Sarpa Satra (sarpa-satra)

The sarpa satra is the snake sacrifice performed by King Janamejaya to avenge his father Parikshit, who was killed by the naga Takshaka. Serpents are drawn out of the sky by mantras and fall into the fire until the young brahmin Astika, himself half naga, arrives and asks as his gift that the rite be stopped. The Mahabharata is first recited at this sacrifice, so the epic's outermost frame is a ceremony of revenge halted by a request for mercy.