Love was in the air: Mahabharata Stories

Mahabharata, among the greatest Hindu scriptures, has some of the greatest love stories of all time. I believe Mahabharata is not only a scripture, it is truth. This article is about some of the epic’s love stories, which are bold even by today’s standards.

Satyavati and Rishi Parashar
Parashar was the well known and respected sage who had acquired many yogic powers through devotion. Satyavati, the daughter of a fisherman, Dashraja, used to take people across the river Yamuna in her boat. One day, she was taking Rishi Parashar in the boat. The sage, smitten by her charm, expressed the desire to make love with her. He told her that she was destined to give birth to a great person from this liaison. Satyavati placed three conditions before him:

• No one on shore could see what they were doing. So, Parashar created an artificial mist around them.
• Her virginity would remain intact. Parashar assured that after she gave birth she would become a virgin again.
• She wanted the fishy smell that came from her body to be replaced by an intoxicating fragrance. Parashara said that a divine aroma would emanate out of her, which could be sensed for a distance of nine miles.

She gave birth to Ved Vyas, the author of Mahabharata.

Ganga and Kuru King Shantanu
Shantanu, the king of Hastinapur, saw a beautiful woman on the banks of the river Ganga and asked her to marry him. She agreed on the condition that Shantanu wouldn’t ask any question about her actions.
After they married and Ganga gave birth to a child, she drowned the child. Shantanu, because of the promise, couldn’t ask her why she did that. This way, seven babies were drowned. When she was about to drown the eighth child, Shantanu couldn’t hold his curiosity and asked Ganga why she was killing the children. She let the eighth baby live, who was called Devavrata (and later, Bhishma).

Satyavati and Kuru King Shantanu
After King Shantanu appointed Devavrata as the crown prince, he started spending more of leisure time. It was during this period that Shantanu, enchanted by an enticing feminine fragrance, followed it to find Satyavati (the same woman who had a relationship with Rishi Parashar).  Stepping in her boat, he asked Satyavati to take him to the other bank. On reaching there, Shantanu asked her to row back. This continued till the dusk time for many days. Finally, Shantanu proposed Satyavati for marriage. Satyavati agreed, but said that she was bound by the decision of her father, Dashraj.

Dashraj told Shantanu that though Satyavati’s upbringing had been humble, she was born in a royal family and was hence destined to be a queen. However, becoming a queen was pointless if her child didn’t get the throne. Since the son of Shantanu’s first wife had already been appointed the heir, Dashraj objected to the marriage.

Shantanu, dejected, went away. He stopped going to Satyavati’s boat, but would stand at a distance and watch her ferrying people across the river. Shantanu began neglecting his duties as a king as a father. His health started deteriorating. When Devavrata asked the cause of the sorrow, Shantanu maintained silence. Then, Devrata followed his father to the river and learnt that his father was troubled on account of Satyavati, who told Devavrata that her father had declined to give the consent for their marriage. Also, she told the reason for Dashraj’s refusal.

This made Devrata take the “Bhishma Pratigya”. No matter in which way you take this story  the fact is because Shantanu again fall in love, Devrata has to take this oath. So Devrata father’s love made him “Bhishma”. This is the power of love.

Amba and the King of Shalva
Amba, the princess of Kashi, was in love with the ruler of Shalva King. When a swayamvara was organized for the 3 princesses of Kashi, Bhishma abducted all three of them. His younger brother Vichitravirya (youngest son of Satyavati) had not received an invitation and so Devavrata felt insulted. When Amba explained Bhishma about her love for the Shalva King, he let her go but Shalva refused to accept her. Then, Amba took the oath that she would kill Bhisma in her next birth in the form of a hermaphrodite.

Gandhari and Dhritarashtra
After Vichitravirya’s death, his mother Satyavati sent for her first born, Vyasa. According to his mother’s wishes, he visited both the wives of Vichitravirya to grant them a son with his yogic powers. When Vyasa visited Ambika (Sister of Amba), she saw his dreadful and forbidding appearance with burning eyes. Frightened, she kept her eyes closed. Hence, Dhritarashtra, her son, was born blind.

The love story of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra started after their marriage. Gandhari, on meeting him and realizing that he was blind, decided to deny herself the pleasure of sight that her husband could never relish. She blindfolded herself voluntarily for her whole married life.

This kind of a love story is inspiring.

Kunti and Pandu, Madri and Pandu
Ambalika (the other sister of Amba) was instructed by Satyavati to keep her eyes open lest she too would bear a blind son like Ambika. She kept her eyes open, but turned pale on seeing the sage’s formidable form. As a result, Pandu was pale since birth.

Pandu got married to Kunti, the daughter of the King of Vrishni, and to Madri, the daughter of the King of Madra. While hunting in a forest, Pandu mistook a sage (Rishi Kindama) and his wife at a distance for deer and shot an arrow at them, killing the conjugal couple. The dying sage cursed Pandu that as he had killed them in the midst of lovemaking, as and when he approaches a woman with the intent to make love, he will die. As an act of repentance, Pandu renounced the kingdom and, though with his wives, lived the life of an ascetic.

Pandu was suffering from an unusual curse. Pandu, after observing celibacy for 15 years, felt a sudden and strong attraction towards Madri while Kunti and her sons were away. Because of the curse, he died after attempting to touch her, and Madri, out of repentance and grief, committing sati (burned herself alive on her husband’s funeral pyre).

Isn’t it amazing that a man born from a yogic power died because he tried to make love? What about his wives who remained committed and kept on loving him, even knowing the truth?

Shri Radha and Shri Krishna
As a firm believer I am too small to write anything about the Radha Krishna love story. Every writer has his/her own interpretation of their love. All I say is they are God and Goddess. Many Muslim scholars have also written about the greatness of this love story that spreads across languages, religions and countries.

Draupadi and Pandavas
Draupadi  got married to all five Pandava brothers. She had to maintain commitment towards each of her husband. Not only that, all brothers had to trust Draupadi to do the justice. All six of them went through the adversity of life like living in exile. But, Draupadi always trusted them.

Following are other love stories which can attract any one:

• Rukmani and  Shri Krishna : Shri Krishna, the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, abducted Rukmani to marry her against the will of her family. Although she was in love with Shri Krishna.
• Hidimbi and Bheema: Bheema was the son of Kunti. Hidimbi was the man eater. (Now that means something unsual).She fell in love with Bheema and that changed every thing for her. After marriage they lived together only for limited period of time, then Bheema left as he have to. Hidimba gave birth to the Great Ghatotkachh and takes care of him alone without regretting any thing.
• Shri Krishna and his 16,108 wives: Out of 16,108 16000 waited not many years but they reincarnated to get married to Shri Krishna.

The Supreme Lord can make everyone happy because he is the only one with the power to love everyone in the way they want to be loved. Others may tell us that they love us but we never really believe them. But Krishna, who we cannot see with our material eyes, loves us and we know it, even if he never tells us. That’s the power of the love of Krishna.