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Family

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	.{{sfn\|Raychaudhuri\|2006\|pp=14,39}}		.{{sfn\|Raychaudhuri\|2006\|pp=14,39}}

	His bodily existence ended due to the curse of a [[Brahmin\|Brahmana]], who used the [[Nāga]] king, [[Takshaka]], the ruler of [[Taxila]] as the instrument of death.<ref>{{cite web\|title=Maharaja Parikshit\|url=http://www.dharmakshetra.com/sages/Parikshit.htm\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714153153/http://www.dharmakshetra.com/sages/Parikshit.htm\|archive-date=14 July 2006\|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Parikshit was the husband of Queen Madravati and was succeeded by his son [[Janamejaya]].<ref>Misra, V.S. (2007). Ancient Indian Dynasties, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{ISBN\|81-7276-413-8}}, p.278</ref> According to the ''Mahabharata'', he ruled for 24 years and died at the age of sixty.{{sfn\|Raychaudhuri\|2006\|pp=19}}		His bodily existence ended due to the curse of a [[Brahmin\|Brahmana]], who used the [[Nāga]] king, [[Takshaka]], the ruler of [[Taxila]] as the instrument of death.<ref>{{cite web\|title=Maharaja Parikshit\|url=http://www.dharmakshetra.com/sages/Parikshit.htm\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714153153/http://www.dharmakshetra.com/sages/Parikshit.htm\|archive-date=14 July 2006\|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Parikshit was the husband of Queen Madravati and Queen Adrika and was succeeded by his son [[Janamejaya]].<ref>Misra, V.S. (2007). Ancient Indian Dynasties, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{ISBN\|81-7276-413-8}}, p.278</ref> According to the ''Mahabharata'', he ruled for 24 years and died at the age of sixty.{{sfn\|Raychaudhuri\|2006\|pp=19}}

	A thesis based upon Ugrasravas’ narration suggests an alternative interpretation regarding Parikshit’s lineage. In this interpretation, Parikshit fathered a firstborn son with an unnamed Putrika wife. Although the child was Parikshit’s firstborn, he was the son of a Putrika and therefore could not succeed his father on the throne as he was to be the heir of his maternal grandfather. This son’s name was Sringin; his maternal grandfather was Samika. As this would leave Parikshit without an heir, he had another son, Janamejaya, with a second wife, Madravati. Sringin and Samika are seen again in the hunting story that results in Parikshit’s demise.		A thesis based upon Ugrasravas’ narration suggests an alternative interpretation regarding Parikshit’s lineage. In this interpretation, Parikshit fathered a firstborn son with an unnamed Putrika wife. Although the child was Parikshit’s firstborn, he was the son of a Putrika and therefore could not succeed his father on the throne as he was to be the heir of his maternal grandfather. This son’s name was Sringin; his maternal grandfather was Samika. As this would leave Parikshit without an heir, he had another son, Janamejaya, with a second wife, Madravati. Sringin and Samika are seen again in the hunting story that results in Parikshit’s demise.

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	\| successor= [[Janamejaya]] (son)		\| successor= [[Janamejaya]] (son)
	\| dynasty =[[Kuru Kingdom\|Kuru]]		\| dynasty =[[Kuru Kingdom\|Kuru]]
	\| spouse = [[Madravti]] or Iravati		\| spouse = [[Madravti]] or Iravati, [[Draft:Adrika\|Adrika]] or Nandani
	\| father = [[Abhimanyu]]		\| father = [[Abhimanyu]]
	\| mother = [[Uttarā (Mahabharata)\|Uttarā]]		\| mother = [[Uttarā (Mahabharata)\|Uttarā]]

imported>EditWiki45 at 08:25, 13 August 2021

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New page

{{short description|King of Kuru Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image = Sage Sukdeva and King Parikshit.png
| caption = Sage [[Shuka]] and King Parikshit
| title = King of [[Kuru Kingdom]]
| predecessor = [[Yudhishthira]] (Grand uncle)
| successor= [[Janamejaya]] (son)
| dynasty =[[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]]
| spouse = [[Madravti]] or Iravati
| father = [[Abhimanyu]]
| mother = [[Uttarā (Mahabharata)|Uttarā]]
| issue = {{hlist|[[Janamejaya]]|Ugrasen|Bhimasena|Srutasena}}
}}

'''Parikshit''' ({{lang-sa|परीक्षित्}}, {{IAST3|Parīkṣit}}{{refn|group=note|"Parīkṣit" is the correct [[Sanskrit]] form of the name. "Pārikṣita" refers to a son/descendant of Parikṣit, e.g. [[Janamejaya]] (Witzel 1997). Parīkṣita is a past participle meaning "examined", not a name.}}) was a [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]] king who reigned during the Middle [[Vedic period]] (12th-9th centuries BCE).<ref>[[Michael Witzel]] (1989), ''Tracing the Vedic dialects'' in ''Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes'' ed. [[Colette Caillat|Caillat]], Paris, 97–265.</ref> Along with his son and successor [[Janamejaya]], he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of [[Vedas|Vedic hymns]] into collections, and the development of the orthodox [[srauta]] ritual, transforming the Kuru realm into the dominant political and cultural center of northern [[Iron Age India]].<ref>Michael Witzel, "Early Sanskritization. Origins and development of the Kuru State". B. Kölver (ed.), Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien. The state, the Law, and Administration in Classical India. München : R. Oldenbourg 1997, 27-52 {{cite web|title=Archived copy|url=http://users.primushost.com/~india/ejvs/issues.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060815004414/http://users.primushost.com/~india/ejvs/issues.html|archive-date=15 August 2006|access-date=2010-07-05|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He also appears as a figure in later legends and traditions. According to the [[Mahabharata]] and the [[Puranas]], he succeeded his grand uncle [[Yudhishthira]] to the throne of [[Hastinapur]].{{refn|group=note|According to the [[Mahabharata]] his capital was at [[Hastinapura]]. But the [[Vedic literature]] indicates that the early [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]]s had their capital at Āsandīvat,<ref>Michael Witzel, "Early Sanskritization. Origins and development of the Kuru State". B. Kölver (ed.), Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien. The state, the Law, and Administration in Classical India. München : R. Oldenbourg 1997, 27-52 {{cite web |url=http://users.primushost.com/~india/ejvs/issues.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-07-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060815004414/http://users.primushost.com/~india/ejvs/issues.html |archive-date=15 August 2006 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> identified with modern [[Assandh]] in [[Haryana]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AL45AQAAIAAJ&q=asandh |title = Prāci-jyotī: Digest of Indological Studies|year = 1967}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA177 |title = Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|isbn = 9780143414216|last1 = Dalal|first1 = Roshen|year = 2010}}</ref>{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|p=18}} }}

==Mentions==
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Wajang kulit pop voorstellende Pariksit TMnr 8-290.jpg|thumb|Parikesit in the [[Java Island|Javanese]] ''[[wayang kulit]]'' shadow theatre]]
<blockquote>
"Listen to the good praise of the King belonging to all people, who, (like) a god, is above men,
(listen to the praise) of Parikṣit! - ‘Parikṣit has just now made us peaceful dwelling; darkness
has just now run to its dwelling.’ The Kuru householder, preparing (grains) for milling, speaks
(thus) with his wife. — ‘What shall I bring you, sour milk, the ''mantha'' [a barley/milk drink?' the wife keeps asking in the Realm of King Pariksit. — By itself, the ripe
barley bends heavily (''iva'') over the deep track of the path. The dynasty thrives auspiciously in the
Realm of King Parikṣit.”<ref>Witzel 1997</ref><ref>Bloomfield, Hymns of the Atharva-Veda. ([[Sacred Books of the East]] 42.) Oxford 1897, repr. Delhi 1964</ref>
</blockquote>

Parikshit is eulogised in a hymn of the ''[[Atharvaveda]]'' (XX.127.7-10) as a great [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]] king (''Kauravya''), whose realm flowed with milk and honey and people lived happily in his kingdom. He is mentioned as the ''raja vishvajanina'' (universal king).{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|pp=10-13}}

According to the Mahabharata, Parikshit married princess Madravati of the [[Madra Kingdom]], reigned for 24 years, and died at the age of 60, but this is a much later text and cannot be confirmed as historical fact.<ref>Raychaudhuri (1996), p.19</ref>

==Historicity==
Only one Parikshit is mentioned in Vedic literature; however, post-Vedic literature (Mahabharata and Puranas) seems to indicate the existence of two kings by this name, one who lived before the [[Kurukshetra War]] was an ancestor to the [[Pandavas]], and one who lived later and was a descendant. Historian [[H. C. Raychaudhuri]] believes that the second Parikshit's description better corresponds to the Vedic king, whereas the information available about the first is scanty and inconsistent, but Raychaudhuri questions whether there were actually two distinct kings. He suggests that the doubling was eventually "invented by genealogists to account for anachronisms" in the later parts of the Mahabharata, as "a bardic duplication of the same original individual regarding whose exact place in the Kuru genealogy no unanimous tradition had survived," and therefore there "is an intrusion into the genealogical texts" of the late, post-Vedic tradition, which also has two of Parikshit's son Janamejaya.<ref>Raychaudhuri (1996), pp.13-19</ref>{{refn|group=note|Also, Witzel (1995) only refers to one Parikshit and one Janamejaya.}}[[File:Late Vedic Culture (1100-500 BCE).png|right|thumb|[[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]] and other kingdoms of the [[Vedic period]]]]

[[Michael Witzel]] notes Parikṣhit to be an early Kuru king; he dates the Pārikṣita Dynasty to c. 1200-1100 BC (the late Rig-Vedic period).<ref>Michael Witzel (1989), [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/dialects.pdf ''Tracing the Vedic dialects''], p. 19, 141</ref> In contrast, [[Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri|H.C. Raychaudhuri]] had dated him to ninth century BC.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|p=29}} Witzel deems Parikṣhit (along with other kings of the dynasty) to be primarily responsible for the collation of diverse strands of material into singular "national" collections — [[Rigveda samhita|Rig Veda Samhita]], [[Samaveda|Samveda Samhitas]] and [[Khilani]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Witzel|first=Michael|title=The Realm of the Kurus: Origins and Development of the First State in India|publisher=Summaries of the Congress of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies|year=1989|location=Kyoto|pages=1–3}}</ref>

==Family==
[[File:King Parikshit Hunting.jpg|thumb|left|King Parikshit hunting]]
[[File:Parikshit was crowned by Yudhisthira.jpg|thumb|Parikshit was crowned by Yudhisthira]]
There is no unanimity regarding the father of Parikshit among epics and Puranas. He is depicted as the son of [[Abhimanyu]], but is more popular as Abhimanyu's posthumous son.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|pp=11-16}}<ref>{{cite book|last= Dowson|first= John|title=A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature|url=https://archive.org/stream/aclassicaldictio00dowsuoft#page/n45/mode/2up|year=1888|publisher=Trubner & Co., London|page=1}}</ref>

According to the ''[[Shatapatha Brahmana]]'' (XIII.5.4), Parikshita had four sons, Janamejaya, Bhimasena, Ugrasena and Śrutasena. All of them performed the ''[[ashvamedha|Asvamedha Yajna]]''
.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|pp=14,39}}

His bodily existence ended due to the curse of a [[Brahmin|Brahmana]], who used the [[Nāga]] king, [[Takshaka]], the ruler of [[Taxila]] as the instrument of death.<ref>{{cite web|title=Maharaja Parikshit|url=http://www.dharmakshetra.com/sages/Parikshit.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714153153/http://www.dharmakshetra.com/sages/Parikshit.htm|archive-date=14 July 2006|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Parikshit was the husband of Queen Madravati and was succeeded by his son [[Janamejaya]].<ref>Misra, V.S. (2007). Ancient Indian Dynasties, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, {{ISBN|81-7276-413-8}}, p.278</ref> According to the ''Mahabharata'', he ruled for 24 years and died at the age of sixty.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|pp=19}}

A thesis based upon Ugrasravas’ narration suggests an alternative interpretation regarding Parikshit’s lineage. In this interpretation, Parikshit fathered a firstborn son with an unnamed Putrika wife. Although the child was Parikshit’s firstborn, he was the son of a Putrika and therefore could not succeed his father on the throne as he was to be the heir of his maternal grandfather. This son’s name was Sringin; his maternal grandfather was Samika. As this would leave Parikshit without an heir, he had another son, Janamejaya, with a second wife, Madravati. Sringin and Samika are seen again in the hunting story that results in Parikshit’s demise.

==Prophecy of Life==

[[File:Sage Sukdeva narrating the story of Krishna to Raja Parikshata, National Museum, New Delhi.jpg|thumb|Sage Shukdeva narrating the story of Krishna to Parikshit.]]
The [[Bhagavata Purana]] (1.8.9) states that the son of [[Drona]], [[Ashwatthama]] had prepared a [[Brahmastra]] (a powerful weapon summoned to [[Brahma]]) to kill the Pandavas heir(King Parikshit), while he was in his mother's ([[Uttarā]]) womb, as a revenge against the [[Pandavas]] for killing his relatives (especially his father and best friend [[Duryodhan]]) in the [[Kurukshetra]] war. Uttarā was terrified by the powerful rays of the weapon and worried about her child, then her mothers-in-law [[Draupadi]] and [[Subhadra]] prayed to [[Krishna]] for help to save their heir. Krishna pacified her and protected the child in the womb from the deadly weapon and thus saved his life. Parikshit was thus born to Uttara. He was named Vişņurāta, because Lord Visnu had given him to the Pandavas when their race was about to be extinct. Later he was throned as the heir to the Pandavas at [[Hastinapura]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Who was Raja Parikshit in Mahabharat and why the story of his death is philosophical|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/spiritual/religion/article/who-was-raja-parikshit-in-mahabharat-and-why-the-story-of-his-death-is-philosophical/588140|access-date=2020-08-29|website=www.timesnownews.com|language=en}}</ref>

After he was installed on the throne of Hastinapur, he performed three sacrifices. While performing the sacrifices he traveled throughout the country. Once he saw a man beating a one-legged bull with a rod, and kicking a cow. He became angry at this sight and arrested the man. Parikshit was about to kill him when the man revealed his true identity as [[Kali (demon)|Kali]]. Kali begged pardon from Parikshit, so the king forgave him and ordered him to leave his kingdom. Kali obeyed his order and left Parikshit's kingdom. Satisfied the cow revealed herself as the [[Earth goddess|mother earth]] who was grief-stricken for [[Krishna]] had returned to his abode ([[Vaikuntha]]) leaving earth. The bull was [[Dharma]] whose other three legs were mutilated and he now only stood one leg in the Kali Yuga. <ref>Motilal Bansaridas Bhagavata Purana Book 1 Skandha I Chapter 16-17</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Kashyapa alive tree what is burnt by Takshak ( near Pond ) and parikshit bitten by Takshak.jpg|thumb|150px|Death of Parikshit and Kashyapa alive burnt tree from Razmnama.]]
Parikshit while hunting was fatigued. He came across the hermit of sage Shamika and saw the sage meditating. He asked him the whereabouts of a deer which he was hunting. But the sage did not answer for he was meditating. Angry at this Parikshit placed a dead snake on Shamika's neck. The sage had a son named Sringin who heard this incident from another sage's son named Krisa became furious. He [[Curse|cursed]] Parikshit was to die of [[Snakebite]] in seven days, for disrespecting [[Rishi]] Shamika.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ritsin.com/story-raja-parikshit-snake-sacrifice-janmejaya.html/|title = The story of Raja Parikshit and snake sacrifice by Janmejaya|date = 5 December 2013}}</ref> Parikshit, died after [[Takshaka]] [[Nagaraja|king of snakes]] bit him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ritsin.com/story-raja-parikshit-snake-sacrifice-janmejaya.html/|title = The story of Raja Parikshit and snake sacrifice by Janmejaya|date = 5 December 2013}}</ref>

When Shamika came to know he was dissatisfied with his son. Shamika ordered his disciple Gaurmukha to go to Parikshit and tell him everything about his death. When Parikshit heard about the curse he accepted his fate, but the ministers created a mansion that would stand on a solitary column and well guarded. At this time [[Shuka|Suka]], son of [[Ved Vyasa]] came to the king and recited him the [[Bhagavata Purana]].

Kashyapa, a sage who knew how to cure snakebites was coming for the king. But [[Takshaka]] changed the mind of the sage by offering him more wealth. Takshaka came to the king in form of an insect in fruits and bit Parikshit eventually leading to his death.<ref>Prtap Chandra Roy Mahabharata, Astika Parva</ref>

Death of Parikshit is also governed by another flashback when the Pandavas conquered [[Indraprastha|Khandavprastha]] (now known as Indraprastha). Takshaka is the head of snakes, who was residing in [[Patala|Nagaloka]] without any human disturbance. When [[Pandava|Pandavas]] arrived, Takshaka felt his freedom is seized, with pure anger, he ordered his troops to attack the Pandavas and their subjects. The widespread attack resulted in the death of many people, or everyone except the Pandavas and their wife [[Draupadi]]. After this incident, [[Arjuna]], the third Pandava, lifted his bow and set fire to the Nagaloka. Takshaka grew even more furious and vowed to kill one of the lineages of the Pandavas. The vow of Takshaka and the curse of Rishi Shamika's son Sringin gave the ultimate destiny of Parikshit that he will be killed by a snakebite.

Now, on hearing his father's death by [[Takshaka]], Parikshit's son [[Janamejaya ]] vowed to kill [[Takshaka]] within a week. He starts the Sarpasatra, a yagna, which forced each and every snake of the entire universe to fall in the [[havan]] [[Vedi (altar)|kund]]. However, [[Indra]] tries to save [[Takshaka]] from getting pulled in sacrifice. The sages who perform sacrifice start chanting Indraay swaahaa, Takshakaay cha swaahaa. Due to this even [[Indra]] starts getting pulled in the sacrifice. Later, this yagna / sacrifice was stopped from doing so by [[Astika (mythology)|Astika]] Muni, (who is the son of [[Mansa Devi]]). Thus, Takshaka was spared and [[Janamejaya]] stops his Sarpasatra. That day was [[Shukla Paksha]] [[Panchami]] in the month of [[Shravan]] and is since celebrated as the festival of [[Nag Panchami|Naga Panchami]].{{sfn|Garg|1992|p=743}}

== Succession ==
He was succeeded by his son [[Janamejaya]].{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|p=30}}

==See also==
{{Commons category|Parikshit}}
*[[Kuru Kingdom]]
*[[Hindu mythology]]
*[[Janaka]]
*[[Bimbisara]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}
===Sources===
*{{citation |last=Garg|first=Gaṅgā Rām|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0U2QRpDv2KMC&pg=PA743|access-date=2 August 2013|year=1992|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-376-4 }}
* {{citation |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Hemchandra |author-link=Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri |title=Political History of Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1KObc_qaXYC |year=2006 |publisher=[[Cosmo Publications]] |isbn=81-307-0291-6 }}

{{Mahābhārata}}
{{HinduMythology}}

[[Category:Vedic period]]
[[Category:9th-century BC Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]

Parikshit - Revision history

AliciaPaschall: small improve formatting as per guidelines and corrected details

172.70.218.191: /* Family */

162.158.227.141 at 19:38, 27 November 2022

imported>EditWiki45 at 08:25, 13 August 2021