Satyavati
Encyclopedia
Pandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
and Kaurava
Kaurava
The term Kaurava is a Sanskrit term, that means the descendants of Kuru, a legendary king who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the Mahābhārata.The term is used in the Mahābhārata with two meanings:...
princes (principal characters of the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, one of the principal texts in Hindu mythology
Hindu mythology
Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
). She is also the mother of the seer Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
, author of the epic. Her story appears in the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa
Harivamsa
The Harivamsha is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 verses, mostly in metre. The text is also known as . This text is believed as a khila to the Mahabharata and is traditionally ascribed to Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa...
and the Devi Bhagavata Purana.
Daughter of the Chedi
Chedi Kingdom
Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yaduvanshi Rajput kings in the central and western India. It falls roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna and along river Betwa or Vetravati...
king Vasu (also known as Uparichara Vasu) and a cursed apsara
Apsara
An Apsara , also known as Vidhya Dhari or Tep Apsar in Khmer, Accharā or A Bố Sa La Tư , Bidadari , Biradali , Widodari and Apson , is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in...
(celestial nymph)-turned-fish Adrika, Satyavati was brought up as a commoner – the adopted daughter of a fisherman-chieftain (who was also a ferryman) on the banks of the river Yamuna
Yamuna
The Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganges in northern India...
. Due to the smell emanating from her body she was known as Matsyagandha ("She who has the smell of fish"), and helped her father in his job as a ferryman.
As a young woman Satyavati met the wandering rishi
Rishi
Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years...
(sage) Parashara
Parashara
' is a Rigvedic Maharishi and author of many ancient Indian texts. Parāśara was the grandson of Vashista, the son of Śakti Maharṣi, and the father of Vyasa. There are several texts which give reference to Parāśara as an author/speaker...
, who fathered her son Vyasa out of wedlock. The sage also gave her a musky fragrance, which earned her names like Yojanagandha ("She whose fragrance is spread for a yojana
Yojana
A Yojana is a Vedic measure of distance used in ancient India. The exact measurement is disputed amongst scholars with distances being given between 6 to 15 kilometers ....
(8-9 miles)") and Gandhavati ("fragrant one").
Later King Shantanu, captivated by her fragrance and beauty, fell in love with Satyavati and asked her to marry him. She married Santanu on condition that their children inherit the throne, denying the birthright of Santanu's eldest son (and crown prince) Bhishma
Bhishma
Bhishma or Bheeshma or Devavrata or 'Bhishma Pitamah' was the eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu who was blessed with wish-long life and had sworn to serve the ruling Kuru king. He was one of the most prominent characters of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He was the grand uncle of both the...
. Satyavati bore Shantanu two children, Chitrangada
Chitrangada
Chitrāngada , was the elder son of Shantanu and Satyavati. Since his elder half brother Bhishma took a vow of not ascending the throne of Hastinapura, he became the king after Shantanu and was very successful. Unfortunately, his success angered a Gandharva king of the same name...
and Vichitravirya
Vichitravirya
Vichitravirya in the Hindu epic Mahabharata is the younger son of queen Satyavatī and king Śaṅtanu. His elder brother, Chitrāngada, had initially succeeded their father to the throne of Hastinapura, but when he died childless, Vichitravirya succeeded him.Vichitravirya was still a child when he was...
. After Shantanu's death, she and her princely sons ruled the kingdom. Although both her sons died childless, she arranged for her first son Vyasa to father the children of the two widows of Vichitravirya through niyoga
Niyoga
Niyoga is an ancient Hindu tradition, in which a woman would request and appoint a person for helping her bear a child. According to this Hindu tradition the man who was appointed must be or would most likely be a revered person...
. The children (Dhritarashtra
Dhritarashtra
In the Mahābhārata, Dhritarashtra was King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epic's climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Vyasa. He was blind from birth, and became father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari...
and Pandu
Pandu
In the Mahābhārata epic, King Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is more popularly known as the father of the Pandavas and ruled Hastinapur.-Birth:...
) became fathers of the Kauravas and Pandavas, respectively. After Pandu's death, Satyavati went to the forest for penance and died there.
While Satyavati's presence of mind, far-sightedness and mastery of realpolitik
Realpolitik
Realpolitik refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or ethical premises...
is praised, her unscrupulous means of achieving her goals and her blind ambition are criticized.
Literary sources and names
Little is said about Satyavati in the Mahabharata; however, later texts - the Harivamsa and the Devi Bhagavata Purana – elaborate her legend.Satyavati is known by numerous names in the Mahabharata, among them Daseyi, Gandhakali, Gandhavati, Kali, Matysyagandha, Satya, Vasavi and Yojanagandha. The name "Daseyi" – a term often used by her stepson Bhishma used to address her – means one of the Dasa
Dasa
Dasa is a term used with the primary meaning 'enemy', especially relating to tribes identified as the enemies of the Indo-Aryan tribes in the Rigveda....
s (slaves), or a Dasa aboriginal princess. Vasavi means "daughter of king Vasu". Her birth name, Kali (the dark one), indicates her dark complexion. Her other birth name, Satyavati, means "truthful"; satya means "veracity". As noted above, she was also known as Matsyagandha or Matsyagandhi in her earlier life – and Gandhakali ("fragrant dark one"), Gandhavati and Yojanagandha in later life.
Birth and early life
According to the Harivamsa, Satyavati in her previous life was Achchhoda, daughter of the PitrsPitrs
The Pitṛs , are the spirits of the departed ancestors in Hindu culture.They are often remembered annually.It is a Hindu's duty to his ancestors to beget at least one son, so that he may continue to make offerings to the Pitris....
(ancestors) and cursed to be born on earth. The Mahabharata, Harivamsa and Devi Bhagavata Purana assert that Satyavati was the daughter of a cursed apsara
Apsara
An Apsara , also known as Vidhya Dhari or Tep Apsar in Khmer, Accharā or A Bố Sa La Tư , Bidadari , Biradali , Widodari and Apson , is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in...
(celestial nymph) named Adrika. Adrika was transformed by a curse into a fish, and lived in the Yamuna river. When the Chedi
Chedi Kingdom
Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yaduvanshi Rajput kings in the central and western India. It falls roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna and along river Betwa or Vetravati...
king, Vasu (better-known as Uparicara-vasu), was on a hunting expedition he had a nocturnal emission while dreaming of his wife. He sent his semen to his queen with an eagle but, due to a fight with another eagle, the semen dropped into the river and was swallowed by the cursed Adrika-fish. Consequently, the fish became pregnant. The chief fisherman caught the fish, and cut it open. He found two babies in the womb of the fish: one male and one female. The fisherman presented the children to the king, who kept the male child. The boy grew up to become the founder of the Matsya Kingdom
Matsya Kingdom
Matsya or Machcha , classically called the Mese , was the name of a tribe and the state of the Vedic civilization of India. It lay to south of the kingdom of Kurus and west of the Yamuna which separated it from the kingdom of Panchalas...
. The king gave the female child to the fisherman, naming her Matsya-gandhi or Matsya-gandha ("She who has the smell of fish") due to the fishy odor which came from the girl's body. The fisherman raised the girl as his daughter and named her Kali ("the dark one") because of her complexion. Over the course of time, Kali earned the name Satyavati ("truthful"). The fisherman was also a ferryman, ferrying people across the river in his boat. Satyavati helped her father in his job, and grew up into a beautiful maiden.
Encounter with Parashara and birth of Vyasa
The Devi Bhagavata Purana narrates that when Kali (Satyavati) was ferrying the rishiRishi
Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years...
(sage) Parashara
Parashara
' is a Rigvedic Maharishi and author of many ancient Indian texts. Parāśara was the grandson of Vashista, the son of Śakti Maharṣi, and the father of Vyasa. There are several texts which give reference to Parāśara as an author/speaker...
across the river Yamuna, the sage wanted Kali to satisfy his lust and held her right hand. She tried to dissuade Parashara, saying that a learned Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
of his stature should not desire a woman who stinks of fish. She finally gave in, realizing the desperation and persistence of the sage and fearing that if she did not heed to his request, he might topple the boat midstream. Kali agreed, and told Parashara to be patient until the boat reached the bank. On reaching the other side the sage grabbed her again, but she declared that her body stank and coitus should be delightful to them both. At these words, Matsyagandha was transformed (by the powers of the sage) into Yojanagandha ("she whose fragrance can be smelled from across a yojana
Yojana
A Yojana is a Vedic measure of distance used in ancient India. The exact measurement is disputed amongst scholars with distances being given between 6 to 15 kilometers ....
"). She now smelled of musk, and so was called Kasturi-gandhi ("musk-fragrant"). When Parashara, tormented with desire, approached her again she insisted that the act was not appropriate in broad daylight, as her father and others would see them from the other bank; they should wait till night. The sage, with his powers, shrouded the entire area in fog. Before Parashara could enjoy himself Satyavati again interrupted him to say that he would enjoy himself and depart, robbing her of her virginity and leaving her shamed in society. The sage then blessed her with virgo intacta. She asked Parashara to promise her that the coitus would be a secret and her virginity intact; the son born from their union would be as famous as the great sage; and her fragrance and youth would be eternal. Parashara granted her these wishes and was satiated by the beautiful Satyavati. After the act the sage bathed in the river and left, never to meet her again. The Mahabharata abridges the story, noting only two wishes for Satyavati: her virgo intacta and everlasting sweet fragrance.
Ecstatic with her blessings, Satyavati gave birth to her baby the same day on an island in the Yamuna. The son immediately grew up as a youth and promised his mother that he would come to her aid every time she called on him; he then left to do penance in the forest. The son was called Krishna ("the dark one") due to his colour, or Dvaipayana ("one born on an island") and would later became known as Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
– compiler of the Vedas and author of the Puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
and the Mahabharata, fulfilling Parashara's prophecy. After this, Satyavati returned home to help her father.
Marriage with Santanu
Santanu
Shantanu was a Kuru king of Hastinapura, who is mentioned in the great epic of the Mahābhārata. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, of the lunar dynasty and the ancestor of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Rigveda mentions Shantanu. He was the youngest son of King Pratipa of Hastinapura...
, the Kuru
Kuru Kingdom
Kuru was the name of an ancient kingdom in Vedic India, and later a republican Mahajanapada state. The kingdom was located in the area of modern Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh in India. They formed the first political center of the of the Vedic India, with its capital at Hastinapur. It...
king of Hastinapur, came to the forest on a hunting trip and was mesmerized by the musk-fragrance emanating from Satyavati. Allured by her sweet scent, Santanu reached Satyavati's house and, seeing her, fell in love at first sight. The king asked the fisherman-chief for his daughter's hand; the fisherman said his daughter would marry the king if – and only if – her sons would inherit the throne. The king, shocked and dejected, returned to the palace since he had already anointed his son, Devavrata, as heir apparent. Devavrata was distressed by his father's condition; he learned about the promise asked by the fisherman-chief from a minister. Immediately, Devavrata rushed to the hut of the fisherman-chief and begged for Satyvati's hand on his father's behalf. The fisherman repeated his condition and told Devavrata that only Santanu was worthy of Satyavati; he had rejected marriage proposals from even Brahmarishis like Asita. Devavrata renounced his claim to the throne in favour of Satyavati's son, but the fisherman contended that Devavrata's children might dispute his grandson's claim. Intensely, Devavrata pledged the "terrible" vow of Brahmacharya
Brahmacharya
Brahmacharya is one of the four stages of life in an age-based social system as laid out in the Manu Smrti and later Classical Sanskrit texts in Hinduism. It refers to an educational period of 14–20 years which starts before the age of puberty. During this time the traditional vedic sciences are...
- celibacy. The fisherman immediately gave Satyavati to Devavrata, who was henceforth called Bhishma ("the terrible"). Bhishma presented Satyavati to Santanu, who married her. In some versions of the tale, it is Satyavati who assured the inheritance of the throne to her progeny. Meyer comments that the wish of Satyavati's foster-father was an unusual shulka ("a price given to parents for the purchase of a bride" in ancient India).
In the Devi Bhagavata Purana, Satyavati's premarital first-born, Vyasa, laments that his mother abandoned him to fate immediately after birth. He returns to his birthplace in search of his mother who, he finds out, is now the queen of Hastinapur.
Birth of children and grandchildren
After their marriage, Satyavati bore Shantanu two sons: ChitrangadaChitrangada
Chitrāngada , was the elder son of Shantanu and Satyavati. Since his elder half brother Bhishma took a vow of not ascending the throne of Hastinapura, he became the king after Shantanu and was very successful. Unfortunately, his success angered a Gandharva king of the same name...
and Vichitravirya
Vichitravirya
Vichitravirya in the Hindu epic Mahabharata is the younger son of queen Satyavatī and king Śaṅtanu. His elder brother, Chitrāngada, had initially succeeded their father to the throne of Hastinapura, but when he died childless, Vichitravirya succeeded him.Vichitravirya was still a child when he was...
. The Harivamsa tells of Bhishma recalling events after Shantanu's death. During the period of mourning after Shantanu’s death, Ugrayudha Paurava (usurper of the throne of Panchala
Panchala
Panchala is an ancient region of northern India, which corresponds to the geographical area around the Ganges River and Yamuna River, the upper Gangetic plain in particular. This would encompass the modern-day states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. During the ancient times, it was home to a...
) demanded that Bhishma hand over Satyavati in return for wealth. Bhishma killed Ugrayudha Paurava, who had lost his powers because he lusted after another's wife. However, the Mahabharata does not include this event; it only describes Bhishma crowning Chitrangada as king under Satyavati's command. Chitrangada was later killed by a gandharva
Gandharva
Gandharva is a name used for distinct mythological beings in Hinduism and Buddhism; it is also a term for skilled singers in Indian classical music.-In Hinduism:...
(a celestial musician), who was his namesake. After Chitrangada's death his young brother Vichitravirya was crowned king, while Bhishma ruled on his behalf (under Satyavati's command) until Vichitravirya grew up. Vichitravirya married the princesses of Kashi
Kosala Kingdom
Kosala Proper or Uttara Kosala is the kingdom of the celebrated personality of Treta Yuga, Raghava Rama. Ayodhya was its capital, presently in Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh. Rama's sons Lava and Kusha inherited parts of this kingdom. Lava ruled from the city called Sravasti and Kusa from the...
-Kosala: Ambika and Ambalika
Ambalika
Ambalika was the daughter of Kashya, the King of Kashi and queen of Vichitravirya, King of Hastinapura.Along with her sisters Amba and Ambika, she was taken by force by Bhishma from their Swayamvara, the latter having challenged and defeated the assembled royalty...
, who were won by Bhishma in a Swayamvara
Swayamvara
Swayamvara , in ancient India, was a practice of choosing a husband, from among a list of suitors, by a girl of marriageable age. Swayam in Sanskrit means self and vara means choice or desire ....
(marriage choice). The childless Vichitravirya met with an ultimately death from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
With no heir to the throne, Satyavati asked Bhishma to marry the widows of Vichitravirya (following the practice of niyoga
Niyoga
Niyoga is an ancient Hindu tradition, in which a woman would request and appoint a person for helping her bear a child. According to this Hindu tradition the man who was appointed must be or would most likely be a revered person...
in its narrower sense, as a levirate marriage
Levirate marriage
Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obligated to marry his brother's widow, and the widow is obligated to marry her deceased husband's brother....
) and rule as king. Bhishma refused, reminding Satyavati of the promise he made to her father and his vow of bachelorhood. He suggests that a Brahmin could be hired to bear children from the widows, thus preserving the dynasty. Revealing to Bhishma the tale of her encounter with Parashara, Satyavati well knew that this was the time to call her son Vyasa to aid her. Satyavati coaxed Vyasa to have niyoga with his brother's widows, saying: "from affection for thy brother Vichitravirya, for the perpetuation of our dynasty, for the sake of this Bhishma's request and my command, for kindness to all creatures, for the protection of the people and from the liberality of thy heart, O sinless one, it behooveth thee to do what I say." After convincing Vyasa, Satyavati managed ( with great difficulty) to obtain the consent of her "virtuous" daughters-in-law. In the Mahabharata, Vyasa agreed immediately to the niyoga. In the Devi Bhagavata Purana version, Vyasa initially refused Satyavati's proposal. He argued that Vichitravirya's wives were like his daughters; having niyoga with them was a heinous sin, through which no good could come. As a master of "realpolitik", the hungry-for-grandsons Satyavati asserted that to preserve the dynasty, wrong directives by elders should be followed if they are going to reduce the sorrow of a mother. Vyasa finally agreed to that "disgusting task", but suggested that offspring of perversity cannot be a source of joy.
During the menstrual period of the older queen, Ambika, Satyavati invited Vyasa to Ambika's bedchamber. However, during lovemaking with Vyasa, Ambika noticed his dark appearance and closed her eyes. Vyasa declared to Satyavati that due to Ambika's cruelty, her son would be blind (but strong) and have a hundred sons – later known as Kauravas (descendants of Kuru). Satyavati considered such an heir to be an unworthy king, so she asked Vyasa to have niyoga with her other daughter-in-law. During their niyoga, Ambalika fell pale due to Vyasa's grim appearance. As the result the child would be wan, Vyasa told his mother, who begged for another child. In due course, the blind Dhritarashtra
Dhritarashtra
In the Mahābhārata, Dhritarashtra was King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epic's climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Vyasa. He was blind from birth, and became father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari...
and the pale Pandu
Pandu
In the Mahābhārata epic, King Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is more popularly known as the father of the Pandavas and ruled Hastinapur.-Birth:...
were born. Satyavati again invited Vyasa to Ambika's bedchamber; she remembered Vyasa's grim appearance (and repulsive odour), and substituted a Shudra
Shudra
Shudra is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders...
(lowest caste) maid in her place. The maid respected the sage and was not afraid of him, and Vyasa thus blessed her; her son would be the most intelligent man, and she would no longer be a slave. Vyasa told Satyavati of the deception, and then disappeared; Vidura
Vidura
Vidura was an important figure in the Mahabharata, a major Hindu epic. He was half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura, born the son of the sage Vyasa and a lady-in-waiting to the queens Ambika and Ambalika of the city...
, an incarnation of the god Dharma, was born to the maid.
Last days
Consequently, due to Dhritarashtra's blindness and Vidura's birth from a maid, Pandu was crowned king of Hastinapur. However, he was cursed by a sage, renounced the kingdom and went to the forest with his wives Kunti and MadriMadri
In the Mahābhārata epic, Madri was a princess of the Madra kingdom and the second wife of Pandu.On his way to Hastinapur, King Pandu encountered the army of Shalya, King of Madra. Very soon, Pandu and Shalya became friends and Shalya gave his only sister, Madri to Pandu, as a gift of their...
. There, his wives had children - the Pandavas, or "sons of Pandu" - for him through niyoga with the gods. Pandu died, due to the curse, in the forest; Madri died with him. Kunti returned to Hastinapur with the Pandavas. Satyavati was grief-stricken because of Pandu's death, and did not wish to live any longer. After the funerary rites for Pandu were done, Vyasa warned Satyavati that happiness would end in the dynasty and devastating events would occur in the future (leading to the destruction of her kin), which she would not be able to bear in her old age. At Vyasa's suggestion, Satyavati left for the forest to do penance with her daughters-in-law Ambika and Ambalika. In the forest, she died and attained heaven.
Assessment
Dhanalakshmi Ayyer, author of Satyavati: Blind Ambition, introduces Satyavati as "the embodiment of the driving force of womanhood, with motherly ambition blinding her vision at every turn" and further says that "[i]n a way, Satyavati exemplifies what Rudyard KiplingRudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
succinctly put":
The Woman that God gave him, every fibre of her frame
Proves her launched for one sole issue, armed and engined for the same,
And to serve that single issue, lest the generations fail,
The female of the species must be deadlier than the male.
For Satyavati the end matters, not the means. Satyavati's life goal and ambition was to ensure the succession of Santanu's lineage and inheritance of his fortune by her sons but ironically (Ayyer comments), Bhishma - whose right to the throne Satyavati snatches - outlives her children in life and in fame. Her actions (and decisions) create a generation encompassed by a greed which ultimately leads to its annihilation. Ayyer concludes that "Satyavati's story teaches the new generation women that determination and commitment are different from avarice and calculation. One should know where greed takes over from ambition."
Pradip Bhattacharya, author of Of Kunti and Satyawati: Sexually Assertive Women of the Mahabharata, praises Satyavati's handling of her encounter with the sage Parashara. He notes that although young, she tackles the persistent sage with great maturity and presence of mind. Bhattacharya remarks, "With a maturity and frankness that astonishes us even in the twenty-first century, she points out that coitus ought to be mutually enjoyable." She is not deluded by the belief that the sage will marry her, and asks for virginity to ensure her future status in society. Bhattacharya further comments on the sequence of her requests: the bodily fragrance to make the sexual act pleasant for both, the veil of mist to keep the act a secret, virginal status for her future and fame for her child - securing his fame and, after practical aspects are sorted out, "eternally feminine" boons of lifelong youth and fragrance. Bhattacharya says: "Modern-day women could well wish that they were half as confident, clear-headed and assertive of their desires and goals as Satyavati." He further praises her "characteristic far-sightedness", when she ensures the future of her children with Santanu by disposing of the crown prince Bhishma. She brings her illegitimate son, Vyasa, onto the scene to father sons with her dead son's widows – turning the renowned "lunar dynasty, into the lineage of a dasa (slave) maiden".