Kadru desired to have a thousand snakes as sons. Vinata wanted only two sons, but the two to be more powerful than Kadru's offspring in every way. In due course Kadru delivered a thousand eggs, which hatched into splendid snakes. Takshaka was the fourth of these, the first three being Sesha, Vasuki and Airavata. However Vinata's two eggs remained as they were. Burning with jealousy, she broke open one egg. Inside was a bird with only the upper half developed. The bird cursed his mother because her impatience had been his undoing. Vinata would be enslaved. She should let the second egg hatch naturally. The offspring from that egg would free her. If she tampered with the second egg she would be a slave forever. This bird, named Arun, became the charioteer of the sun.
Uchchaisravas was the illustrious horse that had emerged from the churning of the oceans. Kadru inquired of her sister what was the colour of the horse's tail. When Vinata replied that the tail was white, Kadru laid a bet with her. "If the tail has any black in it you will become my slave, if it is all white I will become yours," she said. Since Vinata knew that the tail was all white she readily accepted the wager.
That night Kadru instructed her snakes to hide in the tail of Uchchaisravas so that it appeared black when the two sisters went to settle their bet the next day. They refused to obey their mother. It was then that Kadru proclaimed a curse on them saying that all snakes will die in a sacrifice that will be conducted by Janmajeya. But Kadru was bent on enslaving her sister. She found someone else to do her bidding. Vinata lost the bet and was enslaved. In due course the second egg hatched and from it emerged Garuda, the king of birds and a serpent-eater. Garuda then set his mother free. But that is another story.
The serpents had inherited their evil nature from Kadru. They had refused to abet their mother in enslaving their aunt, not out of goodness of heart, but to spite Kadru. Now the threat of extinction loomed large on them. The eldest, Sesha, immediately realised that he had no future with his brothers. He left them and practised severe penances. He made pilgrimages to all the holy places. Brahma was impressed with Sesha's austerities. He asked him the reason for his newfound devotion. Sesha expressed his desire to leave his family forever and lead a pious life. Brahma the Creator then gave Sesha the responsibility of holding the earth in a steady position.
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