Now I will tell you about the birth, activities and liberation of King Pariksit, the sage amongst kings.
After the battle of Kuruksetra where the warriors from both sides were killed, Asvatthama, the son of Dronacarya, tried to kill the last living heir in the Pandava family. He released a sonic missile aimed at King Pariksit, the embryo of Uttara.
Lord Krishna saw Uttara hurrying toward him, overwhelmed with fear. Uttara said, Please save me Lord Krishna. No one else can save me from death in this material world. An arrow of fire is approaching me, please do not let this weapon destroy my embryo.
Lord Krishna loves his devotees and he could see that his devotees were in great danger. So the all-powerful Lord used his sudarsana disc weapon to protect Uttara and her son Pariksit. The Supreme Lord is present within everyone’s heart and he protected the embryo of Uttara by covering Pariksit with his energy. The weapon released by Asvatthama was invincible, but the power of Lord Krishna disabled it and the embryo in Uttara’s womb was saved.
When King Pariksit was in the womb and being scorched by the heat of the weapon, he saw the Supreme Lord coming toward him. The Lord was only as tall as a thumb and wore a shining gold helmet. He had a beautiful body of dark complexion with garments shining like a flash of lightning.
He had four long arms, earrings of gold and his angry eyes were as red as blood. He waved his golden mace in all directions and it circled him like a meteor. King Pariksit in the womb was watching him and wondering who he was. When he had destroyed the weapon, the Supreme Lord, who is the protector of the virtuous, vanished.
In time, when the auspicious planets aligned, the preserver of the Pandu dynasty Pariksit was born. The educated brahmins who were present after the birth spoke about the future of the child. The brahmins said, This child was saved by the Supreme Lord when he was nearly destroyed by unavoidable destiny. Because of this, the child will become known as Vishnurata, the one who is protected by Vishnu.
This child will have many good qualities. He will be a generous giver of charity and he will protect those who are surrendered. He will be as invincible as fire, as brave as a lion, as impassable as the ocean and he will give shelter like the Himalaya Mountains. He will be as patient as the earth, and as tolerant as a parent. This child will be the father of royal sages. To preserve religion on the earth he will be the punisher of those who stray from the path of virtue.
When he hears about his imminent death by the bite of the snake-bird which is caused by the curse of a son of a brahmin, he will free himself from all worldly attachments and take refuge of the Supreme Lord. He will give up all fear and enquire about self-realisation from the great sage, Suka Goswami, the son of Vyasadeva. He will test all human beings to try and discover that person he saw in the womb. Thus he will continuously meditate on the Lord and become known as Pariksit (one who enquires).
For many years, King Pariksit ruled over the world in the way that was foretold at the time of his birth. One day King Pariksit was hunting deer in the forest with his bow and he became exhausted and was very hungry and thirsty. He couldn’t find any water and so he entered the hermitage of the sage Samika Rishi where he saw the sage sitting peacefully and his eyes were closed.
The sage was sitting in a meditational trance. He was covered by the hide of a deer and his hair was long and scattered all over him. King Pariksit was hungry and thirsty and so he asked the sage for some water. When the sage did not respond or welcome him by offering him a seat or food or water, King Pariksit considered he was being insulted and became angry.
The King had never been overtaken by anger before but because he was hungry and thirsty he felt hostility toward the sage. The King picked up a dead snake and placed it around the sage’s neck before leaving the hermitage. As King Pariksit was returning to his palace he was wondering whether the sage was really in a meditative trance or merely pretending so he could avoid receiving King Pariksit.
The sage had a young and inexperienced son. While his son was playing with his young friends he became aware of his father’s ill treatment by the king. The young boy said, What impiety and offensiveness from the king, he has become like a fat crow! This is like a servant committing offences against their masters, because the brahmins appoint the kings as doorkeepers. How can the doorkeeper enter the house and eat from the same plate as his master?
I will punish him. Behold my power! The sage’s son was filled with anger, and while speaking to his playmates he cursed King Pariksit with a thunderbolt of words. The brahmin’s son said, The snake bird will bite that destroyer of his family who has insulted my father.
The boy returned to the hermitage and saw the dead snake on his father’s neck. He was overwhelmed with grief and he wept loudly. The sage heard his son lamenting and opened his eyes and saw the snake. He tossed the dead snake off his neck and said, Why are you crying, has someone harmed you? Then his son told him what had happened.
The sage was not at all pleased with the actions of his son and he said, What a terrible thing you have done. You have awarded a very harsh punishment for a trivial offence. King Pariksit should never have been cursed, for he is a human being worthy of our respect.
My son, your understanding is childish, you do not realise the king should not be considered an ordinary man. He is the protector of all the citizens and the cause of their well-being. The Supreme Lord is represented by the monarchy. Without them the thieves will overpower the unprotected citizens like an unprotected flock of sheep.
Because of the downfall of the monarchy, people will have their wealth stolen by thieves and there will be violence among them. King Pariksit is an honourable and saintly king. He was merely tired and thirsty and he certainly did not deserve to be cursed.
While King Pariksit was returning home, he was thinking of the sage and regretting the act he had committed. He was depressed because he considered his behaviour to be uncivilised. He thought to himself, I have acted in a reprehensible way and failed to respect the brahminical culture. I should certainly expect some misfortune to come upon me soon.
While the king was feeling remorse for his actions, he heard of his impending death by the bite of the snake bird. He regarded it as a blessing because it would be the cause of his non-attachment to worldly things. Thus King Pariksit decided to sit on the bank of the sacred river Ganges to fast until death. He meditated on the Supreme Lord and freeing himself from all attachments, he took on the vows of a sage to prepare for his imminent death.
At the same time, many great personalities and sages arrived there on the pretext of making a pilgrimage. When they were all seated, King Pariksit stood before them with folded hands and explained to them what he intended to do.
The Supreme Lord has assumed the form of a brahmin’s curse. In this way, he has given me the opportunity to detach myself from the material world. Then King Pariksit sat down on a grass seat. Then the great sage Suka, son of Vyasadeva, arrived. He was naked and showed no external symptoms of social class. He was only 16 years old and his body was very attractive because of his youth. He had curly scattered hair and a dark complexion. The sages who were present all paid their respects to him by rising from their seats.
King Pariksit bowed his head in respect. Suka Goswami then took an elevated seat surrounded by all the sages. King Pariksit approached Suka and bowed before him and said, Respected Suka Goswami, you have blessed us with your presence. You are the spiritual teacher of great sages. Would you please explain the duty of someone who is about to die. Please tell me what should be heard, contemplated, recited and worshipped and also what should be avoided.
Then the exalted son of Vyasadeva, Suka Goswami, who understood true religion, addressed Pariksit in reply.
