After King Parikshit was cursed by a sage's son to die by a snake bite for insulting his father, Takshaka came to fulfil the curse. Takshaka did the deed by approaching in disguise (1,50) and biting Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna and thus slaying him, while he was meditating on Lord Vishnu. He also prevented the possibility of getting any medical aid to the king, by bribing a priest in the Kasyapa clan, who was an expert in curing people from snake-poisoning (1,43).