Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part A

The author of this epic was Vyasa who had the god Ganesha write out the story. The Mahabharata begins with story of Vyasa's own birth. Vyasa was born to King Uparichara and a female fish, true to the fact that King Uparichara's semen fell into a river as he was flying in his crystal car through the sky. Ten months later, the female fish gave birth to two children - one boy and one girl. Once the children were born, the king took the male child to raise him and left the little girl to be raised by the fisherman. The girl, Satyavati, grew up to become a beautiful woman that reeked of fish. One day, a rishi made a deal with Satyavati that he could get rid of her awful smell in return that she has his child but still remain a virgin. The deal was made and she gave birth to a son and finally got rid of her fishy smell.

The next story was about a king named Shantanu and the goddess Ganga. Before ever meeting Shantanu, Ganga made a promise to eight Vasus that she would become their human mother so that they could return to their celestial state. In return, the eight Vasus promised that an eighth part of their power would belong to her son. The Vasus and Ganga made the pact, and that is when Ganga met Shantanu. Shantanu fell in love with the undeniable beauty of Ganga and asked her to be his wife. She agreed to be his wife on one condition: if he were to ever speak harshly to her she could immediately depart from him. Shantanu agreed to Ganga's condition and did not utter a word when she cast down to the river their seven babies. When Ganga gave birth to the eighth child and was about to cast him down the river as well, Shantanu could not take it anymore and lashed out at Ganga. At this, their marriage vow was broken and Ganga left Shantanu with the baby in her arms. Before long, Ganga returned to Shantanu to give him the son. Shantanu's heart was moved by the boy and he took him into his kingdom. Shantanu named the child Devavrata and never was Ganga seen again.


Bibliography: Public Domain Editions Mahabharata by Laura Gibbs (link)

Ganga presents her son, Devavrata, to his father Shantanu. Source: Wikimedia Commons