Chapter 44

“Sauti said, ‘Then the councillors beholding the king in the coils ofTakshaka, became pale with fear and wept in exceeding grief. And hearingthe roar of Takshaka, the ministers all fled. And as they were flyingaway in great grief, they saw Takshaka, the king of snakes, thatwonderful serpent, coursing through the blue sky like a streak of the hueof the lotus, and looking very much like the vermilion-coloured line on awoman’s crown dividing the dark masses of her hair in the middle.

“And the mansion in which the king was living blazed up with Takshaka’spoison. And the king’s councillors, on beholding it, fled away in alldirections. And the king himself fell down, as if struck by lightning.

“And when the king was laid low by Takshaka’s poison, his councillorswith the royal priest–a holy Brahmana–performed all his last rites. Allthe citizens, assembling together, made the minor son of the deceasedmonarch their king. And the people called their new king, that slayer ofall enemies, that hero of the Kuru race, by the name of Janamejaya. Andthat best of monarchs, Janamejaya, though a child, was wise in mind. Andwith his councillors and priest, the eldest son Parikshita, that bullamongst the Kurus, ruled the kingdom like his heroic great-grand-father(Yudhishthira). And the ministers of the youthful monarch, beholding thathe could now keep his enemies in check, went to Suvarnavarman, the kingof Kasi, and asked him his daughter Vapushtama for a bride. And the kingof Kasi, after due inquiries, bestowed with ordained rites, his daughterVapushtama on that mighty hero of Kuru race. And the latter, receivinghis bride, became exceedingly glad. And he gave not his heart at any timeto any other woman. And gifted with great energy, he wandered in pursuitof pleasure, with a cheerful heart, on expanses of water and amid woodsand flowery fields. And that first of monarchs passed his time inpleasure as Pururavas of old did, on receiving the celestial damselUrvasi. Herself fairest of the fair, the damsel Vapushtama too, devotedto her lord and celebrated for her beauty having gained a desirablehusband, pleased him by the excess of her affection during the period hespent in the pursuit of pleasure.'”