Thursday 8 August 2013

Parikshit and the Deamon Kali

Once Parikshit went hunting in the forest, the demon Kali, the embodiment of Kali Yuga, appeared before him and asked permission to enter his kingdom, which the king denied. Upon insisting, Parikshit allowed him five places to reside: where there is gambling, alcohol consumption, prostitution, animal slaughter and gold. Kali smartly entered into Parikshit's golden crown and spoiled his thoughts.

Parikshit entered the hut of a sage named Samika as he was thirsty. He found the sage in deep meditation. He bowed to him several times but as there was no response he took a dead snake and threw it around the sage's neck. Later when the sage's son, Sringin, heard of this incident he cursed the king to die of snake bite on the 7th day.

On hearing this, the king forswore the throne for his son Janamejaya and spent his last 7 days listening to the discourses of Sage Śuka dev, compiled as the Bhagavata Purana under the banyan tree of Shukratal. As prophesied, the snake king Takshaka bit Parikshit, who left his mortal remains behind and attained Moksha.

Other thesis say that Kali had entered the gold and thus creating man's desire for gold. Parikshit had gone hunting into the forest. He stops at one point and gets into the lake for a bath. He removes his crown and keeps it on the bank of river. Takshaka, a naga king sees the crown and desires to get it. He steals the crown, but he was got by Parikshit guards. Parikshit jails him. On his release Takshaka avenges Parikshit and kills him mercilessly.

On hearing this, Parikshit's son Janamejaya vows to kill Takshaka within a week. He starts the Sharpamedha Yajna, which forces each and every snake of the entire universe was forced to fall into the hawankund. But one snake got stuck around God Sun rath and because of the force of Yajna the rath was also pulled inside the hawankund which could have ended up taking the God Sun rath in hawankund and ending the regim of God Sun from this universe. This resulted in plea from all god to stop the Yajna. When Takshaka arrived then this Yajna was stopped from doing so by Astika Muni, as a result of which Takshaka lives.

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