River Ganga returned Devavrata to Shantanu. He was skillful. He was better than his father in martial arts. He was a virtuous young chap. No wonder, everybody liked him. Everybody thought he is the future of Hastinapur. He was crowned as prince of Shantanu’s throne as well.

Destiny finds those who listen, and fate finds the rest:

Shantanu fell in love again. This time, Fisher women Satyavati has captivated his lover mind. He asked her to marry him immediately. This is Shantanu’s love 2.0.

Destiny has its own destination. Satyavati had her own destination too. Like Ganga, Satyavati is ready to agree for a marriage, if her conditions are fulfilled. Life is interesting because you will never guess what will happen in your next moment. Life is terrific because you will never guess what will happen in your next moment. It was terrific for Shantanu.

Shantanu is not ready to offer this promise. Other than Shantanu, who will know the problem in unconditional acceptance of a condition. He did not want to repeat the same mistake he did with Ganga. At the same time, he did not forget the fisher lady. His health was affected by the ordeal.

Devavrata understood this. He get in to the scene. He vowed. He promised Satyavati that he will abandon Hastinapur’s plan of making him as the successor of his father’s throne. So Satyavati should be relaxed as if Indian election candidate felt relaxed after bribing the voters.

While most of the Indian voters are happy with the standard bribing money, few of the voter will be highly demanding. Satyavati’s father was like that. When Satyavati thought about present days, he thought about future. He asked Devavrata, what if Devavrata’s sons fight with Satyavati’s sons later? Here comes the next Vow from Devavrata. He promised that he would never get married and he would not be with a woman and he would never father a child. Devavrata’s vow surprised many, which included the deva-s and God-s. They showered flowers on him.

O king of fishermen! O supreme among kings! Listen to these words of mine. In front of these lords of the earth, hear what I have to say for my father’s sake. O lord of men! I have already relinquished my right to the kingdom. I will not destroy the doubt that has arisen about my sons. O fisherman! From today, I take the vow of brahmacharya, Even if I die without a son, I will attain the eternal world of heaven.

– The Mahabharata: Volume 1, Volume 1, Translated by Bibek Debroy

But the vow, changed the future of Hastinapur, but not in a positive way.

References / Gratitude:

• The illustrated Mahabharata, Dorling Kindersley India, Penguin Random House, 1st Ed. 2017
• Bibek Debroy’s translation of the Mahabharata

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