In this episode, we’re finally beginning with the main story line of the Mahabharat!
We’ll talk about Emperor Shantanu and the River Ganga.
The Ganga is a holy river in India. We’ve met her before during Episode 42 – River Mother.
We’ve covered the story of Shakuntala during Episode 37 – A Fishy Engagement and also some of King Shantanu’s ancestors in Episode 28 – His Girl Friday
You need not have heard any of these episodes since these dont have much of a bearing on today’s story, but I do recommend you hear those if you’re interested in more of the backstory.
Let’s start with Emperor Bharat, who was an ancestor of Shantanu. Bharat is known for two things. One – people believe that the alternative name for India – Bhaarat is derived from his name. And two, when he was a child, he was fearless enough to open the jaws of hungry lions and tigers and count their teeth. Despite that promising prospect of a career as a ringmaster in the Circus, Bharat took up the slightly better profession of Emperor of India.
He was a wise ruler. And it was this wisdom that led him to decide to name his successor based on merit alone. Though he had nine sons, none of them qualified. They lacked the empathy, the wisdom and the valor that had defined his own rule. He named his successor Bhaumanya, a child who had been born as a result of a ritual he performed for a Rishi.
Opinion polls in the Kingdom of Hastinapur were quite divided on whether Bharath had done the right thing. Despite Bharath choosing merit over lienage, none of his successors made the same choice.
That is how we ended up with Prateep as the Emperor of Hastinapur. Prateep was a fine ruler, well beloved by his people. So well beloved that he didnt even need a bodyguard as he sat all by himself at the banks of the river Ganga, just saying his prayers.
“Excuse me” a voice spoke up, interrupting him.
He looked up to see the most beautiful lady he had ever seen. It was Ganga. Yes, The river Ganga. She had admired Prateep from a distance and had now finally been bold enough to strike up a conversation. Obviously she’d taken on the form of a female. Prateep looked like a smart guy but he could not speak river.
She politely asked Prateep out. Prateep hesitated, and finally said he was sorry he was already married. But maybe they could just be friends.
As he saw the disappointment cloud over Ganga’s face, he hastily added – but maybe they could be something else. Maybe Ganga could be his daughter-in-law? Huh? How about that?
Ganga wasnt offended by the suggestion. She asked for more details. How many children did Prateep have, and which one did he have in mind?
“Actually” said Prateep shuffling his feet “I haven’t any. Yet. But I expect to, in the future”
Ganga walked off in a huff, resolving that she would have no more to do with these Hastinapur Kings. There’s only so much a person can tolerate.
Little did she know how things would change for her.
A few years later Ganga was at a party at Indra’s house in heaven. I was there too, so what follows is an eye-witness account. Now as you may have realized, Ganga is in some versions also called Brahmaputri which means the daughter of Brahma, and that makes her my sister! Don’t confuse her with the Brahmaputra, the son of Brahma, and yet another river.
In other versions of Ganga’s origin story, Brahma created Himavan, the personification of the Himalayas, and Ganga was his daughter. In those versions, Ganga was my niece. We got along pretty well as pals, so Brother – Sister was a better way to describe our relationship than to call it Uncle – Niece. Besides, it would make me feel less old.
At the party, we were generally chatting over by the snack table, when Ganga asked me. “Hey Narad, who’s that hot guy over there in red?”
I know everything of course, so I knew whom she was talking of course.
“Bottle your enthusiasm. I said. That’s Mahabhisha, he’s a friend of Indra’s. I can introduce you if you like”
“Knock off the water jokes, okay? And introductions might not be a bad idea. But wait until they open the dance floor. And make sure Dad can’t see us” she told me. This was one of the rare parties where our Dad, Brahma the creator of the Universe was present as well. He’s not much of a party animal. He unwittingly fills the role of chaperone every time.
Meanwhile, Ganga had also caught Mahabhisha’s eye. They were stealing glances at each other. I thought to myself that given just a few more minutes I would no longer be needed. They might just work up the courage to talk to each other.
Their gaze finally met, and they stared at each other, captivated. Just then there was a bit of a breeze that displaced Ganga’s sari just a teeny bit over her shoulder. That may not seem offensive at all by today’s standards, but by the standards of those days, that little displacement was fit for an entertainment magazine cover story. Probably with the headlines “Shocking wardrobe malfunction at Indra’s party!” and “Brahma throws a fit!”.
Well, Brahma getting angry is exactly what happened when he realized that Mahabhisha and Ganga were still staring at each other. Every other person besides Mahabhisha had lowered their eyes to give Ganga a chance to adjust her sari. And Ganga should really have adjusted her Sari instead of getting lost in Mahabhisha’s eyes.
Brahma cursed them both to be born on Earth. To experience life in the world of the mortals, to experience pain, loss and love.
I tried to cheer up Ganga later on. “C’mon its not so bad. Mahabhisha will be there. He’s going to be the next King of Hastinapura. You’ll get a chance to hang out with him then”
“Ahhhh! The irony” she said thinking back to the Pratip incident. But it seems she decided to accept her fate.
There was one other incident right after this, but it’ll be more effective if we come back to this later in the story.
So Mahabhisha was born as Shantanu, the youngest son of Prateep. Prateep had two other sons. The oldest had unfortunately contracted leprosy and given up his claim to the throne. He moved into the forest and lived by himself in a cave. The second son chose to rule his Uncle’s Kingdom instead in Modern day Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. That left Shantanu as the ruler of Hastinapur.
A few years after Shantanu took on King duty, Prateep was on his death bed. He had one final command for his son. He commanded her that if a beautiful lady approached him at the banks of the Ganga, he should not refuse to marry her.
That seemed like a big leap from an approach for casual conversation straight to marriage? But he didn’t say anything. He was duty-bound. He would obey his father.
While Shantanu was the reincarnation of Mahabhisha, in his human form he retained no memories of his past life. He was just a normal person, he thought.
He did visit the Ganga river bank often though in the hope of triggering this strange dying request from Prateep.
And one day, that is exactly what happened. As he was walking along the river bank, he met the most beautiful lady he had ever seen. He definitely hadn’t met her before, he thought. And yet, she looked so familiar. Almost a lifetime ago.
She had a radiant smile on her face, and Shantanu’s heart warmed towards this lady, instantly.
“Hi, you must be Shantanu. I’m Ganga” she said in the most angelic voice he had ever heard. The introductions had finally taken place!
When he’d heard the request from Prateep, he’d made up his mind to still politely brush off any proposal of marriage. But now he was wavering. He looked at her extended hand and thought. The next step here would change the course of history. He made his decision.
Next Time
That’s all for now. In the next episode, we’ll continue the story where we’ll see why it’s a terrible idea to make unconditional promises. And how breaking those promises can lead to years of heartache
A couple of notes about the Mahabharat
The Mahabharat is the largest of all Indian epics. It’s a story that spans several generations and culminates in a huge war.
What I admire the most about the Mahabharat is the complexity of the characters. None of them are clearly good or bad people. They are just people. Who sometimes do good things and sometimes bad.
Every character displays normal human behavior including bravery, intelligence, altruism, sacrifice, and at times poor judgment and stupidity. What separates one section of characters from others is the balance of these characteristics.
That’s all for now.