Stories From The Bhagavatham - The Son Of Abhimanyu

 

Once Yudhishthira was crowned as the king of Hastinapur, Krishna told him. “Now that my mission is fulfilled, I feel the need to return to Dwarka. It has been a long while since I left my home and saw my parents. I have almost forgotten what the city looks like! Please bid me to leave now.”

Uttara, the wife of Abhimanyu, Arjun’s son, came running to Krishna asking for help.

पाहि पाहि महायोगिन्देवदेव जगत्पते नान्यं त्वदभयं पश्ये यत्र मृत्युः परस्परम्

“Krishna, you are the Lord of the Universe, and the only one who can help me. I feel a powerful presence which is constantly burning me. I bear Abhimanyu’s child in my womb. This child is the gift to the throne of the Pandavas. I am afraid that the fire will burn my child. Please save my child from death!”

Krishna pondered upon this fire and realized that this was from the Brahmasheersha Astra that Ashwatthama had unleashed with the incantation – ‘Let the world be devoid of Pandavas.’ This Astra had been aimed at all the unborn children of the Pandavas after the Mahabharata war in a fit of anger.

Krishna consoled Uttara. “Don’t weep, child. I will stay here and I will protect your child from the fire. Abhimanyu will live in you again.” With the power of his Maya, Krishna entered Uttara’s womb.

What happened thereafter is beautifully described in the Bhagavatham.

The unborn child in Uttara’s womb saw the Astra and the glow that surrounded it. For a while, the glow enveloped the child and it felt a burning sensation.

And then the child saw another form. A figure the size of a thumb, with a golden crown on his head and a blue aura in his body. The child beheld the Chaturbuja Roopa of Sri Vishnu adorned with Shankh, Chakra and Gadha. The Lord, like a shield, protected the child from the Astra and stayed with the child until the Astra’s power had faded.

How blessed is the child who got the divine vision of Maha Vishnu when he was still in his mother’s womb! The child perceived Narayana in all His glory – hands holding the Shankha, Chakra and Gada (mace), arms decked with beautiful bracelets, clothes which were the colour of lightning, eyes shimmering with anger and His weapons glowing as He kept fighting the Astra and its fire. For months, Narayana stayed in Uttara’s womb, protecting the child from all sides until finally the fire was subdued. Even as the child watched in wonder, the form of Narayana disappeared.

When the son of Abhimanyu was born, he was named Vishnurata, the one whom Lord Vishnu himself protected. However, Krishna named him Parikshit, the one with questions, for this child, even before he was born, kept looking at the figure of Vishnu protecting him, and kept pondering – Who is He?! The child had begun to ponder over the divine form of Narayana right from the time he was in his mother’s womb!

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaaya!