In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

Gavijāta (गविजात).—(ŚṚṄGĪ). The son of a sage named Nāgabhūṣaṇa, Gavijāta cursed that King Parīkṣit should die of snake-bite. The curse was made under the following circumstances.

King Parīkṣit went hunting one day in the forest and he who had chased a deer in hot haste for some distance felt naturally very weak and tired, and requested a sage he saw there in the forest for some water. Immersed in meditation the sage did not hear the King, and mistaking him to be a haughty fellow, the King, with his stick, lifted a dead snake and placed it round the neck of the sage. Yet he did not stir. The King returned to his palace.

Gavijāta, son of the sage and a devotee of Devī heard of the insult heaped on his father’s head while he was merry-making in the forest with his companions. The companions derided him by saying that though his father was Nāgabhūṣana (having snakes as ornament) the nāga was I feless. Enraged at this and not waiting to study details about the incident he pronounced the following curse. "Whoever might be the person who threw a dead snake about my father’s neck, he will be bitten to death by Takṣaka within seven days from today." Only after the curse was pronounced did he understand that it was King Parīkṣit who had become the object of the curse. And, he despatched his disciple immediately to Parīkṣit to inform him about the curse. The King’s reaction was, "when the time for death comes let me die." (Devī Bhāgavata, Dvitīya Skandha).

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Gavijāta (गविजात):—[=gavi-jāta] [from gavi > gav] m. ‘cow-born’, Name of a muni, [Mahābhārata xiii, 2682 ff.]

[Sanskrit to German]

Gavijata in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Partial matches: Gavi, Jata.

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Search found 1 books and stories containing Gavijata, Gavijāta, Gavi-jata, Gavi-jāta; (plurals include: Gavijatas, Gavijātas, jatas, jātas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)

Story of Parīkṣit

Story of Janamejaya

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