Chapter 3 - Shantanu and Devavratha

King Shantanu sitting on the horse galloping slowly through the jungles again. Shantanu regularly visited the jungles...However now it was different. King Shantanu did not kill any of the animals...He had lost the will the hunt them...But he visited the jungles and observed all the animals...

Besides the jungles always ended with the river...his river...Every time he saw the river, it brought back the memories, the beautiful memories...the life he had shared with her...His loneliness eased a little....

Shantanu had never seen Ganga even once after the day she had taken the baby and disappeared to the heavens. But he still came regularly to the river, in the hope that he would see her....Shantanu loved sitting beside the river listening to the swirling waters and the beautiful noise that the waters made as it dashed through the rocks. Listening to all this always made him peaceful...as long as he was sitting near the river he did not feel pain...

But as Shantanu neared the banks, it was very different today....The river was actually drying up..Shantanu glanced in surprise as he looked around and stopped for another heart stopping moment...

After Ganga had left him Shantanu had been an even better king than before. His kingdom flourished and people prospered and Shanttanu ruled them wisely and well. Shantanu ruled the kingdom with a single-minded devotion almost as if to drive away all the thoughts of the Ganga from his mind...Shantanu thought that now after sixteen years, even if he saw Ganga again, he would not feel the love that he felt for her at first...

He was sadly mistaken....

Shantanu saw the familiar beautifully radiant Ganga standing on the shores of the drying river. Shantanu's heart danced with joy. She had come back...Ganga had come back...Shantanu hurriedly got down from his horse and raced forward and saw the familiar beautiful, proud and majestic face looking at the river with amused eyes.

'Ganga!' He breathed. 'You are back!' Ganga looked at him and gave him a sad smile. 'I have told you before Shantanu, we will never meet again in this life time...please do not entertain such hopes...You will only be hurt some more...' Shantanu listened to her melodious voice and let out a deep breath...Seeing Ganga had been like a breath of fresh air...He felt alive again...

Shantanu shook his head hopelessly as he realized that no matter how much he waited for Ganga, she would never come back. Shantanu frowned...Then why was she back today...and what was with the river...why was it drying up...

Shantanu's eyes traveled a little further and...blinked....what he saw seemed to be impossible...but his eyes were telling him that it was actually there...A dam made up of arrows had stopped the river from flowing...The river water struggled behind the arrows to break free....

Finally pushing through the arrows the river broke the dam of arrows and flowed through....Riding on top of the river wave was a young boy! He walked on the river as if it was land....He jumped the wave and landed beside Ganga.

Shantanu was dazed as he saw a handsome boy gleefully look at Ganga, 'Mother! I stopped the river again today!' Only after he said this, the boy looked at Shantanu for the first time.

'Mother...?' He looked questioningly at Ganga. Looking at her smile, the boy's eyes lit up. Ganga laughed as she turned to the dazed Shantanu, 'Yes Shantanu! Meet your son Devavratha!' She said with pride and the father and the son saw each other for the first time....

Devavratha fell on his father's feet. Shantanu held the handsome boy in his arms. His hands trembled as he held his son, joy spreading throughout him....Shantanu hugged the boy and felt like he could never stop looking at that face....a face which the Gods themselves had sculpted....Shantanu looked at the intelligent proud face and felt a love like he had never felt before in his life...He knew that he would never feel the loneliness of life without Ganga...

Shantanu looked at the laughing face of Ganga as she spoke, 'He has learnt everything that the heir to the throne should know...' Shantanu looked questioningly at Ganga as she spoke, 'Sage Vasishta himself has taught Devavratha the Vedas. And do you know that Sage Brihaspati has taught him the art of diplomacy and politics?' Shantanu looked at pride at his son as Ganga continued, ruffling her son's hair, 'Parashurama himself has taught him archery...' Shantanu's eyes grew round with surprise. Parashurama hated all warriors....though he himself was a great warrior, he would never teach another warrior...then how did he teach Devavratha....' Ganga shook her head, 'I begged and begged him and finally Parashurama agreed to teach Devavratha archery...'

Ganga kept Devavratha's hands on Shantanu's hands. 'Shantanu, your son is sixteen today....Take him home...Be happy with him....'

Shantanu looked at Ganga and gave a thank you nod to her. He felt complete and peaceful with himself...Ganga vanished from there...Shantanu took back Devavratha to his palace a feeling of contentment spreading over him.