Sage Uttanaka was the chief priest of the Sarpa Satra, snake
sacrifice, conducted by King Janamejaya in the Mahabharata. Janamejaya
performed the sacrifice to avenge the death of his father, Parikshit. But why
did Sage Uttanaka agree to become the chief priest of the Sarpa Satra, which
intended to kill all the snakes on earth.
Sage Uttanaka had a personal grudge towards snakes
especially Takshaka.
As Guru Dakshina, Sage Uttanaka was supposed to get the
earrings of a queen. With much difficulty, Sage Uttanaka was able to get the
earrings. However, Takshaka, the serpent king, stole it from him.
From that day, the Sage was looking for an ideal opportunity
to take revenge. He wanted to perform the snake sacrifice but did not have the resources
to conduct it.
He got the opportunity when Janamejaya decided to perform
the Sarpa Satra.
This story shows that all our actions will always have a result. We might not experience the result immediately. But our actions will follow us and its result will happen sometime in future.