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Maharaja Pariksit was cursed by a brahmin boy that he would die within seven days, bitten by a snake. Just imagine how the brahminical culture was so powerful

Expressions researched:
"Mahārāja Parīkṣit was cursed by a brāhmiṇ boy that he would die within seven days, bitten by a snake. Just imagine how the brahminical culture was so powerful"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

He immediately become alert: "Oh, I will have to die within seven days. So I must prepare." This is the problem. We do not know whether we are going to die within seven seconds, because there is no guarantee, whereas Parīkṣit Mahārāja had at least seven days' guarantee that he will die after seven days.

Prabhupāda: So, Śukadeva Gosvāmī arrived at the point of death of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was cursed by a brāhmiṇ boy that he would die within seven days, bitten by a snake. Just imagine how the brahminical culture was so powerful that even a boy born in a brāhmiṇ family—he was only ten or twelve years old—when he heard that his father was insulted by Mahārāja Parīkṣit by garlanding him with a dead snake . . . his playmates informed him that, "Your father has been insulted in this way." So he retaliated that, "Within seven days this snake will bite the king and he will die."

So when it was fixed up . . . Mahārāja Parīkṣit was also very powerful. He could retaliate the brāhmiṇ's cursing, but he did not do it. He accepted, "Yes." Therefore Lord Śiva said, nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati (SB 6.17.28): "When one is devotee of Nārāyaṇa, he is not afraid of anything." Nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati. He was cursed that "Within the seven days you'll die." So he was not afraid, "That's alright." So he prepared himself, and many learned scholar, saintly person, kings, even demigods, all approached because he was the emperor of the world, and he was going to die. So many big, big stalwart people . . . even Vyāsadeva, he was present there. And Parīkṣit Mahārāja said: "Now what is my duty? You are all big men present here. I am going to die. Now what is my duty?"

This is very important question, that . . . we are working very hard in this material world, but we are not preparing ourself for death, which is a "must" fact. Everyone must die. The modern civilization, they are afraid of death, but they do not know how to counteract death. This is the modern civilization. But there is process. In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa informs us that our real problem of life is death—birth, death, old age and disease. Birth is the beginning, and then, one who has taken birth, he must die. Yāvat, yāvaj jananaṁ tāvan maraṇam. But if one does not take birth, then he does not die. This is the actual problem. Why we have to take birth? People do not know even that there is again life after death. And Bhagavad-gītā's first instruction is tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ.

dehino 'smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ . . .
(BG 2.13)

As we are changing our body in this life from childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youthhood, then old man, then we give up this body, Kṛṣṇa says that similarly, as I was a child, now I have got a different body; similarly, when I give up this body, I'll get another body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ.

The people do not even know that there is dehāntara-prāptiḥ: again we have to accept another body. They do not care for it. And there are so many varieties of body. Just like if we are sitting here, so many ladies and gentlemen, each one of us has got a different type of body. Nobody's body is similar exactly to the other body. This is a fact. We can see. So why we have got different types of body? That we do not try to understand. Not only human body, but there are other bodies also. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati (Padma Purāṇa). We have got bodies in the water, we have got bodies on the land, the tree life, the plant life, the insect life, the birds' life, the beast life, the human form of life . . . amongst the human being there are different varieties—some American, some Indians, some others. So why there are different bodies? What is that science? Why there are different types of bodies?

The different type of body is due to our different karma and different mentality. That we do not know. But Parīkṣit Mahārāja, although he is king . . . nowadays the kings and president, they are sure that "I am prime minister" and "I am president. My position is secure," because he is prime minister. This is the difficulty. The big, big men, they think that, "My position is secure," "I am prime minister," "I am Rahis," "I am Birla," "I am big man, so my position is secure." But Parīkṣit Mahārāja did not think like that. Although he was the emperor, most powerful king, Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he did not think that, "I am secure. Because I am emperor of the world, I am secure." No.

He immediately become alert: "Oh, I will have to die within seven days. So I must prepare." This is the problem. We do not know whether we are going to die within seven seconds, because there is no guarantee, whereas Parīkṣit Mahārāja had at least seven days' guarantee that he will die after seven days. But so far we are concerned, we can go on the street, there may be any accident; I can die immediately. There are so many deaths are taking place. The death is sure, and when it will take place, that nobody knows.

Page Title:Maharaja Pariksit was cursed by a brahmin boy that he would die within seven days, bitten by a snake. Just imagine how the brahminical culture was so powerful
Compiler:SharmisthaK
Created:2023-02-13, 13:03:20
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1