M1 - Mahabharata - King Janamejaya Begins Sarpa Yaga

 M1 - Mahabharata - King Janamejaya Begins Sarpa Yaga 

Who is King Janamejaya? Why did he conduct Sarpa Yaga?

King Janamejaya is the son of King Parikshit, grandson of Abhimanyu and the great-grandson of Arjuna. King Parikshit was killed by Serpent King Takshaka in order to take revenge on Arjuna*, who was responsible for killing his tribe in Kandava Vana Firing. 

Who is Uttanka, and why did he urge the king to perform the yaga?

King Janamejaya was not keen to avenge Takshaka, but Uttanka, the disciple of Sage Gouthama, instigated the King Janamejaya to punish Takshaka as both were victims. Since Uttanka couldn’t do it alone, he sought the help of the king. 

(Takshaka once tricked Uttanka when he was about to fulfill the wish of his Guru's wife). Uttanka agreed to perform Sarpa Yaga for the King, and in the process, serpents fell one after the other into the Homa kunda. Takshaka sought Indra's help, but Indra couldn't do much. 

Who is Aruna, and why did he curse his mother, Vinata?

Kadru is the mother of 1000 powerful serpents. She had a sister, Vinata, and both were married to Sage Kashyapa. Vinata sought from her husband a boon that she be the mother of two eagles who must be more powerful than Kadru's sons.

Kadru’s 1000 eggs hatched, and serpents were born. Intolerant Vinata broke open one of her eggs, and to her dismay, a half born eagle, Aruna was born. 

Aruna curses his mother for his plight and says she would become a slave on whom she was jealous. He went to suryamandal and served as charioteer to Sun God. 

He also warned Vinata not to break open the second egg as the son born out of it would help her get rid of slavery. Garuda was born after 500 years and helped her get rid of slavery.  

How was Vinata tricked? 

Once Kadru and Vinata went for a walk near the sea shore and saw Ucchishrava, a pure white divine horse. Both appreciated its beauty and colour. Kadru hatched a plan and wilfully declared the horse’s tail is black. 

Vinata disagreed with her sister, and the casual talk between the sisters turned into a contest. 

Kadru Curses Her Sons

Kadru makes a dishonest request to her serpent sons to coil around the divine horse in order to win the contest. The snakes declined their mother's demand and, in turn, were cursed by Kadru - to become sacrificial victims during King Janamejaya’s Sarpa Yaga. 

To escape the consequences of the curse, one lone snake by the name Karkotaka agreed to fulfill her wish. 

The next day, when Kadru and Vinata met at the prescribed time, the horse’s tail appeared black, and Vinata became slave to Kadru. Vinata faced lots of humiliation from her sister.

Source: Mahabharatha- Adiparva

*Arjuna was protected by Srikrishna, and his son Abhimanyu was killed in the battlefield, and hence, Takshaka targeted Parikshit.