J for Janamejaya’s Snake Sacrifice - Mahabharata Mashup
Namaste,
King Janamejaya is the son of Parikshit, the son ofAbhimanyu and Uttara. He is the great-great-grandson of Arjuna and Krishna andthe ruler of Hastinapura.
We’ll read what happened to King Parikshit in thecoming posts. Here, we’ll read about the snake sacrifice Janamejaya organizedto avenge his father’s death.
One day, Rishi Uttanka went to King Janamejaya andshared the story of Takshaka, the Naga Raja who was responsible for the deathof the king’s father. After Janamejaya gathered more information, he planned toconduct a large sacrifice to kill Takshaka. Rishi Uttanka wanted this since healso had to face hardships due to Takshaka and wanted revenge.
The preparations of the sacrifice were made.However, even before the event began, one of the builders had a vision and saidthe snake sacrifice would not be completed.
This came true even though Janamejaya ensuredadequate reinforcements to protect the area. Rishi Astika (son of Jarakatu andJarakatu and nephew of Vasuki, a naga) went to the sacrifice and asked for agift. When Janamejaya agreed, Astika asked the king to stop the sacrifice sincemany innocent snakes were also dying. The king gave his word and hence stoppedthe sacrifice.
So, did Takshasa die? No.
Takshaka learned of the sacrifice and took refuge in Indra’s garden. However, the Hotri chanted mantras that made Takshaka visibleeven though he was trying to hide. By using Taksaka’s name, the Hotri couldbring him closer to the yagna fire. At this moment, Astika insisted the kinggrant him the boon. Janamejaya couldn’t (wouldn't) refuse. Hence, Takshaka’s life wassaved.
King Janamejaya realized it wasn’t his job to killthe Naga and let go of his plan. He then requested Vyasa Mahamuni (one of the esteemedguests at the event) to tell him the entire story of his ancestors. Vyasagestured to his student Vaisampayana, who narrated Mahabharata to theking.
Note: You can find more details of this episodein Astika Upa Parva of Adi Parva.
I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z.
The AI images are made on Bing.
newest »
Donne wrote: "Wow! I'm kind of speechless (a somewhat rare occurrence). Was this the kind of story you grew up when you were a kid?..."This is from Mahabharata, one of the two epics we revere (the other is Ramayana). It is one of the many, many stories we have about our gods and ancestors. :)
There are many approved and unapproved versions of the epics and several fictional retellings (some of which are horrible).
I still remember as a kid, hating stories like Pinocchio and Little Red Riding Hood. As a young child, those stories were scary af!!! I had older brothers who who add in their own versions of the stories that freaked me out even more.