The story of King Santanu and the goddess Ganga is a popular tale in Hindu mythology. According to the story, King Santanu fell in love with Ganga, who had taken on a human form, and asked her to marry him. Ganga accepted the proposal on the condition that the king never question her identity or interfere with her actions, and that he never speak to her in a way that might displease her. The king agreed to these terms, and the two were married.

Ganga and King Santanu had many children together, but Ganga shocked the king by taking each newborn baby to the river Ganges and casting it into the water. Despite being filled with horror and grief at this behaviour, King Santanu remained silent, remembering the promise he had made to Ganga. This pattern continued until the birth of their eighth child when the king could no longer bear it and stopped Ganga from killing the child.

Ganga revealed to the king that she was the goddess Ganga and had been cursed by the sage Vasishtha to bear the eight Vasus, who had been cursed to be born in the mortal world. She explained that she had been forced to play this hateful role due to the curse and that the Vasus would be returned to their former state once they were born. The goddess then disappeared with the child, who would later become known as Bhishma.

Ganga eventually took their eighth child and vanished, leaving Santanu heartbroken. In the wake of this loss, the king renounced his earthly pleasures and devoted himself to ruling his kingdom with a more spiritual focus.

One day, while wandering along the banks of the Ganges river, Santanu was struck by the sight of a young boy who radiated the beauty and presence of the god Devendra. The child was engaged in a playful activity, constructing a dam of arrows across the river as it flowed in full flood. To Santanu, it seemed as if the boy was controlling the mighty waterway with ease.

Ganga, in all her divine wisdom, chose this moment to reveal herself to the king. She presented the boy as Santanu’s own son, explaining that she had raised him in secret until he was old enough to thrive on his own. The child’s name was Devavrata, and he was a prodigy in the arts of war and statecraft, as well as being highly learned in the Vedas and other subjects. Ganga blessed Devavrata and entrusted him to Santanu’s care before disappearing once again.

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