Shloka 8
Satyavatī’s Disclosure and the Summoning of Vyāsa
Niyoga for Kuru Succession
दिव्यरूपा हि सा देवी गड़ा त्रिपथगामिनी । मानुषं विग्रहं कृत्वा श्रीमन्तं वरवर्णिनी,त्रिपथगामिनी दिव्यरूपिणी देवी गंगा ही अत्यन्त सुन्दर मनुष्य-देह धारण करके देवराज इन्द्रके समान तेजस्वी नृूपशिरोमणि महाराज शान्तनुको, जिन्हें भाग्यसे इच्छानुसार सुख अपने-आप मिल रहा था, सुन्दरी पत्नीके रूपमें प्राप्त हुई थीं
divyarūpā hi sā devī gaṅgā tripathagāminī | mānuṣaṁ vigrahaṁ kṛtvā śrīmantam varavarṇinī ||
Vaiśampāyana said: That goddess Gaṅgā—of divine form, famed as the ‘three-path-goer’—assumed a human body. The exquisitely beautiful one then came to the illustrious king Śāntanu, radiant like Indra, as his wife, as though fortune itself had taken visible form to meet him.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the meeting of human kingship with divine agency: prosperity and destiny (śrī) can appear as if personified, and divine powers may enter human life in embodied form, shaping royal lineage and responsibility.
Vaiśampāyana describes the river-goddess Gaṅgā, called Tripathagāminī, taking on a human body and becoming the wife of King Śāntanu, who is portrayed as exceptionally radiant and fortunate.