Vyasa, and King Shantanu and Satyavati
Vyasa starts off with explaining the author of the Mahabharata
and how Vyasa was in charge of writing down the Vedas. Ganesha would be chosen
for the task and the writing would begin. There was a king called Uparichara
that was to be bribed by the gods so that he would not rob them of their power.
Indra was sent to bribe him with a crystal car. While passing over the ocean
semen fell from Indra and was swallowed up by a female fishing resulting in a
male and a female baby. The king took possession of the boy and a fisherman
took possession of the girl. The girls name was Satyavati and she smelt like a
fish. She was not fond of this smell and wanted it to be gone. One day while she
met a man walking beside the river that turned out to be king Shantanu. She
later met a pious brahmin named Parashara that wanted to have sex with her. He
promised that even though he would have sex with her he would make sure she was
still a virgin after. She agreed only if the fish smell she has surrounding her
went away. The man agreed and cast a cloud around them so they could have sex. Later
when she birthed her son he grew quickly turning into a man before her eyes.
She would go on to name him Vyasa. Vyasa said goodbye to his mother and told
her if she should ever have need of her to think about him. The king Shantanu thought
about her a lot and decided to ask her father to marry her off to him. The man agreed
only if his daughter’s son would be the heir to the throne. The man was
heartbroken because he already had a first born.
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie
No comments:
Post a Comment