Story of Sri Krishna's Birth - Part 5

 

Parikshith Coronated

After the Pundits were sent away with gifts, Dharmaraja called Arjuna near him and said, “Arjuna! Let us not delay any further. The funeral rites of dear mother must begin immediately. We must have Parikshith crowned Emperor. We must leave Hasthinapura this night itself; every moment without Krishna appears as a Yuga (eon) to me.”

Parikshith was given a ceremonial bath, crown jewels put on him and sworn-in as crown Prince with only a few invitees for the event. Parikshith was weeping knowing that his grandfather Arjuna is going to leave soon after the event. Since Parikshith was still a small boy, Kripacharya, the Guru of the family was asked take care of the kingdom and advice Parikshith accordingly. The Pandava brothers showered auspicious sacred rice on the head of Parikshith and started heading in the northerly direction for their salvation. Tears filled the eyes of everyone who witnessed these events.

Slowly, over time, Parikshith learnt the details, strategies and intricacies of a ruling a kingdom from Kripacharya. At the right age, he got married and had a few children. The citizens of the country were very happy under the rule of king Parikshith.

Parikshith cursed

One day, Parikshith went all alone into a forest for hunting. He lost his way, trekked a long distance and could not bag a beast; a fierce thirst began to torment him. He was exhausted beyond endurance. Frantically, he searched for water. Luckily, he found a hermitage, a cottage thatched with grass. When he entered, he found Sage Sameeka in deep meditation. He went near him and addressed, “Sir, Sir, Water!” but Sameeka was deep in meditation. At this, the King was overcome by a fierce gust of anger. His feet trod on some rope on the floor. He discovered it was a snake. Deluded by anger and by a twist of fate, he threw the dead snake around the neck of the hermit and left the hermitage in a hurry to slake his thirst elsewhere.

Some boys saw him emerge from the cottage and they entered the cottage to find out why he had gone inside. They saw the snake around the neck of Sameeka. They surmised that it must be the handiwork of the man who had just left the hermitage. They ran out and informed Sringi, the son of Sameeka who was playing with his friends. Sringi ran into the cottage and found that the unbelievable had happened. He ran in the direction of the King and threw a handful of water at the King and pronounced the curse: “Let him be bitten by a snake on the seventh day and may he die of that poison”. Meanwhile Sameeka emerged from his deep meditation. He removed the dead snake from his neck and placed it beside him. Sringi told his father, “This was a prank played by a man in the garb of a King. I cursed him that he dies on the seventh day of a snake bite”.

Sameeka was shocked at this news and astonished at the behavior of his son. He knew that the curse could not be taken back. He instructed Sringi to go to King Parikshith’s palace and inform the King of the curse and seek his pardon. Sringi obediently followed the instructions of his father and informed King Pariskhith about the forthcoming danger from the snake. Parikshith knowing that his end is going to come in seven days, left the palace and began to seek sages and saints for spiritual knowledge. Parikshith was not satisfied with the advice many of them gave him.  Finally, he settled under a tree near Bhagirathi river and started to meditate on the Lord.  The story takes a sudden turn now!

Please wait for the next installment!

Jai Sai Ram