Anger Hurts You

The story of King Pareekshit and consequences of anger.

Anger Hurts You
Angry Faces

After the end of the Mahabharat war, the Pandavs ruled for thirty-five (35) years, with Yudhishthir becoming the undisputed emperor of the entire world. In the 36th year of Yudhishthir’s rule, Lord Krishna and Balaram ascended to the divine abode, Golok. Upon hearing about Lord Krishna’s departure, the Pandavs and Draupadi left their kingdom and embarked on a spiritual journey to the Himalayas.

The five Pandavs along with their wife Draupadi renounce the world

King Pareekshith

Pareekshith, Arjun's grandson, was then enthroned as the ruler of Hastinapur. As the son of Abhimanyu and Uttara, Pareekshith emerged as the sole surviving descendant of the Pandu dynasty following the Mahabharat war. He later married Iravati, and the couple was blessed with four sons, with Janmejaya being the eldest.

Pareekshith was the sole ruler of the entire world. He was a noble, brave and just king. One day while Pareekshith was roaming around in his kingdom he found a bull and a cow conversing. The bull was standing on one leg and his other three legs were broken. Meanwhile, the cow was crying and narrating her sorrows. Then Pareekshith saw a man attack the bull’s fourth leg with a weapon. 

King Pareekshith talks to Mother Earth in the form of a cow, Dharma in the form of a bull and Kaliyug in the form of a man.

Pareekshith intervened and stopped the man from attacking the bull. Then he asked all three of them to introduce themselves to him. The bull was Dharma (righteousness), the cow was Mother Earth, and the man was Kaliyug (the current age we are in). The bull explained during the course of time his three legs were broken because of moral degeneration. Now my one leg that stands for truth will also be broken during Kaliyug. Mother Earth was crying because the weight of the increasing sins was too much for her to bear. 

King Pareekshith is ordering Kaliyug to leave his kingdom

King Pareekshith was furious that such injustice was taking place in his kingdom. He scolded Kaliyug and ordered him to leave the kingdom. Kaliyug informed Pareekshith that as per the cycle of time, it is his time to influence the world.  So, Parkeeshith granted him permission to reside in five places within his kingdom. One of those places was gold. As soon as Kaliyug heard the word gold, he smiled and thought I have the perfect place to stay. I will stay in the crown of Parkeeshith who is the ruler of the entire world and therefore, I will influence him and then conquer the minds of the mortal beings in the entire world. 

Pareekshit places a dead snake around the sage

Pareekshith became angry

Pareekshith was now sixty (60) years old. One day, he went hunting. While hunting in the forest and chasing a deer, Pareekshith became tired and felt very hungry and thirsty. Finding no water nearby, he entered the hermitage (ashram) of Sage Shamik. The sage was in deep meditation and unaware of his surroundings. Pareekshith asked the sage for water to drink but received no reply. With his mind consumed with hunger and thirst, Pareekshith became very angry at the sage when he did not receive a welcome befitting the king of the world. He was neither offered a mat of straw, bare ground to sit on, water to wash his hands, nor kind words of welcome. He picked up a dead snake with the tip of his bow and placed it around the Sage’s neck. Pareekshith wanted to check if the sage was indeed in deep meditation or merely putting on an act. Under the influence of Kaliyug, who was residing in his gold crown, Pareekshith could not differentiate between right and wrong. Hence, he acted in an immoral way. 

Shringi became angry

When Sage Shamik's son, Shringi, learned of his father's humiliation he was deeply outraged. In a moment of anger, he pronounced a curse: on the seventh (7th) day, Pareekshith would be bitten by Takshak, the king of serpents.

Takshak, the king of snakes

Summary

It’s evident from the above story that people often act impulsively in moments of anger, only to later regret their actions. King Pareekshith was also susceptible to this human tendency due to the influence of Kaliyug. Shringi also became angry due to his attachment to his dear father Sage Shamik. Throughout the scriptures, numerous examples vividly illustrate the destructive consequences of succumbing to anger.

To be continued in the next blog........

Moral

Anger is a detrimental emotion that impairs rational thinking and leads to negative outcomes.