Bhagavad Gita: 1) Arjuna's Grief

OM

This page tells the beginning installment of an amazing story occurring in the midst of a battle field, long long ago. I am only re-writing (the translation of) this wonderful story on this blog. Originally written in Sanskrit, the Bhagavad Gita, even though conceived as a religious text, is an entire coded system in itself for any human being (irrespective of cast, creed, sex and religion) to become perfect. While the Bhagavad Gita has been been translated into English by many great authors, I have mostly referred to the version of Swami Chinmayanada Ji. This page - and the 17 others in this series/story - are dedicated, with great respect, to the author of the most amazing book (according to me) ever written, Sage Vyasa.

The scene tells about king Dhritarashtra talking to Sanjaya about the current state of affairs at the battlefield of Kurukshetra where the 2 armies of Pandavas and Kauravas have assembled.  

1.    Arjuna Vishada Yoga 

1)      DHRITARASHTRA:

Sanjaya, tell me what happened at Kurukshetra, the field of dharma, where my family and the pandavas gathered to fight

2)      SANJAYA:

Having surveyed the forces of pandavas arrayed for battle, prince Duryodhana approached his teacher, Drona and spoke

3)      O my teacher, look at this mighty army of Pandavas, assembled by your own gifted disciple, Yudhishtira

4)      There are heroic warriors and great archers who are the equals of Bhima and Arjuna: Yuyudhana; Virata; the mighty Drupada;

5)      Dhrishtaketu; Chekitana; The valiant king of Kashi; Purujit; kuntibhoja; the great leader Shaibya;

6)      The powerful yudhamanyu; The valiant Uttamaujas; and the son of Shubhadra, in addition to sons of Draupadi. All these command mighty chariots.

7)      O Best of Brahmins, listen to the names of those who are distinguished among our own forces:

8)      Bhishma; Karna; and the victorious Kripa; Ashvatthama; Vikarna; and the son of somaddatta;

9)      There are many others too, heroes giving up their lives for my sake, all proficient in war and armed with a variety of weapons

10)   Our army is unlimited and commanded by Bhishma; theirs is small and commanded by bhima

11)   Let everyone take his proper place and stand firm supporting Bhishma!

12)   Then the powerful Bhishma, the grandsire, oldest of all the kurus, in order to cheer duryodhana, roared like a lion and blew his conch horn

13)   And after Bhishma, a tremendous noise arose of conchs and cow horns and pounding on drums.

14)   Then Madhava (Sri Krishna) and Pandava (Arjuna), who were standing in a mighty chariot yoked with white horses, blew their divine conches.

15)   Panchajanya was blown by Hrishikesha (Sri Krishna), and Devadatta by Dhananjaya (Arjuna). Vrikodara (Bhima), terrible in action, blew his great conch Paundra

16)   The king Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew Anatavijaya and Nakula and Sahadeva blew Sughosha and Manipushpaka

17)   The supreme archer King of Kashi, the great warrior Shikhandi, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, and the unconquered Satyaki…

18)   …Drupada, all the sons of Draupadi… O Lord of the earth (Dhritarashtra)… and the mighty armed son of Subhadra all blew their respective conches.

19)   The tumultuous roar sounded in the sky and the earth and rent the hearts of Dhritarashtra’s men.

20)   Then… O Lord of the earth (Dhritarashtra)… Seeing Dhritarashtra’s men standing arrayed, about to begin battle, Pandava (Arjuna), whose ensign is (Hanuman) raised his bow and spoke these words to Hrishikesha (Sri Krishna)

21)   ARJUNA:

Place my chariot,  Achyuta (Sri Krishna) between the 2 armies..

22)   .. that I may survey those standing there desirous to fight, with whom in the great battle, I must fight.

23)   I wish to observe carefully, those who are assembled here, about to do battle, wishing to please the evil minded son of Dhritarashtra (Duryodhana) in waging war.

24)   SANJAYA:

Thus addressed by Gudakesha (Arjuna)… O Bharata… Hrishikesha (Sri Krishna) stationed the great chariot between both armies…

25)   …in front of Bhishma and Drona and all the rulers of Earth and said: “Behold Partha (Arjuna), all those Kurus assembled together”

26)   Partha saw, standing there, fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, also friends…

27)   …father-in-law and also friends in both armies. He, kaunteya (Arjuna – son of Kunti), seeing all these relatives standing there was filled by deep compassion, and sorrowfully said:

28)   “Seeing these relatives… Krishna… arrayed here and eager to fight

29)    …my limbs fail me and my mouth is dry. My body trembles and my hair stands on end…

30)   … Gandiva (Bow) slips from my hand and my skin burns all over. I am not able to stand and my mind seems to be whirling.

31)   I see adverse omens… Keshava (Sri Krishna)… and I can foresee no good in killing our own people in battle.

32)   I do not desire victory, kingship or pleasures… Krishna… What is kingship to us…? Govinda (Sri Krishna)… what are enjoyments or even life?

33)    Those for whose we desire kingship, enjoyment and pleasures stand here drawn up for battle, giving up their lives and wealth.

34)   Teachers, fathers, sons, as also grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers in law, grandsons, brothers in law, as well as kingmen…

35)   …I wish not to kill these… Madhusudhana (Sri Krishna)… even if I am killed, even for the sake of dominion over the 3 worlds, let alone for the sake of the Earth.

36)   What pleasure would there be for us having slain the sons of Dhritarashtra, Janardana (Sri Krishna)? Evil alone would take hold of us having killed these wicked people.

37)   Therefore we are not justified in killing our relatives, the sons of Dhritarashtra. Indeed, having killed our kinsmen, how could we be happy, Madhava (Sri Krishna)?

38)   Though they, through reason overpowered by greed, see no evil in the destruction of families, no sin in hostility to friends…

39)   …why should we not learn to turn away from this evil… Janardana (Sri Krishna)… clearly seeing evil in the destruction of a family?

40)  In the destruction of a family, ancient family dharmas perish. With the destruction of these dharmas, the whole family is overcome by adharma.

41)  From the growth of adharma, the women of the family become corrupt and from the corruption in women, O Varshneya (Sri Krishna)… arises confusion of varna.

42)  Such confusion leads the family, also slayers of the family, to hell and the ancestors, deprived of rites for the dead, also fail.

43)  Because of the evil deed of those who destroy families causing the confusion of varnas, the eternal dharmas of caste and family are destroyed.

44)  We have heard of the men whose family dharma is destroyed inevitably dwelling for an unknown period in hell, O Janadana (Sri Krishna)

45)  Alas, we are intending to do a great evil. Through greed for pleasures of a kingdom, we are prepared to kill our kinsmen.

46) If the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, should slay me, un-resisting and unarmed in the battle, that would be better.

47)   SANJAYA:
      Having thus said on the battlefield, with a mind distressed with sorrow, Arjuna sat down on the seat of the chariot and cast down his bow and arrow.

Thus ends the 1st chapter of Bhagavad Gita.

Shiva and Sati

Lord Brahma had 4 sons born from his mind. Brahma wanted his sons to populate the world. But his sons were only interested in the glories of the Lord and were not interested in other tasks. So Brahma created further sons, all emanating from his body. Daksha was one of the sons of Brahma. He was born of Brahma's thumbs. Thus he was a Prajapati, son of Brahma, and entrusted with procreation of the world and its protection. One of Prajapati's daughter was Sati. Sati was in love with Lord Shiva. Daksha on the other hand detested Maheshwara as he considered Shiva to be a wandering ascetic, who was not clean (his body was dirty with ashes all over and had tangled locks) and who kept bad company (bhootaganas.) Sati goes ahead and marries Shiva in spite of this.  

Daksha conducts a great yagna (sacrifice, offering to the Gods) and invites all beings to attend. When the Prajapati enters the yagna, everyone stands up in respect, except Lord Shiva who continues to sit down. (Lord Shiva is one among the trinity of God's forms: Bhrama the creator, Vishnu the protector and Maheshwara the destroyer, and is thus the patron of all beings of the world.) But Daksha, in his ignorance and misguided by his ego considers, Lord Shiva as only his son in law. He takes offence that Lord Shiva does not show respect by not standing up and insults lord Shiva in front of all the guests. Neither does he offer the oblations of the yagna to Lord Shiva. Followers of Lord Shiva and the Brahmins present at the yagna become at loggerheads with each other. Lord Shiva leaves the yagna saddened by the turn of events.

Later, king Daksha, conducts another great yagna for which invitations are sent to all beings created except Lord Shiva and Sati. Sati gets to know about the great gathering and asks Lord Shiva to take her to her fathers palace on the hills. Lord Shiva tells her that going for a yagna uninvited, is not a right thing nor good etiquette even if it was her father who was conducting the yagna. But Sati decides to go for the yagna, stating that she did not require an invitation as she was Daksha's daughter. Lord Shiva, however does not accompany Sati. At the yagna, Sati is received only by her mother and not by king Daksha. And there, she finds that sacrificial offerings, the oblations of the yagna were offered to all Gods except Lord Shiva. When Sati questions this, Daksha mocks her and her husband in front of everyone. Enraged by the insults about her and Lord Shiva and distraught at not listening to her Husband, she immolates herself in the sacrificial pyre.

When Lord Shiva gets to know about this, in terrible wrath, he pulls out a strand of hair from His head, and throws it on the floor. From the hair emerges a divine, terrifying being of immense size and strength, with thousand heads, eyes, arms and tusks, holding clubs, discuses, maces and other weapons. The being was Virabhadra. Virabhadra knelt before the Lord in respect. Lord Shiva says, "Spoil the yagna." Virabhadra accompanied by Godess Rudrakali, and bhootaganas immediately raced to the yagna and laid waste to the venue, the offerings, the mountains of food, and the attendees of the yagna. Virabhadra and other bhootaganas trampled upon the guests, brahmins and other demigods at the venue. Many God's were gravely injured. Daksha was beheaded and his head was put into the pyre. Thus the yagna was plundered.

Aftermath

The story goes on to state that Lord Brahma, calls Mahavishnu to pacify Lord Shiva. Lord shiva is pacified,when the yagna is completed in His presence and the remnants of the sacrificial oblations are offered to Him. Maheshwara, brings back Daksha to life by giving him the head of a Ramm (male goat). Daksha realizes his mistake and becomes a devotee. The severed limbs and bones of other God's and demigods are set right.

Lord Shiva in his grief, wanders with the corpse of Sati and her body parts falls in different parts of India. These places have become places of worship called Shakti Peethas. Sri Parvati is an incarnation of Sati. 

This story also highlights the differing opinions of the Shivites and Vishnavite sects of Hinduism. There are different counts of who is superior and different versions of this story have been heard in various puranas.

      

Varaha Avatara

Lord Brahma created 4 sons from his mind - the great sages, Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanat kumara. They left the earth and traveled to Vaikuntha in search of Lord Vishnu.

Brahma's sons, looked physically like very young boys. They left Earth and reached Vaikuntha, eager to see the lord. At the gates, they find two guards, Jaya and Vijaya guarding the entrance. The guards on seeing the rishi's, assumes the sages to be young boys and halts them. The great sages who were very eager to meet the lord are angered by this act and curses the 2 guards to a demonic life on earth. Lord Vishnu on hearing the commotion, comes to the gate, and the sages upon seeing the Lord, loose their anger and are greatly pleased. He apologizes for their ill treatment at the hands of His gatekeepers, while He grants Jaya and Vijaya the luxury of being rid of their miserable earthly life by Himself. Upon hearing this, they fall from Vaikuntha to Earth.

After creating sons from his mind, Brahma created the first Manu, Swayambhuva and woman, Satarupa from his body. Brahma asked them to procreate and populate the Earth. One of the sons of Lord Brahma, Daksha married 13 of his daughters to Sage Kashyapa.
Diti, Daksha's daughter, was one among them. One day, Diti, asks Kashyapa to bless her with a child. Kashyapa asks Diti to wait for some time, as it was dusk - an inauspicious time - and a time that is reserved only for prayers to the Lord. However, Diti being adamant and passionate, compelled the sage for physical intimacy during hours of dusk. For this inauspicious act, she was cursed with 2 demons who would later plague the world but the sage Kashyapa cheered her up by saying that they would be released from this world by the Lord himself.

After 100 years of pregnancy, 2 sons were born to Diti. The time of their birth, was marked bad omens. The 1st conceived was named Hiranyakashipu and the second, Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha was a tall and powerful being. He had a violent temper and his choice of weapon was a club. He did not fear death and hence terrorized even the Gods. The three worlds shook at the mere sight of him as he wandered through the universe looking for a worthy adversary. He dived into the depth of the ocean to pay a visit to Varuna (God of the celestial ocean.) There he taunts Varuna to fight him. The clever Varuna tells him that, he is a ruler now and his days of making war are over. He adds that if Hiranyaksha wanted to fight an undefeated hero, he should try fighting Lord Vishnu. By saying this, he not only saves himself from sure defeat at the hands of Hiranyaksha, but diverts his adversaries attention to a new challenge. Hiranyaksha enraged, steals the earth, brings it to the bottom of the ocean and shouts out at the 3 worlds for a worthy challenger to challenge him.

In the meanwhile, Manu approaches his father and tells him that his growing family (all living entities) required space to live. The earth was submerged in water and was deep down in the ocean. Brahma was worried and as He thought for a solution, a small Boar (Varaha) - the size of the tip of his thump - came out of from his nose! The Varaha flies into the sky, quickly gaining in size, from the dimensions of a thump to that of an elephant, to that of a mountain. Brahma, His sons and other brahmana's chants the vedas in praise of the Varaha, who is none other than Lord Vishnu! The Varaha, dives right into the water with a great roar, splitting the ocean in two.  
  
Lord Vishnu, in the form of the Varaha, (Varaha avatara) reaches the bottom and lifts the earth from the depths of the ocean. He picks up the earth in between His tusks and raises her (mother earth) towards the surface.
Enraged, the asura, Hiranyaksha follows suit in pursuit of the Lord while hurling abuses at Him. Unfazed, Lord Vishnu, in the form of Varaha, places earth over the water first and then turns His attention to the asura. A fierce battle ensues, the like of which neither the Gods or the Demigods have watched. All forms of celestial weapons and cosmic forces were hurled at each other by the warring adversaries, and the battle was witnessed by all divine creatures. In the end, Hiranyaksha was slain by Lord Vishnu after which, he returned to Vaikuntha. He was praised and worshiped by all Gods, demi gods and brahmana's for saving them from the viciousness of the demon.


Key take-away's:

1) Notice how the words 'Manu' and 'Man' are related!
2) It was Lord Vishnu's intention to fill Diti's womb with Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu who were none other than his gatekeepers - Jaya and Vijaya.
3) In the story, The word Earth can be considered to be the whole of earth itself, like - a globe, a planet etc. - or it can be considered as the land form on which all animals exist - which was submerged in water at the time of creation.  

End of Yadava Dynasty

At the end of Mahabharata, Duryodhana's, body was lying on the field, scarred and wounded. Gandhari, the blind folded mother or Kauravas and the blind king, Dhritharashtra, along with Sanjaya, (the suta who narrated Bhagavad Gita after Sri Krishna) were surveying the death and destruction caused by the war. The Pandavas along with Sri Krishna arrive at the seen. On being informed of their presence, Gandhari's tears dry up and with uncontrollable anger, shouts at Krishna as to why, in spite of her being his staunch devotee, in spite of Pandavas and Kauravas, being created and sustained by Lord Krishna himself, he lets this debacle happen. Why he couldn't have averted the war itself. On seeing, His all knowing smile even at such a time, she curses the entire Yadava family to be killed in the next 36 years. Sri Krishna grants her curse to come true. 

Sri Krishna returns to Dwaraka and takes good care of his subjects. During this time, the Yadavas attain wealth and prosperity. The Yadavas were considered to be quarrelsome people and in the lap of luxury, they loose their morals and humility. 

Samba was the son of Sri Krishna and Jambavati. But in character, he was very naughty and frivilous. One day, when the Saptarishis, were passing through the kingdom, Samba and his friends decide to test the powers of the learned Rishis. So Samba dresses up as a pregnant woman and comes to the Rishis. One of his friends asked the Rishis if the child born from the expectant "mother" will be a male or female. The Rishis see through the prank and getting enraged, curses Samba that whatever Samba gives birth to, will end not only him, but the entire race of Yadavas. Frightened, they run away from there.  

Soon enough, Samba gets pregnant and with great agony, delivers an iron pestle (a rod used with a mortar to ground spices or grains.) The Yadava's did not want to keep the pestle that was supposed to cause their destruction, in their kingdom. Ugrasena (father of Kamsa), ruler of Dwaraka, orders the pestle to be grounded, made into fine dust and dumped into the ocean. Sri Krishna smiles silently as the scared yadavas rush to carry out the order. The Yadavas reduce the pestle to dust, except for a very hard piece of the pestle. They throw the dust and the single hard piece of pestle into the ocean. Having done this, they come back satisfied that thwarted fate. (Little did they know, they cemented it.) 

As time goes by, the Yadavas fall more into merry making ways, become intoxicated and were generally hedonistic. Seeing this, Sri Krishna, asks the Yadavas to visit Prabhas sea (a dip in Prabhas see is considered holy) to wash off their sins. They all reach the sea, but with the finest quality of liquor and meat in spite of Ugrasena's decree that none in Dwaraka would touch liquor. They drink to their hearts content. Then a minor skirmish breaks out between Yuyudhana and Kritivarma. From here it breaks out into a full fledged war in between the Yadavas. In their inebriated rage, they break blades of the eraka grass (a form of bamboo found near Prabhas sea shore) and wield it at each other. The strong eraka grass blades crashed into the skulls and bones of the Yadavas. Soon enough, all the Yadavas were dead except Daruka, Balarama and Sri Krishna. Daruka was asked to convey the events to Vasudeva. After the carnage, Balarama decides to leave the earth. He meditates by the sea, and the sea consumes his body. Sri Krishna sits down next to a shrub ruminating about the turn of events. He is killed by the arrow of a hunter who mistakes the Lord's feet to be an animal hiding behind a bush.   

Conclusion:

        At the end of Mahabharata, Sri Krishna had prayed to Lord Shiva for a son like him. A son like Shiva. A son with equivalent destructive powers as the Lord of destruction himself. And this son (Samba) was instrumental in destruction of an entire race.
        The dust of the pestle, thrown into the sea gets pushed back onto the shores by the waves and grows into a form of hard grass/bamboo near Prabhas Kshetra near present day Gujarat, called Eraka grass. Legend has it that, the grass is as hard as iron. The very fate that the Yadavas tried to run away from became the instrument of their death. The unbroken piece of pestle that was thrown into the sea was swallowed by a fish. The fish was caught by a fisherman, and the metal piece was given to a blacksmith, who makes a deadly arrow out of it. This arrow changes hand with a hunter. The hunter uses the arrow on what he thinks was an animal hiding behind a shrub!

       Sri Krishna had granted the wish of Gandhari, his devotee, by designing the destruction of his race and himself! 

Just goes to show that the wheel of Karma is applicable on everyone. Everything has a beginning, middle and end, (no matter who it is.) We are here only to be an instrument of Gods Will and we depart after we finish our part. So make sure you play your part well.

Parikshit and Kali

After the great war between the forces of good and evil (Mahabharata), Lord Krishna returns to Dwaraka. The Yadava dynasty including Balarama and Sri Krishna, comes to an end after 36 years from the end of the Kurukshetra war. (Exactly as per a curse given by Gandhari, who herself was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna.)

The news of return of Sri Krishna to Vaikuntha was too much for the Pandavas to take and they were unable to subdue their grief. They decide to leave the kingdom for sanyasa by crowning their only descendant, Parikshit as the king of Hastinapur. King Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu and Uttara and was born after the great war. (All other descendants of Pandavas were murdered in the war, while Parikshit was saved by the divine grace of Sri Krishna.) Parikshit was an able ruler who was just and compassionate and looked after the welfare of his people.

One day, king Parikshit sees a bull and cow being beaten by a shudra. The bull had been injured on 3 legs and was supporting its weight on the remaining leg. The shudra was beating the bull on its remaining 1 leg. The king recognizes the shudra to be Kali. King Parikshit raises his sword to kill Kali for his unjust act. Kali begs for his forgiveness and tells him that the yugas - Satya yuga, Treta yuga, Dwapara yuga and finaly, Kali yuga had to go in cycles and that, that was the law of nature. Dwapara yuga had ended at the time of Kurukshetra war and Kali yuga had begone on the demise of Lord Krishna. Kali could not enter the world as long as Sri Krishna prevailed over mother Earth. But in His absence, Kali started spreading his wings over the world. Yet he could not enter Parikshit's kingdom, because he was a just and righteous ruler. Reminding him that the Yugas had to go in the cycle, he asks Parikshit to let him enter his kingdom. King Parikshit decides to let Kali into his country, but only partially. King Parikshit said that he could enter his kingdom in only these 5 places:

In houses of gambling, in taverns, in brothels, in places where animals are killed and in gold. Kali agrees to this and marches to his new abodes. King Parikshit does not realize, that he too was wearing a crown made of Gold.

Conclusion:

Later, Kali enters the crown of king Parikshit and makes him do an unrighteous act, that results in his death.

The distraught cow in this story is the representation of mother earth and the Bull with 3 weakened legs is the representation of Dharma (religious / moral principles). Every society (Cow) is in balance when the world and all its living organisms follow the codes of Dharma (Bull). It is said that the 4 yugas, occur in cycles, and in each yuga, one quarter of Dharma is lost. hence in Satya Yuga, Dharma is instilled completely in the world, In Treta yuga, and Dwapara yuga, one quarter each of Dharma vanishes. Thus, in Kali yuga, only one quarter of Dharma remains, signified by the 1 remaining leg of the bull. (It also signifies that 3 quarters of the world have turned irreligious.) Mother earth as signified by the cow was saddened by acts of men who kill and eat cows and bulls - in terms of the animals themselves as well as their symbolism.

In general, Kali "kaala" is signified with the increase in diseases, separation from near and dear ones, lack of sacrifices offered by men, failure of marriages, neglect of women and children, separation of education and moral principals and lack of observance of social and moral rules among st other things.  

Bhishma Pratigya

Devavrata found his father, Shantanu perturbed. He asks his father what is the cause of his displeasure. But Shantanu brushes it aside as nothing. Devavrata being the devout son, decides to try to find what was disturbing his father. So he summons a minister who is close to his father and asked him what was disturbing the king. The minister tells Devavrata that the king had visited a fisherman's hut recently and ever since then, he has been aloof and distraught. Devavrata immediately proceeds to meet the fisherman.

The fisherman greets Devavrata and invites him into his humble hut. Inside, he sees a beautiful maiden with a divine fragrance. The fisherman introduces her as his daughter Satyavati. Devavrata asks the fisherman if the king had come to his hut. The fisherman affirms the visit. Devavrata then asks him what transpired there that has left his father, the King, very upset. The fisherman then tells Devavrata,  "A few days ago, the King had come to the banks of river Yamuna, where Satyavati, ferried the king across the river in her boat. The King, Shantanu, fell in love with her and came to me to ask her hand in marriage. This was the happiest thing that could happen to my daughter. But I was concerned that, when the King had a great, learned and able son in you, O! Devavrata, my daughters off springs would never even get a chance to the throne. Hence I told the king that that she could marry her only on the condition that her offspring would be the heir to the throne."

Devavrata quickly realized the reason behind his fathers dejection. Shantanu loved him so much that he could never ask his only son to not be the next ruler. Hence he did not pursue the alliance with Satyavati. But since he could not have her, Shantanu was dejected. Devavrata decides that his fathers happiness is paramount and tells the fisherman that he would rescind his right to the throne to the offspring of Shantanu and Satyavati. The fisherman thinks for a while and says, "You are indeed a great human being to sacrifice your right for your father. But your offspring's may not be as righteous as you are and may challenge my daughters progeny. So how can her descendants claim their right?"

Devavrata thought for a while and said, "I would never marry nor have children. Hence there is no question about Satyavati's descendants not having a right on the kingdom."  Devavrat took a Pratigya (Vow, Pledge) too great in nature. He had just vowed to remain celibate through out his life and abstain from conjugal love out of love for his father. Everyone who heard this was astounded. The Gods and the celestial beings, blessed Devavrata for this Act. From then on he was known as the Bhishma, the one who took the Bhishma Pratigya (the terrible oath).

Bhishma takes Satyavati to his father. Shantanu is amazed at his son. Out of love for him, he grants him the wish of Sweccha Mrityu, or the power to decide the time of his death out of his self will.

         

Shantanu

King Pratipa had a son, Shantanu who went on to become the king of Hastinapura. One day Shantanu was walking along the shores of river Ganga where he came upon a beautiful maiden with a radiant face and slender features. Her hair flowed like the waters of Ganges. He was smitten. He asked the fair maiden to marry him. She said she would but only on one condition. The condition was that he would not ask her questions regarding her motives or actions. The moment he does, she would leave him and go away. Shantanu did not even think to consider. He agreed and they got married very soon.

She proved to be the perfect wife for King Shantanu. The young couple was soon anticipating the arrival of their 1st child. Soon enough, Shantanu's 1st son was born and Shantanu rejoiced. But the joy was short lived as the Queen took the son to river Ganges and drowned him. Shantanu was aghast. But he remembered the promise he had given her at the time of their marriage. So he did not question her actions. Time passed, and the queen delivered their next child. The queen drowned her second son too in Ganges. The biggest loss to a man is the loss of his offspring. King Shantanu suffered in silence as the queen continued to drown 5 more of their sons in Ganges. And each time the King did not ask her, her motives nor reasons for actions in fear of loosing her.    

Soon the Queen was expecting again. In the course of time, she gave birth to another son. King Shantanu was in grief at the birth of his eighth child as he knew what was to be its fate. On the fateful night, he followed the queen as she carried the baby towards Ganges. There he watched in horror as she was about to throw his son into River Ganges. He could not take it any longer and asked her to stop. She obliged by keeping the infant on the banks of the river. The King asked her why she killed all his sons. She replied that she was (the personification of the river) Ganga and that each of their 8 children were eight Vasus in their previous incarnation,cursed buy the great Maharshi Vasistha (one of the saptarishi's) to go through the trials and tribulations of being born as human beings on Earth. They pleaded with the Maharshi to take back his curse. He said he couldn't take back the curse but grant them favors. So he granted a favor that they would spend very less time on Earth. Thus Ganga had kept the promise of the great sage. However the Vasu, Dyauspitr was cursed to live a long life with neither wife nor offspring. This was the 8th son, Devavrata whom Ganga took with her leaving the King without his wife nor offspring.

Conclusion:

Shantanu later moves out of his grief by practice bhramacharya and becomes an able King. His son, Devavrata grows up to be Bhishma, (or Ganga putra) the grand uncle of Pandavas and Kauravas.

Everything that is happening around us is the result of something that has happened before. And everything that occurs in the present will be the cause of some other things yet to happen in the future. Things that happen around us happens for a reason, even thought we may not know the cause or reason at that point in time.