Astika Saves Takshaka Short Story in English For Kids

In the Astika saves Takshaka short story, children will come across a minor character by the name of Takshaka and how his story unfolds. The story shows Takshaka, who is about to be killed by Janmejaya, the son of his victim and how his nephew astika comes to his rescue at the last moment, successfully saving his life. Children will also learn the Mahabharata's significance in this story. This article brings out the events of this story in a simple language that can be understood by children.

Astika Saves Takshaka Summary in English

The story opens with Janmejaya’s father being killed by the serpent king Takshaka. Janmejaya now wants to perform a snake sacrifice to avenge his father's death. A set of priests were hired to chant mantras and slokas to summon Takshaka into the fire so he could be killed and sacrificed. However, he did not appear despite the strong and continuous chantings of the mantras.

The priests were confused at first but soon realised that takshaka must’ve gone over and requested the protection of Lord Indra. So, they decided to chant mantras to summon Takshaka and Lord Indra. Their assumption was correct, as Lord Indra and Takshaka had appeared and fallen into the fire. When Lord Indra knew that this was dangerous, he was very angry and reluctantly abandoned Takshaka, leaving him to face his fate alone.

Takshaka’s younger sister Jararkaru decided to take matters into her own hands and save her dear brother. She ordered her son Astika to go and save him. He went to Janmejaya and asked him for a boon, saying that the ongoing snack sacrifice had been ending the lives of many snakes and that if he decided to stop now, he will be greatly revered and blessed. A sage named Vyasa encouraged Janmejaya to stop the snake sacrifice, and he did. This is how Takshaka’s life was saved by his nephew Astika.

Astika saves Takshaka after asking for the boon from Janmejaya, who agrees to grant his wish.

Takshaka in Mahabharata

Takshaka in Mahabharata is described as the king of snakes or serpents, one of the sons of Kadru, the mother of a thousand snakes. He plays a minimal role in the Indian epic, as he is a minor character since the epic solely focuses on the lives of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He killed Janmejaya’s father, Parikshit, who was the son of Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. Takshaka killed him due to the curse of a brahmin. Hence, Parikshit’s death could not be avoided.

Astika Asking for the Boom

Note To Parents

Children will be more than happy to listen to this story in the form of story-telling as it will be really interesting and captivating. This will make them look forward to more story-telling sessions and be more involved. They can even read the Astika saves Takshaka summary since they will be encouraged to read more stories and develop the habit of reading. By doing so, they will come to know more about the Mahabharata, the astika mantra and the role of Takshaka. This will, in turn, improve the bonding between the children and their family members.