Kaśyapa sees Takṣaka in the forest

tatastasmiṁstu divase saptame samupasthite

rājñaḥ samīpaṁ brahmarṣiḥ kāśyapo gantumaicchata

When the seventh day arrived, a Brāhmaṇa Ṛṣi named Kaśyapa, wished to come to the king.

taṁ dadarśātha nāgendrastakṣakaḥ kāśyapaṁ tadā

tamabravītpannagendraḥ kāśyapaṁ tvaritaṁ dvijam

kva bhavāṁstvarito yāti kiṁ ca kāryaṁ cikīrṣati

King of the snakes, Takṣaka, saw Kaśyapa and that king of snakes asked Brāhmaṇa: Where are you going in a hurry? What is your business for which you go?

kāśyapa uvāca

yatra rājā kuruśreṣṭhaḥ parīkṣinnāma vai dvija

takṣakeṇa bhujaṅgena dhakṣyate kila so ̍dya vai

O Brāhmaṇa! I am going where the best of Kurus, king named Parīkṣit is. He will today be killed by the snake Takṣaka.

gacchāmyahaṁ taṁ tvaritaḥ sadyaḥ kartumapajvaram

mayā ̍bhipannaṁ taṁ cāpi na sarpo dharṣayiṣyati

I am going in a hurry to cure him, so that he, being treated by me, may not be killed by the snake.

takṣaka uvāca

kimarthaṁ taṁ mayā daṣṭaṁ saṁjīvayitumicchasi

ahaṁ sa takṣako brahmanpaśya me vīryamadbhutam

na śaktastvaṁ mayā daṣṭaṁ taṁ saṁjīvayituṁ nṛpam

ityuktvā takṣakastatra so ̍daśadvai vanaspatim

Takṣaka said: O Brāhmaṇa! I am that very Takṣaka! Why do you wish to revive king bitten by me? Behold my wonderful power! You are incapable of reviving king bitten by me! Having said this, Takṣaka there and then bit a lord of the forest - a banian tree.

sa daṣṭamātro nāgena bhasmībhūto ̍bhavannagaḥ

kāśyapaśca tato rājannajīvayata taṁ nagam

Tree reduced to ashes as soon as bitten by the snake, but, O king, Kaśyapa, however, revived it.

tatastaṁ lobhayāmāsa kāmaṁ brūhīti takṣakaḥ

sa evamuktastaṁ prāha kāśyapastakṣakaṁ punaḥ

Thereupon Takṣaka, in order to tempt him, said: Tell me what is your desire? 

and Kaśyapa replied to Takṣaka:

dhanalipsurahaṁ tatra yāmītyuktaśca tena saḥ

tamuvāca mahātmānaṁ takṣakaḥ ślakṣṇayā girā

I am going there with desire of getting wealth! Illustrious Takṣaka, thereupon told him in sweet words:

yāvaddhanaṁ prārthayase rājastasmāttato ̍dhikam

gṛhāṇa matta eva tvaṁ saṁnivartasva cānagha

O sinless one, take from me more wealth than you expect to get from the king and then go back!

sa evamukto nāgena kāśyapo dvipadāṁ varaḥ

labdhvā vittaṁ nivavṛte takṣakādyāvadīpsitam

The best of men, Kaśyapa, being thus addressed by the snake and having received from him as much as he desired to get, went back.

tasminpratigate vipre chadmanopetya takṣakaḥ

taṁ nṛpaṁ nṛpatiśreṣṭhaṁ pitaraṁ dhārmikaṁ tava

prāsādasthaṁ yattamapi dagdhavānviṣavahninā

tatastvaṁ puruṣavyāghra vijayāyābhiṣecitaḥ

When Brāhmaṇa went back, Takṣaka went in disguise to that best of kings, your virtuous father, who was then staying with all precautions in his poison. After this most lamentable event, you, O best of kings, were installed on the throne.

etaddṛṣṭaṁ śrutaṁ cāpi yathāvannupasattama

asmābhirnikhilaṁ sarvaṁ kathitaṁ te ̍tidāruṇam

O best of kings, we have told you all that we saw and heard, though account is terrible and cruel.

śrutvā cainaṁ naraśreṣṭha pārthivasya parābhavam

asya carṣeruttaṅkasya vidhatsva yadanantaram

O best of kings, you have now heard how your father, great king of the world was killed and how Ṛṣi Uttanka was insulted, do what is proper.

sautiruvāca

etasminneva kāle tu sa rājā janamejayaḥ

uvāca mantriṇaḥ sarvānidaṁ vākyamariṅdamaḥ

Sauti said: Thereupon chastiser of foes, Janamejaya addressed all his ministers thus:

janamejaya uvāca

atha tatkathitaṁ kena yadvṛttaṁ tadvanaspatau

āścaryabhūtaṁ lokasya bhasmarāśikṛtaṁ tadā

yadvṛkṣaṁ jīvayāmāsa kāśyapastakṣakeṇa vai

nūnaṁ mantrairhataviṣo na praṇaśyeta kāśyapāt

From whom have you heard this wonderful account of the forest, burnt to ashes by Takṣaka and revival again by Kaśyapa? My father could not have certainly died were poison neutralised by Mantras of Kaśyapa.

cintayāmāsa pāpātmā manasānpannagādhamaḥ

daṣṭaṁ yadi mayā vipraḥ pārthivaṁ jīvayiṣyati

Sinful wretch, worst of the snakes Takṣaka, thought in his mind: If Brāhmaṇa revives king bitten by me,

takṣakaḥ saṁhataviṣo loke yāsyati hāsyatām

vicintyaiva kṛtā tena dhruvaṁ tuṣṭirdvijasya vai

All the world will laugh at me saying: Takṣaka had no poison any longer! 

Certainly having thought so, he gratified Brāhmaṇa.

bhaviṣyati hyapāyena yasya dāsyāmi yātanām

ekaṁ tu śrotumicchāmi tadavṛttaṁ nirjane vane

saṁvādaṁ pannagendrasya kāśyapasya ca kastadā

śrutavāndṛṣṭavāṁścāpi bhavatsu kathamāgatam

śrutvā tasya vidhāsye ̍haṁ pannagāntakarīṁ matim

I have however, devised a means by which I shall punish him. I now wish to hear how you heard and how you saw what happened in the solitude of the forest, especially conversation between Takṣaka and Kaśyapa.

Having heard this, I shall devise means for destruction of the snakes.

mantriṇaḥ ūcuḥ

śṛṇu rājanyathā ̍smākaṁ yena tatkathitaṁ purā

samāgataṁ dvijendrasya pannagendrasya cādhvani

Ministers said: O king! Hear from whom we heard conversation between that king of Brāhmaṇas and king of snakes.

tasminvṛkṣe naraḥ kaścidindhanārthāya pārthivaḥ

vicinvanpūrvamārūḍhaḥ śuṣkaśākhāvanaspatau

O king! A certain man had climbed that lord of the forest to collect its dry twigs for sacrificial fuel.

na budhyetāmubhau tau ca nagasthaṁ pannagadvijau

saha tenaiva vṛkṣeṇa bhasmībhūto ̍bhavannṛpa

He was not seen by Brāhmaṇa or snake. O king! He too was reduced to ashes with the tree.

dvijaprabhāvādrājendra vyajīvatsa vanaspatiḥ

tenāgamya dvijaśreṣṭha puṁsā ̍smāsu niveditam

O king of kings, he was revived with the tree by the power of Brāhmaṇa. That man, a servant of Brāhmaṇa, came to us.

yathāvṛttaṁ tu tatsarvaṁ takṣakasya dvijasya ca

etatte kathitaṁ rājanyathā dṛṣṭaṁ śrutaṁ ca yat

śrutvā ca nṛpaśārdūla vidhatsva yadanantaram

And told us in detail what happened between Takṣaka and Brāhmaṇa. O king! We rea thus able to tell you what we saw or heard. O best of kings! Having herad it, do what should be done now.

sautiruvāca

mantriṇāṁ vacaḥ śrutvā sa rājā janamejayaḥ

paryatapyata duḥkhārtaḥ pratyapiṅṣatkaraṁ kare

Sauti said: Having heard words of ministers, king Janamejaya began to weep in grief and squeezed his hands.

niḥśvāsamuṣṇamasakṛddīrghaṁ rājīvalocanaḥ

mumocāśrūṇi ca tadā netrābhyāṁ prarudannṛpaḥ

Lotus eyed king breathed long and hot breaths, king shed tears and wept aloud.

uvāca ca mahīpālo duḥkhaśokasamanvitaḥ

durdharaṁ bāṣpamutsṛjya spṛṣṭvā cāpo yathāvidhi

mūhūrtamiva ca dhyātvā niścitya manasā nṛpaḥ

amarṣī mantriṇaḥ sarvānidaṁ vacanamabravīta

King, afflicted with grief and sorrow, shed tears and touching water according to the form, thought for a while as if sifting something in his mind. Then addressing all his ministers, he said:

janamejaya uvāca

śrutvaitadbhavatāṁ vākyaṁ piturme svargatiṁ prati

niśriteyaṁ mama matiryā ca tāṁ me nibodhata

anantaraṁ ca manye ̍haṁ takṣakāya durātmane

pratikartavyamityevaṁ yena me hiṁsitaḥ pitā

śṛṅgiṇaṁ hetumātraṁ yaḥ kṛtvā dagdhvā ca pārthivam

Janamejaya said: I have heard your account of my father ̍s ascension to heaven. Know now what is my fixed resolve. No time should be lost to average wretch Takṣaka who killed my father. Wretch killed the king, making Śṛṅgī a mere pretext.

iyaṁ durātmatā tasya kāśyapaṁ yo nyavartayat

yadā gacchetsa vai vipro nanu jīvetpitā mama

Out of malignity alone he prevented Kaśyapa from coming. If that Brāhmaṇa had come, my father would have certainly lived.

parihīyeta kiṁ tasya yadi jīvetsa pārthivaḥ

kāśyapasya prasādena mantriṇāṁ vinayena ca

What harm could have possibly come to him if the king had revived by the grace of Kaśyapa and precautions taken by ministers?

sa tu vāritavānmohātkāśyapaṁ dvijasattamam

saṁjijīvayiṣuṁ prāptaṁ rājānamaparājitam

He, being ignorant of my anger, prevented that best of Brāhmaṇa, Kaśyapa, from coming to my unconquerable father.

mahānatikramo hyeṣa takṣakasya durātmanaḥ

dvijasya yodadad dravyaṁ māṁ nṛpaṁ jīvayediti

Aggression of the wretch Takṣaka is great, for he gave wealth to Brāhmaṇa, so that he might not revive the king.

uttaṅkasya priyaṁ kartumātmanaśca mahatpriyam

bhavatāṁ caiva sarveṣāṁ gacchāmyapacitiṁ pituḥ

I must avenge myself on my father ̍s enemy, to please myself, to please Uttanka and you all.