Inside Kurujangala: The
Vendetta Against the Snakes
retold by
Nicholas Wojcik
There is a
place in between
the sacred Yamuna river and the holy river Ganges, two destinations you
may remember from the previous stories of Khandava Forest and Anga -
its name is Kurujangala.
Of course,
Kurujangala is no
ordinary place; its people will tell you the same. They will tell you
how the animal kingdom plays a vital role in the earth's ecology, more
specifically, how the struggles that affects one species often affects
another species.
Here is
what I've been told:
It was a
calm and pleasant
day. The sun had just risen from behind the Himalayas and the wind was
at a standstill, permitting the sounds of whistling sparrows to
resonate across the hills and plains.
Then, a loud, violent
snap ripped through the air, sending the birds quickly from their nests
and into the fading echoes. A lone deer scurried frantically in the
nearby forest, hoping to escape the impending second round of gunfire.
When the deer was well out of sight, the discouraged hunter, king
Parikshita, turned unmercifully toward a defenseless snake and pulled
the trigger. The Naga snake looked at Parikshita and whispered, "For
your
cruelty, you shall die within seven days of snakebite...this I assure
you," and perished from the earth.
For
several
days the
frightened king hardly slept a wink. A wall of guards surrounded his
quarters, keeping a close watch out for any sign of snakes.
On the
sixth day a man
approached the guards and greeted them in namaste. His skin shimmered a
scaly texture and his dark eyes were no more than slivers. He
introduced himself as Takshaka, the Naga prince, and with a sinister
smile reminded the guards of king Parakshita's karma. The guards
furiously reached for the man but he vanished like smoke right before
their eyes.
At dusk on
the seventh day,
all entrances to the castle were sealed. King Parikshita sat calmly in
the highest room. He was confident that on this final night, no
creature could successfully burst through the barricades or attempt to
scale the outside wall. Just then, a tiny beetle moved casually across
the floor. The king picked it up and told his warriors, "For you see,
my
friends, that silly snake is no more a threat to me now than this tiny
beetle." The king and his guards let out a hearty chuckle but soon fell
silent, for the beetle began to quiver and twist and altogether change
shape into a giant menacing snake.
The strike
was brief and
painful; the sound of the Naga prince's teeth penetrating Parikshita's
flesh reminded the king of the sound of the discharged bullet from the
week before - and in a moment's time, Parikshita perished for his karma.
The next
day, Parikshita's
son, Janamejaya, ascended the throne. He pledged to his people that his
first act as the new leader would be to set an example for all the
snakes of
the world by sacrificing the Naga prince, Takshaka. The king's words
spread quickly throughout the snake world. All of the snakes grew
frightened and weary, believing this was the beginning of the end of
the Naga race.
On the night of the sacrifice,
a handful of black-cloaked brahmanas gathered in the center of
countless spectators, reciting their mantras and carefully arranging
large pieces of butter-soaked wood. Indra, the fire God, licked his
lips at the sight of the soiled stack of wood and immediately set the
whole pile ablaze. The force of the flames reached all the way to the
underworld where Takshaka the Naga prince was, at the time, resting.
Just then, the Rain God, Indra, who once battled Agni in the Khandava
Forest and danced on the top of the Himalayas when Anga was relieved of
its draught, intervened. Indra grabbed hold of the Naga prince and kept
him safe from the flames.
Janamejaya
grew restless. He
let out a deep sigh and noticed a man approaching him. The man knelt
before the king and introduced himself as Astika, son of a human man
and Naga woman. He called upon the king to end his mission, or he,
Astika, and all other members of the human and Naga race,
would live in grave despair for the rest of their days. This revelation
was overwhelming to the king. With Takshaka, the Naga
prince, in the safety of Indra, the Rain God, the king realized his
mission was essentially over; were it to continue, it would be
perceived by many as nothing more than a campaign of cruelty,
injustice, and hate.
King
Janamejaya announced that
his mission was over and that peace was restored between the world of
the people and that of the snakes. People and animals, near and far,
bowed simultaneously to Janamejaya for putting an end to the vendetta
against the snakes. The sun rose over the top of the Himalayas, the
whistling birds returned to their nests, and the once-frightened deer
shook hands with the son of the king who once took aim at him. A new
bridge of friendship had been built.
But in the
far distance, near
the city of Lanka, another bridge was being erected, and the animals
involved were anxious for the world to hear their story.
Here is
what I have been told:
Return to:
Author's note:
This retelling is based on
William Buck's version of the story, as it appears in the Indian epic,
"The Mahabharata."
The title, "Inside
Kurujangala: The Vendetta
Against the Snakes," is not part of the original story and was provided
by me.
In Buck's version, the
beginning of the story includes various details about characters who do
not play an active role in the scene. I omitted those details as I did
not find them relevant to the ecological theme of this storybook.
Instead, I elaborated on the setting of the story as it pertains more
towards the theme of ecology. In addition, I emphasized the strict
reactions of various animals to the hunter, king Parikshita.
In the original story, there
is a woodsman who overhears the curse related by the snake who is shot
and killed; the woodsman relates the message to the king. When the king
goes into hiding for seven days, he resides in a house that can only be
entered by using a ladder. I set the story at the king's palace in
order to emphasize the sheer fortification and protection he thinks he
has from Takshaka, the Naga prince. Also in the original version, after
king Parikshita is bitten, all of his assistants flee the scene while
Takshaka flies away. I've never heard of a flying snake!
The character Sauti (not
mentioned in this version) is the storyteller of this scene in Buck's
version. Sauti is an eyewitness to the sacrifice to be held against
Takshaka and gives a great description of the brahmanas pouring butter
on the wood using giant wooden ladles. Sauti describes how Indra saves
the snake prince by taking him up to heaven.
There is a lengthy scene
(which I have omitted) where the brahmanas chant their mantras and call
Indra and Takshaka down from heaven. Indra appears over the roaring
flames of the buttered logs, followed by Takshaka, but they do not fall
to their deaths, for Astika, the half-man, half-snake, speaks his own
mantra that suspends Indra and Takshaka in mid-air. The new king,
Janamejaya bribes Astika with gold, jewels, and women, in an effort to
capture the snake and Rain God. That is when Astika reveals that he is
born of a Naga and human. I omitted these elements of the scene in
order to keep the word count down and provide a smooth transition into
the final story.
Bibliography:
Buck, William. The
Mahabharata. (Berkeley: The University of California Press, 1973),
10-14.
Image
Information:
"Scripture"
by S'rimad Bhagavatum.
"Parakshit."
Artsist Unknown.