Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part A

Mahabharata, Part A

  • Shantanu and Ganga:
    • Shantanu is the king and ruler of the city of Hastinapura, and he falls in love with a women that he meets along the Ganges river. [In a bold move] Shantanu asks this woman to marry him and she agrees, as long as he never questions what she does [yeah, that's a great idea]. Then, she begins to drown their new born babies. Before she can drown the eight baby, Shantanu finally interjects. His wife then reveals that she is the reincarnated form of the river Ganga, and is tasked with giving birth to eight children, who are the reincarnated forms of the Vasus, who are gods. They are being punished with this reincarnation and immediate death for stealing Vashishtha's cow. Drowning them returns the gods to heaven. Ganga takes the eight baby and disappears in the river. Later, she returns the child as an adult to Shantanu. The child's name is Bhishma.
  • Shantanu and Satyavati:
    • Shantanu meets a fisherman's daughter named Satyavati and falls in love with her. But her father refuses to allow his daughter to marry Shantanu because Bhishma is the successor of the throne. So, Bhishma renounces his claim to the throne and promises not to have any children so that his father can marry Satyavati. The two marry and have two sons, Chitrangada and Vishitravirya. Chitrangada becomes king, but dies soon after taking the throne, and Bhishma rules as regent while they wait for Vishitravirya to come of age. Bhishma then claims the three daughters of a neighboring kingdom for Vichitravirya, causing anger from one of the daughters, Amba.
Meeting of Father and Son
Painted by B P Banerjee, 1923


Source: Public Domain Edition of the Mahabharata

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