Before Satyavati, before the birth of Vyasa, before the Kuru line nearly ended—there was another queen.
A woman as mysterious as the moonlight on a sword's edge.
Her name was Ganga.
King Shantanu, ruler of Hastinapura, once walked alone by the banks of the Ganga river. The sun was sinking. The water sparkled like melted silver. And there, rising from the current, he saw her—an ethereal woman with wet hair clinging to her shoulders and eyes that held centuries of silence.
She said nothing. But when she looked at him, he forgot everything.
He approached her. "Who are you?"
She only smiled.
"I wish to marry you," he said.
"I accept," she replied, "but on one condition: you must never question me. Never ask who I am, or why I do what I do. No matter what happens."
Shantanu agreed.
They were married. And happiness reigned—for a time.
Then, their first child was born. A beautiful baby boy.
And without a word, Ganga walked to the river and drowned the child in its waters.
The king was horrified. But he remembered his vow. He said nothing.
The second child was born. And again, Ganga drowned him.
This happened again. And again.
Seven sons, all taken by the river, all without explanation. Shantanu's heart broke, but his silence held.
When the eighth child was born, and Ganga moved once more toward the river, the king could bear it no longer.
"Stop!" he cried. "How can a mother destroy her own children?"
She turned.
"You have broken your vow."
And in that moment, her true nature was revealed.
"I am Ganga, goddess of the river," she said. "These sons were not meant to live among mortals. They were the eight Vasus—divine beings cursed to be born on Earth. I freed them. But this last one, who must now remain, was cursed to live a full mortal life."
She handed the baby to the stunned king.
"Raise him well," she said. "For he will be greater than any who came before."
And with that, Ganga vanished into the river, leaving behind only the sound of water… and a child.
Devavrata was his name.
But the world would one day know him by another.
Bhishma.