Takshaka

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Takshaka
Idol of Takshaka at Taxakeshwar temple
Devanagariतक्षक
Sanskrit transliterationTakṣaka
AffiliationNāga
AbodeIndrapuri

Takshaka (

Hindu epic Mahabharata as well as in the Bhagavata Purana. He is described to be a king of the Nagas and one of the sons of Kadru
.

Takshaka are also known in Chinese and Japanese mythology as being one of the "eight Great Dragon Kings" (八大龍王 Hachi-dai Ryuu-ou),[1] they are the only snakes which can fly and also mentioned as the most venomous snakes, amongst Nanda (Nagaraja), Upananda, Sagara (Shakara), Vasuki, Balavan, Anavatapta and Utpala.

Hinduism

The King of the Nagas

Takshaka is mentioned as a King of the Nagas at (1,3).

Takshaka is mentioned as the friend of Indra, the king of gods, at (1-225,227,230). Takshaka, formerly dwelt in

Kamyaka
.

Legend

According to the

Ikshvaku dynasty. He was a descendant of Rama. The name of Takshaka's son was Brihadbala, who was killed in battle by Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna
.

Takshaka lived in the Khandava forest (1,225). Nagas lived there with other tribes like the

Asuras) (1,227). Arjuna burned that forest at the behest of Agni. At that time the Naga chief Takshaka was not there, having gone to Kurukshetra. But Ashvasena, the mighty son of Takshaka, was there. Arjuna slew Takshaka's wife, the mother of Ashvasena. But Ashvasena escaped (1-229,230) (4,2). To revenge upon the slaughter of his mother, Ashvasena attacked Arjuna during Kurukshetra War (8,90) (9,61), while he was battling with Karna. Ashvasena is mentioned here as born in the race of Airavata (8,90). The asura architect Mayasura who came there after Shiva warned him of the fall of Tripura is mentioned as escaping from the abode of Takshaka when Khandava Forest was burned (1,230) though some stories portray him as coming out to bow before Krishna and then guiding the Pandavas to a cave where an ancient treasure horde that also had the gandiva
bow in it.

Revenge on Pandavas

Kasyapa
clan, who was an expert in curing people from snake-poisoning (1,43).

Kashyapa alive tree what is burnt by Takshak (near Pond) and parikshit bitten by Takshak, folio from Birla razmnama

Later King

Takshasila
(1,3) and expelled the Nagas headed by Takshaka from there too.

Utanka soon became another victim while he was passing through the domain of Takshaka. By visiting Janamejaya, Utanka invoked the ire of that

Astika, a boy in age, came and interfered. His mother Manasa was a Naga and father was a Brahmin
. Janamejaya 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 on, the Nagas and Kurus lived in peace. Janamejaya became a peace-loving king as well.

Other references

Takshaka, disguised as a beggar, stole the earrings of

Kuru
king Janamejaya, the great-grandson of Arjuna. Uttanka then waited upon King Janamejaya who had some time before returned victorious from Takshashila. Uttanka reminded the king of his father Parikshit's death, at the hands of Takshaka (1,3).

In the chapters (14-53 to 58) Uttanka's history is repeated where the ear-rings were mentioned to be of queen Madayanti, the wife of king

Saudasa
(an Ikshwaku king) (14,57). A Naga in the race of Airavata is said to steal away the ear-rings (14,58).

References

  1. ^ "Eight great dragon kings - Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia".
  2. ^ "Takshak-the flying snake". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Takshaka&oldid=1269544749"