The Birth of Pariksit Maharaja

Pariksit Maharaja is one of the great heroes of Srimad Bhagavatam. How was Pariksit born, if the Brahmastra burned both his body and the womb of the mother? What were his activities?

Pariksit Maharaja is one of the great heroes of Srimad Bhagavatam. He was born in the most uncommon circumstances, having to face the danger of an atomic explosion while still in the womb, and having the personal darshan of the Lord, who personally appeared just to save him.

As revealed on SB 3.3.17, the body of Maharaja Pariksit had been burned by the Brahmastra, but it was restored by the mercy of the Lord. This is confirmed in the first canto:

"The womb of Uttarā, mother of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, was spoiled by the dreadful and invincible brahmāstra weapon released by Aśvatthāmā. But Mahārāja Parīkṣit was saved by the Supreme Lord."

Śaunaka Rishi wants to know more about this extraordinary birth, and thus asks:

"How was the great emperor Parīkṣit, who was a highly intelligent and great devotee, born in that womb? How did his death take place, and what did he achieve after his death?

We all respectfully want to hear about him [Mahārāja Parīkṣit] to whom Śukadeva Gosvāmī imparted transcendental knowledge. Please speak on this matter." (SB 1.12.2-3)

Here, two questions are asked:

- How was Pariksit born, if the Brahmastra burned both his body and the womb of the mother?

- How did he die, and what was his destination after death?

Suta Goswami starts his answer by glorifying the qualities of Maharaja Yudhisthira and thus emphasizing the exalted lineage of Pariksit Maharaja. He then proceeds to describe the encounter of the child with the Lord.

The Lord is described as being just one thumb high because this was the size appropriate for the situation. The body of the Lord includes everything that exists, and thus the Lord is unlimitedly big. As Maha-Vishnu, entire universes pass through the pores of His body. However, at the same time, the Lord can become the smallest of the smallest and enter even inside the atom. He can also assume any size in between, according to the activity He wishes to perform.

As Paramatma, inside the heart, he assumes a form that is just one thumb high, because that’s the size of the internal chamber of the heart. That’s his mercy, so yogis and pure devotees can meditate on this form inside their hearts. However, even in this minute form, the Lord conserves His full power, and the proof of that is he could easily deflect the Brahmastra of Aswatthama. It’s described that He could deflect the radiation of the nuclear weapon just like the sun evaporates a drop of dew.

After deflecting the Brahmastra, the Lord disappeared at once, and thus Pariksit got just a glimpse of His transcendental form. This view, however, exerted such a powerful influence over the child that His whole life he was looking for the Lord, examining all classes of people, trying to find again this beautiful personality who had saved Him in the womb. The name Pariksit means “examiner” due to this transcendental characteristic of his.

In due course of time, Pariksit Maharaja had the opportunity to hear the Srimad Bhagavatam from Sukadeva Goswami, and thus gain full transcendental realization. Reading the Bhagavatam, we get the impression that Pariksit Maharaja was bitten by the snake immediately after Sukadeva Goswami finished speaking, but Srila Sanatana Goswami reveals to us that there was some time between the end of the description and the snake bite. During this time, Uttara, his mother, inquired from Him about the essence of the Srimad Bhagavatam, and by using His transcendental vision, Pariksit Maharaja could see and describe two pastimes that explain the glories of the Lord, the transcendental abode and our eternal relationship with Him. These two pastimes are described in the Brhad Bhagavatamrta, a book that was compiled and commented on by Srila Sanatana Goswami. The first pastime describes the travelings of Narada Muni, trying to find the highest devotees of the Lord, and the second the journey of Gopa Kumara on his path back home, back to Godhead.

After Pariksit was protected by the Lord, the pregnancy of Uttara continued its course, and in due time, when the planets and constellations were all in auspicious positions, the child finally took birth. While pure devotees are transcendental to Karma, the Lord arranges for them to be born in auspicious circumstances, and under certain dispositions of the stars that assist them in their missions. The chart of Srila Prabhupada indicated that He would become a preacher, travel to the West when he was 70 years old, and establish 108 temples, as correctly predicted by an astrologer at the time of his birth. The stars were not the cause of his success, but Krsna organized it in such a way that they would support him in his mission.

Nowadays, often children are conceived out of “accidents”, and born into families who don’t want them. However, this was not the case for Pariksit Maharaja. Although he was the grandson of Arjuna, all the five Pandavas became extraordinarily affectionate towards them, especially Maharaja Yudisthira, who accepted him as his own son and the heir to the throne.

At the time of the birth of Pariksit, the Brahmanas predicted his personal qualities. Pariksit was destined to be a pure devotee and exhibit all good qualities. Because his body was restored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the child would be also known as Viṣṇu-rāta, the one who is protected by the Lord.

When King Yudhisthira inquired if he would be as pious and great a king as his ancestors, the brahmanas gave a further description of the qualities of the child. He would follow Brahminical principles and keep his word exactly like Lord Rama. Rama was so moral that he was able to sacrifice his own personal happiness to uphold virtue, first by accepting being banished to the forest, and later by abandoning the association of his wife Sita. He would be capable of giving charity and protecting others just like King Śibi, who was capable of cutting flesh from his own body to a pigeon who took shelter in him.

In battle, Pariksit would be no less powerful than Arjuna, irresistible as fire and as unsurpassable as the ocean. He would be strong as a lion, and capable of giving shelter to surrendered souls just like the Himalayas give shelter to all types of saintly persons.

It was also described that Pariksit would be as tolerant as his parents, which is also significant since the Pandavas are the ultimate example of tolerance in the name of upholding religious principles. It was specially mentioned that he would be no less than Maharaja Yudisthira or Lord Brahma himself in equanimity of mind.

The battle of Kuruksetra happened during the 89th year of Krsna’s Eartly pastimes. The departure of Krsna to Dvaraka happened a few months later, during the 90th year. This is also probably when Pariksit was born, as he was conceived shortly before the battle.

Krsna’s disappearance (described in chapter 14 of the 1st canto of Srimad Bhagavatam), happened in the 125th year, a total of 36 years after the battle of Kuruksetra. At this time, Pariksit Maharaja was about 35 years old.

It’s described in the Srimad Bhagavatam that the Pandavas renounced their kingdom and went to the Himalayas after receiving the news of the departure of Krsna and the Yadu dynasty, which happened a few months after the departure of Krsna.

After Pariksit became the king, he performed many wonderful activities, such as traveling through Jambudwipa (the cosmic mass of land at the center of Bhu-Mandala, of which our planet is part) and receiving tribute from all the kings of the different tracts of land, meeting and chastising Kali and so on. By the time the Brahmana boy cursed him to die in seven days, went to the banks of the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna, and met Sukadeva Goswami, he had an adult son, Janamejaya, so this must have happened several years after the Pandavas left.

It’s described that Sukadeva Goswami, as well as Vyasadeva, were present when Bhismadeva was leaving his body, therefore Sukadeva Goswami is older than Pariksit. On SB 1.19.26 it’s described that “taṁ dvyaṣṭa-varṣaṁ”, Sukadeva Goswami was only sixteen years old when he met Pariksit Maharaja, but this appears to refer to his appearance, not to the chronological age. Because he was so pure, he had the appearance of a sixteen-year-old boy when he spoke the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Suta Goswami was five years old when Balarama killed Romahashana, which also happened around the time of the battle of Kuruksetra. Suta Goswami was thus five or six years older than Maharaja Pariksit. He was present when Sukadeva Goswami narrated the Bhagavatam to Pariksit and later narrated it to the sages in the forest of Naimisharanya.