Parīkṣit

Parīkṣit appears in Vedic and epic genealogies as a scion of the Kuru/Pāṇḍava line whose reign consolidated Kuru political and ritual order. Vedic material eulogises him as a great Kuru king (Atharvaveda hymn). Later narratives relate that, while his mother-in-law Subhadrā was pregnant, Aśvatthāmā launched a Brahmāstra against the fetus; Subhadrā prayed to Kṛṣṇa, who pacified her and protected the child in the womb. As king he performed large Vedic sacrifices (three sacrifices are attributed to him) and sponsored śrauta orthopraxy. His death derives from a curse: in the Mahābhārata/Purāṇic account the sage Śr̥ṅgī (Śamika/Śr̥ṅgī in variants) curses him, and the Nāga king Takṣaka is used as the instrument of that curse. In the aftermath Janamejaya, identified as Parīkṣit's son, organizes the Sarpadāha (snake‑sacrifice or Sarpayajña) to avenge his father, a ritual frame that becomes central to later epic narration.

The supplied sources do not give a physical description of Parīkṣit beyond his status as a crowned king and royal accoutrements implied by his role. No corporeal details (physique, facial features, dress beyond royal regalia) are attested in the provided materials.

Parīkṣit's 'abilities' are social and ritual rather than supernatural: sources present him as a powerful and beneficial ruler who consolidated Kuru political power and Vedic sacrificial practice, credited with arranging or stabilizing hymnic/ritual forms and performing three major sacrifices. Narratively he enforces justice (an episode describes him arresting and preparing to punish a man who abused cattle) and engages with ascetics and personified cosmic forces (e.g., receiving Kali under restrictions). He has no personal supernatural powers in the provided accounts; his fortunes are affected by divine intervention (Kṛṣṇa protecting him before birth) and by supernatural agents (Nāgas acting under a sage's curse).