It had been some time since Shantanu had been instated on the throne of Hastinapur. Pratipa had left for the forest to perform the duties of Vanaprastha ashram.
Shantanu always displayed self-control, generosity, forgiveness, forbearance, resoluteness, supreme energy and great nobility. The young king had all these qualities and was also skilled in dharma and artha. He was the protector of the Bharat lineage and all righteous people.
He had become famous in the world as a devout ruler and a skilled archer. But even though being a king, he spent most of his time in forest for he loved hunting.
"Aha !" Shantanu exclaimed in delight as he shot another deer. He had already killed many deer as well as several buffaloes, in this hunting trip of his.
Wandering alone along the banks of the Ganga, he came to a place frequented by the siddhas and the charanas. As he was looking around, admiring nature, he saw a lady of faultless beauty.
Seeing her he stopped in his tracks. Adorned with divine ornaments and sheer garments, she looked like the lotus seated Shri herself. Shantanu was so astounded at the beauty of her form that the hair on his body stood up in rapture.
The king kept staring at her, but wasn't satisfied. Seeing him like so, the divine lady, who was none other than Bhagirathi herself, smiled because she too felt love and affection for him.
"Sundari ?" Shantanu addressed her in a gentle voice, walking up to her, and then getting hold of her delicate hands in her calloused ones, "Kya tum Gandharv, Asur, apsara, naag athva yaksh ki prajaati se ho ? Tum awashya devtao se janmi ho. Tum jo bhi ho, meri patni banne ka prastav swikar karlo."
Every glance, every touch, every word spoken between them was a testament to a connection, forged before this lifetime.
Hearing these soft words from the smiling king, the unblemished goddess remembered the promise she had made to the vasus.
"Rajan, mai aapki Rani ban aapki sewa karne ko sajj hu. Parantu aap kabhi mere karyo mei hastakshep nahi kar sakte. Chaahe woh aapko prasann kare ya aprasann. Aap kabhi mujhe rokenge nahi, aur kabhi mujhse kathor vaani mei baat nahi karenge. Jab tak aap iss prakar mere kahe anusaar rahenge, mai awashya aapke saath rahungi. Kintu yadi aapne mujhe roka ya mujhse kathor vaani mei baat ki, toh mai tab hi aapko chhod chali jayungi." She said.
Hearing her words Shantanu was gladdened, "Mujhe swikarya hai." He said.
And thus having obtained her, Shantanu was just as delighted as she was. He pleasured with her as he desired and remembering the promise, refrained from asking her anything. The lord of the earth was extremely pleased with her conduct, beauty, generosity, qualities and secret art of love.
The divine Ganga, who courses the three worlds, lived happily as an obedient wife to Shantanu, in her radiant human form. Together their love waxed just as their fortune did.
With grace and elegance, she would attend to her duties as queen, always with her husband's happiness at the forefront of her mind. She pleased him with her skilled love making, intelligence, coquetry and demeanour and the king loved her as much as she did.
Shantanu was so addicted to desire and the qualities of his supreme wife that many years, seasons and months passed by without him being aware.
And when desire seized them right, Shantanu's lineage was blessed with brilliant sons. But as soon as each son was born, one after another, she flung them into the waters of the Ganga.
"Isme tumhara kalyaan hai." She said before drowning them in her sacred water. As the water lapped gently against her feet, her eyes revealed the determination of a goddess who burdened with a divine purpose.
Shantanu's eyes witnessed the turbulent waters swirling around his wife and their innocent childrem, a vision that threatened to consume his very being. He could only stare at her with a horrified expression, not knowing the cause behind her acts he was displeased.
But he did not dare to utter a word, afraid that he might lose her. But the king of Hastinapur was getting more and more miserable, desparate for a child to love, to care for, to make him the heir to the throne.
"Ruko !" He said just as his wife was about to drown his eighth son.
She turned around and looked at Shantanu with a smiling expression, as she cradled her eighth son, the eighth Vasu, Dyou in her arms.
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A/N
Ab gayi yeh haatho se 🌝
Waise bhi.... Ganga Nadi hai.... Nadi theher sakti hai ek sthaan par parantu ruk nahi sakti U.U
Btw, Dhanteras ki shubhkamnaye sabko.
And chuki abhi festive days have begun once again, I'm going to give you all double updates ✨✨