KING PARIKSHIT DISHONORS SAGE SHAMIK

One day, king Parikshit went on a hunting excursion. Till noon, he could not find a game. He was feeling restless because of hunger, thirst and fatigue. Searching water and shelter the king reached the hermitage of the sage Shamik. Shamik was in deep meditation so he did not welcome the king. For the first time the king Parikshit grew angry with a Brahmin. As a revenge and to show his anger he hanged a dead snake around the sage’s neck.

Maharshi Shamik’s son Sringi was also an effluent person. When he came to know about his father’s insult by the king Parikshit, he cursed him that on the seventh day from that moment, Takshak, the Naga would bite the king for his violation of kingly glory. There in the capital, king Parikshit realized his mistake and felt sorry for his deed. But he welcomed the curse. Transferring the kingdom to his son Janamejay, king Parikshit reached the banks of the river Ganges and sat there on a fast unto death. Very soon all the great sages and kings began to throng there. King Parikshit welcomed them and begged them to recite the plays of God for him. He also asked what a creature ought to do always, and what were the duties of those who face an imminent death.

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