Satyavati- Hindu FigureMortal"Queen of Hastinapura"

The Fisherwoman

Satyavati was born as Matsyagandha, "she who smells of fish," the daughter of a fisherman chief on the banks of the Yamuna. She was the child of the celestial apsara Adrika, cursed to live as a fish, and the Chedi king Vasu. Raised by the fisherman Dasharaja, she ferried passengers across the river. The wandering sage Parashara desired her and granted her a boon that transformed her fish-odor into a fragrance that carried for a yojana. From their union on a river island, she bore Vyasa, the future compiler of the Vedas and author of the Mahabharata.

The Marriage Condition

King Shantanu of Hastinapura fell in love with Satyavati, but her father refused the match unless Shantanu guaranteed that Satyavati's sons would inherit the throne. Shantanu could not make this promise because his eldest son Devavrata was the crown prince. When Devavrata learned of his father's anguish, he renounced the throne and took a lifelong vow of celibacy so that no descendant of his could ever challenge Satyavati's line. This vow earned him the name Bhishma and cleared the way for Satyavati to become queen.

Queen and Matriarch

Satyavati bore Shantanu two sons: Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. After Shantanu's death, Chitrangada was killed by a Gandharva, and Vichitravirya died young without heirs. Facing the extinction of the royal line, Satyavati summoned Vyasa to father children through niyoga with Vichitravirya's widows. Ambika turned away from the ascetic in fright, and her son Dhritarashtra was born blind. Ambalika turned pale, and her son Pandu was born pale. These two became the fathers of the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

The Forest

After Vyasa warned her of the catastrophe the succession would bring, Satyavati retired to the forest with her daughters-in-law to live as ascetics. She died before the war.