page_title: Parikshit
section_title: Prophecy of Life
hierarchical_section_title: Parikshit / Prophecy of Life
caption_attribution_description: English: Sage Sukdeva narrating the story of Krishna to Raja Parikshata, National Museum, New Delhi. Français&#160;: Le sage Sukdeva raconte l'histoire de Krishna au roi Parikshata, National Museum, New Delhi.
context_page_description: Parikshit was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period. Along with his son and successor Janamejaya, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic hymns into collections, and the development of the orthodox srauta ritual, transforming the Kuru realm into the dominant political and cultural center of northern Iron Age India.
  He also appears as a figure in later legends and traditions. According to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, he succeeded his grand uncle Yudhishthira to the throne of Hastinapur.
context_section_description: The Bhagavata Purana (1.8.9) states that the son of Drona, Ashwatthama had prepared a Brahmastra (a powerful weapon summoned to Brahma) to kill the Pandavas heir(King Parikshit),while he was in his mother's (Uttarā) womb, as a revenge against the Pandavas for killing his relatives (especially his father and bestfriend Duryodhan) in the Kurukshetra war. Uttarā was terrified by the powerful rays of the weapon and worried about her child, then her mothers-in-law Draupadi and Subhadra prayed to Krishna for help to save their heir. Krishna pacified her and protected the child in the womb from the deadly weapon and thus saved his life. Parikshit was thus born to Uttara and later was throned as the heir to the Pandavas at Hastinapura.
caption: Sage Shukdeva narrating the story of Krishna to Parikshit.
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