Episode 1: Shantanu the Unfortunate
- King Shantanu marries Ganga (goddess of the Ganges), under the promise that he will never question her choices
- She drowns their first 7 children and he says nothing due to his promise, but at the 8th child, he stops her
- She had promised 8 cursed vasus that she would give birth to them and then immediately kill them to free them from mortality
- After telling Shantanu this, she leaves with their child, the 8th son
- 16 years later, Shantanu is mourning on the banks of the Ganges, lamenting the loss of his wife and son
- He sees a skilled archer, which Ganga reveals to be his son, Devavrata
- Shantanu is thrilled and brings Devavrata back to his kingdom
- Not long after, he falls in love with a fisherman's daughter, but the fisherman refuses to grant her hand because her children would always be second to Prince Devavrata and his children
- Devavrata vows to give up the throne and become celibate, never marrying and never having children so that his father could marry his love, Satyavati
- He was renamed Bhishma: "he of the terrible oath"
- His father was heartbroken and filled with doom because of his son's oath, but he declared that his virtuous son would be able to choose the moment of death - death could never touch Bhishma without his consent
- Bhishma watches over the throne as a guardian, but keeps his oath
- After his father's death, he becomes a father figure to his two half brothers, bringing them up to be capable kings
- One of the boys dies, and the other (who is in poor health), inherits the throne
- Bhishma worries that if something happens that there will be no heir to the throne, so he finds his brother, Vichitravirya, a wife
- He kidnaps three princesses - Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika
- Amba, the eldest, confesses that she is in love with another king and to please let her go
- Bhishma lets her go and apologizes
- Amba goes to her beloved, but he denies her, telling her that she had been taken by another man and he could no longer accept her
- Amba returns to Bhishma, begging him to marry her so that she is not humiliated by being alone, but he refuses due to his terrible oath
- Amba was furious and blamed Bhishma for ruining her life
- A sage who had been one of Bhishma's mentors hears Amba's story and grows furious at Bhishma, and they fight furiously for 23 days
- Amba's warrior gives up and leaves
- She declares that she is going to get revenge on Bhishma
- King Vichitravirya dies - the kingdom now has no king or prince (he never had children)
- Bhishma still refuses to father the children of Ambika and Ambalika
- Satyavati is forced to tell Bhishma that she actually had another son before meeting Shantanu
- They had Vyasa, a child blessed to be the greatest poet the world had ever seen
- Vyasa grew into a man within moments and promised to appear when she summoned him
- Vyasa comes and Satyavati begs him to father the children of Ambika and Ambalika
- The women are terrified, Vyasa is scary to look at and they do not want to be with him
- When Vyasa visits Ambika, she closes her eyes - the child born to her was blind (Dhritarashtra)
- He grew to be strong and kind
- When Vyasa visits Ambalika, she turned pale with fear - the child born to her was pale and unhealthy (Pandu)
- He grew to be a great archer who was loved by his people
- Satyavati is furious and tells Vyasa to visit Ambalika again
- Ambalika sends in her place a servant girl, who didn't fear Vyasa - she gave birth to a healthy child (Vidura)
- He grew to be wise and extremely learned
- Considered an avatar of Yama (god of truth)
- All were taught about politics, warfare, etc.
- Unspoken rivalry between Dhritarashtra and Pandu
- Uncle Bhishma never noticed, but Vidura did
- Dhritarashtra takes the throne when the time comes
- Pandu had no objections and was content to serve as the army commander
- Everyone knew that while Dhritarashtra was the king, it was Pandu who really ruled Hastanaput
- When it came time to create alliances, Bhishma arranges a marriage between Dhritarashtra and Gandhari
- The wife vows to give up her sight, blindfolding herself for life
- Her brother could not bear to see her ruin her life, and he vows to avenge his sister (even though it was her choice..)
- Pandu marries two wives - Kunti and Madri
- Pandu soon finds out that his elder queen, Kunti, has a secret that she has been keeping
Gandhari, the blind bride; Image Source
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