Shloka 27
The Birth of Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Prophecies of His Greatness
तक्षकादात्मनो मृत्युं द्विजपुत्रोपसर्जितात् । प्रपत्स्यत उपश्रुत्य मुक्तसङ्ग: पदं हरे: ॥ २७ ॥
takṣakād ātmano mṛtyuṁ dvija-putropasarjitāt prapatsyata upaśrutya mukta-saṅgaḥ padaṁ hareḥ
Hearing that his death will come by the bite of Takṣaka, the serpent sent by a brāhmaṇa’s son, he will become free from all material attachment and surrender at the lotus feet of Bhagavān Śrī Hari, taking shelter of Him.
Material attachment and taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord go ill together. Material attachment means ignorance of transcendental happiness under the shelter of the Lord. Devotional service to the Lord, while existing in the material world, is a way to practice one’s transcendental relation with the Lord, and when it is matured, one gets completely free from all material attachment and becomes competent to go back home, back to Godhead. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, being especially attached to the Lord from the beginning of his body in the womb of his mother, was continuously under the shelter of the Lord, and the so-called warning of his death within seven days from the date of the curse by the brāhmaṇa’s son was a boon to him to enable him to prepare himself to go back home, back to Godhead. Since he was always protected by the Lord, he could have avoided the effect of such a curse by the grace of the Lord, but he did not take such undue advantage for nothing. Rather, he made the best use of a bad bargain. For seven days continuously he heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from the right source, and thus he got shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord by that opportunity.
FAQs
This verse says that upon hearing of his impending death, Parīkṣit Mahārāja became free from attachment and took full shelter of Lord Hari’s feet—showing that bhakti and surrender are the highest response to mortality.
Because he understood the curse was unavoidable and chose the supreme solution: renunciation of worldly ties and wholehearted surrender to Hari, which leads to fearlessness and liberation.
When confronted with uncertainty or fear, reduce needless attachments and consciously take shelter in devotional practices—hearing and chanting about Hari—making spiritual priorities primary.