Shloka 9
Satyavatī’s Disclosure and the Summoning of Vyāsa
Niyoga for Kuru Succession
भाग्योपनतकामस्य भार्या चोपनताभवत् | शान्तनोर्न॒प्सिंहस्य देवराजसमझूुते:,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
bhāgyopanata-kāmasya bhāryā copanatābhavat | śāntanor nṛpasiṃhasya devarāja-sama-dyuteḥ tripathagāminī divya-rūpiṇī devī gaṅgā hy atyanta-sundarā manuṣya-dehaṃ dhārayitvā devarāja indra-sama-tejasvī nṛpa-śiromaṇiṃ mahārājaṃ śāntanuṃ bhāgyataḥ svayam upasthita-sukhaṃ yathākāmaṃ prāpya sundarī-bhāryā-rūpeṇa prāptābhavat ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: Ao rei Śāntanu—leão entre os governantes, radiante como Indra—o cumprimento do desejo chegou como se o próprio destino o tivesse trazido. A deusa Gaṅgā, o rio divino que percorre os três caminhos, assumiu uma forma humana de beleza exquisita e veio a ele como esposa, como se a fortuna lhe pusesse a felicidade nas mãos sem esforço.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between human agency and destiny: worldly fulfillment (kāma) and prosperity can appear to arrive unearned, yet such gifts often carry hidden obligations and future consequences within the moral order.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the river-goddess Gaṅgā, radiant and divine, takes on a human body and comes to King Śāntanu as his wife, as though fortune itself has delivered him the happiness he desired.