Adi Parvamu- Kaurava Dynasty

Aditi had 12 Adityas from Kasyapa Prajapati, among them Vivasvān had Sraddhadeva Manu( also known as Vaivasvatha manuvu), Yama, Shani, Yamuna and tapti. Sraddhadeva Manu had Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. He also had sons namely Vena and others who were kings and they fought among themselves and died eventually. He also had a daughter named Ila. Ila was able to transform herself as a Man, so she was having the form of a woman for sometime and then as a Man for sometime. In order to have a son, Sraddhadeva Manu performed two Yagnas Vitra and Varuna. Because the Hotha ( the one who reads RigVeda and invites the gods) was praying against the wish of having a son, Sraddhadeva Manu had a daughter Ila. Budha was in love with Ila and they married and had a son named Pururava. When Ila was in male form she was called Sudhyumna. Sudhyumna had three sons, Utkala, Gaya and Vinathu. Pururava was a king who ruled thirteen continents. He started a war against Brahmins, he stole all their money and property. To stop this Lord Brahmā sent Sanatkumara. Sanatkumara came along with a lot of sages. Pururava did not care to meet any of them, and on the top of it he made fun of them. the sages got very angry and cursed Pururava saying that he will become insane. Then Pururava went to Gandharva Kingdom. He started spending most of his time with Urvasi. He had six sons with her namely Aayu, Dheemantha, Amavasa, Dhrudayu, Anaayu and Shatayu. Among them Aayu and Swarbhanavi had five sons namely Nahusha, VruddhaSharma, Raji, Gaya and Anenasa. The eldest among them Nahusha became a king. He ruled the entire land between the oceans, forests, mountains and continents. He performed hundred Yagnas and also got the position of Devendra.

Nahusha and Priyamvada had six sons namely Yati, yayati, Samyati, YaaYati, Ayati and Dhruva. Among them yayati became a king.He performed many Yagnas. He married Devyani, the daughter of Shukracharya and had two sons, Yadu and Turvasu. He also married Sharmishtha, the daughter of the Demon King Vrishparva and had Druhyu, Anu and Puru. yayati was cursed by Shukracharya that he would loose his youth and become an old man. Puru took his old age and gave him his youth. yayati made Puru king for being so considerate. Listen to the story of yayati next.

Adi Parvamu- The Story of Incarnations of Gods and Demons

Lord Krishna, was born as Devaki's eighth son, his father being Vasudeva. He was an avatar of Vishnu. Balarama was born to Rohini and Vasudeva, while Rohini bearing Devaki's fetus, he is acknowledged as being a manifestation of Shesha. Rukmini was the manifestation of Lakshmi. Pradyumna was the manifestation of Sanatkumara, the 16 thousand ladies from antahpura were the avatar of Apsaras. Vrushti, Yadava, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties were born from various others Gods. In the manifestation of the eighth vasu Prabhasa, Bhima was born. Dronacharya was the manifestation of Brihaspati. Ashwatthama was the union of Kama and Krodha(Anger). Kripacharya was the manifestation of the eleven Rudras, namely Mrugavadhya, Sarva, Nirruti, Ajaikapada, AhirbhuDhryu, Pinaki, Vamadeva, Dahaneswara, Kapali, Sthana, Bhargu. Karna born with the grace of Sūrya. Shakuni the personification of Dvapara Yuga.

Son of Arishta, Hamsa, who was a gandharva was born as Dhritarashtra. Mati was personified as Gandhari. Duryodhana being the avatar of the demon Kali. The brothers of Paulasya became the brothers of Duryodhana. Hiranyakashipu became Shishupala. Samhlada became Shalya. Anuhlada became Drushtaketu. Sibi became Dhrumasena. Bhashkala became Bhagadatta. Viprachitti became Jarasandha. Ayassira, Aswaseersha, Ayassankha, Gaganamardha and Vegavantha became Kekaya Kings. Kethumantha as Amithouja, Swarbhanu as Ugrasena, Jambhu as Visoka, Aswapati as Kritavarma , Vrushaparva as DeerghaPragnya, Ajara as Malla, Ashwagreeva as Rochamana, Sukhshma as BrahmaDrada, Duha as SenaBindu, EkaChakra as PratiVidya, Virupaksha as ChitraDharma, Hara as Subahu, Ahara as Bahlika, ChandraVaktra as Munjakesa, Nikumbha as Devasi, Sarabha as Somadatta, Chandra as ChandraVerma, Surya as Rushika, Mayuura as Vishwa, Suparna as KalaKeerti, Rahu as Kradha, Chandrahantha as Sunaka, Ashwa as Ashoka, Bhadrahantha as Nanda, DeerghaJihwa as Kasi Raju, Chandravinasana as Janiki, Veera as PoundraMatsya, Vrutha as ManiMantha.

Kala's eight sons personified as Jayatsena, Aparajitha, Nishadhadipa, Srenimantha, Mahaujasa, Abhira, SamudraSena, Bruhattha. Krodha's sons were born as Madraka, Karna, Veshta, Siddhardha, Keetaka, Suveera, Subahuvu, Mahaveera, Kadhru, Vichitra, Suradha, Neela, Cheeravasa, Bhoomipala, Dantavaktra, Srimantha, Rukmi, Janamejaya, Ashadha, Vayuvega, Bhooriteja, Ekalavya, Sumitra, Vatadhana, Karushaka, Kshemadhurthi, Sruthayu, Udhvaha, Bruhatsena, Kshema, Aghratheertha, Kuhara, Matimatha and Eashwara. Kalanemi was born as Kamsa. Guhyaka, who was in the form of a Man and a Woman became Sikhandi. Pandu was born with the grace of Wind, Dhrupada, satyaki and Virata were born with the grace of Vāyu. Yama personified as Vidura. Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power) were born as Madri, daughter of the King of Madra, and Kunti, daughter of King Kuntibhoja of Vrishni. Yudhishtira (by Lord Yama), Bhima (by Lord Vayu), and Arjuna (by Lord Indra), Nakula and Sahadeva, twins from the physicians to the gods, the Ashwini Kumaras twins. Draupadi by the grace of Lakshmi, Dhrishtadyumna by the grace of Agni. This is the story of incarnations of Gods and Demons.

Adi Parvamu- The Birth of Gods and Others

Lord Brahmā was and is the creator of the entire universe. He had six ManasaPutras ( Mind born of Brahmā), this title is given to the child who is Mind born of Brahmā and they are thought as identical to Prajapatis, the progenitors of all beings in a creation. They were Marichi, Angiras, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha and Kratu. Kasyapa was born to Marichi. Its because of Kasyapa that the entire earthly creatures were born. Listen to how his creation came in to existence. DakshaPrajapati was born from Lord Brahmā's right thumb and BhuDevi was born from the left thumb. It is believed that the union of a man and a woman started from DakshaPrajapati. DakshaPrajapati and BhuDevi had thousand sons and fifty daughters. None of his sons married. Everyone practiced SankhyaYoga and they attained Moksha. DakshaPrajapati was barren inspite of having thousand sons since none of them had heirs. Hence he made an arrangement with his daughters, which is called Putreekaranam. An agreement stating that the male children born to them will be pronounced as his sons. Among his daughters he got Kirthi, Lakshmi, Dhriti, Medha, Pushti, Shraddha, Kriya, Buddhi, Lajja and Mati married to Dharma, who was born to Lord Brahmā from his right breast. He got his 27 daughters Nakshatras married to Chandra. He got his daughters Aditi, Diti, Dānu, Kala, Danayu, Sinhika, Krodha, Pradha, Viswa, Vinata, Kapila, Muni, and Kadru married to Kashyapa.

Aditi is preeminently the mother of 12 Adityas whose names are as follows: Vivasvān, Aryamā, Pūsā, Tvastā, Savitā, Bhaga, Dhātā, Vidhātā, Varuna, Mitra, Śatru, and Urukrama. She is also the mother of the great god Indra. Hence they are called Adityas.

Diti gave birth to Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu had Prahlada, Samhlada, Anuhlada, Sibi and Bhashkala, five sons. Prahlada had three sons, Virochana, Kumbha and Nikumbha. Bali was born to Virochana, Banasura was born to Bali. Since they are the descendants of Diti, they are known as Daityas.

Dānu gave birth to Viprachitti, Sambara, Namachi, Pulomudu, Lomudu, Asilomudu, Kesa, Durjayudu, Ayassarudu, Swasira, Ayassankha, Gaganamoordha, Vegavatha, Kethumatha, Swarbhana, Aswu, Aswapati, Vrushaparva, Ajaka, Ashwagreeva, Sukshma, Tuhunda, EkaChakra, Viroopaksha, Nichandra, Nikunbha, Kupadha, Sarabha, Surya, Chandrama, Ekaksha, Mruthapu, Pralambha, Naraka, Vatapi, Satrutapana, Satha, Gavistha, Nanayuvu and DeerghaJihva, 40 sons. she had grandsons and great grand sons and their population just grew in number. They are hence called Danavas.

Kala gave birth to eight sons Vinasaka, Krodha etc.. and they were called Kaleyas. Danayu gave birth to Vikshara, Bala, Veera and Vruthu. Sinhika gave birth to Rahu. Muni gave birth to Bhimasena, Ugrasena, Varuna, Gopati, Dhrutharashtra, SuryaVarchassa, SatyaVakku, Arkaparna, Prayutha, Visrutha, Bhima Chitraradha, Salisira, Parjanya, Kali and Narada, 16 gandharvas. Kapila gave birth to Cows, Amrutham, Brahmins, Gritachi, Menaka etc.. who were prostitutes of Gods. Vinata gave birth to Garuthmantha and Anoora. Anoora and Syeni had Sampati and Jatayu as their sons.

Krodha gave birth to Krodhavasaganamu. Pradha gave birth to Siddha, Purna, Barhee, Purnayuvu, Brahmachari, Ratiguna, Suparna, Vishwavasa, Bhanu, Suchandra, 10 sons who are gandharvas, Anavadhya, Manuvu, Vamsa, Asura, MarganaPriya, Anapa, Subhaga, Bhasi as her daughters and Haha, Huhu and Tumbura were born. Krura gave birth to Suchandra, Chandrahantra etc.. Kadru gave birth to thousand snakes among whom Sesha, Vasuki etc.. were most powerful.

Angiras' wife is Surūpa and his sons are Utathya, Samvartana and Brihaspati. Yogasiddhi was his daughter. Brihaspati later became the guru of the Devas. Atri had children who were great sages. Pulastya had Rakshasas and Pulaha had Kinnaras and Kimpurushas. Kratu had Valakhilyas.

Dharma gave birth to Prajapati. He had seven wives namely Dhruma, BrahmaVidya, manasvini, Rata, Swasa, Shandili, Prabhata. Dhruma had Dharā, BrahmaVidya had Dhruva, Manasvini had Soma, Rata had Aha, Swasa had Anila, Shandili had Anala, Prabhata had Pratyusha and Prabhasa. They are called AshtaVasuvus. Dharā had Dravina and HuthaHavyaHava. Dhruva had Kala. Soma had sons named Varchassa, Sisira, Prana, Ramana and daughter named Prudha from Manohara. Prudha had 10 sons who were gandharva Kings. Aha had Jyothi. Anila had Manojawa and Avignyatagati from Siva. Anala had Kumara, Prathyusha had Devala and Prabhasa had Lord Vishwakarma from the sister of Brihaspati who was called Yogasiddhi. Lord Vishwakarma created planes and ornaments for Gods.

Lord Brahmā had another ManasaPutra Sthana. He had eleven sons namely Mrugavadhya, Sarva, Nirruti, Ajaikapada, AhirbhuDhryu, Pinaki, Vamadeva, Dahaneswara, Kapali, Sthana, Bhargu and they were Rudras.

Dharma has another three sons Sama, Kama and Harsha. And they had Prapthi, Rati and Nanda as wives. Savitā and Twapshtri( a female horse) had Ashvins. Lord Brahmā had another son Maharishi Bhrigu who was born from his heart. Maharishi Bhrigu had a son named Kavi. Kavi had a son named Shukra, and the guru of the Asuras. He had four sons namely Chanda, Amarka, Twaashtra and Dharaatra. Maharishi Bhrigu had another son named Chyavana. He was married to the daughter of Manu named Arushi, Ourwa was born to her from her thigh. Ourwa then had one hundred sons one of them being Rucheeka. Later Rucheeka had a son named Jamadagni. Jamadagni had four sons the youngest of whom was Parashurama (the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu). To help Manu in creation, Lord Brahmā had two more sons Dhata and Vidhaata. Lakshmi was born along with them and she had many Manasa Putras. Varuna and Jyeshta had a son Bala, and Sura was their daughter. Sura had a son named Adharma, he later had three sons named Bhayam, MahaBhayam and Mruthyuvu with his wife Nirruti.

Tamra had five daughters namely Kaki, Syeni, Bhasi, Dhrutharashtri and Suki. Among them Kaki(Crow) had Gudlagooba(Owls), Syeni had Hawks as her kids, Bhasi had Vultures, Dhrutharashtri had Swans and Chakravakam (ruddy goose or Brahmany duck) and Sukhi had Chilaka(Birds). Krodha had nine daughters namely Mrugi, Mrugamanda, Hari, Bhadramanasa, Maatangi, Sharduli, Shwetha, Surabhi and Surasa. Mrugi had deers, Mrugamanda had Bears and wild boars, Hari had Monkeys, Bhadramanasa had Airavata, and Airavata gave birth to the elephants that sevre Gods. Maatangi also had elephants, Sharduli had Lions and Tigers, Shwetha had Airaavana, Pundareeka, Vaamana, Kumuda, Anjana, Pushpadanta, Sarwabhouma, Suprateeka. whose wives are Abhra, Kapila, Pingala, Anupama, Taamraparni, Subhradanti, Angana, Anjanaavati. Surabhi had Rohini, Gandharvi and Anala. Rohini had other animals, Gandharvi had Horses and Anala had Mountains, trees and plants. Surasa had snakes. These are the details of birth of Gods and others. Now let me explain the details of people who were born with the grace of Gods and Demons.

Adi Parvamu-The Story of Vyasa

Rishi Parashara was equivalent to Prajapati. His union with Satyavati gave her SadhyoGarbha(its the condition of immediate conception at the very instance of union) giving her a male child. Rishi Parashara granted her all wishes and he left the place. Vyasa is the son of Satyavati. He is also known as Krishna Dvaipayana (referring to his complexion and birthplace). He is the author of the great Epic Mahābhārata. He was born with long hair in folds, had clothing of deer skin, Kamandalam(A water pot (Kamandalam) made from a dry pumpkin), YogaDanda. As soon as he was born he stood up and bowed to his mother and said " Mother!, think of me when you need me and I will appear in front of your eyes" and he then left to the forest for penance. He performed great penance and became a great sage. He divided the Vedas and wrote the fifth veda which is Mahābhārata.

Those who participated in the war were the ones that were born by the grace of Gods, Demons, Yaksha, Bird clan or Gandharva. Parasurama was angry on Kshatriyas ( The Kings). He invaded then and plundered their kingdoms twenty one times. He slew each and every Kshatriya that came to his sight with his saw. The widowed women of Kshatriyas were able to give birth to the next of Kin by the grace of Rishis, they gave birth to sons and daughters. Kingdoms flourished again, they took care of people very well. Bandits and robbers were kept under control and people were at peace. The caste system created was functioning normally. Yagnas were performed everywhere. With the grace of Lord Devendra there were rains throughout the year. Crops were abundant and the Kingdoms were prosperous. Population began to increase, the life span of people also began to increase.

BhuDevi was not able to bear the burden of all this. She went and plead to Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Śiva the destroyer or transformer. This problem can only be resolved with mass destruction of humankind. This is only possible when there is a great war. Hence according to the word of Lord Brahmā, Lord Vishnu and Lord Devendra reincarnated on Earth. Rakshasas and Yakshas reincarnated on earth and became nightmares for people. The people who were born with the grace of Gods were in the side of Pandavas and those who born with the grace of Rakshasas were on the side of Kauravas. This way the two sides went in to a dreadful war and died. Millions of people died and the burden on BhuDevi was reduced.

Adi Parvamu- The Story of MatsyaGandha

The son of the fish Apsara Adrika was called King of Fishermen and he later grew up and became the King of Matsya Kingdom. The girl was called Satyavati, her skin smelt like fish. Hence she was called MatsyaGandha (one who has the smell of fish). King Dasa raised her like his daughter. As told by her father she sailed a boat in river Yamuna. One day rishi Parashara was on a pilgrimage and he was going past river Yamuna and he saw MatsyaGandha. She was standing alone on the shore looking for sailors, there was no one around and rishi Parashara was the only one to travel by her boat. He sat on her boat, MatsyaGandha was a very beautiful young girl. He was taken by her beauty, he could not get her out of his mind.

He told MatsyaGandha that he had fallen in love with her. She was taken back and was frightened and feared of a curse if she would reject him. She said " I am in my father's abode, I am fisher woman by caste, I smell like a fish. You have your heart on me, you are a great sage. What should I do now? How can I face my elders If I lose my purity and virginity?"

rishi Parashara said " You will be as pure as a flower, I will make sure of that. Like you think you are not a fisher woman, you are the daughter of Vasu and Apsara Adrika. I will also remove your fish smell, you will have a fragrant smell for even many Yojanas distance." Even before he finished his sentence, she started smelling like fragrance, and she became YojanaGandha and Gandhavati. Her small Saree disappeared and she was dressed like a queen in silk and many jewels. The boat reached a small island on river Yamuna, YojanaGandha and rishi Parashara rested there.

Adi Parvamu- The story of Vasu

Vasu as born to Kusu and Vidharba raja's daughter as their fourth son. Vasu ruled Cheda Kingdom, one day when he went to hunt in the forest he visited an Ashram. After seeing the sages there he felt renunciation and left his bow and arrows aside and started doing penance. After sometime Devendra visited Vasu with his family and said " You have been a great king, you took care of your subjects very well and you are doing penance with the same spirit. I am extremely happy with you and I want to be your friend. I will give you a plane which is decorated with gems, come visit me using that plane. Here is a garland made of Lotus flowers, this is called IndraMala( garland of Indra), the flowers will always be fresh. If you wear this, nothing can pierce in to your body, and here is bamboo stick, this will punish the bad people and take care of good people. Go ahead and rule your people with these in your possession." and gave him the Lotus Garland, the Plane and the Bamboo stick. Vasu started going around in the plane and he was famous for this. With the help of the Garland and the Bamboo stick, he ruled his kingdom well. He often visited Devendra and also performed a festival on the name of Devendra and hence started the Indrotsavam.

With the grace of Lord Devendra, Vasu was blessed with five sons, Bruhadrada, Manivahana, Soubala, Yada, Rajanya. Vasu made them kings of five different Kingdoms and they became the roots of five great dynasties. There was a big river flowing past Cheda Kingdom named Sukthimati. Besides the river was Kolahala Mountain. Mountain Kolahala fell in love with Sukthimati, he stopped her flow by standing tall. The river flow stopped, Vasu noticed this and he moved the Kolahala Mountain with his feet. Because of her union with Kolahala Mountain, Sukthimati had two kids, son Vasupada and daughter Garika. As a token of gratitude she gave her kids to the King Vasu. He made Vasupada his Army general and married Garika.

Garika was Rutumati( a menstruating woman) and Vasu was asked by his fore fathers to feed her the meat of a deer. Vasu went for hunting, he was in the forest but he could not get Garika out of his mind. In this process of his thoughts for her, he did not want his semen to go waste. Hence he preserved his semen on a leaf and sent it to Garika through a hawk. When the hawk began to fly in the sky with the leaf in its beak, another hawk saw it and mistook the content on the leaf for meat and began to fight for the meat. The hawk that attacked slit the leaf in to two, and one half fell down. In the course of the fall two drops of semen was carried away by the air and fell in the the river Yamuna. Apsara Adrika was swimming in the river as a fish and she swallowed those two drops of semen and became pregnant and after ten months she was caught by the fishermen. When they slit the fish apart, they found two babies in it, a baby boy and a baby girl. The fishermen took the babies to King Dasa. Once she gave birth to human kids her curse broke and she was free to go back to heaven.

Adi Parvamu- Part III Introduction

After the end of Sarpa Yagam Janamejaya was participating in a discussion where there were great poets, sages and wise men. Vyasa was seated on a chair which was decorated with precious gems. his disciples were seated around him and Janamejaya treated them with utmost respect offering them food and by cleaning their feet with water. He bowed to Vyasa and said " I have been wanting to ask this question for a long time, it was you and Bhishma pithamaha( grand father) who had divided the kingdom to our grand fathers right? They should have enjoyed their part, but instead they fought and killed each other and caused a lot of casualties. I am not able to understand the inner meaning of why all this had to happen." "Why did you let this happen? You could have stopped it from happening." questioned Janamejaya.

Vyasa looked at his disciple Vaisampayana and said " Narrate Mahabharata to our King". Vaisampayana bowed to his teacher and the rest of the wise people in the room and took their permission to proceed. Mahabharata is the history of the Indian race. VishnuKalpa and Vyasa have worked extremely hard on the great mount Himalayas to write down this great epic which is filled with stories of bravery of our great Kings and is considered as the Fifth Veda. Vaisampayana then started narrating the great epic. " Mahabharata consists of one hundred thousand slokas as written by my great teachers whose knowledge is like an ocean. Mahabharata is like an image of the moon in the great ocean of wisdom, the praises of Lord Krishna and Arjuna are like the glow of the moon, the emotions in the epic are like rays of the moon. Someone who listens to this will come out of the ignorance which is darkness" said Vaisampayana. Before he started the narration of the epic he began with the stories of Vyasa.

Adi Parvamu- The story of Asthika

" There have been enough casualties, now no one shall die. Don't worry anymore" said Asthika and he started his journey to Hastinapura. Brahmins who were well versed in Vedas accompanied him. He went o the Yagnasala and stood in front of Janamejaya. He greeted the King and said " Oh King!, you are born in the great ChandraDynasty, you are a great emperor, a great saint. You have the greatest qualities that were found in Kings like Mandhata, Bhagiratha, Dasaratha, SriRama, DharmaRaja, Arjuna etc.. With gods grace you were born as a descendant of Pandavas and have made your people extremely happy. You have performed great Yagnas for the well being of your people, you have also distributed wealth to everyone and made them happy".

"The Yagna that Nala had performed, the Rajasuya that Yudhisthira performed, the Yagna that Prajapati performed bear equal importance like Sarpa Yaga that you are performing. The priests who are performing this Yagna are equivalent to Lord Brahma, They are great saints who perform penance and are well versed in Vedas. You also have the great sage Vyasa seated here along with his disciples, what else can someone expect. You are equivalent to Lord Vishnu among the Kings, that is the reason Lord Agni is here receiving the offerings of the Yagna and granting your wishes." said Asthika.

Janamejaya and his subjects were very happy to listen to Astika's words. They thought that Asthika was very gracious and a very knowledgeable person. Janamejaya was very happy and said " Oh Rishi, what do you want? I shall give you whatever you ask for." Asthika said " You are a very truthful man, and you stand on what you say and fulfill your word. So, Please stop the Sarpa Yagam, This is what I want. Please oblige to my request, please calm down now and spare the lives of my relatives".

Everyone started talking at once and said " Please my lord, Oblige to his request". Janamejaya couldn't say no and he had to stop the Sarpa Yagam. When Asthika came to the Yagna Takshaka was about to fall in to the flames. As explained earlier Takshaka went for help to Devendra but Janamejaya was wondering why all other snakes were burning in to flames but not Takshaka and he asked the priests about his whereabouts. They said that he was hiding at Devendra. Then Janamejaya said " Invite Devendra along with Takshaka". The priests were about to say " Sa Indras Takshakaya Swaha" which means let Indra burn in to flames with Takshaka and immediately Indra left Takshaka. Left alone, Takshaka was spitting out venom. The priests were just about to offer him to the flames and the Sarpa Yagam came to an end. " You have survived, don't worry now" said Asthika. Asthika saved the Naga (clan) and the Yayavar clan. He saved the serpents from extinction and people believed that uttering his name would ward of fear of serpents.

Adi Pravamu- Sarpa Yagam

Janamejaya felt that his father's death was done by treachery. He was very sad and at the same time extremely angry. He immediately called his priests and saints and said " The way my father died in the poisonous flames from Takshaka, he and his entire race should burn down in flames as well. My father will be happy in heaven and Udanka will also be satisfied. Please refer to the Shastras and let me know if Sarpa Yagam( A Yagna that is performed to bring snakes to extinction by letting them burn in flames) exists.". The priests replied " Oh King!, yes there is Sarpa Yagam, probably Gods have reserved you the right to perform it"

Janamejaya started making preperations for Sarpa Yagam. His wife VapushnaDevi was the daughter of KasiRaju Suvarna Verma. Along with her consent he began working for the Yagna. He called great sculptors and craftsmen and started the construction of Yagnasala( Place where Yagna is performed). The Yagnasala was abundant of all commodities needed to perform Yagna. All who were assigned tasks for the Yagna were very busy in completing their work. Thousands of Brahmins assembled for the Yagna and Janamejaya was personally taking care of everything. In the meanwhile a great scholar named Lohitha who knew VasthuShastra came there and he found a flaw in the construction of Yagnasala and wanted to report it to Janamejaya and said " Oh King! the Sarpa Yagam will proceed as planned but it will be stopped by someone and will not be completed". Janamejaya lent a deaf ear to Lohitha's words.

Sarpa Yagam started as scheduled. There are four positions in a yagna. At the altar, there are four priests sitting at four points. One position is Hotha, the one who reads RigVeda and invites the gods. The second position is Udgatha, the one who reads Samaveda. The third position is Adhwarya, the one who reads YajurVeda. The last is Brahma, who reads all the Vedas. Each priest represents one of these posts. The descendent of Chyavana, Chanda Bhargava was the Hotha. Pingala was the Adhwarya, Adwarya is the overall important man. He has to own the responsibility, if anything goes wrong. So he has to do a special prayer everyday to atone for his sins, seeking the pardon of God Himself, as there may be certain lapses or certain mistakes while performing yagna. Sarjarava was the Brahma and Kauthya was Udgatha. Vyasa, Vaisampayana, Paila, Jaimini, Sumantha, SriSuka, SwethaKethu, Maudgalya, Uddalaka, Mandavya, Kaushika, Kaundinya, Shandilya, Kramatha, Kohala, Asitha, Devala, Narada, Parvatha, Maitreya, Atreya, KundaJhatara, KalaGhatika, Vatsya, SruthaSrava, DevaSarma, Roma, Sodanka, Haritha, Ruru, Pulomudu, SomaSravasa were participating members. Everyone took theirs seats and the Yagna started. The Yagna was started by the people who wore black clothes and lit the fire. The flames were burning high and the Mantras were reverberating.

As the Mantras started progressing serpents started appearing and burning in to flames. Big serpents were burning in to flames in groups. The serpents ere dreading death and they started spitting venom. All sorts of snakes, in colors like red, black, white and grey started burning down in to ashes. Huge snakes many Yojanas in length started to drag themselves in to flames, hundreds and thousands of snakes burned down in to ashes. The sound of the fire was horrendous.

Descendants of Vasuki (Kotisa, Manasa, Purna, Cala, Pala, Halmaka, Pichchala, Kaunapa, Cakra, Kalavega, Prakalana, Hiranyavahu, Carana, Kakshaka, and Kaladantaka), Takshaka ( Puchchandaka, Mandalaka, Pindasektri, Ravenaka; Uchochikha, Carava, Bhangas, Vilwatejas, Virohana; Sili, Salakara, Muka, Sukumara, Pravepana, Mudgara, Sisuroman, Suroman and Mahahanu), Iravati (Paravata, Parijata, Pandara, Harina, Krisa, Vihanga, Sarabha, Meda, Pramoda and Sauhatapana), Kauravya (Eraka, Kundala Veni, Veniskandha, Kumaraka, Vahuka, Sringavera, Dhurtaka, Pratara and Astaka.), Dhritarashtra (Sankukarna, Pitharaka, Kuthara, Sukhana, and Shechaka; Purnangada, Purnamukha, Prahasa, Sakuni, Dari, Amahatha, Kumathaka, Sushena, Vyaya, Bhairava, Mundavedanga, Pisanga, Udraparaka, Rishabha, Vegavat, Pindaraka; Raktanga, Sarvasaranga, Samriddha, Patha and Vasaka; Varahaka, Viranaka, Suchitra, Chitravegika, Parasara, Tarunaka, Maniskandha and Aruni. (Dhritarashtra was Airavata's younger brother (1,3).)) were all burned down by the flames of the Sarpa Yagam.

All the Nagas were terrified and the Naga Kings started trembling with fear. Takshaka was shook by this and he was terrified. He ran to his friend Devendra and fell on his feet for help. Devendra had heard all this from Lord Brahma and he assured Takshaka that he is safe now and asked him not to worry. Vasuki could not bear the loss of his descendants and that of his brothers. He went to his sister Jaratkaru and asked her to send her son Asthika to Janamejaya and said " If you dont send your son now, the whole Naga race will be destroyed, this was the reason I got you married to Jaratkaru. You listened to what Elaputra said that day". Jaratkaru said " My dear son, please obey the order of your uncle Vasuki and go and convince Janamejaya and stop this massacre" and sent him to Sarpa Yagam.

Adi Parvamu- The Death of Parikshit

When Udanka came and told Janamejaya that Takshaka was the one that killed his father Parikshit, Janamejaya was surprised and looked at his subjects and ministers for an answer. They replied saying " Yes Oh Mighty King!, it was Takshaka who killed our majesty Parikshit. When the Kauravas dynasty was destroyed, your father Parikshit was born to Abhimanyu and Uttara, hence the name Parikshit which means born around the time of destruction. He ruled the kingdom for sixty years and treated his people like his own kids. He was a nightmare to all the other kings because of his bravery. He also enjoyed hunting like your great grand father Pandu. One day while hunting he hit a deer with hit arrow, the deer ran away along with the arrow. Like Lord Shiva going after an animal which has to be sacrificed for a Yagna, Parikshit chased the deer for a long time and was very tired after a while. He went in search of water and found Sage Samika sitting in penance. He asked Samika " Oh great sage, have you seen a deer hit by an arrow around here? Can you point me in the direction where it went?", Samika was in Mouna Vratam( A ritual to maintain silence for a period of time) and did not reply to Parikshit . The King got angry and lifted a dead snake nearby with an arrow and threw it around the sages neck and he then left to Hastinapura.

Srungi, the son of Samika came to the place where his father was doing penance. He learnt from Sage Krusa that the snake has been thrown in his father's neck by Parikshit . He became furious and said " What is this horrible act? My father is a senior person who is doing penance in this forest without harming anyone. He is only feeding on the milk that is left in a cow after the calves have it, how can someone insult this great person." and immediately took water in his hands to give a curse and said " Parikshit shall die on the seventh day from today by being bitten by Takshaka, this is my curse". He then ran to his father Samika. Samika was not aware of the fact that the dead snake was on his neck, Srungi removed the snake and threw it away.

Samika opened his eyes after Srungi came there, Srungi was in tears and he bowed and greeted his father. He explained everything that had happened to his father. Samika was hurt by what happened and broke his Mouna Vratam ritual and said " Oh, you have done a mistake. Anger is not a good thing for us. Anger causes hindrance in attaining AshtaSiddhis, it causes harm to penance. Anger is like a termite to all the great Dharmas, we are sages who do penance and we should not have anger, instead we should have forgiveness. A sage who sans forgiveness, a rich person who sans charity, a King who sans righteousness will all go waste like the water in a broken pot. You forgot the noble quality of forgiveness and took up Anger. You forgot what is good and what is bad and cursed a great noble king. Its all because of the Emperor that

we are able to perform penance and live our lives peacefully. It is a great sin to curse our ruler, He is a great king and is one among the best. Parikshit must have been tired from hunting and may have been very thirsty, in such a situation he must have committed a small mistake. You gave him a big curse for a small mistake, I bore his action in peace, why did you have to react? You can't change the past now, go ahead and take your curse back".

Srungi felt ashamed for his act and said " I told something out of rage but I cannot take back my curse. Takshaka must be getting ready, what can I do now?" Samika did not know what to do, he called Gauramukha and asked him to go to Parikshit and explain what all happened and asked him to warn Parikshit about Takshaka. Parikshit listened to everything and called in a conference with his ministers, he appointed thousands of craftsmen and sculptors and built a tall one pillar building. It was guarded with hundreds of security guards, he lived in there with doctors capable of treating venom and with close friends and relatives. Takshaka wandered the streets of Hastinapura to find a way to get in to the building, six days passed by. But the disaster happened on the seventh day. A person was returning to his place after completing his work in a distant land. Takshaka saw him and went to meet that person in the disguise of an Old Brahmin and asked him " Sir, who are you? where are you going now?". He replied saying " I am a doctor who can treat bites caused by snakes, I am also adept in Mantras. I am on my way to Hastinapura, today Takshaka is going to bite Parikshit. I can save him from this problem, Lord Brahma taught Kashyapa the Mantras that can remove the venom of snakes when bitten. I have learnt these Mantras from Kashyapa himself and I shall put all my knowledge in par to save the King".

Takshaka laughed at him and said " I have not seen a fool like you, there can be a remedy for any calamity but not for my bite. You cannot do anything, so go back to your place. If you insist to stay back then here is a challenge. I will bite this Banyan tree, you will understand my power. Now If you are able to bring the tree back to life then I will believe that you are capable of saving Parikshit's life". He then bit the tree beside him, a healthy green tree burnt down in to ashes. The person brought together the ashes and uttered a Mantra and the tree stood tall and green again. Takshaka was surprised and said" You are a great person, Hail to you. But the curse of Srungi should not go waste. All you need is money right? I will give you as much as you want, please go back."

The person thought " I can only remove the poison but cannot remove the curse" and so he took the money from Takshaka and returned back. You all must be wondering how we know this part of the story when the forest had no inhabitants. There was a Brahmin sitting on the tree trying to cut some branches for his living, when the tree was bitten he too turned in to ashes, but later was brought back to life along with the tree. After the person left, Takshaka called his fellow serpents and said " You all should take the form of Brahmins and go to Parikshit and offer him fruits and flowers" and he himself disguised and disappeared among them. They all took the guise of Brahmins and went to Parikshit chanting Vedas and went to the one pillar building, the king honoured them and took all their offerings. In the evening, the sun was almost going to set and the king felt like eating the fruits that the Brahmins had offered him. Nobody can change the fate and destiny. He called his relatives and said, the sunset is almost there and the curse has been relieved, so lets have some fruits. As he started eating a fruit, he saw a small black insect. It soon turned red in color and grew two times in size and then four times in size and then turned in to a full size snake, it was Takshaka. He started hissing and spitting venom and bit the King Parikshit and disappeared. Everyone in the building ran for their lives. The whole building along with Parikshit turned in to ashes. The last rights were performed by the priests. You (Janamejaya) had to take up the responsibility at a small age. All this happened because of the curse of a Brahmin, Takshaka should be punished for this along with his whole race. Sarpa Yagam is the right thing to do, all of the serpents will be destroyed forever".

Adi Parvamu- The Story of Jaratkaru

Jaratkaru belonged to Yayavar race. He was celibate. He wandered the forests by performing penance. He served Rishis and gained immense knowledge. One day while roaming in the forest he found something amazing. There was a small water pond, a small plant was close to the pond and there were thousands of tiny sages hanging upside down from the plant in to the water pond. Sunshine was their sole source of existence. The roots of the plant have been nibbled by a rat, only one root was solely holding the entire plant. If this root is nibbled, the entire plant will collapse in to the water and the sages will drown. Jaratkaru thought that this was a different kind of penance. He went closer to them and asked them to teach him this type pf penance. The sages said " This is not a penance. We are evil doers, we don't have heirs and hence we will have to die in hell. Due to our ill fate we have a descendant named Jaratkaru who is a selfish person. He is celibate and is not going to have kids. We are his ancestors, he is the only one who can bear kids in our whole race. This plant is our family tree, the only root left is Jaratkaru and the rat is Yama. The roots that have been nibbled are our fore fathers and ancestors. The water pond is the unknown world(Hell). If Jaratkaru dies without having kids the only root will be nibbled by the rat and we will all fall in to Hell. If Jaratkaru bears kids we will go to the great and sacred worlds. You look like a well wisher, If you see Jaratkaru please let him know about our situation".

Jaratkaru deeply regretted for the mistake that he had committed unknowingly, he apologized to them and said " I am Jaratkaru, I am sorry for my mistakes. I will marry now". The sages were very happy and said " Jaratkaru, even if we do great penance we will not be taken to the sacred worlds without having male heirs. Go get married and have kids and give save us from going to the unknown worlds." Jaratkaru agreed to get married and said " I need to marry a girl who has the same name as me, I will marry only such person". He then started searching for his namesake. He started going to different places and inquired many people, but he never could find his name sake on Earth.Years passed by, and his body was shrunk by Upavasam everyday. He had the responsibility of pleasing his ancestors, but he could not find a girl with his name.

Vasuki came to know about Jaratkaru searching for his namesake. He got his sister Jaratkaru along with him from Naga Loka( habitat of serpents). Jaratkaru finally found the right bride he was looking for. He married Jaratkaru. On the first night together, he placed a condition " Never insult me, the day I am insulted I will leave you and go away". Jaratkaru was very cautious of her husband( Jaratkaru's) condition and tried to please him. She took good care of him and tried to do whatever he wanted. She got pregnant eventually.

One day Jaratkaru was sleeping on deer skin with his head placed in his wife's lap. It was late in the evening and the other sages in the Ashram were getting ready for evening rituals. Jaratkaru did not know what to do. If she woke him up then he would be angry about her disturbing his sleep, else he would miss his evening rituals. Missing his evening rituals would be bad and he would be angry again. She thought " it is better to wake him up in sleep and disturb him rather than not being righteous and avoiding evening rituals" and she woke him up. Jaratkaru was extremely angry and shouted at her saying why she had to wake him up. Jaratkaru was frightened and said that she had to wake him up because it was sunset. "There sun cannot set before I wake up, so you treated me as a fool and you have no confidence in me. This is a very big insult. I warned you before that I would leave you If you insult me and the day has come. I am going forever and will never see your face again. Your womb is bearing a very pious child and he will bring glory to both our races. Dont worry now and go back to your brother" said Jaratkaru and he left the place without turning back.

Jaratkaru was heartbroken by her husband, she returned to her brother Vasuki to Naga Loka. Some days later a radiant and glorious by named Asthika was born. He was very graceful and grew up to be a great sage. Chyavana's son Pramati and Asthika were colleagues, they studies Vedas and Shastras together. Asthika attained the greatest fame among great sages.

Adi Parvamu- The renunciation of Sesha

" My mother and brothers have taken the path of Adharma (not being righteous), hence they could not get Amrutham. It is better I leave them instead of living this life with them" thought AdiSesha. He left the house in renunciation ( Vairagya). He performed penance on sacred mountains like Gandhamadana, Badarivanam, Gokarna and Himalaya for many thousands of years for Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma appeared and granted him a wish.

AdiSesha refused to take a wish and said " My mother and brother have become one and are in the path of Adharma. They betrayed Vinatha and her son Garuthmantha, our turn is completed. Now it is their turn to take revenge. Hence I left the path of Adharma and I am doing penance for salvation until I die". Lord Brahma said " If you are disheartened then it is not good for the world. You are the great serpent born to bear the world. You are Truthful and Righteous. Dont just waste away by accepting death, take up the responsibility of bearing the weight of the world for thousands of years to come. Garuthmantha is your brother, you better be in good terms with him. This is good for you and for the entire world." From then onwards AdiSesha has been bearing Earth for times immemorial.

Vasuki was terrified thinking about his mothers curse and Janamejaya's Sarpa Yagam. He then invited all his relatives and brother Iravatha for a conference and said " Our elder brother AdiSesha is bearing the earth by doing penance, he is not concerned about us. He never thinks about the calamity that is going to wipe us out. I was the rope used in SamudraMadhanamu, hence the Gods bestowed me with a blessing that I shall not be scared for death. But I still am concerned about you people being destroyed. How can we reverse our Mother's curse? Let me know what we can do".

Some serpents said " Let us stop this Sarpa Yagam from happening", some others said " Lets go in disguise of Brahmanas and tell him that this is unfair and not righteous as Janamejaya will not do Adhrama". Some serpents said " Lets go in disguise of his ministers and tell him that this is not good for the entire world", some notorious serpents said " Lets creep on food, people who come for Yagna and the Brahmanas and sages who utter mantras and frighten them". Some senior serpents said " These cannot be implemented, once the holy verses are hymned by the Brahmanas, we all will fall in to the fire and burn to death". Then how can this be prevented?

Elaputra, brother of Vasuki came forward and said that he knew something about the curse and said " The day mother cursed you, I was a small baby sleeping in her lap. I heard Lord Brahma and other Gods talking about the curse, let me tell you that in detail. The Gods questioned Brahma saying " How could you let this happen. How can Kadruva curse the mighty and strong snakes for a bad cause." Brahma replied saying " Mother BhuDevi cannot bear those who cause harm to the world, hence the bad snakes have to die. This is the reason I kept quiet. Vasuki's sister Jaratkaru will marry the sage Jaratkaru and bear a son named Asthika. He is the great one who will interrupt the Sarpa Yagam and stop it. All the great serpents who are required for the world will survive". Elaputra said that this is what he heard and is the truth in entirety.

Vasuki and all the other serpents were extremely happy and they started to wait for Jaratkaru who would come and marry his sister Jaratkaru.