The Insult
King Parikshit — grandson of Arjuna, the last of the Pandava line — was hunting in the forest when he lost track of his quarry. Thirsty, he came to a hermitage and found the sage Shamika in deep meditation.
He asked for water. The sage, absorbed in samadhi, could not respond.
Parikshit, irritated by what he took for deliberate discourtesy, picked up a dead serpent with his bow and draped it around the silent sage's neck as a crude joke.
He left.
The Curse
When Shamika's young son Shringi came home and saw the insult done to his father, he was furious. He cursed: "Within seven days, the serpent Takshaka will bite King Parikshit and he will die."
Shamika was distressed when he emerged from meditation — his son had acted rashly. He sent word to Parikshit as a warning.
The Choice
Parikshit received the news. He had seven days.
He abdicated, gave his kingdom to his son, went to the banks of the Ganga, and sat down in renunciation.
Sages gathered. Among them came the young sage Shuka — born already liberated, wandering without possessions.
Parikshit asked him: "What is the duty of a person at the moment of death? What should I hear, contemplate, do?"
Shuka answered by reciting the entire Bhagavata Purana — 18,000 verses about the Lord's glory, over seven days.
On the seventh day, Takshaka came. Parikshit was already gone — not dead but absorbed, having heard everything.