heavy cloud was created. All the ministers and the guards who were assisting and guarding the king ran away in fear. King Parikshit fell on the ground like the leaf of a Big tree. The demise of the great king is like falling a big fruitful tree that guarded the whole kingdom against the enemies for the last sixty years. King Parikshit ruled for sixty years as King and worked to fulfill all the expectations of his subjects.
The King heard the story of his father’s death with great sorrow and pain inside his heart. He was restless, and nervous on the throne.
Then King Janamejaya addressed his ministers, said, ‘Takshak is responsible for the death of my father. Rishi Kashyap, the excellent among the rest of the munis was able to save my Father from the poisonous bite of snake Takshak but he made his return without reaching the Hastinapura. Rishi Kashyap would have saved my father but because of Takshak he went back to his adobe.’
King Janamejaya was in anger and rage he asked his intelligent and excellent Brahmans to march in and asked them the way so he could clear the snake race completely from the earth.
The Brahmans said, ‘We have read about the snake-sacrifice in the Vedas which can kill the race of the Snakes. You are the only one who can perform the snake sacrifice’.
King Janamejaya, then asked for the required information about the fuel required in the sacrifice and the time and place. He commanded the expert architects to create the stage. The stage was set and the Brahmans and the Ritviks started the sacrifice, started to pour the butter into the fire, and started pronouncing the mantras of great effect pronouncing the names of the snakes and the snakes started falling into the Fire.
All the snakes were frightened by seeing the terrible sacrifice arranged by the King.
The bad smell and smoke of the burning snakes started spreading in the atmosphere, and the cries of the burning snakes and the hanging snakes in the sky terrified the surroundings. The number of snakes started decreasing drastically.
