Shloka 6
Satyavatī’s Disclosure and the Summoning of Vyāsa
Niyoga for Kuru Succession
(रथमारोप्य तां देवीं जगाम स तया सह । सा च शान्तनुमभ्यागात् साक्षाल्लक्ष्मीरिवापरा ।।) तब राजा शान्तनु देवी गंगाको रथपर बिठाकर उनके साथ अपनी राजधानीको चले गये। साक्षात् दूसरी लक्ष्मीके समान सुशोभित होनेवाली गंगादेवी शान्तनुके साथ गयीं। आसाद्य शान्तनुस्तां च बुभुजे कामतो वशी । न प्रष्टव्येति मन्वानो नस तां किंचिदूचिवान्,इन्द्रियोंको वशमें रखनेवाले राजा शान्तनु उस देवीको पाकर उसका इच्छानुसार उपभोग करने लगे। पिताका यह आदेश था कि उससे कुछ पूछना मत; अत: उनकी आज्ञा मानकर राजाने उससे कोई बात नहीं पूछी
rathamāropya tāṃ devīṃ jagāma sa tayā saha | sā ca śāntanum abhyāgāt sākṣāl lakṣmīr ivāparā || 6 ||
Having seated that goddess upon a chariot, he set out with her. And she came with King Śāntanu, radiant like Lakṣmī herself in another form. Śāntanu, master of his senses, having obtained her, lived with her according to their mutual desire; yet, remembering the earlier injunction not to question her, he asked her nothing at all.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical restraint and fidelity to an injunction: Śāntanu, though captivated by a divine woman, governs his impulses and honors the condition of not questioning her, modeling self-control and commitment to one’s word.
Śāntanu places the goddess Gaṅgā on a chariot and departs with her; she approaches him shining like a second Lakṣmī. The broader episode frames their union under a strict condition that the king must not question her actions.