Three women, no child

Queen Satyavati bore the king Santanu two sons, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Chitrangada, the elder son, succeeded Santanu to the throne of Hastinapura. When he died childless, the second son, Vichitravirya, became king.

As Vichitravirya was still a child when he was crowned the king, Bhishma ruled as his regent. When the young king was of the age to marry, Bhishma looked around for a suitable bride. He heard that the king of Kasi was holding a swayamvara ^5.1for his three daughters. Since Vichitravirya himself was too young to stand any chance of being chosen by the young women, Bhishma himself went to the swayamvara.

He went alone to Kasi, clad in simple clothes. His horses and chariot were covered with dust. None took any notice of the mighty warrior as he silently maneuvered his chariot around in the assembly of warriors.

Quietly, the brave son of Ganga spoke to his horses and before any one even had an inkling, Bhishma's chariot had broken into the crowd, seized the three young women and gotten out.

``Each of you knows that the wife is best that is chosen by force,'' gloated Bhishma to the frozen warriors, ``we Kurus do not compete against your kind. Go home for the flowers of Kasi are not to be yours.''

``This wise old man forgets his vow of celibacy,'' the assembled warriors shouted angrily to Bhishma and to one another, ``why does he come to this swayamvara and what use has he for the beautiful princesses of Kasi?''.

Part of the agreement among the warriors who assembled at a swayamvara was to accept the decision of the women. Bhishma had broken the code. The angry warriors chased Bhishma, along with the army of Kasi which was there to keep peace among the assembled princes.

But Bhishma was a better horseman than them all. None could catch his chariot, save for Salva, who rode on the wings of love. Salva and Amba, one of the three princesses of Kasi, were in love and Amba had already decided to choose Salva for her husband at the swayamvara.

Even when the rest of the warriors had given up and turned back, Salva continued to give Bhishma chase. Finally, Salva intercepted Bhishma and after a bitter and long fight, Bhishma, the peerless bowman, won. He would have killed Salva too, but for Amba begging that Bhishma spare his life. Having thus defeated the last of the angry warriors, Bhishma took the three princesses to Hastinapura.

He brought Amba, Ambalika and Ambika to Hastinapura and presented them to Satyavati. Satyavati told the young women that they were to marry her son, Vichitravirya, the king of the Kuru clan. The younger sisters, Ambalika and Ambika, agreed but Amba said she wished to speak to Bhishma.

``Son of Ganga,'' said Amba to Bhishma, ``you know that Salva and I are married in spirit, if not according to the sastras. Even though you have brought me here by force, do what you think is right.'' Bhishma, not wishing to create further havoc agreed to send her, with escort, to Salva's kingdom. Majesty, as you well know, Bhishma had sown the seeds of his death .

Ambika and Ambalika were married to Vichitravirya. Soon after the marriage, however, Vichitravirya died of consumption. Hastinapura was left with two queens, a queen mother, a wise regent but no king.

Satyavati was inconsolable. Her husband was dead and both her sons had died childless. She called Bhishma and told him that she released him from his vow of Brahmacharya. ``Carry on the proud line of the Kurus,'' she told him. Bhishma would hear none of it. ``A vow is not meant to be broken,'' he told her.

Agonizing over the fate of their kingdom, Satyavati remembered the son she had conceived on the water .