50: Parikshit and the Snake King - What a King Did When He Had Seven Days to Live

A king made a mistake.Exhausted and thirsty after a hunt, he came upon a sage deep in meditation and asked for water.The sage did not respond.In a moment of frustration the king draped a dead snake around the sage's neck and left.When the fog lifted he sat very still.What had he done? Before he could act, word arrived. The sage's son had pronounced a curse — in seven days the serpent king Takshaka would come for him.The king could have built a fortress. Surrounded himself with physicians and every snake-charmer in the land.Instead he handed his kingdom to his son and walked to the banks of the Ganges. And asked one question. "What is the best thing a person can do — when they know they are about to die?"This is Episode 50 of The Long Thread.New story every day.Follow so you never miss one.