|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 49 – The legend of Lord Krishna – The legend of King Pareekshith - Viprashapopalambanam

Once King Pareekshith went for a hunting expedition, he entered in a dense wood while chasing a deer, he felt extremely thirsty, searched for stream or pond all around, did not find any.  Far away, he could see a beautiful hermitage, and a saint was sitting in front of the hermitage, he was under deep meditation. King Pareekshith felt peace and approached the saint with a request for water, and introduced himself as the son of Abhimanyu.  Alas! The saint did not hear any of the requests of the King, did even look at him, or uttered a single word in answer.  King Pareekshith felt humiliated, thought the Saint and Sages are freely engaging in meditation and other spiritual rites under the protection of a King, he should have the curtsey to receive the King and serve him, did not even show minimal respect, therefore he must be rude. In a moment, King Pareekshith lost his patience, looked around, and saw a corpse of a serpent emitting foul smell; he carried the corpse with the arrow and put it around the neck of the saint.  The act on sudden impulse and self-importance caused intense grief and agony in the later life of King Pareekshith.

King Pareekshith prepared to leave the hermitage, mounted on the top of the horse, saw a brilliant child of Rishi playing with his companions, was noticing the King.  He was extremely disappointed to watch The king who is believed to rule the Kingdom and take great care of his subject, and respect the twice-born, saints and ascetics acted like a dog that attacked its Master.  He decided not to forgive the King for his grave sin; he went to the pond nearby, took a handful of water, invoked deity in it, and cursed the King who humiliated the Rishi  Shameeka who was under deep meditation, to die of serpent bite of Thakshaka in seven days.  Thus King Pareekshith left the hermitage, son of Rishi rushed to his father and wept bitterly.  Rishi Shameeka who was in deep meditation got out and saw his son with tears overflowing, and the corpse of the snake next to him.  Rishi Shameeka enquired the reason for his grief, was answered all that happened.  Rishi felt extremely disappointed with his child’s response, spoke “Oh! Child, you have cursed a King who witnessed the supreme Lord Hari from the mother’s womb, a righteous ruler cannot be seen in the Kali era. You have given him a huge punishment for a silly mistake. He is a wise ruler, people are happy in his custodian and remain protected and satisfied, and you have committed a grave sin.  Soon, this Kingdom will lose a great King and will undergo a huge threat in his absence. You have punished an ardent devotee of Lord, and a great ruler, he approached me with intense thirst should have served with humility.  Oh! Child, I am praying to the supreme Lord to forgive you, I shall pray to Lord to forgive you for the mistake you have done to a righteous King. Oh! Child,  a true devotee should not react to any of the unpleasant situations in life, a true devotee never acts on a sudden impulse, should have patience, and react to the situation to avoid self-destruction. Oh! Child, a spiritual seeker never react to situations abruptly, you have wasted your austerities.”