DEVVRATA (Mahabharata-01)

Ganga stood on the banks of a river , posing as a young beautiful woman. Her beauty and youth had fascinated King Shantanu.

    Ganga said,"Rajan! I accept to be        your wife, but before you have to       accept my conditions. Would you       agree?"

The King said,"Of Course!"

King Shantanu accepted all the conditions of Ganges and promised that he would abide by them fully.

Shantanu had many bright sons from the Ganges in time , but Ganga didn't let them live.

As soon as a baby was born , she threw it into the flowing stream of the river . Then , she used to come smilingly to the palace of Shantanu.

               King Shantanu would be amused by this behaviour of such an unknown beauty. But his wonder and disenchantment was not longer visible as he had given the promise to Ganga . So, he always remained elated.

Ganga threw seven children into the river , consecutively . Eighth child was born . When Ganga started to go towards the river with him too , Shantanu was no more acceptable to this act by her wife. He asked,"Why did you kill your unborn children being a mother without any reason?" 

After listening to king, Ganga smiled heartedly , but in an act of anger , said," Rajan! Have you forgotten your word? It seems that you are meant only for the son , not for me. Fine , but according to the condition , I am no longer going to stay with you . I will not throw your son in the river and will raise him for a few days til I hand it over to you." 

Saying this , Ganga went away with the child . The child named 'Devvrata'(देवव्रत) later came to be known as 'Bhishma Pitamah.'

King Shantanu lost his mind due to the departure of Ganga. He withdrew from attraction and indulged himself in royalty. 

One day the king went hunting to the banks of Ganges. He saw a bold and stiff young man standing on the shore , shooting an arrow in the flowing stream of Ganges. Due to the shower of arrows, the current of the river was completely stopped , which stunned Shantanu.

In due course , Ganga appeared herself in front of the king . Ganga called the young man to him and said to the king,"Rajan! Did you recognise this young man? This is your eighth son , Devvrata. Maharishi Vashishtha has taught him . Only Shukracharya in knowledge and Parshuram in Battlefield could counter him. He is not only an efficient warrior , but also a smart politician.I am handing it over to you."

Ganga kissed Devvrata's forehead and left him with the blessings.

(Mahabharata part-01 concludes)

Translated by Hemant Kumar

Courtesy:NCERT Bal Mahabharata Katha