Mahabharata – 66
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra
Mukhopadhyaya
AdiParva
AdiParva
The snake king Vasuki consoled
While the king of men Janamejaya was rejoicing to find the mighty
snakes killed one after another in the sacrificial fire, the great
Vasuki the king of the snakes was plunged in great sorrow. He wept for
the death every time a snake died. He felt that he was not worthy of
the throne of the snake dom. Because the king of the snakes could not
stand in the way of the sacrifice & he was helpless before mankind
determined to obliterate the species called snake from the face of the
globe. Today also we civilized men are out to destroy the environment.
We do not any longer use mantras to destroy the environment. We have
enough scientific tools & chemicals instead of mantras to liberate the
world from all subhuman species as well as gods & angels. The
geologists tell us of the dinosours during the Mesozoic age. Some
sixty six million years ago the dinosours were exterminated from the
face of the globe. May be the memory of the same has been displaced in
the dream of the Mahabharata that vividly describes how snakes were
being killed by the fire sacrifice conducted by man.
Vasuki witnessing the mass massacre of his subjects who were as close
to his heart as his own children tottered trembling & somehow reached
his sister Manasa. The hands of Manasa were given to Jaratkaru the
great sage so that they would beget a child who might rescue the
snakes from impending extermination. Manasa was shocked to find his
elder brother as pale as the visage of death.
Manasa went fast to his brother & received him with great honor & was
alarmed to see tears in the eyes of his elder brother.She wiped his
eyes & asked
Why Sir ?What ails you?
Vasuki reported the latest developments in nature & the world. He
told her about the snake sacrifice & the mayhem of the mighty snakes.
Vasuki added ----
My head reels & my heart breaks to learn the news of the death of
millions of snakes who are my subjects. My body is burning I can not
any longer distinguish between one direction & another. I am about to
fall down from the loss of consciousness. My brain is turning. My
sight is failing. Today only I shall have to leap into the sacrificial
fire raised by men. Dear sister save the snake community from the
impending doom. We brought you up with great love & care. You must
protect the snakes like another mother of snakes. We bestowed you on
the great sage Jaratkaru so that your child is born to save us from
extermination. Now that you have a child who is well versed in sastras
.Your son Astika is a gem of a Brahamin. His heart is overflowing with
compassion for all things great & small.Ask him so that the great
attack launched by man against the snake race could be stemmed.Or else
I shall have to go to death in an attitude. I can not stand death in
life any longer.
Manasa was perfectly composed. She told her lamenting brother that he
must not worry. At once she sent for Astika her son. In no time Astika
turned up before his mother & the maternal uncle. He had the
brightness of the sun. Peace was overflowing from his appearance like
the moon beams that flood the world. Manasa told Astika every thing
that shocked the tranqullity of the great snake king Vasuki. Manasa
asked Astika to rescue the snakes & relieve Vasukiu of sorrows
boundless.
Astika however asked Manasa -----
Tell me mother why & how the snakes had been killed.Tell me the story
& purpose of your marriage.
Manasa replied ----
The mother of the species of the snakes was Kadru, the daughter of the
great sage Ksayapa the son of the Brahma the creator.She asked her
children, the snakes to perform a fraud.The tail of Uchchaisrava the
celestial horse is white. But the snakes must embrace the tail of the
celestial horse with their bodies in such a way that it might look
black. Many of the snakes refused to obey their mother. Because they
did not want to participate in any falsehood. Their mother was very
much annoyed with the snakes presently. She cursed them that they must
be killed in a great fire. It is said that the creator Brahma was a
witness to it & he approved of the curse. Later on the gods hit upon a
plan to extract nectar from the seas. Vasuki the king of the snakes
used to lead a life of a sage who was devoted to the well being of the
gods & the world.So he agreed to function as the rope to be used in
the churning of the ocean. Thereby he under went great travails.The
gods were very happy with Vasuki. Vasuki told them that he was scared
of the curse of mother Kadru.The gods shared his anxieties. Vasuki
accompanied them to the creator Brahma. Brahma prophesied that the
snakes should be rescued by a young lad named Astika born of Vasuki’s
sister Manasa & the great sage Jaratkaru.
Dear Astika you want to learn about my marriage. My elder brother
looked after me like my father.He groomed me with great care & he was
waiting for my wedding with the great sage Jaratkaru. The sage came in
the way & we were married.
The burning of the snakes has been inaugurated by man. Now here you
are Astika. Do your duty as pre ordained by the creator Brahma. Look
at your uncle. Though he is immortal. He churned the ocean to get at
nectar for the gods who always look after the well being of the
creation. While churning the ocean my elder brother had to drink
nectar. He bathed in nectar.But he can not bear with the mass
killing of the snakes. He is dying of despondency & untold sorrow.
Astika listened to his mother with great devotion. Now he spoke to
Vasuki in sweet words that likened the silent songs of the stars when
they show up in the milky way & told him ---
Oh uncle! Do not lament any more I am presently visiting the place
where snake sacrifice takes place. I will make peace with men & your
snake kingdom will be rescued by the grace of the Lord. Trust me. You
have a lot of work at hand to save Nature & the designs of gods.You
must take heart. You must not think of dying. Otherwise we will lose
our pater familias.We will be orphans.
The speech of Astika had a tonic effect on the snake king Vasuki he
was charged with fresh vigor & fresh hopes.
Curiously enough just as in the Bhagavad Gita it is said that whenever
mischief reigns supreme in the human world god reincarnates himself
over & over again to help the pious so that they are not destroyed.In
the same way it seems that god incarnates in every species to rescue
them. The Emmanuel of the snakes was Astika. When the snakes were
saved from utter extinction the whole world joyed over it. And men
worship Manasa the mother of Astika the way we worship Mother Mary.
While the king of men Janamejaya was rejoicing to find the mighty
snakes killed one after another in the sacrificial fire, the great
Vasuki the king of the snakes was plunged in great sorrow. He wept for
the death every time a snake died. He felt that he was not worthy of
the throne of the snake dom. Because the king of the snakes could not
stand in the way of the sacrifice & he was helpless before mankind
determined to obliterate the species called snake from the face of the
globe. Today also we civilized men are out to destroy the environment.
We do not any longer use mantras to destroy the environment. We have
enough scientific tools & chemicals instead of mantras to liberate the
world from all subhuman species as well as gods & angels. The
geologists tell us of the dinosours during the Mesozoic age. Some
sixty six million years ago the dinosours were exterminated from the
face of the globe. May be the memory of the same has been displaced in
the dream of the Mahabharata that vividly describes how snakes were
being killed by the fire sacrifice conducted by man.
Vasuki witnessing the mass massacre of his subjects who were as close
to his heart as his own children tottered trembling & somehow reached
his sister Manasa. The hands of Manasa were given to Jaratkaru the
great sage so that they would beget a child who might rescue the
snakes from impending extermination. Manasa was shocked to find his
elder brother as pale as the visage of death.
Manasa went fast to his brother & received him with great honor & was
alarmed to see tears in the eyes of his elder brother.She wiped his
eyes & asked
Why Sir ?What ails you?
Vasuki reported the latest developments in nature & the world. He
told her about the snake sacrifice & the mayhem of the mighty snakes.
Vasuki added ----
My head reels & my heart breaks to learn the news of the death of
millions of snakes who are my subjects. My body is burning I can not
any longer distinguish between one direction & another. I am about to
fall down from the loss of consciousness. My brain is turning. My
sight is failing. Today only I shall have to leap into the sacrificial
fire raised by men. Dear sister save the snake community from the
impending doom. We brought you up with great love & care. You must
protect the snakes like another mother of snakes. We bestowed you on
the great sage Jaratkaru so that your child is born to save us from
extermination. Now that you have a child who is well versed in sastras
.Your son Astika is a gem of a Brahamin. His heart is overflowing with
compassion for all things great & small.Ask him so that the great
attack launched by man against the snake race could be stemmed.Or else
I shall have to go to death in an attitude. I can not stand death in
life any longer.
Manasa was perfectly composed. She told her lamenting brother that he
must not worry. At once she sent for Astika her son. In no time Astika
turned up before his mother & the maternal uncle. He had the
brightness of the sun. Peace was overflowing from his appearance like
the moon beams that flood the world. Manasa told Astika every thing
that shocked the tranqullity of the great snake king Vasuki. Manasa
asked Astika to rescue the snakes & relieve Vasukiu of sorrows
boundless.
Astika however asked Manasa -----
Tell me mother why & how the snakes had been killed.Tell me the story
& purpose of your marriage.
Manasa replied ----
The mother of the species of the snakes was Kadru, the daughter of the
great sage Ksayapa the son of the Brahma the creator.She asked her
children, the snakes to perform a fraud.The tail of Uchchaisrava the
celestial horse is white. But the snakes must embrace the tail of the
celestial horse with their bodies in such a way that it might look
black. Many of the snakes refused to obey their mother. Because they
did not want to participate in any falsehood. Their mother was very
much annoyed with the snakes presently. She cursed them that they must
be killed in a great fire. It is said that the creator Brahma was a
witness to it & he approved of the curse. Later on the gods hit upon a
plan to extract nectar from the seas. Vasuki the king of the snakes
used to lead a life of a sage who was devoted to the well being of the
gods & the world.So he agreed to function as the rope to be used in
the churning of the ocean. Thereby he under went great travails.The
gods were very happy with Vasuki. Vasuki told them that he was scared
of the curse of mother Kadru.The gods shared his anxieties. Vasuki
accompanied them to the creator Brahma. Brahma prophesied that the
snakes should be rescued by a young lad named Astika born of Vasuki’s
sister Manasa & the great sage Jaratkaru.
Dear Astika you want to learn about my marriage. My elder brother
looked after me like my father.He groomed me with great care & he was
waiting for my wedding with the great sage Jaratkaru. The sage came in
the way & we were married.
The burning of the snakes has been inaugurated by man. Now here you
are Astika. Do your duty as pre ordained by the creator Brahma. Look
at your uncle. Though he is immortal. He churned the ocean to get at
nectar for the gods who always look after the well being of the
creation. While churning the ocean my elder brother had to drink
nectar. He bathed in nectar.But he can not bear with the mass
killing of the snakes. He is dying of despondency & untold sorrow.
Astika listened to his mother with great devotion. Now he spoke to
Vasuki in sweet words that likened the silent songs of the stars when
they show up in the milky way & told him ---
Oh uncle! Do not lament any more I am presently visiting the place
where snake sacrifice takes place. I will make peace with men & your
snake kingdom will be rescued by the grace of the Lord. Trust me. You
have a lot of work at hand to save Nature & the designs of gods.You
must take heart. You must not think of dying. Otherwise we will lose
our pater familias.We will be orphans.
The speech of Astika had a tonic effect on the snake king Vasuki he
was charged with fresh vigor & fresh hopes.
Curiously enough just as in the Bhagavad Gita it is said that whenever
mischief reigns supreme in the human world god reincarnates himself
over & over again to help the pious so that they are not destroyed.In
the same way it seems that god incarnates in every species to rescue
them. The Emmanuel of the snakes was Astika. When the snakes were
saved from utter extinction the whole world joyed over it. And men
worship Manasa the mother of Astika the way we worship Mother Mary.
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