Mahabharata – 58

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva.

In quest of Jaratkaru the sage

The conference of the snakes over a long passage of time went by. The gods decided to churn the ocean to retrieve nectar therefrom. To churn the ocean they needed a rope. So the gods went to Vasuki & requested him to be the rope for churning. Vasuki readily accepted the proposal. Being the rope for churning he had to undergo great pain & suffering for centuries together. Finally the churning over gods were delighted beyond words. They were deeply indebted to Vasuki who had undergone untold sufferings for the weal of gods. Vasuki was already a great friend of the gods. But amidst the jubilation of the gods for succeeding in retrieving of nectar Vasuki looked melancholy. He told the gods that he was very anxious as to the fate of the serpent race because his mother had cursed them. The gods accompanied Vasuki to  Brahma the creator. Brahma smiled & told them that they must not be worried. It was he himself who had spoken through the voice of Elapatra to the brotherhood of snakes. What Elapatra told them would come true. Vasuki must see to that the snake maiden Jaratkaru were groomed properly & she must be married to the sage Jaratkaru by name.That is all.Vasuki must send spies to all over the globe to find out the sage. Brahma told that the sage was born already.

The great Sauti was narrating these stories from the Mahabharata. Saunaka the great ascetic with his fellow ascetics were all ears to Sauti. Now Saunaka asked what could be the magic behind the name of Jaratkaru?What could be the meaning of the name? Why both Vasuki’s sister & the sage are called Jaratkaru? Sauti pointed out that the word Jara means decay & karu means beautiful. Both Vasuki’s sister & the sage were exceedingly beautiful in their childhood. But both were plunged in penance. Hence the beauty of both were decadent. Consequently both of them were known as Jaratkaru.

And on the request of Saunaka Sauti said that after commanding the snakes for searching the sage Jaratkaru Vasuki eagerly waiting for the sage. But days passed even then the famous sage Jaratkaru did not look for a wife.