Episode 1 — Vyasa’s Dilemma and Janamejaya’s Yagna
Story of Mahabharata: Prologue
After the righteous reign of Yudhishṭhira, his descendants ruled Hastinapura. But with each generation, dharma — once bright as a steady flame — began to wane. Parīkshit, grandson of Arjuna and son of Abhimanyu, ascended the throne in this twilight of virtue. Brave and learned though he was, humility gave way to pride.
One day, while hunting, Parīkshit entered the hermitage of Sage Shamīka. The sage sat in deep meditation and did not rise to greet the king. Angered, Parīkshit placed a dead snake around the sage’s neck in mockery and left. When the sage’s son, Śhringi, heard of this insult, he cursed the king: “Within seven days, the serpent Takshaka shall strike and end your life.” And so it came to pass. Despite every guard and spell, Takshaka entered the palace and bit Parīkshit, reducing him to ashes.
When news reached Janamejaya, Parīkshit’s son, his grief hardened into vengeance. He vowed to destroy the entire serpent race. Thus began the Sarpa Satra — the Great Snake Sacrifice. Priests chanted fierce mantras that drew serpents from every corner into the blazing altar. Even Takshaka was being pulled toward the flames when a young boy, Āstika — son of the sage Jaratkāru and the serpent-woman Mānasā — entered the hall.
“Evil can never be completely destroyed,” said Āstika. “It exists to preserve the balance of creation. Even the serpent, whom you call evil, has its place in the world.” Moved by his wisdom, the king stopped the sacrifice. Takshaka was spared, and the serpent race lived on.
Āstika’s words reveals a truth at the heart of the Mahābhārata — dharma is complex and contextual. It is not the destruction of evil, but the restraint that keeps it from consuming the world. This marked the turning point between Dvāpara and Kali Yuga, when dharma, once firm on four pillars, began to stand on one.
Vaishampayana Narrates the Mahabharata
It was at this very assembly of Sarpa Satra, during a pause in the rites, that Sage Vaiśampāyana, disciple of Vyāsa, first narrated the Mahābhārata to King Janamejaya.
Brahma Directs Vyasa to Write the Epic
When Vyāsa offered his obeisance, Brahma appeared before him.
Vyasa:
“You asked me to compile the Vedas — and I did. Now you ask me to write the Mahābhārata. Four generations have passed since Kurukshetra, yet the memory of blood and ruin haunts me.”Brahma:
“That is why you must write, Vyāsa. Record how dharma and adharma mingled — how even the noble faltered. Pandavas and Kauravas are your progenies. Is it not befitting that a great grand father writes about them? None else is more fit to tell this tale.”Vyasa
: True, my Lord. I know Bhishma, Acharya Drona, Karna, Duryodhana, Arjuna and Lord Krishna quite intimately. Yet... all rules of Dharma were flouted in this war. Even gods faulted in this war. People who swore by truth told lies in this war. Won't I have to write about these issues?Brahma
: Yes, you have to write about them! When you are writing about Dharma, you have to write about Adharma too. You have to tell the world how the Kali Yuga, filled with adharma, began.Vyasa
: But it is mired in slime and mud.Brahma
: But that is where Bhagavata Gita originated!Vyasa
: It made even Dharmaputra utter lies!Brahma
: Did Karna not fight to keep up the promise to his mother even at the cost of his own life in this war? Did he not stop from aiming the deadly Nagastra the second time and spared Arjuna's life, losing his own life instead in this Kurukshetra war?Vyasa
: Mahatma Bhishma was killed by Pandavas by keeping a woman in front in this war.Brahma
: And this Mahatma did nothing to stop the shame of Draupadi being disrobed in public.Vyasa
: Circumstances make valiant become cowardly; they make the pious commit sins.Brahma
: And I am asking you to describe those circumstances. Write about the diseases, about their causes and also about the steps to prevent them.Vyāsa agreed, but the task seemed boundless — a hundred thousand verses long. On Brahma’s advice, he sought Ganesha as his scribe. Ganesha agreed on one condition: Vyāsa must dictate without pause. Vyāsa added one of his own — Ganesha must write only after grasping each verse’s meaning. Whenever Vyāsa needed time to think, he would utter a complex verse, forcing Ganesha to pause and reflect. When Ganesha’s pen broke, he broke off his own tusk and continued writing — thus, through their divine partnership, the Mahābhārata took form.
Janamejaya's Yagna
On the final day of the sacrifice, King Janamejaya addressed the gathering:
King:
“When I studied under Sage Uttanga, I asked him — why do men delight in war and slaughter? He said: ‘Kurukshetra is not a land, but the human mind — where dharma and adharma constantly battle. Let us incinerate all the dark thoughts in the human mind in this sacrificial fire. May all our evil thoughts – lust, anger and greed – turn into snakes and burn in the embers. When the last of the snakes get scorched, there will be no dark areas in the human mind, only pure light. Carry on! Let us burn all the dark thoughts.’”The king urged the priests to continue their chants, but Takshaka and his son do not appear.
Vyasa Blesses Takshaka and His Son
Sage Vyāsa, in meditation, is visited by Takshaka and his son.
Takshaka:
“I killed Parīkshit because I was bound by a sage’s command. You should save us.”Vyasa:
“Your vow is done. Give up anger — it only destroys. Janamejaya’s yagna will end without its goal. No life is superfluous in God’s creation. From worm to man, all have their place.”Astika Defends Takshaka
Despite the priests’ efforts, Takshaka stayed protected. Sage Āstika entered and praised the king’s might.
King:
“You please me with your words! Ask any boon.”Vaishampayana:
“Do not promise in haste.”King:
“I descend from Karna — I keep my word. Ask!”Astika:
“Then grant me Takshaka’s life.”The king is shocked and offers wealth instead, but Āstika refuses, revealing his serpent lineage. The king sends for Vyāsa and Vaiśampāyana to act as mediators.
Vyasa Explains Why Takshaka Should be Spared
Vyāsa arrives, and the king questions him.
King:
“Was the Kurukshetra war truly for dharma — or for power?”Vyasa:
“For both. That is swa-dharma — each fought for what they believed just.”King
:If everybody fought only for justice, why was that war necessary?Astika
: What appears as justice to one appears as injustice to another. What one believes the other refuses to believe. You are looking at only your justification. All I am saying is that even Kauravas are as righteous as the Pandavas.King
: Oh revered Guru, Are Yudhishtra and Duryodhana equal in terms of justice? Is Yudhishtra's righteousness the same as Duryodhana's dharma?Vyasa
: That's what the God thinks too. When Yudhishtra went to the heaven, it was Duryodhana who welcomed home with "welcome, my elder brother"! Yudhishtra was shocked and said "You too in heaven"? Yudhishtra considered himself as dharmatama. That is why he carried the animosity to the heaven too. But Duryodhana never considered himself as dharmatma or adharmi. Wherever fate poked its way, he followed it as a thread follows the needle. That was his swa-dharma.King
: What justification can you give for protecting Takshaka?Astika
: Your ancestor Arjuna burned Khandava forest and killed Takshaka's wife Takshaki. That is why Takshaka killed your father. Every action will always give rise to an opposite reaction.King
: By saving Takshaka, You have sowed the seeds of evil for the coming days.Astika
: Yes, but a little evil should be left behind to survive. To speak in your language, a few serpents should be allowed to stay. Only then will good forces fight against the evil.Vyasa:
“Astika speaks truth. I too blessed Takshaka. He has the right to live.”Janamejaya relents and grants Takshaka’s life.
King:
“Does it mean that Yudhishthira was unrighteous, and Duryodhana just?”Vyasa:
“No. Yudhishthira was born of Dharma himself. Yet, if fate could make even him utter a lie, then the new age began upon untruth. Still, truth remains eternal — upheld by the kshatriya spirit, by Dharma himself. And that is the essence I wrote in the Mahābhārata — to reveal how dharma and adharma are interwoven in the fabric of human life.”The story begins, not with war, but with Vyāsa’s quest to understand the tangled web of dharma and adharma that shaped an age.
Comments
Post a Comment