Ganga Putra Bheeshma

BIRTH

Ganga threw seven of her new borns, one after the other into the river.

Shantanu watched it silently. He could not say or stop her from doing anything as before their marriage, he had promised her that he would not question her, no matter what ever she does. If at all he questions her, she would leave him and go forever.

Finally when Ganga was about to throw their eighth child into the river...

"Ganga, I cannot keep quiet anymore. You have already killed seven innocent children of ours. Stop, stop, how can you as mother, be bent on murdering your own innocent babies? I won't let you to kill our eighth child!"

"Arya, "you have forgotten your promise, for your heart is set on your child, and you do not need me any more, so I must now beg your leave. I shall not kill this child, but listen to my story before you judge me. I, who am constrained to play this hateful role by the curse of sage Vasishtha. I'm the goddess Ganga, adored of the gods and revered by men. Vasishtha cursed the eight Vasus to be born into the world of mortals, and moved by their supplications said that I was to be their mother. I bore them to you, so do not be aggrieved at their loss, for they went to the abode of their mother, and the service you have rendered to the Vasus will earn you higher regions".

With these words she disappeared with the child who was to later become famous as Bhishma, the grandsire of the Kaurava dynasty that fought the unforgettable battle of the Mahabharata.

*Ashta Vasus are the eight demigods - deities of material elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Sky, Sun, Stars, Moon) who, while frolicking in the woods with their wives, came upon the hermitage of rishi Vasishtha, and one of the ladies saw the beautiful cow, Nandini, at the hermitage, and started making entreaties of her husband to fetch the cow. The husband was reluctant at first, saying, "what need have we, the devas (demigods), for the milk of cows? We are immortals already; it is for men to drink its milk to become immortal (in India, everything about cows is considered sacred)." She lied saying that she had a dear mortal friend on earth whom she wanted to become immortal and that is why she needed to have the cow. Finally, all the eight were persuaded into committing thievery while the rishi was away.

Upon returning to find Nandini missing, the sage, through his yogic powers of meditation came to learn as to whose handiwork this was, and laid a curse upon the Vasus to take birth as mortals. At this, the Vasus prostrated themselves before the rishi for forgiveness. Vasishtha said: "The curse must take its course. My words cannot prove ineffective, but I will soften the curse to the extent that Prabhasa (meaning light, that is, the Sun), the one who seized the cow, will have to spend an entire lifetime on earth, glorious as it will be, while others, as his accomplice, will live only a few hours before they come back".