***P9 The Story of Astika-Part 1
Nov 23, 2016 7:39:25 GMT 1
Post by Anne Terri on Nov 23, 2016 7:39:25 GMT 1
Painting 9
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY ©
GOD'S SELECTIONS FROM THE MAHABHARATA – FOR PAINTED LESSONS ©
THE MAHABHARATA
of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
BOOK 1 - THE ADI PARVA
The Astika Parva
Section XIII-XVI
glbresearch.proboards.com/post/7271/thread
“God / Brahman Speaking To Anne Terri Through The Holy Spirit:
As We are only in the very beginning of The Mahabharata, and you Anne are finding each story very intricate, filled with numerous names and quite long. I will Assist you in relating key highlights of these through your paintings. Many of these lead up to the Snake Sacrifice and also to the battle of Kurukshetra, which later is told in Book 6-The Bhagavad Gita.
Your readers may be interested in knowing you have a great affinity with snakes, and even as a child would hold them as friends. This was also true of your mother, and your daughter.
Upon reading the story of the Snake Sacrifice, you came upon the name Astika.
If one is from India, they know this name well, as the he is known for saving the serpents during this sacrifice. As We relate these events to the readers, I Advise them to go to the sections linked for their convenience, within the Mahabharata, if they want to know more.
AMEN”
King Janamejaya, decides to take the lives of the snakes by means of a sacrifice, due to his cursing of the serpents.
Astika rescued the snakes from the blazing fire.
"Saunaka said, 'I am desirous of hearing at length the charming story of that Rishi, that illustrious Brahmana named Astika.'
"Sauti said, I shall narrate the history of Astika exactly as I heard it. O listen, as I recite in full that sin-destroying story.
***
"The father of Astika was powerful like Prajapati. ... known by the name of Jaratkaru. The sage lived upon air only, and renounced sleep for ever. Thus going about like a blazing fire, one day he happened to see his ancestors, hanging heads down in a great hole, their feet pointing upwards. On seeing them, Jaratkaru addressed them, saying:
'Who are you thus hanging heads down in this hole by a rope of virana fibres that is again secretly eaten into on all sides by a rat living here?'
The ancestors are upset that Jaratkaru has not married and ask ........ 'Try thy best, O child, to beget a son to extend our line.
"Jaratkaru replied, 'I shall not marry for my sake, nor shall I earn wealth for enjoyment, but I shall do so for your welfare only....
"Sauti said, 'That Brahmana of rigid vows then wandered over the earth for a wife but a wife found he not. One day he went into the forest, and recollecting the words of his ancestors, he thrice prayed in a faint voice for a bride. Thereupon Vasuki rose and offered his sister for the Rishi's acceptance. But the Brahmana hesitated to accept her, thinking her not to be of the same name with himself. The high-souled Jaratkaru thought within himself, 'I will take none for wife who is not of the same name with myself.' Then that Rishi of great wisdom and austere penances asked him, saying, 'Tell me truly what is the name of this thy sister, O snake.'
"Vasuki replied, 'O Jaratkaru, this my younger sister is called Jaratkaru. Given away by me, accept this slender-waisted damsel for thy spouse. O best of Brahmanas, for thee I reserved her. Therefore, take her.' Saying this, he offered his beautiful sister to Jaratkaru who then espoused her with ordained rites.'"
***
It was to neutralise that curse that the chief of the snakes married his sister to that high-souled Rishi of excellent vows. T... and from them was born a high-souled son called Astika. ....
"Then, after a long space of time, a king descending from the Pandava line celebrated a great sacrifice known as the Snake-sacrifice
,...After that sacrifice had commenced for the destruction of the snakes, Astika delivered the Nagas, viz., his brothers and maternal uncles and other snakes (from a fiery death). And he delivered his fathers also by begetting offspring...
"Saunaka said, 'O Sauti, relate once more in detail this history of the learned and virtuous Astika.
"Sauti said.....I shall narrate the history of Astika as I heard it from my father. O Brahmana, in the golden age, Prajapati had two daughters...Named Kadru and Vinata, they became the wives of Kasyapa.
Kasyapa derived great pleasure from his two wedded wives and being gratified he, resembling Prajapati himself, offered to give each of them a boon. Hearing that their lord was willing to confer on them their choice blessings, those excellent ladies felt transports of joy. Kadru wished to have for sons a thousand snakes all of equal splendour. And Vinata wished to bring forth two sons surpassing the thousand offsprings
of Kadru in strength, energy, size of body, and prowess. Unto Kadru her lord gave that boon about a multitude of offspring. And unto Vinata also, Kasyapa said, 'Be it so!' ...Vinata, having; obtained her prayer, rejoiced... Obtaining two sons of superior prowess, she regarded her boon fulfilled. Kadru also obtained her thousand sons of equal splendour.
'Bear the embryos carefully,' said Kasyapa, and then he went into the forest, leaving his two wives pleased with his blessings.'
"Sauti: ... after a long time, Kadru brought forth a thousand eggs, and Vinata two. Their maid-servants deposited the eggs separately in warm vessels. Five hundred years passed away, and the thousand eggs produced by Kadru burst and out came the progeny.
But the twins of Vinata did not appear. Vinata was jealous, and therefore she broke one of the eggs and found in it an embryo with the upper part developed but the lower one undeveloped. At this, the child in the egg became angry and cursed his mother, saying. 'Since thou hast prematurely broken this egg, thou shall serve as a slave. Shouldst thou wait five hundred years and not destroy, or render the other egg half-developed, by breaking it through impatience, then the illustrious child within it will deliver thee from slavery! And if thou wouldst have the child strong, thou must take tender care of the egg for all this time!' .... cursing his mother, the child rose to the sky....
"Then at the expiration of the five hundred years, bursting open the other egg, out came Garuda, the serpent-eater....
THE MAHABHARATA of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
“God / Brahman Speaking To Anne Terri Through The Holy Spirit: This will be an ongoing endeavor, which will take many hours to build. I Begin this new section within The Third Testament - Research Library, to Bring forward one of the most important ancient texts of Hinduism, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa as translated into English from Sanskrit. by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [1883-1896] In doing so, I have Asked of Anne to begin advanced studies on this, for the purposes of future links with other Hindu Study Guides currently in process. It is important to note that
The Mahabharata was written between 540 and 300 B.C. Most credit has been given to Vyasa. The Bhagavad Gita appears in Book 6. .... Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. at sacred-texts.com, 2003, has asked that the Attribution appear with this public domain work as it is written below. AMEN”
*© NOTICE OF ATTRIBUTION
Scanned at sacred-texts.com, 2003. Proofed at Distributed Proofing, Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. Additional proofing and formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare. This text is in the public domain. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.
Scanned at sacred-texts.com, 2003. Proofed at Distributed Proofing, Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. Additional proofing and formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare. This text is in the public domain. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.
RELATED POSTS
PAINTED LESSONS OF THE MAHABHARATA
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ASTIKA
Astika was an ancient Hindu rishi (sage), and he was a son of Jaratkaru by the serpent goddess Manasa - a sister of the great serpent king Vasuki. According to the Mahabharata, he saved the life of a serpent Takshaka, the king of snakes, when king Janamejaya organized a snake sacrifice known as Sarpa Satra, where he made great sacrifices of serpents, to avenge for the death of his father Parikshit due to snake bite of Takshaka. Ultimately, he induced and prevailed upon the king to end his persecution of the serpent race. That day was Shukla Paksha Panchami in the month of Shravan and is since celebrated as the festival of Nag Panchami.
wikipedia
KING JANAMEJAYA
Sarpa satra (snake sacrifice)
The snake sacrifice of Janmejay, as Astika tries to stop it.
Main article: Sarpa Satra
Emperor Janmejay ascended to the throne of Hastinapura upon the death of his father Parikshit. According to legend, Parikshit, the lone descendant of the House of Pandu, had died of snakebite. He had been cursed by a sage to die so, the curse having been consummated by the serpent-chieftain Takshak.
Janmejay bore a deep grudge against the serpents for this act, and thus decided to wipe them out altogether. He attempted this by performing a great Sarpa satra - a sacrifice that would destroy all living serpents.
At that time, a learned sage named Astika, a boy in age, came and interfered. His mother Manasa was a Naga and father was a Brahmin. Janmejay had to listen to the words of the learned Astika and set Takshaka free. He also stopped the massacre of the Nagas and ended all the enmity with them (1,56). From then onwards the Nagas and Kurus lived in peace.
The mass sacrifice was started on the banks of the river Arind at Bardan, now Known as Parham, a corrupt form of Parikshitgarh.[citation needed] A masonry tank said to have been built by Emperor Janmejay to mark the site of the sacrificial pit, known as Parikshit kund, still exists in Mainpuri district. This is known as Gowdvana. Close to this village a very large and high khera containing the ruins of a fort and some stone sculptures has been found . It is said to date back to the time of Emperor Parikshit. A popular local legend is that as a consequence of the virtues of that sacrifice snakes are still harmless in this place and its neighborhood.
Sarpa satra (snake sacrifice)
The snake sacrifice of Janmejay, as Astika tries to stop it.
Main article: Sarpa Satra
Emperor Janmejay ascended to the throne of Hastinapura upon the death of his father Parikshit. According to legend, Parikshit, the lone descendant of the House of Pandu, had died of snakebite. He had been cursed by a sage to die so, the curse having been consummated by the serpent-chieftain Takshak.
Janmejay bore a deep grudge against the serpents for this act, and thus decided to wipe them out altogether. He attempted this by performing a great Sarpa satra - a sacrifice that would destroy all living serpents.
At that time, a learned sage named Astika, a boy in age, came and interfered. His mother Manasa was a Naga and father was a Brahmin. Janmejay had to listen to the words of the learned Astika and set Takshaka free. He also stopped the massacre of the Nagas and ended all the enmity with them (1,56). From then onwards the Nagas and Kurus lived in peace.
The mass sacrifice was started on the banks of the river Arind at Bardan, now Known as Parham, a corrupt form of Parikshitgarh.[citation needed] A masonry tank said to have been built by Emperor Janmejay to mark the site of the sacrificial pit, known as Parikshit kund, still exists in Mainpuri district. This is known as Gowdvana. Close to this village a very large and high khera containing the ruins of a fort and some stone sculptures has been found . It is said to date back to the time of Emperor Parikshit. A popular local legend is that as a consequence of the virtues of that sacrifice snakes are still harmless in this place and its neighborhood.
GARUDA
In Hinduism, Garuda is a Hindu divinity, usually the mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. Garuda is depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak and with a crown on his head. This ancient deity was said to be massive, large enough to block out the sun.
Garuda is known as the eternal sworn enemy of the Nāga serpent race and known for feeding exclusively on snakes, such behavior may have referred to the actual short-toed eagle of India. The image of Garuda is often used as the charm or amulet to protect the bearer from snake attack and its poison, since the king of birds is an implacable enemy and "devourer of serpent". Garudi Vidya is the mantra against snake poison to remove all kinds of evil.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda
In Hinduism, Garuda is a Hindu divinity, usually the mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. Garuda is depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak and with a crown on his head. This ancient deity was said to be massive, large enough to block out the sun.
Garuda is known as the eternal sworn enemy of the Nāga serpent race and known for feeding exclusively on snakes, such behavior may have referred to the actual short-toed eagle of India. The image of Garuda is often used as the charm or amulet to protect the bearer from snake attack and its poison, since the king of birds is an implacable enemy and "devourer of serpent". Garudi Vidya is the mantra against snake poison to remove all kinds of evil.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda
SERPENT GODDESS MANASA
Manasā, also Mansa Devi, is a Hindu folk goddess of snakes, worshipped mainly in Bengal and other parts of North and northeastern India, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite and also for fertility and prosperity. Manasa is the sister of Vasuki, king of Nāgas (snakes) and wife of sage Jagatkāru (Jaratkāru). She is also known as Vishahara (the destroyer of poison), Nityā (eternal) and Padmavati.
Her myths emphasize her bad temper and unhappiness, due to rejection by her father Shiva and her husband, and the hatred of her stepmother, Chandi (Shiva's wife, identified with Parvati in this context). In some scriptures, sage Kashyapa is considered to be her father, rather than Shiva. Manasa is depicted as kind to her devotees, but harsh to people who refused to worship her. Denied full godhead by her mixed parentage, Manasa’s aim was to fully establish her authority as a goddess and to acquire steadfast human devotees.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasa
VASUKI KING OF NAGAS (Snakes)
Vasuki is a nagaraja, one of the King serpents of Hindu mythology and Buddhist mythology. He is a king of the nagas and has a gem called Nagamani on his head. Manasa, another naga, is his sister. Vasuki is Shiva's snake. He is known in Chinese and Japanese mythology as being one of the "eight Great Dragon Kings" (八大龍王 Hachi Ryuu-ou), amongst Nanda (Nagaraja), Upananda, Sagara (Shakara), Takshaka, Balavan, Anavatapta and Utpala.
KADRU
In Hindu mythology, according to the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, Kadru (Kadrū) is usually regarded as the daughter of Daksha. Kashyapa married Kadru and the other eleven daughters of Daksha. Kashyapa was the son of Marichi, who was the manasputra or mind-born (spiritual) son of Brahma. Kadru was the mother of a thousand nāgas. She is also said to be descended from Vishnu.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadru
VINATA
Kadru was the younger sister of Vinata, and when they both lived with Kashyapa as his wives and attended to all his comforts he blessed them by granting each of them a boon. Kadru asked for a thousand nāga or serpent sons who should be valiant. Prompted by her sister's demand for sons, Vinata asked for only two sons who should be more powerful and bright than Kadru's children. Kashyapa granted them their wishes. After his wives became pregnant, he advised them to look after the children, and then left for his penance in the forest.
After a long time Kadru gave birth to a thousand eggs and Vinata to two eggs. The eggs were carefully incubated in containers with hot water or in jars which were kept warm. After a lapse of five hundred years, the eggs laid by Kadru hatched and her sons came to life; of these thousand nāga sons, the most prominent ones were Shesha, Vasuki and Takshaka. All the serpents born in this world are the descendants of these thousand sons. Vinata became jealous as her eggs had not hatched. In a moment of haste, she broke open one of the eggs, revealing a half-formed son. This son was enraged by his physical form and cursed his mother for her hasty act, saying she would be a slave to Kadru for five hundred years till the son from her second egg was born. He became a charioteer and herald for the sun god and the creator of the red sky at dawn, and was therefore named Aruṇa. Eventually, after five hundred years, Vinata's second son Garuda was born in the form of a huge bird with immense power. As soon as he was born he flew away with grace, seeking food.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinata
wikipedia
Painting Credits
By Unknown - www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=1633970&partid=1&searchText=manasa&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpages=10&images=on&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx¤tPage=1, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9882723
Astika painting By Ramnarayanadatt astri - openlibrary.org/books/OL23365037M/Mahabharata., Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25677903