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Core:Satyavati invites Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa.
Bhīṣma said:
O mother, I shall certainly speak again of the cause for the growth of the Bharata lineage. Listen to what I say.
Let some virtuous Brāhmaṇa be invited with wealth, who may beget offspring in the wives of Vicitravīrya.
Vaiśampāyana said:
Then Satyavatī, with trembling voice, as if smiling and modest, said these words to Bhīṣma.
O mighty-armed Bhārata, what you say is true. Out of trust, I shall tell you for the sake of the family's progeny. Such a grave matter cannot be concealed from you.
You alone are righteousness in our family; you are truth, you are our supreme refuge. Therefore, listen to my words and do what follows next.
O virtuous one, my father had a boat. Once, in my early youth, I went there.
Then the great sage Parāśara, foremost among the righteous, came to the boat, intending to cross the river Yamunā.
While being ferried across the Yamunā, he approached me and the best of sages, overwhelmed with desire, spoke many sweet and gentle words.
O Bhārata, I, afraid of a curse and also of my father, and having been promised rare boons, was unable to refuse him.
Overpowering me, a young girl, with his brilliance, he brought me under control, covering the world with darkness while I was still in the boat, O Bhārata.
Formerly, I had a strong fishy smell that was offensive. The sage removed that and gave me this auspicious fragrance.
Then the sage, having released his own seed, told me: "You will remain a maiden on this very river's island."
That son of Parāśara, a great yogi and sage, born of me, a maiden, is known from olden times as Dvaipāyana.
The divine sage who divided the four Vedas through austerity attained the title of Vyāsa in the world, and due to his dark complexion, also the name Kṛṣṇa.
That ascetic, truth-speaking and tranquil, sinless through austerity, if appointed by me and certainly by you, O one of immense radiance. He will beget auspicious offspring in your brother’s wives.
He once told me, “Remember me in when required.” I shall remember him, O mighty-armed, if you so desire, O Bhīṣma.
With your consent, O Bhīṣma, that great ascetic shall certainly beget sons in the wives of Vicitravīrya.
As the great sage was praised, Bhīṣma with joined palms said: He who sees righteousness, wealth, and desire as distinct and rightly ordered—
He who considers and discerns wealth, righteousness, and desire — each with their true consequences and their opposites — separately and with proper intellect, is truly wise.
What you have spoken is righteous and beneficial to our family. That which is the supreme good pleases me greatly.
Then, O joy of the Kurus, when Bhīṣma had made his vow, Kālī (Satyavatī) began to think of the sage Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana.
The wise sage, expounder of the Vedas, having known his mother’s thought, appeared instantly and unnoticed, O joy of the Kurus.
Then, giving ritual worship to her son, embracing him with her arms and bathing him in tears, Dāśeyī shed tears on seeing her son after a long time.
Sprinkling the distressed mother with water, and saluting her, the elder-born son Vyāsa spoke words to his mother.
I have come to do whatever you desire. Instruct me, O knower of dharma, and I shall do what is dear to you.
Then the priest performed worship for the great sage, and he accepted it in due ritual form with mantras.
The mother, seeing him seated and having asked after his unchanging well-being, Satyavatī then spoke these words to him.
Sons are equally born of mother and father, O sage. Of them, the mother is as much the lord as the father is — there is no doubt.
You, ordained by the Creator, are my first-born son, O brāhmaṇa-sage, and Vicitravīrya is likewise my younger son.
Just as Bhīṣma is a brother to Vicitravīrya through the father, so are you through the mother. Consider yourself either his brother or his son.
This son of Śāntanu, though steadfast in truth and valor, does not set his mind either on having offspring or on ruling the kingdom.
So you, out of consideration for your brother, the family lineage, the word of Bhīṣma, and my request, O sinless one—
Out of compassion for all beings and to protect them, and with kindness, whatever I say — you should hear and do it.
In the wives of your younger brother, who are like celestial maidens, endowed with beauty and youth, and desiring offspring in accordance with dharma —
O son, you are indeed capable — beget offspring from them, appropriate to this family and its lineage.
Vyāsa said:
O Satyavatī, you know both the higher and lower dharma, and your mind is indeed firmly set in dharma, O knower of righteousness.
Therefore, by your command, and with dharma as the cause, I shall do what you desire, for this has been practiced from ancient times.
I shall give sons to my brother, equal to Mitra and Varuṇa. Let the two queens observe the vow I prescribe here.
They shall be purified in a year according to rule. No woman who has not observed the vow may approach me.
Satyavatī said:
Do so that the queen may immediately conceive. In kingdoms without a king, there is neither rain nor the presence of the gods.
O lord, how can a kingdom without a king be sustained? Therefore, conceive a child — Bhīṣma will raise him.
Vyāsa said:
If a son must be given by me swiftly and at an untimely hour, let her endure my intense form — this shall be her highest vow.
If she can endure my smell, form, attire, and body, let Kausalyaa conceive this very day a special child.
Vaiśampāyana said:
The sage, desiring union, disappeared. Then the queen privately approached her daughter-in-law and spoke beneficial words that were righteous and purposeful.
O Kausalyaa, listen to this righteous course I speak. The extinction of the Bhāratas is apparent due to the decline of my fortune.
Seeing me afflicted and the paternal line in distress, Bhīṣma, in his wisdom, has acted for my sake and for the growth of dharma.
This decision is in your hands, O daughter — I know it well. Restore again the lost Bhārata lineage.
O fair-hipped one, bear a son as radiant as the king of the gods. He shall bear the heavy burden of ruling our family’s kingdom.
She, having somehow persuaded her to act righteously, then caused brāhmaṇas, divine sages, and guests to be fed.
