Takṣaka
Takṣaka is one of the great nāgarājas (serpent kings), among the most feared and most powerful of serpents. He is the serpent who killed King Parīkṣit by a mixture of trickery and overwhelming venom, seven days after Śṛṅgi’s śāpa (a curse).
First he met the healer Kaśyapa on the road and bribed him to turn back, so that Parīkṣit would have no protection. During Janamejaya’s sarpa-yāga (serpent sacrifice) he fled to Indra’s home and was given refuge. Then the mantras of the yāga pulled both him and Indra toward the sacrificial fire. In the last moment Āstīka’s cry saved him.
Place among the nāgas
Takṣaka is counted among the greatest nāgarājas, with Vāsuki, Śeṣa, Airāvata, Kārkoṭaka and others. The first list of nāgas in the Ādi Parva (Chapter 35) names him among the most prominent. His domain is Takṣaśilā, the great city later known for its ancient university. His venom burns like fire, and he can burn to ashes whatever he bites.
The meeting with Kaśyapa
Śṛṅgi cursed Parīkṣit to die by Takṣaka’s bite within seven days. Śamīka’s warning reached the king, and Parīkṣit made arrangements to protect himself. The brāhmaṇa healer Kaśyapa knew a mantra-vidyā (knowledge of mantras) that could undo the venom of any serpent. He heard of the coming danger and set out for the palace, meaning to heal the king after Takṣaka’s bite.
Takṣaka met Kaśyapa on the road and saw at once that Kaśyapa threatened his task. He stopped Kaśyapa and said: “I am Takṣaka. Why do you hurry? Where do you go?” Kaśyapa said he was going to heal Parīkṣit after the bite.
Takṣaka then showed his power. He bit a great tree nearby. The tree blazed up at once and was burnt to ash. Kaśyapa answered calmly. Then, by the power of his mantras, he brought the tree fully back to life. This showed that he could indeed heal whatever Takṣaka bit. Takṣaka saw that if Kaśyapa reached Parīkṣit, the king would live.
Takṣaka offered Kaśyapa more wealth than the king could ever give him. Kaśyapa had come for the sake of wealth. He accepted the offer and turned back. So Takṣaka had not only bitten Janamejaya’s father. He had also removed the one person who could have saved him.
The killing of Parīkṣit
Takṣaka entered the palace in disguise. He and his companions took the form of brāhmaṇas carrying gifts of fruits and flowers for the king. A tiny serpent was hidden among the fruits. Parīkṣit received the gift and looked at the fruits, and the serpent bit him. Takṣaka’s venom worked at once and completely. Parīkṣit was burnt to ashes on the spot. His ministers saw it, and the palace fell into grief. His bite fulfilled Śṛṅgi’s śāpa.
Flight to Indra
Janamejaya resolved to hold the sarpa-yāga and took dīkṣā (the vow of initiation). Takṣaka at once understood what was coming. He went before Indra, confessed his offence and asked for refuge. Indra had a past bond with Takṣaka and had once promised him protection. He received Takṣaka with kindness and said: “There is no fear for you here. I gave you my word.” Takṣaka settled in Indra’s home and lived there in seeming safety while the yāga burned thousands of nāgas below.
Summoned with Indra
The hotṛ (the priest who calls the deities by mantra) at the yāga made the invocation stronger and more urgent, because the king demanded Takṣaka by name. The mantras reached even Indra’s realm. Both Takṣaka and Indra began to be pulled down toward the fire. Indra appeared in the sky in his divine chariot, with Takṣaka hidden in the upper cloth of his garment. The chariot began to sink toward the sacrificial fire.
Then the ṛtvik priests told the king that Takṣaka was sheltering in Indra’s garment under Indra’s protection. Janamejaya ordered: “Summon Takṣaka along with Indra, into the fire.” The mantras grew stronger and Indra’s chariot was pulled down. Indra saw that the force of the mantras could not be resisted. He gave up Takṣaka and fled back to his own realm. Takṣaka fell from the sky, bound by the mantras. His senses were fading, and he wailed in the air above the fire.
Saved by Āstīka
Āstīka had been waiting for exactly this moment. He had already won Janamejaya’s promise of a vara (a boon). He shouted “Tiṣṭha! Tiṣṭha! Tiṣṭha!” (Stop! Stop! Stop!) three times. The force of the mantras stopped. Takṣaka’s fall halted, and he hung between sky and earth, like a man standing between svarga (heaven) and the ground. Takṣaka hanging in the air above the fire gave Āstīka his moment to claim the vara. Janamejaya kept his word. The yāga was stopped. Takṣaka was freed and went back to his own realm.
Recalled in the Āśramavāsika Parva (Chapter 35)
Vyāsa gave Janamejaya a darśana (sight) of his father Parīkṣit. Āstīka praised Janamejaya for this. In the same breath he recalled that Takṣaka had been freed from the sarpa-yajña, the very yajña Janamejaya had begun to avenge Parīkṣit’s death by Takṣaka’s bite, and that this freeing had come about through Janamejaya’s own satya (truthfulness).
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Āstīka Parva, Chapters 40–58
- Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapter 225
- Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 35