Vasuki Convenes a Meeting of Serpents to Find a Way to Neutralize Kadru’s Curse
Table of Contents (The Complete Mahabharata in Simple English)
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| Note: In the previous post, we read about how Sesha Naga stabilized the earth and also moved away from his vile siblings. In this post, we will read about the noble serpent, Vasuki, and how he convened a meeting of all his siblings to find a remedy for Kadru’s curse (that all the snakes would perish in raja Janamejaya’s snake sacrifice). Just in case you’ve forgotten, Janamajeya was Parikshit’s son, Uttara & Abhimanyu’s grandson, and Subhadra & Arjun’s great-grandson. |
Vasuki, another noble son of Kadru, had spent much time deliberating over how to ensure the welfare of all the snakes by neautralizing his mother’s curse. One day, he convened a meeting with his brothers (Airavata and others) to discuss the best course of action.
Addressing his brothers, Vasuki said, “O sinless ones, you already know that the result of this curse will be the destruction of all the snakes when Janamajeya conducts his snake sacrifice. It is our duty to find a remedy to this problem.”
Vasuki explained to his brothers that all curses had a remedy, but a curse that was uttered in the presence of the eternal was difficult to neautralize.
In a state of dejection, he said, “Surely, the time for our species to perish has come. Why else would the almighty allow our mother to utter such words?”
| Note: I’d like to point out here that when we are wronged by another person, we often respond like Vasuki did. We assume that since the almighty allowed a certain event to happen, it must be in our destiny or karma to suffer. This may or may not be true. However, to assume the worst, is, in my opinion, unwise. A better course of action is to find the reason why the difficult event might have happened, to find the lesson that the almighty might be giving us. And then to learn from the event, change ourselves, and put effort for our continued welfare. The fatalistic attitude of surrendering to everything that happens in life is not always the wisest course of action, especially not in Kaliyuga when virtuous people face additional difficulties due to the very nature of this yuga where virtue is oppressed and vice is empowered. |
Recovering from the dejection, Vasuki continued, “But, in any case, it is our duty to ensure our safety. Therefore, without wasting any more time, let us discuss various solutions and find a way to free ourselves from this curse. Let us act like the devas in ancient times who found a way to pacify Agni when he had shunned the world and retreated into a cave after Sage Bhrigu cursed him for speaking the truth to a rakshasa.
| Note: In the next post, we will read about the strategies proposed by various snakes. |
Table of Contents (The Complete Mahabharata in Simple English)
Next Post: Strategies Proposed by Various Serpents for Their Welfare