The brave king Shantanu, who was grieving after the departure of his beloved Ganga, came across the fisherwoman Satyavati one day while hunting. He fell in love with her and Gangaputra Devavrata made his famous Bhishma pratigya so that his father could marry Satyavati.
But though Satyavati is known as a fisherwoman, her mother was Apsara Adrika. Her birth came about thus:
The powerful king Uparichara Vasu was a friend of Indra’s. He went hunting one day in the sylvan surroundings of the forest. The beautiful, lush forest with its serene peace made him long for his wife, Girika. Excited with passion by the thought of his wife and determined to have children by her, Uparichara Vasu collected his vital seed, packed it in leaves and summoned a falcon to take it to his wife so it may not go waste.
As the falcon flew high with its precious burden, it was attacked by another bird and the leaf package fell right into the Yamuna river. In the Yamuna lived the apsara Adrika, now in the form of a fish owing to a curse. She swallowed the king’s seed and conceived.
The fisherman chief caught the fish and cut it open only to find twin children in its belly- a boy and a girl. He took the boy to the king, who recognized him as his son. The girl was adopted by the fisherman chief and she came to be known as Matsyagandhi because she smelt of a fish.
When this girl grew into a beautiful young woman, Sage Parasara arrived there, wanting to cross the river. As Matsyagandhi ferried him across, Parasara was powerfully attracted to her, impelled by destiny. From Parasara and Matsyagandhi was born the sage Krishna Dwaipayana, who later came to be called Veda Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata.
Matsyagandhi received the boon from the Sage Parasara that her body would give off a wonderful fragrance for a whole yojana. From then on, she was known as Yojanagandhi too. Even later, she was given the name Satyavati. Satyavati went on to become the Queen Mother of Hastinapura, who ensured that her husband Shantanu’s line did not go extinct.
