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Janamejaya-Parva (1):
On the plain's of Kurukshetra Janamejaya (the new ruler of Hastinapore) with all his brother's (Srutasena, Ugrasena II & Bhimasena II) attended a lengthy ritual. During this ritual king Janamejaya patiently watched a woman akin to the celestial maiden's named "Sarama" uttered a curse to him. She said "as you beat my son up for no fault of his own evil will come upon you when you least expect it!" Once his ritual was complete Janamejaya now dejected & alarmed wanted to find a way of negating this curse. He asked his brother Srutasena to find a worthy brahmin that could accomplish the task.
As his brother's all failed (despite being sons of Arjuna's grandson) Janamejay decided "i will give one of you the position of caretaker king of hastinapore like pandu gave to dhritrashtra, one of you will be the master of Hastinapore until my return" thus Janamejay ventured out in order to find his ideal brahmin.
Janamejay once while hunting for food (he would fail if he had an empty stomach in his search mission) in the forest found a impressive pandit (different class of brahmin) meditating, he asked for him to be his purohit, the man said "i have a habit of giving a brahmin whatever they ask as i am also a brahmin myself, if you can accept this then i will accept my role as your pandit"
Getting back to Hastinapore king "Janamejay" said to his brother's "the human i chose as our pandit is this man right before you, comply with whatever he says" two of the brothers accepted this condition but one brother named "Ugrasena" decided to protest. He told Janamejay "brother you as a king are making a mistake, remember how Karna died? he agreed to comply with whatever his driver Shalya said... remember how Santanu's downfall happened?"
Ugrasen continues "he complied to the demands of Ganga & Satyavati! remember the danger our great grandfather Arjun got himself into? he almost died cause of the promises he made regarding the slaughters of Jayadratha & the attempt of killing Emperor Yudhisthir the son of Dharma. So complying with everything is a foolish mistake." These words of Ugrasen had been ignored, dismissed & disregarded by Janamejaya.
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Janamejaya-Parva (2):
The name of the brahmin selected for profession of pandit was "Somashrava" after his position had been stabilized in hastinapore again Janamejay placed a caretaker king, one of his brother's named "BhimaSena" onto the throne as he had important business to deal with, business that he could only handle if he left his nation for a undetermined time period.
Janamejay invaded the city of "Taxila" home of the ancient dreaded gandhara chief's (Sakuni, Nagnajit, Suvala etc) who were haters of his ancestors (the pandavas). After a months of battling with minor casualties on his own side Janamejay brought Taxila under subjugation too.
In hastinapur a week later, surrounded by friendly minister's the monarch celebrated his victory declaring a holiday to commemorate and honor his achievement against Taxila which was formerly Gandhara. His brother's began to think of him as unfit for ruling, but they also knew they lacked the necessary might for overthrowing him, they decided to keep their feeling's a secret.
A brahmin called "Utanka" came to Janamejay's assembly and asked him "Oh foremost of monarchs! How is it so that you of all people spend your time like a child when more urgent matter's demand your attention?" Janamejay rose up from his throne, washed his face then respectfully saluted Utanka he then asked him "I desire to discharge the duties of my noble clan, what matter do you consider to be urgent?"
Utanka said "what could be of greater importance than justice for the previous king? your predecessor and father the great lord Pariksita, his killer is Takshak the rogue naga, he must be put down by you my lord." Janamejaya said "while it is true my father has not gotten justice yet, i do not understand how you claim Takshak is the murderer... do you have proof to justify this claim?" Just then the family sage Kripa the immortal chariot warrior entered the assembly.
Kripa told Janamejaya "it is true, the malicious Takshak has been a enemy of the pandava tribe for decades before your father was even born, i saw him end your fathers life with my own eyes, but i chose against informing you about it because takshak was in hiding after that, but now hes revealed himself, before the killer is able to disappear again you must bring him to justice"
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Pariksit-Chapter (A);
One year after the pandava's with their wife (draupadi) vanished without a trace (last seen in the Himalayan kingdom of Himavan) their successor king Pariksit was busy hunting animals in a jungle, he already had 4 sons and 2 wives, his kingdom also had capable men like Kripa and Dhoumya to handle relevant matters in Hastinapore if he is not on the throne.
Pariksit slaughtered many deers but one deer being touched by his arrows managed to live, it escaped all the way till Pariksit no longer was able to find it. He was afflicted by fatigue, weakness, hunger & came to a hermitage where a brahmin observing a pledge of silence was then asked questions about if he saw a deer or antelope nearby.
Due to not receiving a reply Pariksit in a emotion of wrath placed a dead snake's corpse (one whom he hunted down) around the brahmins neck as a garland. He later left that brahmins abode, returning to Hastinapore, king Pariksit remembered the most important lesson he got from Vidura his grand uncle before he died. Vidura said "gambling, womanization, hunting & war these remain the 4 biggest vices and worse addiction's a king or kshatriya or even a mere prince can have."
That brahmin had a son named "Sringin" who was not as kind hearted or forgiving as his sire. Using the power of his merit Sringin gave Pariksit a curse that under se7en night's he would lose his life at the hand's of a real snake due to how he insulted his father by using a dead snake.
Sringin was told by his father "my son.. i am displeased with thee, that king pariksit protects our border's, we live in his dominion, it does not suit any ascetic or brahmin to curse a public servant for a very minor offence, after the war of the kuru's our continent, our society of aryans became devoid of bravehearts, we need kshatriyas to protect us from Mlecchas, Dravidians & Rakshasas, we can not always rely on Hari to come to our planet in another form"
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Pariksit-Chapter (B);
Upon being told this by his dad Sringin responded "then though the king may still perish due to my curse it would be best if he knows ahead of time that he's going to die, that way we can prevent any chaos from plaguing the kingdom that took eons to establish, king Pariksit could leave something behind to ensure the stability of the nation's under his care if we notify him ahead of time of his death but how can this be done without fear of him retaliating on us?"
Sringin's father said "i will send a disciple of mine as a messenger to him, surely he would make things right, but i want you to kill the anger and negativity in your soul, otherwise you will be unfit for the position of a brahmin" Eventually a messenger did arrive to Hastinapore contacting king Pariksit who replied "Let Sringin's father Samika be gracious toward me, may his blessing always be over the dynasty of the Kurus!" after that he sent the disciple away and held a private meeting with his prized minister's, excluding the brahmins (Kripa & Dhoumya) from this council.
It was decided by those ministers that they'd contact aryavarth's foremost architects to build a special mansion where king Pariksit would be well guarded, protected & could discharge his royal duties from their itself, it would also be a mobile home for him so he could conduct his work even without needing to stay in hastinapore. Without permission even the wind itself could not enter this mansion, the best physician's would also be nearby, hired by Meghsandhi's son (grandson to Jarasandha, present king of Magadha).
Eventually the seventh night arrived, when the physician of magadh was hungry then he sent a servant out of the mansion to get food. When that servant returned he revealed himself to be the naga Takshak who assumed the form/guise of a kshatriya soldier/guard. Offering as much fortune as possible he persuaded the physician to leave this mansion & never return. Lastly Takshak assumed the form of a mosquito and bit Pariksit on the throat when he was in deep slumber.
A guard looked at the blood and green smoke on Pariksit's corpse, then Takshak roared. All these incident's caused fear to enter the hearts of all ministers of king Pariksit, they fled the mansion to never return. Seeing the unfortunate turn of events made his ancestors (Bhisma, Santanu, Hastin etc) in the skies became depressed, they feel the throne of hastinapore is again in jeopardy.
Pariksit's body was cremated by the royal priest (Dhoumya) not by any of his offspring or family members as with Yuyutsu's death any of king Yuyutsu's children cut all ties with the pandavas, they became independent sovereign lords of Indraprastha. But Pariksit's sons were not the ones to cremate him, they were absent from his funeral. The reason being that Dhoumya was afraid that the snake poison could be a virus that spreads to multiple people that come in close contact with it.
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Janamejaya-Parva (3):
In a different corner of the Earth, a snake lord going by the name of "Vasuki" held a council meeting with a number of his brother's, the goal being on making a decision of what course/action is the most profitable for themselves. One Naga adviser told Vasuki "we should masquerade as brahmin's then partake in the ritual of Janamejay and then convince him to stop his ritual in it's midst! Considering us to be members of the high caste he will surely seek out our advice, we will give him flawed advice instead!"
Another naga said to Vasuki "we can foil the kings attempts by merely biting him, he will join his father in heaven & we will obtain our new lease of life, its a simple answer to a common problem, thus no meeting is required" Thinking this through Vasuki decided "dear kinsmen! i do not deem any of your suggestions to be worthy choices for myself, as your king and leader any blame or praise of your actions will be mine alone so i reject your advices and refuse to let u act on your own!"
Vasuki meditated on this matter to Brihaspati, he told him "o snake! if you desire to save your race then please one brahmin with immense powers, one that shares the same name as a woman in your family" Vasuki choose to give his sister to a brahmin with her name (Jaratkaru) in order to gain protection from the brahmin community and caste, to ensure his race's survival. Though that brahmin left his sister now Vasuki believes that the offspring of that brahmin in his sister Jaratkaru's womb will somehow be the protector of the Nagas.
By now Janamejay considering Takshak to be the leading cause behind his father pariksit's death (while Sringin is believed to be a secondary cause only) made a vow to exterminate the entire snake race which has existed and lived longer than Aryans have. Janamejay asked his pandit Somashrava for advice on this matter.
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Janamejaya-Parva (4):
Somashrava told him about the snake sacrifice and secret's behind it, how much land will be needed for it's sacrificial platform. After spending 18 days carefully in the construction of the sight where this ritual can be held in the best way Janamejay announced to all corners of his kingdom [excluding Taxila] that he was going to conduct a ceremony for the destruction of snake's. He made that announcement as he wanted the snakes to know of his ritual so they might come to him and he could, kill them then.
The legend Vyasa himself with "Suka" (his 4th son) entered the ceremony during its opening day. As clarified butter was poured into the sacred-fire then several snakes were pulled from the air like a magnet, they came from a kilometer away crawling on the sandy regions. They entered the fire dying, their snakes frightened many spectators.
The naga Takshaka decided to have a meeting with Indra Dev in Svarga. The benevolent Indra said to him "Takshaka remove any fear that exists within you, cause God Brahma the creator was pacified by myself only for you, i will ensure that you are safe from the snake sacrifice, but i wont say the same for the relatives that you abandoned on Earth, in my view you would've been better off if your community and friends left Hastinapore when u had a good chance decades ago in the age of my son Arjuna"
Though Takshaka seemed safe "Vasuki" another chief of Nagas was worried, his heart was torn apart and broken upon seeing with his divine sight what occurred. In the past hour countless nagas belonging to Vasuki's family were murdered, the nagas begged for him to save them. Vasuki told his sister who was nearby "beseech your son Astika if he is grown by now, he was blessed by the male Jaratkaru" she said to Vasuki "my son became mature in a unnatural way through magic due to this he is impotent, we have created a jeevah that is suffering and he doesnt even realise it yet" Vasuki said "so i should assume our entire tribe is doomed?" She then said "my son Astika will be called by me now then, but whatever the result is may not be satisfactory"
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Janamejaya-Parva (5).
In a deep underground tunnel Astika asked "i was trained and raised in the same manner of an aryan brahmin, but for what exactly?" His mother told him "to bring security to all snakes" Astika then decided to meet up with uncle Vasuki on a hill he said "i will relieve the naga tribe today from this ritual fire!" Vasuki asked but how will u do so? the boy replied "i have the ability to remove curses but i can use my words of wisdom and friendship to change king Janamejay's mind itself, he can be persuaded with negotiation & conciliation too". Astika ventured out and came on foot entering the sacrifice-region, upon being allowed in Janamejayas vicinity he started to utter words of praise. Astika sung a brilliant & beautiful song in honor of the king of hastinapore.
He said "even gods like Prajapati have committed sacrifices, but yours o ruler of pandavs is not inferior to any sacrifice done by Varoon, Indra or even Brahma himself" Janamejay became pleased hearing it as the brahmin continued "your great sacrifice is exactly like Yudhisthira's Rajasuya & Asvamedha sacrifice's, in protecting citizens their never existed a king who would surpass you, i have been gratified by just seeing your sacrifice" "like ramas guru Vashista you control your wrath very well" and Astika then went as far to say "adorned with every positive quality that exists on earth you are a complete man like Bhagvan Krishna the legendary God of arya varth"
Noticing a couple signals and clues given to him Janamejay (who had been sitting down on the floor close to the fire) rose up from his position, now standing up he spoke to Astika "never before have i gained such praise from a human... even from a wife of mine... i desire to bestow a boon upon you o noble boy of the brahmin caste"
A suta named Lohitaksha said "o lord of men! this brahmin is worthy of a boon but only after Takshaka is dealt with, our sacrifice has not gotten the main culprit of your mighty father Pariksit yet!" Hearing him Janamejay replied "with this knowledge you must let the pandits act faster then to ensure the demise of takshak!"
Indra came to the location of the sacrifice, this was seen from a distance by the 2 other snakes (Vasuki and Jaratkaru) The brahmins present were told by Narada muni (a guest) "Takshak is hiding in the garment of Lord Indra if you want Takshaka dead then Indra needs to be placed in the fire" In order to save himself (as his own blood Janamejay the grandson of Arjuna's son Abhimanyu was involved) Indra Dev decided to cast of Takshaka by throwing his garment off his body. He then retreated to his own abode, as indra went in the realm of devas the snake Takshaka finally became visible again, so leaving the skies he fell near the holy fire of the sacrifice.
King janamejay on the other hand seeing his victory in grasp already asked Astika "so what boon is it you desire brahmin?" Takshaka however fainted, his body having been disabled due to the power of mantra magic in the sacred flame's.
Astika said to Janamejaya "if you really want me to be granted a boon then please put an end to this sacrifice right now! and no more snakes should die" realising he'd been duped but wanting to not back out (otherwise his ancestors would either be disgraced or have to be shifted from heaven to hell) Janamejay replied "i can give you anything, cows, gold, silver, iron, diamonds, half my nation, slaves, my wife but i can not give you what you just asked me!"
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Janamejay-Parva (6).
Astika replied to him "you heard what i asked and very well know it oh janamejaya.. i dont want gold or jewelry or slaves or ownership of land! i demand this sacrifice end and takshak be spared" Janamejaya responded once more to Astika "ask for something else!" then Janamejaya's attendants said "let his boon be granted, stop rejecting him or you will be labelled a false king!"
Astika said "the naga named Kauravya whose daughter was mother to your grandfather Abhimanyu's oldest brother Iravan had lost at least 14 of his relatives in this fire, 14 of his descendant's that share blood of the woman who bore your grand uncle iravan died in this fire, it would be a crime to continue the sacrifice" Janamejaya said "after repeatedly being urged i've come to a decision of honoring my promise but i also vow that after today i will never keep a promise that i deem to be fruitless" looking at his pandit's he said "release takshak" But his pandit had other plan's this was the same pandit named Soma Shrava who was appointed recently to Janamejayas court.
He said "before the snake brahmins boon is given he must do something" after much discussion it was decided that Astika needs to curse other snakes he said "the snake who hears the tale of my brave action of protecting Takshak must promise to never bite a citizen of the pandav empire, if a snake still does bite anyone from hastinapore after hearing my story then that snake should be decapitated!"
Satisfied with everything Janamejay ended the sacrifice but for many nagas the result is not satisfactory because most nagas will not listen or care for the curse of Astika. Having fulfilled his life's purpose eventually in a future sacrifice Astika himself became a tribute willingly ending his own life to satisfy the blood lust of Janamejay.
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Janame Jay Parva (ending):
In the sacrifice which occurred 18 weeks after the death of Astika (which happened 18 month's after his curse) king Janamejaya invited Vyasa with all his disciples but not his son (Suka) to his abode. After giving him the respective oblation's & a golden seat for his position Janamejaya said to vyasa "you have seen the lives of my great grandfathers with your own very eyes and from the words of your mouth my great grandfathers lives have been immortalized, i desire to hear a repeat of that story from you"
Vyasa shook his head & said "i can not repeat it at all, but one of my students can do what u ask of them for their ears listened keenly to my words more than i would have, they have more patience and stamina in the skill of narrating than i do" Vyasa called a brahmin named "Vaisampayan" to narrate the glorious history of Janamejaya's ancestors. The Mahabharata also known as "History of Bharatas" which's considered sacred history reserved to be taught and recited only to nobles.
Vaisampayan was a foremost disciple and student of Vyasa. Leaving the crowd he was told by his mentor "tell the Pandava emperor all that u heard from me about Mahabharata, but do so from beginning to end, do not worry about who your audience is besides the king, it may take you 18 hours or 18 days or even years to narrate it but if you succeed then you will be nearly as famous and memorable as i am" Vaisampayan said "your ancestors are in everyway superior to you" Janamejay asked "why is that?"
The brahmin replied "After your father Pariksit died then you did a sacrifice to take away the fathers of the naga toddlers, but after king pandu died then his sons came to the home where their father pandu had been raised, a place he once ruled they did not seek vengeance against brahmins." Janamejay said "i demand that you only talk of the history of my ancestors, do not compare me to them ever!"
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END.
If ever made into a tv series then this post could cover content for 3 episodes (each 24 minutes long) or for 1 super long episode (72 minutes).
