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When Sauti paused, Sage Shaunaka leaned forward eagerly.
“Tell us,” he said, “why did that mighty king, Janajaya, undertake a sacrifice intended to destroy the entire race of serpents?
And why did the great Brahmin Astika save them from the blazing sacrificial fire?
Who was Janajaya's father?
And who was Astika's father?
I wish to hear the whole story.”
Sauti nodded.
“O best of Brahmins, what you ask concerns the great and ancient history of Astika. Listen carefully, and I shall tell it exactly as it was handed down through the ages.
This sacred tale was once narrated by the sage Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa himself.
My father, Lomaharshana, the disciple of Vyasa, later recounted it to learned Brahmins.
I heard it from him, and now I shall repeat it to you exactly as it was told.”
The assembly of sages fell silent.
Sauti began.
“To understand why Astika saved the serpents, one must first know the story of his father.
His father was a great sage nad Jaratkaru.
In power and spiritual glory, he was comparable to Prajapati himself.
He lived a life of strict celibacy and severe austerities.
His food was sparse, his senses perfectly controlled, and his vows unbroken.
He wandered constantly from place to place, detached from worldly concerns.
Among wandering ascetics he was renowned for his righteousness, self-discipline, and unwavering devotion to spiritual practice.
So strict was his discipline that he never allowed his vital energy to be wasted.
His entire life was dedicated to austerity and the pursuit of higher truth.”
One day, while wandering through remote regions, Jaratkaru ca upon a strange and terrifying sight.
Before him yawned a vast chasm.
Deep within it hung a group of ancient n.
They were suspended upside down over the abyss.
Their heads pointed toward the depths below, while their feet stretched upward.
The sight was disturbing and unnatural.
The n appeared exhausted and helpless, as though they were on the verge of falling into the darkness beneath them.
When Jaratkaru looked more closely, he realized sothing even more shocking.
These were not strangers.
They were his own ancestors.
And they hung there in a state of terrible suffering.
Seeing them suspended over the abyss, the great sage was filled with concern and astonishnt.
He stepped forward, eager to learn why his forefathers had been reduced to such a desperate condition.
Sauti continued:
The sight before Jaratkaru was both terrifying and heartbreaking.
A group of ancient sages hung upside down over a vast abyss. Their only support was a single strand of grass.
Even more alarming, the grass had been almost entirely gnawed away by a rat that lived within the chasm. With each passing mont, the support grew weaker.
It seed only a matter of ti before they plunged into the darkness below.
Deeply disturbed, Jaratkaru stepped closer and called out:
“Who are you, noble ones?
Why do you hang upside down over this dreadful pit?
And why are you suspended by a single blade of grass that is being slowly eaten away by a rat hidden in the depths of this cave?”
The ancient n looked up at him and replied:
“We are sages of the Yayavara lineage, n who faithfully observed severe vows throughout our lives.
Now we suffer this fate because our family line is coming to an end.
We are descending toward destruction because we have no descendants left to continue our lineage.”
Their voices were heavy with sorrow.
“We once had many descendants, but now only one remains.
His na is Jaratkaru.
Unfortunately for us, he has devoted himself entirely to asceticism.
He seeks neither wife nor children.
That misguided man desires only austerities and spiritual discipline.
Because he refuses to continue the family line, we are left hanging here, our future fading away.
Though we have a protector, we remain unprotected.
Though we have an heir, we stand on the brink of extinction.”
Then they studied the stranger standing before them.
“You seem to grieve for us as though you were one of our own kin.
Tell us, noble Brahmin—who are you?
Why do you mourn our suffering?”
For a mont Jaratkaru stood silent.
Then realization struck him.
These were not strangers.
They were his own forefathers.
With folded hands and a trembling voice, he replied:
“You are my ancestors.
You are my fathers and grandfathers.
And I am that unfortunate descendant of whom you speak.
I am Jaratkaru.”
The ancient sages stared at him in astonishnt.
At last, the descendant upon whom all their hopes rested had appeared before them.
Jaratkaru bowed his head.
“Tell ,” he said, “what must I do?
How can I save you?”
His ancestors answered imdiately.
“My son, make every effort to continue our lineage.
For your own sake and for ours, you must have a child.
This is your duty.
No amount of asceticism, no accumulation of spiritual rit, can grant what a worthy descendant provides to his ancestors.
The blessings gained through a son cannot be replaced by austerities alone.
Therefore, set your mind upon marriage.
Take a wife.
Have a child.
You are our only hope.
Only through you can our line survive and our suffering co to an end.”
The words struck Jaratkaru deeply.
For his entire life he had devoted himself to renunciation.
Now, for the first ti, he faced a duty that seed to pull him in the opposite direction.
Between the path of the ascetic and the obligation owed to his ancestors, he would have to make a choice.
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