Week 9 Story: Vyasa's Three Sons
After the news broke that king Vichitravirya,
the last son of Satyavati and Shantanu had died, the kingdom grew worried at
the fear that they would not have a future king. Despite having two queens in
the palace, Vichitravirya had died childless. It was then that Satyavati asked
Bhishma, the first son of King Shantanu with Ganga, to give up his celibacy in
order to provide an heir to the throne. With that being said, she ordered him
to father the children of Vichitravirya’s widows, Ambika and Ambilika. However,
Bhishma remained steadfast and refused to marry, even when he could have picked
his own wife.
Leaving Satyavati with no choice,
she revealed to Bhisma that she had once had a son before marrying to king
Shantanu. With that being said, she summoned Vyasa, her first-born son, to
father the future princes of Hastinapur. The queen immediately made arrangements
that would allow him to father the children of the widowed queens of
Vichitravirya.
As an unkempt and messy sage, once
he agreed to meet with Ambika, she was overcame by fear at the sight of him.
When he drew closer to her, Ambika didn’t refuse his embrace; however, she did
close her eyes in the process. As a result, Vyasa predicted that as the because
of her fear, the child would be born blind. The other queen, Ambilika, upon
meeting the sage, also became fearful at the sight of the ugly sage. She
immediately turned pale as a ghost, in which Vyasa later predicted that her son
would be born pale and would suffer from bad health.
Angry at the news of the failed
queens, Satyavati ordered Vyasa to meet with Ambalika once more to produce a
healthy prince. However, this time, instead of meeting with Ambalika, Vyasa was
met by a beautiful handmaiden. Kindness shown from her eyes, and she accepted the
ugly-looking sage with love and compassion. The two that night fell deeply in
love, and created a healthy baby that would later grow up to be the wisest and
the most learned men in the land.
Image info: An aged Satyavati with her first-born son Vyasa, Image credit: Wikipedia
Author's Notes: From the original story in the episode "Sons of Vyasa", I thought it was sad that Vyasa was abandoned by his mother and was feared by the two queens, Ambika and Ambalika. Moreover, in my story, I wanted it to end in a way that Vyasa would get his happy ending. Instead of just blessing the handmaiden with a child, I made it so that they found love in each other.
Hi Sara! So please put up with my pickiness for a bit as I critique your beautiful writing. In the first paragraph, and I'm not so sure what the terminology for this is, but you do a lot of Sara, the author of this story, and Lindsay, the reader of this story. Like "Vichitravirya, the last son of Satyavati and Shantanu - Bhishma, the first son of King Shantanu with Ganga - the children of Vichitravirya’s widows, Ambika and Ambilika." It's just very hard to read when I'm constantly having to stop to take in pointless information like relations and names if you are just going to say them later. You know? Beyond that, love the story!
ReplyDeleteHey Sara, I liked your story! It was definitely a more happy ending than the actual story. Would this new relationship allow Vyasa to become a king or that the baby would then be prince? Both of them are not of royal blood so it seems kind of scandalous that the new child would rule unless it is because Vyasa is so well known and respected that it is okay! Great twist on the story!
ReplyDeleteHi Sara,
ReplyDeleteYay! I was so excited with your version of the story. I always hope that these stories will have a completely happy ending (or at least mostly happy ending) and they rarely do. I liked your version much more. I also liked how straight forward your writing style was. I often times get caught up in the extra fluff in these stories and it confuses me. Yours was much easier for me to read. Great job! I hope I get to read more of your stories in the future.
Hi again Sara! The original tale was quite important in the Mahabharata as it led to the rise of the Pandavas later and gave some backstory to key characters like Bhishma. I am glad you chose to end the story the way you did; Vyasa's own tale is kind of sad in its own way, though I think it was mostly his choice. Still, he makes a quick appearance in the Mahabharata to conceive some children to inherit the throne, so he plays an integral though small part. I definitely liked your version though! It's always nice to have a happier ending.
ReplyDelete